The freezing is not necessarily a memory issue, in fact, it could well be
outdated video drivers. Try this, a safe little test to help narrow the
problem:
Right click a vacant area of the desktop, select Properties, Settings tab,
click on the Advanced button, then the Troubleshoot tab.
You will see the Hardware Acceleration slider....move this to one notch
above 'None.' Reboot your machine and see if the 'freezing' issue is gone.
If so, suspect video and or mouse drivers needing updates. Don't forget to
put the slider back to Full when you have resolved the issue or if it has no
affect.
There are a number of 'animated' cursors available, but, I personally
consider them 'eye candy' and a waste of resources. If you just have to
have them, do a Google search.....just be careful and investigate what you
are getting, things like Comet Cursor would not be desirable.
Heirloom, old and Merry Christmas (or
whatever you prefer) to all