" But as typical of these threads you here evangelising YOUR personal Dream render Set up While totally ignoring what the guy says he wants to accomplish...," They guy LISTED Max as an option. It isn't my "dream render" set up. It is the production setup I use day in and day out. AS I STATED, "if he can afford it", Max is the best choice because of the flexibility it offers. While Carrara and Vue can, in the right hands, produce acceptable results - they are both to some degree dead-ends. The latest and greatest rendering technology will almost always be Max-compatible first.