aaarrrggghhh! great job, grip'! i remember someone posting that before, but i've never had a card new enough to duplicate the problem. you now know this means you're going to have to hang around to help the next person. (8
Just wanted to let you know I did have the same problem. Was trying everything to cure the slow rendering. Came across this post and when I changed the sky setting in regedit to "Blank" as recommended it now works beautifully. Can't thank you enough.