does it load games and such faster than the origional?

probably

Not that I've noticed. You should, however, be aware that if you get one, there's an automatic overheat shutoff that will sometimes trip because with the smaller case, they've also created a problem with overheating. It's only happened a few times, and that was when I either had stuff on top of it or left it on a carpeted floor. So if you plan on doing either of those things, your PS2 will probably shutoff after around 2+ hours of use.

mines never shut off and it seems to load faster. ive had it since early nov.