SSD upgrade

Can't help you with #1 but for #2, I am a big fan of performing a fresh install of Windows with any new hard drive, which forces me to do some serious house-cleaning (getting rid of unwanted programs and files). But if you don't have the time to backup, re-install Windows and all your programs, any disk clone tool (like Paragon Drive backup) should do the trick.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/

Definitely fresh install. Windows 7 will install with different settings if you install to an SSD. Make sure your mobo is setup for AHCI mode before you install Windows.

I would recommend moving your Users and ProgramData folders off the SSD like this:http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/window...
(There can be some minor side effects from this, only one I've found in 2 years is that I'm unable to get my windows experience index.) The benefit is that you never have personal data on your SSD, all saved games, documents, downloads will default to your HDD; especially nice if your SSD ever fails, but good for saving space and reducing the amount of time you have to spend cleaning up and organizing files. (Be sure you don't accidentally point at an existing Users folder when you do this, I don't know what effect that would have, but I can't imagine it's good).

(You can also go to the properties of the "library" folders in windows7 and change the library location one by one for docs, pics, etc for each user. This is the Windows sanctioned method for doing a similar thing, but doesn't protect against ever case of programs writing to Users)

Also follow the steps from this guide that you don't find to be a hindrance:
http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/...
Turning off Hibernate and System Restore are two big savers of space. I would really recommend it unless you absolutely know you need those features and can't live without them.

Learning how to use "mklink /d" can be very useful for moving games/programs between the SSD and HDD without uninstalling and reinstalling. SteamMover is a cool application that uses mklink commands to move steam games easily, though you can do it manually for most all programs.

Thank you for your input, I think the fresh install is the way to go, and it looks like I need to pour through the mobo docs and find the differences.