External SSD HD as system drive

So I have a mid 2010 27" iMac, and I would like to improve the performance a bit.
One option is to replace my HD with an SSD, but I do not want to go through the trouble of opening up the computer. I know I can install a FireWire 800 SSD externally, clone my system drive, and boot from that.
My questions are as follows:
Is the performance of FireWire 800 fast enough to produce a significant improvement in HD performance?
How much slower (if at all) would it be than if I installed it internally?
Are there any weird issues with running OSX off an external FireWire drive, that I should know about?
Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide

David,
From Apple:
Logic Express 9 - User Manual
FireWire 800 FireWire 800 , also called IEEE 1394b, is the next generation of FireWire after IEEE 1394a, a higher-bandwidth version capable of data transferspeeds of up to 800 Mbps. FireWire 800 is also capable of supporting cable distances of up to 100 meters.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Logic_Express_9_User_Manual.pdf

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