LCBoliou - we didn't compare modelling - he's GOT 3DS Max 8 - that trumps C5Pro without a sweat. It also comes with Mental Ray so - ditto. You can stop and save an image partially through the render, and close Vue altogether. Open Vue back up again, open your scene file, go to Picture>Resume Render and it starts back up where you left it. I don't HAVE to "break it up" - I'm just impatient, and don't wanna wait over 100hrs (or more) for a render, and I use that computer for my business during the day. And by breaking it up, the individual pieces render faster than the whole scene in one shot. It also give me more flexibility in post. wildstormfilms - everybody has a favorite app, and has had problems with certain apps. Wabe is right - download the demos of as many as you feel you have time to try out and make a decision after that. But given that you ALREADY HAVE 3DS Max8, I'm gonna guess all you'll really ONLY need something like Vue for outdoor scenes to create faster, and better landscape modelling - which you can import back into Max for rendering. Good luck- -Lew ;-)