The loading time makes me feel i was back using a mechanical hard drive.

I got the unoffical patch and installed it. It didn't replace any files ..is that normal?

Yes, it uses the same mechanic as the official patch(except for the executeables). The engine kind of updates the original data with those from the patches at runtime.
No use in going into detail. ;)

Wow, thanks for the insight.

Here is my experience:
I really have no problems with the loading time, if you start the game fresh it takes about 20 seconds to load (black screen) until you reach the intro logos and then the menu.

The loading screen takes ~8 seconds for the first progress bar to complete and then .5 seconds to actual start the game.
It is not as bad as it seems, only if you save/load all the time. I would go somewhere else on the map before save/load times (dying) become an issue. ;)

Since it is pretty much open world (except for harbour town?) with all tombs, caves and buildings included. Using the teleport stones later in the game is nearly instant because the whole map is always loaded.