Hello Adam :))

>> have lots of memory to spare, give it a try.  Mount /tmp or all of /var
>> in tmpfs.
>Unfortunately, some(many?) distros are b0rken in re /var/. There is
>stuff put there that is needed across boots (for example, mandrake
>puts the DNS master files in /var/named.)

    Moreover, didn't the LHS say that /var/tmp is supposed to be
maintained across reboots? I'm not sure about this, but anyway /var
is supposed to hold temporary data, not boot-throwable data, isn't
it?

    Raśl