Also i've tried updating drivers for the AMD dual core and nVidia through device manager, and it tells me both are already current. is this just because i'm using integrated graphics or is it possible to get this game working better?
It could be, but devman/windows update are not reliable resoures for the latest drivers. If you're seeing objects spinning uncontrollably, then it is indeed an AMD CPU driver issue, which can be remedied by downloading and install the AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Version (x86 and x64 exe) file found at the bottom of this page.
If, on the other hand, you're just seeing a poor framerate (consistently or not), it is indeed probably due to the lack of graphics muscle on your machine.