To be honest with you, it doesn't seem like your system is going to handle Firefly very well. A P3 800 isn't exactly a powerhouse system (no offense), and 512MB isn't much RAM. So I think you might see more memory and speed problems than people with newer systems.

As a fix for your problem with the neck, you might want to try reducing the Minimum Shading Rate (pixel area) value in the Firefly setup menu from it's default value to 0.2 or so. That helps clean up textures on render, but will cost you some render speed. If you find your machine can't handle the render fully after you make that adjustment, you can try reducing the Bucket Size from default value of 32 down to 20 or so, which again will put a dent in render speed, but will make the render less memory intensive, and might help your system handle the render better.

The P4 renderer is a "no-brainer" so to speak. It's programmed to give you the best result it can without having to tweak any settings. Basically, there's no flexibility with that renderer. It's all or nothing (aside from some minor options). Firefly is much more advanced, and requires you to learn some actual render skills (rendering is an art in itself). It has a great deal more options, and allows much more render flexibility to the user. Hardcore users will like this added power, but most people just want a simple solution, and couldn't be bothered with the wingdings Firefly has. ;-)

Message edited on: 06/11/2004 09:52

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Tools :  3dsmax 2015, Daz Studio 4.6, PoserPro 2012, Blender v2.74

System: Pentium QuadCore i7, under Win 8, GeForce GTX 780 / 2GB GPU.