Just made the fix from this http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1123569-fps-drop-when-near-npcs-thread-3/ and afterwards my game kept crashing until i shut down XFire. Afterwards i expreienced the improved performance many here have, so for those having trouble starting the game:

Try closing Xfire first.

Yep thats right. Thxs