Quote - Well yes I have XP now (that doesn't even come in 64bit does it?) So if I'm understanding you right, to get the full potential of the quad core you need 64bit. But if f I can only afford to upgrade one thing though (for now) is it better to get the processor first or upgrade to Vista 64bit first?

If you are cramped by lack of rendering capacity, then I think your best option would be to wait (and save up some money), then upgrade to a 64bit version of Windows 7 and upgrade to Poser Pro 2010 (which will have a 64bit render engine).  If you can get 6Gb or 8Gb of RAM in the chassis, that would be worthwhile.

Going back to your initial post, regarding rendering in large dimensions with IBL/occlusion in P7, it is probably the ambient occlusion which is eating up render time. But the limiting factor is Poser 7, more than your machine.  You really already have as much hardware as can be brought to bear using Poser 7.  It is a 32bit app, and not as good at juggling memory as the high-dollar apps.  You may have to search for a combination of render settings which will give you a good image without running your machine out of memory.

Poser 12, in feet.  

OSes:  Win7Prox64, Win7Ultx64

Silo Pro 2.5.6 64bit, Vue Infinite 2014.7, Genetica 4.0 Studio, UV Mapper Pro, UV Layout Pro, PhotoImpact X3, GIF Animator 5