I always found the max rendering to be quite slow. max is the most difficult to use 3d app I have seen. I wouldn`t say "most people using Poser have little interest in anything beyond the renderer" some will just want to render pictures but there are quite a few who have used and still use other 3d apps and make figures and props etc. Max has always been slow on my computer, not as slow as daz studio but slower than poser 5. ;)