One thing I found out is some programs and plug-ins place themselves as a startup program for no conceivable reason. AOL's AIM does this. Removing it from the start-up has no adverse effect on how the program runs. Keeping it there does lower your resources.

I am on win98 SE. To find out what behind the scene programs load everytime you reboot. Go to Accessories/system tools/ system information/ software enviroment/ startup programs.

Xara may use a lot of resources when using a lot of bevels/ blends etc. but it is really good at giving it back after you exit it. I find the biggest drain comes from browsing the internet and e-mail and after closing them they give very little of the resources they used back.