Game Stutters

[Philos]

I have the DVD version of the game and I am running XP with SP2. I have also installed the 1.1 patch. I am still fairly early in the game, having just finished the buried village and tombs. Occasionally, I experience a noticable stop and go type of stutter. This seems to occur when I am in a location with a lot of "inhabitants" like the Dead Nation or Warrens of Thought. I will start out fine, but the more time I spend there the more pronounced the stutter becomes. If I quit the game and start again, the stutter goes away (as long as I don't linger too long again). This was especially frustrating when it kicked up during a fight with a huge pack of cranium rats. It was so bad I had to quit and reload. Is there another patch or a fix? Do I need to adjust my game settings?

Thanks