You can access the FFXI Config menu by "Start Menu/All Programs/PlayOnline/Final Fantasy XI" If you don't know what a term means, there is always Google to find out!


General
Enable MIP mapping, and most importantly check the "Start in Windowed Mode" box so you can alt+tab out of the game to check online. Not running in windowed mode will kill the game if you tab out. You can also use a program called "Windower" which too me works much better and has many options to further increase graphics quality and viewing distances. {More on that here...}



Screen Size
Set the resolution size which is native to your monitor, and you can also choose the BG Resolution. Mine is blanked out because I'm forcing a higher resolution with Registry Editing. {More on that here...}



Textures
I use Uncompressed, as to my knowledge means that the textures would be accessed faster, resulting in better performance only if you have the video ram to handle it.



Effects
Turn on Bump Mapping and choose smooth for EA.



Sound
Obviously turn on sound, and crank the amount of effects simultaneously to 20!



Misc.
I'd uncheck the opening movie unless you want to click past it every time you load up POL, rest is self-explanatory!