Terragen2 system Optimization

[AlexPorter]

I've had terragen2 for a while now and I haven't every managed to resolve this one concern.  I really love the program, but the only thing I dislike is the really slow amount of time which it takes to update previews (non renders).  Is this a constant issue with Terragen2 on all computers or is it dependent upon a certain spec such as CPU/RAM?

I know I can double full render time by rendering two images at once (for skyboxes etc) but why is it taking me so long to see a small preview of a detailed scene?  It can be a bummer to wait 8-12 hours for a render only to realize I don't like the outcome.  This is really tough for trying to experiment with objects/land.

Right now I am using a gtx260 gpu, a 3 ghz athlon x2, win7 and 4 gb ram.

I know full renders as well take up time in all 3d apps, but is that a ram related task?  Can I ultimately improve the preview and render screen speed by adding more ram?

[Oshyan]

The major problem with the 3D preview is that it is currently not multithreaded, unlike the main renderer. Until it becomes multithreaded it can often be faster just to setup a low detail "quick render" node and use that for previews. If you want to use the preview, e.g. for navigation, turning off certain elements can speed things up a lot. There are buttons along the top that allow you to turn on and off the atmosphere and lighting, both of which can help.

- Oshyan

[Henry Blewer]

I turn off the atmosphere most of the time. With that off, my P4 can update the preview faster.