well i would suspect that if i was rendering a scene of a room with a single light source coming through a window, it would make a huge difference if radiosity was enabled than if it was not. for a pond with plants around it though i somehow doubt that global illumination will make much of a difference. there IS one good thing about it though. the resume render option!! it is BRILLIANT! it means i can switch the computer off at night so i can sleep without a headache AND without losing the day's progress! that alone is enough to make anyone fall in love with vue ;)