Everything is running fine, but then,

[MH]

For closing processes try this:
http://iobit.com/gamebooster.html
For stuttering try turning off VSYNC also Alt TAB-ing out of game and then back may help.
I have this problem with VISTA sometimes.It seems as if Vista is sometimes confused about which process to prioritize.

[Boats]

Thanks gents, I'll try both.

[SabreHawk]

Do you have your computer on full time?
If so just do a system restart, this will clear a lot of junk out of RAM that even shutting down processes wont touch.
Some things just dont release resources even when shut down.

I know that when things get jumpy, stuttery thats what I do, reboot and all is smooth again.

Originally Posted by MH

For closing processes try this:
http://iobit.com/gamebooster.html
For stuttering try turning off VSYNC also Alt TAB-ing out of game and then back may help.
I have this problem with VISTA sometimes.It seems as if Vista is sometimes confused about which process to prioritize.

Woah! I just downloaded and tried this software. Ran a defrag on the SH5 directory and then used it to turn off processes/apps I didn't want, it cleared the RAM, too!

After running it and trying SH5 I got a minimum 10FPS increase!!!!!!! Previously I was getting in some areas (especially the command room) as low as 16 - 17 FPS, now I'm getting 25+ constantly - most of the time I'm getting over 35!. Its not perfect, but then its pretty good for my HP 4510s laptop!!!!