Any tips to make the game run smoother?

I have a really cheap, bottom shelf laptop, but normal AoM TT runs just fine with low settings and doesn't lag on big ffa's. Then there is the Extended Edition and it makes even 2v2 games really laggy. 1v1 is fine-ish, it's still slow, but bareable. I put everything on the lowest settings possible, and disabled recording games, yet it still shows the red turtle next to my nick on online games. Anything I can do? I remember the good old times when I played big 12 way ffas on The Titans on my old PC, and even that wouldn't lag.