I too suffered with the issues after the pre-xmas patch. I previously played with 60fps on ultra with msaa off and with vsync on. After that patch I had 35fps and it was awful with freezes and stutters. Anyway I am pleased to report that I tried the game today after the last patch and its playing now even better and I can finally play with Fade Touched graphics and I dare to say that its running better now than before the patch that broke the game. Its not all roses though as I need get the occasional stutter but nothing really that annoying, I have moved it off my ssd now so that may explain it.