Wrt FS's, here was my Arch Linux setup (dualboot with Win 7 64-bit on an Alienware M11X):

sda 1 Win 7 boot
sda 2 Win 7

sda 5 ext4 boot
sda 6 ext4 /
sda7 reiser /var
sda8 xfs /home
sda9 swap

[I might've overlooked Arch's KISS principle on this one, but I thought I might as well go all out with a filesystem smorgasboard ]

And now? I've dumped Arch Linux for good 'ol Ubuntu. Got tired of constant issues after upgrades. Still probably the best online community and wiki for any conceivable subject; otoh, you end up there more often than I would like due to the "bleeding edge" nature of Arch. I'm happy to "settle" with Ubuntu for a while, until I need to bleed some more again.