The sad truth about digital art is that ANY program that renders (especially raytracers, and just 3D programs in general) is going to really slow down your machine and use most of your resources. It's a fact of computing. Mostly you have to either get an SGI or live with the drag on your system. :( I've been living with what Photoshop does to one's resources for years, so I guess I'm maybe just a little more used to it than most ;). Laurie