so, we got some new macpro workstations here running windows xp64.

in direct3d, my scene which took up 2.4gb (total system mem use in task manager) now used 6gb+ and grinds the machine to a halt. its not paging either cause i have 8gb ram. it just bogs down and dies. on smaller scenes it seems to work smoother, but still wastes memory.

in opengl mode its fine. we have other older mac pros which are identical except video cards and they are fine.

ive swapped video card brands, models and gone form ati to nvidia, mac bios to pc bios cards. all the same, so i think ive ruled out the video cards and drivers being the root of the issue.

the issue is the same in max 2009 and 2010, and its on 3 machines, so its not a corrupt instal of max.

ive also tried reinstalling directx from the MS site - no help.

anyone seen this before and know where i should be looking for a solution? im at a loss right now and need d3d back because we are using the realtime shaders for a project.