performed some testing.
to reduce stutters i set terrrain preload to 900km, and the same for around objects. using the stutter config from lomacfiles otherwise.
launched the f-15 'flight' mission and this resulted in a 2 minute load time for the mission, BUT no stutter when panning 360 from the pit on immediate mission launch. memory usage for lockon.exe was 750meg.
did the same with the su-25t column hunter track, and the memory usage was over a gig. the only stutter present was when the view switched.
a tentative conclusion would be that 1 gig of memory is not enough to allow texture load free missions - therefore you will get stutters from either texture loading, or if you increase the preload you will get stutters from swapfile.
i would consider 1.5 gig of memory to be the minimum to have to realistically expect to be able to preload data to reduce stutters, but would suggest 2 gig for extra playing room.
when i get time i will try the same with an untweaked graphics config and see how it runs.