ISOLDE's HRS (High Resolution isotope Separator) was recommissioned in mid 2000, after a period out of service. Since then, the separator has routinely run with a mass resolution of 3000-4500 and during 2001 it delivered 72% of ISOLDE's radioactive output. A concerted effort has been made to understand the ion optics and optimise performance. In this paper we present an overview of the HRS and investigate the factors which limit the attainable mass resolution: ion-source emittance; optical aberrations; beam instrumentation and magnet stability
