Backing up Applications

Hey guys,

I installed Tiger but am not satisified with my system performance. I believe it has to do with a faulty installation (I did upgrade) that occured the first time I tried installing it.

So I want to backup my important documents, applications, and the works.

My question is regarding backingup applications. When dealing with programs like Photoshop, Microsoft Word, etc, (programs that required an installation - serial key) can I still just drag and drop them from the Applications folder and place them on a DVD? Or so I need to get some type of configuration files?

Let me know, thanks!