I have a whole lab of Max 2009 (installed over the summer), and I don’t think it has been setup correctly at all.  I draw a box. Turn on auto key. move to frame 100. Move the box.  Click Play. and the whole thing lags out. it is so slow.  it stalls for 2-5 seconds at a time.  the FPS is still at 147, but it cannot play anything smoothly.

When my students are drawing, sometimes the max slows down so so much that even rotating a 12 poly box takes 10-20 seconds.  I get them to save, exit and the restart and everything is much better, but eventually it lags out again.

In Task Manager, 3ds Max is almost always at 99% or 100%.

Windows XP Pro
Dual Core 2.4GHZ
2GB RAM
8600GT 256MB
DirectX 9

I sat down at a fresh install of max 2010 on a Slow single core machine and it just FLEW compared to what I have in my classroom.  My technicians don’t know anything to help, and don’t want to help.  I have turned off the CUBEView.  It even lags in Front View Wireframe with a box.

What I do? What Can I Try

Which video driver is Max set to?  Direct3D, OpenGl, Software?  Direct3D will likely be the best choice.

When it comes to problems moving or panning in the viewports, it’s probably a video card issue.  You may want to try a different driver for your systems.  I’d check to see if there is a preferred driver for that card, or see if there is one that is more current than what is installed.

3DS Max Design 2011 64-bit - Advantage Pack
Dell Precision T5500, Dual Six Core Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz, nVidia Quadro 5000, 24 GB RAM, Win 7 Enterprise 64-bit
Minneapolis, MN, USA