I've been trying to figure out a way to get more work out of my fancy Dual Core CPU and 4gb of dual channel RAM. So after looking at the actual source code of my manufacturer's software and various Windows critical processes, I realized that any tweaking was far beyond me. After a great deal of searching and chatting with some I.T. friends, I settled on a utility called http://www.bitsum.com/prolasso.php. Amongst it's many abilities is a feature that will automatically reallocate CPU/RAM threads to your chosen game.exe.

I installed http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18677 (smaller texture size, but it's the most recent), and the performance difference was noticeable. I could just feel my movement and actions being smoother, far more than simply adjusting the Task Manager priority of Oblivion. So I'm wondering if anybody else uses this utility or something similar. Is it safe to use such programs with Oblivion? (Avast AV says the program itself is clean). And is there an actual performance gain, or is it just in my head? Such far-ranging and frankly intimidatingly-specific adjustments of my computing power are a very new subject for me, so please share your thoughts. Any insights are welcome.

This thread is about these issues http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1176244-oblivion-and-memory-usage/
EDIT Finally got the link to work correctly, I am constantly fighting to keep a stable game and get some graphic improvements, I have reached the point where I will have to pay to purchase a 4Gb memory card for my laptop, or give up mods, tomorrow I will spend eighty dollars for RAM.