About the Render Quality Setting

Quality Setting options on the Rendering dialog allow you to specify the desired quality for the rendered image.

To present a design to clients, you typically want a high quality rendered image. However, high quality rendered images can be slow to generate. For testing purposes, you may want to generate a draft quality image quickly. Specify the Quality Setting option on the Rendering dialog.

Quality Relative Render Speed NVIDIA mental ray Autodesk Raytracer
Draft Fastest Render as quickly as possible to get a general idea of the rendered image. The image contains many artifacts (small inaccuracies or imperfections in the rendered image). Render as quickly as possible to produce a preview image. Lighting and materials are approximated and shadows lack details.
Low Fast Render quickly with a better level of quality and several artifacts. Not available.
Medium Medium Render with a quality that is usually satisfactory for presentations, with few artifacts. Render quickly to produce a preview image to get an overall impression of the model. Rough and semi-rough materials are approximated. This setting works best with exterior scenes without complex lighting or materials.
High Slow Render with high quality that is satisfactory for most presentations, with very few artifacts. This render quality requires a long time to produce. Rendering takes longer than Medium quality. Lighting and materials are more accurate, especially specular (metallic-type) materials. Soft shadows and reflections are rendered with high quality. This setting works best with Interior and exterior scenes that have simple lighting.
Best Slowest Render with very high quality and a minimum of artifacts. This render quality requires the most time to produce. Renders with high lighting and material accuracy. Soft shadows and soft reflections from semi-rough materials are rendered with a high quality level. This render quality is especially effective with complex lighting environments and requires the most time to produce.
Custom Varies Use the settings specified in the Render Quality Settings dialog. Render speed depends on the custom settings. (To edit the custom render quality settings, select Edit in the Setting drop-down.) Use the settings specified in the Render Quality Settings dialog. Render speed depends on the custom settings. (To edit the custom render quality settings, select Edit in the Setting drop-down.)