Reformatting: reinstall everything or use a time machine backup?

[thirty6chambers]

I have a bunch of small issues with osx leopard right now and I'm thinking of reformatting with a fresh start. Some of the issues I'm having is when I save a file to desktop, it appears in a corner of my screen or a random spot. In photoshop cs3, whenever I zoom in with my mouth scroll wheel, the program lags for about 4 seconds. These are just a few of the minor quirks.
Would it be better to reinstall every application manually or would using a time machine backup be just as good?

 

[Eidorian]

You're going to want a fresh install. Keep in mind you're going to need to do yet another full Time Machine backup afterward.

 

[teh0ne]

I would definitely go with the clean install if at all possible, then grab the combo update from the Apple website.

Using the TM backup won't help you troubleshoot the source of your issues at all, should they re-appear.