takes up memory ?

[Zonx]

So here's the 411 about UI impact on performance as I understand it.

This is really two separate issues.

1) Memory Usage: Generally speaking, a UI that uses larger image files will require more memory. However the EQ2 client uses a few tricks to optimize memory that make this a bit more complicated. For instance, the client only loads individual image slices to memory when needed. It does not load the entire image file if for instance only a small rectangle of that file is actually used, and it doesn't even load that slice if the window that uses it is never opened.

On systems with more than 1 gig of RAM, memory usage isn't likely to be an issue. Custom UI's might eat up an extra 2 MB of that 1+gig at worst.

2) Processing: Every UI window shown requires processing cycles to render, regardless of how large the image files are. Some UI options require more work to render. Complex transparencies for example take much longer to process than simple transparencies or no transparency. There are alot of different factors that can increse processing requirements for a UI.

That being said, the default UI is not the most optimized when it comes to procesing requirements. Some custom UIs might actually require less processing than the default, even if they provide some extra features.