If the engine is really spluttering like a car (if that's what describes it

) I'd have a look for viruses and other malware on the system. I once had this problem with several other game engines and I found out all the EXEs on my HDD were infected with a virus!
As for the Refresh-rate, I haven't got any clue why this popular bug exists in A6. It sure is a directX+nvidia cards issue, nevertheless in other engines, they must have found a workaround...