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The full version is not going to be any faster than the free version. The problem with 3D software is that the more objects you put in the scene, the more computing power it takes to render them in 3D. And the more realistic the models, the more power it takes to render each one.
I have used a program called Realtime Landscaping PRO which does 3D modeling and has a walkthrough feature. The problem is the same. Once you get many plant models into a scene, the software bogs down to the point where it becomes impractical to design with it. Their (partial) solution is to allow the user the option to hide objects that are in the scene. You can check and uncheck entire classes of models (such as plants) to show or hide them from the scene until you are finished with. The manual walkthrough feature becomes slow and jerky when there are a lot of models shown but you can also lay out a path for a camera to film a walkthrough video frame by frame and that plays back very smoothly.
The advantage of this software over Sketchup is that it uses what are called "smart objects." That is, you don't have to draw everything from scratch as you do with SketchUp. For example, if you want to build a house, you just draw the outline of it in the top-down view and a 3D house with a roof automatically pops up. From there you can change the roof material, add windows, doors, and other features. The downside is that it is not as flexible as Sketchup because it doesn't have as much capability for freeform drawing. But the company is developing a much more sophisticated version that will have many more smart models and also allow a much greater degree of flexibility in design.
Stuart
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