Your graphics card won't effect performance to any great degree, it's your CPU that matters. And for people wondering how to change the fog distance, you need to press F3 then press 'F'.
I might check out your server at some point, may0, since i've been itching to see all the new features. Finding them in SP is a bit dull and stuff.
In other news, i updated my texture pack to 1.8 and released it.
http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/...amon-textures/
I know there are far better packs out there, but hey, some oddballs might be looking for something like it. :P
If you need a server to play on, check mine out. There's usually someone on, and we're all pretty friendly.
But welcome to your new life of minecraft.