Try my test render method, you might like it.

I set the render size to 800 x 600.

I set up for premium render, then set the ray per pixel (rpp) to 4.

Even a rather complicated scene will render in 5 minutes or less. You lose some detail, but  you can get a good idea of what your final render will look like.

This renders more quickly and with more detail than the non-premium type render settings do for me on my machine (intel 2.0 ghz).

Try it out and see.

PS: I'm using Bryce5, I'm not sure how it will work with 5.5.

This is not my "second childhood". I'm not finished with the first one yet.

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.

"I'd like to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather....not screaming in terror like the passengers on his bus." - Jack Handy