Which is it to be? I currently have 256MB and Geforce4 440MX 64MB.I am going to upgrade to a 128 MB Radeon 9600 but do I go for the "normal" 9600 and add another 256MB (?) of RAM or do I go for the 9600 Pro and leave it at 256MB? Would the benefit of the extra system RAM outweigh any loss of performance between the 9600 and 9600 Pro?

I doubt it - most programs are not written to take advantage of the extra RAM. I'd go over to Tom's Hardware Guide and do some research. They have benchmarks that will answer your questions.

There's a major difference between running 256mb system ram and 512mb system ram. You'll find fs9 much smoother with 512mb of system ram. Get both if you can. Look for a 9600 Pro on sale. I read somewhere this morning someone just buying a 9600Pro for $146.

If you can afford it, go for a 9500 Pro, which is a better performer but it is more expensive and harder to find. However, I would go with the 9600 Pro and RAM... the Base and Pro versions dont have much price difference, and it's worth it to get the Pro version.