Mental ray rendering has been improved on multiple levels.

The new Hair modifier in 3ds max can create some very realistic grass rather easily, maybe not for a beginner but it is pretty simple if you don't stray too far out of the presets

Lately I have been getting more and more questions about using Mental Ray in architectural rendering (which is a good thing), so I thought I would write a quick tutorial showing how I like to set things up for an exterior daylight scene.

Max 9 has has a number of signicant speed increases.

When you open the modifier list and try to use the scroll wheel, the menu doesn't scroll correctly, it flickers.

How to use MySQL with 3D Studio Max