I needed to post this question in a forum that has the most visitors and would  be  read  by  techie's  and non-techie's.

I've been thinking about buying Poser 7.
What I would like to know is this; does Poser 7 take full advantage of Intel's “Core 2 Quad processor”?

(Will it use all four cores when it's time to render an image?)

Yes it does, although there is a big caveat:
The work of rendering the image is only divided one time, when you start the render.  With 4 cores and 4 threads, the work is split into 4 quads of your frame.  This means if you have very complex stuff in one corner, and very simple stuff in the other 3 corners, then the 3 easy corners of the frame will finish rendering very quickly; but the complex part can take much longer, and will only use 1 core/1 thread.  In the meantime you cannot do anything with Poser except watch it render, although you do have lots of spare processor time to play a game or surf the web or whatever.

Although advantageous compared to previous versions, that is a shame and I much prefer C4D's thread reassignment during the render so as to be 'burning on all cylinders' throughout.

**kuroyume0161... is there a plugin for C4D to link with poser files?
**

**pjz99... do you have this type of setup?
And do you notice a faster render time?
**

I just acquired a similar setup to pjz99 - Intel Core 2 Quad system - but have just finished migrating software, settings, and data so haven't had a chance to see how Poser 7 responds to the four processors.  Unfortunately, I don't render in Poser anymore even though I had a dual processor with it since P7's release.  It is assured that the render times will increase except in that rare situation where all of the render is concentrated in one processor's quadrant.

There are several plugins for C4D to link with Poser files:

Poser 7 Pro (soon)
BodyStudio
interPoser Ltd & Pro
CinePoser LT
GreenBriar's CR2 Loader (a bit long in the tooth these days)
and so on.

I have a quad core processor, yes, and rendering is much much faster than it was with my previous Pentium 4 proc.  Considering the price of Core 2 Quad is around $300 US, along with a motherboard that supports it, it's a very good investment these days.

Kuroyume may be too bashful to say so, but he writes and supports a very well-designed content converter for Cinema 4D that imports Poser content pretty cleanly.  I own and use it, and it works very well.  See hte link in his signature.

i just finished building my quad machine too, and the first test i did was i mini- complicated scene in vue 5 infinate, now the quad machine rendered the scene in two minutes, using all four cores, but the P4 machine took twelve minutes using two cores, so that it quite an improvement.

also the preview quality, and amount of polygons allowed before things start disapearing from view, is able to be much higher and the end result render is kinda stunning me at the mo' as it seems to be so smooth and my own poser skin textures seem to be working perfectly, which they never looked quite right to me on the P4 machine, also the plants seem to of improved in appearance too, so it's a bit like a new toy for me at the mo'.

so i would say go for it, the price of quads is so low now as there are about to be ( if they are not already out) 8 core processors released  ( new Xeon)  and mobo's are gonna be able to house 32 gigs of ram!!

Considering that the Mac Pro 8-core is Intel, they are definitely out! :)  But, as you note, you'll pay for the Xeons and much more so for the 8-core cpus (Xeon or not).  People who have $5000+ to throw at a new computer, all power to 'em.  I usually keep my radar set to between $1500 and $3000 max for a new computer - mainly since I have no upcoming inheritances or haven't won the lottery just yet. ;)

Despite having dual Xeon 2.66GHz cpus with HT enabled (four 'processors' in Cinema), the Core 2 Quad (Q6600 at ~2.4GBH) already readily surpasses those old Xeons in multi-processor rendering.

To add, my new system was built by my computer tech (Pro Computers here in Colorado) for a grand total of $2585 (incl. tax).  For this price, the specs are exquisitely nice:

Intel Core 2 Quad w/GO stepping
Asus P5N32E-SLI (not their top board supporting quad cores): supports 6 SATA II drives and has 7.1 audio hardware support built-in w/optical S/PDIF (my usual connection to speakers)
8GB memory (667 FSB is the current limit on 2GB DIMMs - even the Mac 8-cores use this FSB speed for the same reason).
2x500GB SATA II 7200RPM HDD
GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB (probably the most expensive part of this build!)
20x DVD+/-RW Dual-Layer SATA II (heck, $55 is nice) :)
Full tower case w/front panel LCD temperature monitor (CPU and GPU)
650W PSU

I added existing wireless 802.11G and additional 400GB SATA II HDD.  Windows XP Pro and x64 were already available (so that saved $300).  Monitors, trackball, and mouse also exist already.  Nonetheless, similar builds online regularly cost $3000 or more so I'm a happy customer.

32GB of memory is very nice.  As usual, it will be very expensive to be at the bleeding edge of technology.  Hopefully, in a couple years, 32GB mobos will be at the same price range as this system. :)

Poser will not efficiently utilize 8 cores.

13 to 25% of cpu utilization is about the best I've seen consistantly.

yeah i'm kinda guessing the 8 cores and 32 gigs ram are for those that can also afford the "quaddro's" so probally just the big cad users.

we are almost the same setup, yours is a notch up on me 

Q6600 (B3) 
4Gb ram
8800 GTS XT (640)
nine x fans 5= LED (blu) and 1 UV LED + two cathodes, all to make my feet turn blue!! and most the room actually.

rest is same.

it is so annoying researching parts as before i had even fired mine up, i was out of date!!

kuroyume0161, we seem to have similar systems.
This is a post I put in last month. (It's been overclocked a bit)
All of this has been installed into a pure aluminum case; to keep things nice and cool.
(Total cost... just over $1000)

I’m getting a new custom built computer to replace my old one; and these are the selected parts that will go into it:

* ASUS P5B-PLUS INTEL motherboard*

4GB of KINGSTON HYPER memory

INTEL CORE 2 QUAD 2.4GHZ

XFX GEFORCE 8600 GT 256MB DDR3 540MHZ PCI EXPRESS

1 HITACHI 160GB Hard Drive for my “C drive”

2 HITACHI 320GB Hard drives for backup

* 
And my O/S will be “Ubuntu”*

(Have to wait on that O/S, needs more driver updates) (So, I'm using XP pro 64 bit)

Similar yes.  My cost differences here were definitely in the 'top-o-the-line' GeForce, the extra 4GB ($150 per 2GB DIMM), and two 500GB drives.  Either way, such systems are easily built for less than $3000.  Don't trust Alienscare, Dull, or HP as good system builders - you pay for convenience but not for quality and efficacy.

I paid slightly more for convenience - using someone to purchase components, build, and set up for me 'cause I'm busy ;) - but pre-builts in the same category are ridiculously priced and other 'custom' systems were more expensive.  Seeking lowest prices for components yourself can save hundreds of dollars (that's how I built my dual Xeon for a song).  So, kudos for a good build with a great price tag! :D

vince3, gotta watch that difference between B3 and GO stepping.  From my research and forum responses, the GO stepping is superior - which is why I insisted on it.  Otherwise, yes, getting the celestial stars to align on a perfect system build is a daunting process.  But I've learned from previous experiences that researching products and reviews goes a long way in avoiding disappointment.  Unfortunately, people tend to see the 'most bang for the buck' as a bottom line instead of as a warning of inferior quality and support.  When it comes to computer hardware, I want stability, extensibility, variability, and dependability above all else.

One good thing about this mobo is that it can support memory with up to 1033 (iirc) FSB.  I wanted 8GB no matter the speed, thinking that in the future it could be updated to faster speeds as they become available.  I did compromise on the maximum memory - 16+ GB memory boards are expensive as is the memory itself.

i had read that the better stepping with the GO is only really for the overclockers which i'm not very likely to do, but i was jealous of the fact the GO was on average 10.C degrees cooler, but mine is running at 29.C (idle) and 40.C (100%) so the fans may of fixed that bit.

i liked the research too, because it is very weird that you can find exactly the same part but with a different brand name, and one will be slammed by the reviewers and look like a dud, while another will be highly praised and look like the answer to your dreams!! and price comparison is just funny, when that quad came down, mine was about £160 but as i travelled 'round the web there were so many that hadn't dropped the price yet and were still asking for £700+ , so it definately pays off to have a good look around,

i paid a bit for my Ram though, with the OCZ Gold edition (2 x2GB) but they get great reviews and come with a three year warranty, so they seem like a "no worries" investvent.

was wondering as you mentioned you have an LCD temp display on front of your rig, whether your LCD temps are the same as the PC Probe desktop utility? as i was gonna get a LCD display too but was curious as to how accurate the utility is already.

They differ - the LCD reading is in Celsius and Probe software is in Fahrenheit.  The difference is about 5% when converted and there is no reading on the GPU in the software.  The case has temperature sensors that are planted on the desired device.  So the CPU sensor is between it and its cooling fan and the GPU is similary placed for measurements.

Temps are well within the comfort zone - no overclocking here (as far as I can tell).

ah! cool! thanks for that kuroyume, think i'll still get that LCD display, but good to know that utility is fairly accurate too.

BTW, in "config" and then the "preferences" tab ( probe2) you can change from fahrenheit to celsius, if you prefer celsius. 

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, boy's and girl's;  this all goes to prove yet another inescapably fact...
”All great minds do think alike”