I think this will be usefull into the performance boost section:

Since 2.6.16-rc2, High Resolution Timers ([1]) have been implemented officialy into the kernel.

also you can manage the tick frequency of your kernel, on a laptop you will save power using a 100Hz tick, while on a station you will set this to 1000hz. this tick frequency increase/decrease performances/power savings, get the one you need at the cost of the other one.

CONFIG_HIGH_RES_TIMERS=y CONFIG_HZ_1000=y CONFIG_HZ=1000