Here are some other tips that help me (AutoCAD 2008+).

1. Turn off the Layer Palette and use the old layer dialog box because it is a
memory hog (LAYERDLGMODE = 0)
2. Turn off preview selection because it is also a memory hog,and it will lock
AutoCAD when hovering over solid hatch patterns (Options -> Slection Tab -> un-
check selection preview check boxes)
3. Set your ant-virus software to ignore AutoCAD related extensions because
everytime you open or savea drawing, your AV software may be checking it for
viruses (dwg, dcl, chm, etc)
4. Set SAVEFIDELITY to 0. Setting it to 1 is a memory hog, and unless you are saving
your drawings down to a previous release, it is useless.
5. Purge REGAPPS (ie. Registered Applications) which are applications usually
created by verticals of AutoCAD (eg. Land Desktop, Architectural Desktoip, etc) or
by apps that are loaded on top of AutoCAD. Use -PURGE command (note the
hyphen) to purge them out. If AutoCAD needsa particular regapp, it will
automatically reload it.
6. Delete unwanted/unneeded Layer Filters (they tend to get carried over from
objects that are inserted or pasted from other drawings)
7. Delete/Restore Annotation Scales Lists (download the CleanupScales.exe routine
from Autodesk)