I'm using my P42.8GC + 4 x 256mb DDR400 dual channel + ATI 9800Pro 128MB to run EQ2. I'm satisfied with the performance using the default settings of the game. However, when I turn on more visual effects, the performance decrease becomes noticable though the performance is still acceptable (depending on how many visual effects turning on). Since I want to get better graphic from this game, I decide to upgrade my PC further. Under limited budget, I could only replace either the graphic card or the 256MB sticks. I conducted a simple test, I replaced my ATI 9800Pro with my old GF 4400Ti. I found that the performance was almost indistinguishable under the default settings. Since I don't have 512MB sticks, I can't conduct similar test on the effect of increase in memory size.
So if I want to get better picture, whether I should replace my graphic card with say 6800/X800 with 256MB ram or I should replace the 4 x 256MB sticks with 4 x 512MB sticks? Thanks!