Need Graphics Help PleaseFollow

Hi there. Returning player (I MISSED YOU SO MUCH FFXI!) So after a week of trying to get the game working, I finally did.But i realized.. my graphics look just awful. Idont have the best comp (i dont even have a real video card yet) but I know i can get better graphics. I went into the FFXI config thing.. and well I'm a real idiot when it comes to that kinda stuff. Setting those settings. My screen resolution is 1600x900. I was able to up the grpahics (it did cause a ltitle lag, not happy about that) but the graphics were really crisp. Unfortunately.. all the menus and such were.. tiny. Like way to small.
So can anyone advise me on this? Good FFXI config settings, close to normal size fonts and menus. What do I change? Do you need more info? My comp is actually fairly powerful.. except the whole graphics chipset thing.
THank you.

If you have specific questions post here and I'll try to help, I don't have my gaming comp in front of me right now.