Thanks too, replicand. What I meant by VRAM was video ram, basically wondering if updating the video card does anything. From what I've heard, not much regarding final renders.

Here is the result of the settings I posted above. I might be able to skimp on AO, but the problem is the teeth...without it, the characters look like "vampires" from the feedback I've gotten, because they're too bright in the back of the models' mouths. AO is the only way I've found to counter that, unless someone has another solution that will make the front of the teeth look bright, but the canines look dark.

While we're on the subject, does anyone know a trick to make the eye whites brighter? The teeth I want darker, but the eyes look strange and plastic-y because there's so much shadow on them. Is there a way to fix that without post-work?