Most important part, which GPU you have?
Which version of 3DSMax you are using?
I never had any problem with it.
384 is nothing for 3d stuido max.
Yesterday i rendered a 3 minute clip with these effects :
"Bloom"
"Antialiasing"
"Blend"
& it took 57 minutes to render.
My Specs are :
P4 3 GHz HT
2 GB DDRII RAM
GeForce 6800 GT
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Its a professional tool and needs a very high end system to work correctly.