Ive been having this weird lag issue, where the game gets all bottlenecked, with about 60 ships. I realised that when i disable my soundcard, the issue completely dissapears. Also, it seems to go if i turn down the effects slider on the audio options. I had the latest beta drivers installed for my x-fi, and have tried to go back to old ones, but trouble is i think the betas install some kind of firmware which has permenantly changed the card. So I still have the same problem either way... not sure how to fix it but atleast ive found the culprit for the lag issue i had.

Edit: i tried removing the x fi drivers and using my onboard sound but the problem remained. so maybe the x fi drivers have done something to the whole audio system or maybe the problem is just with sound in general, but either way the problem dissapears as soon as i turn the sound effects slider to 0. A shame though as its not as fun with no sound.