AJLynn

Almost any render engine has some good images made by a few guys who are kickass at it, but there are good ones and bad ones in terms of the advanced capabilities available and ease of use for beginning to intermediate users. Povray is not one of the good ones in either category.

If you have Max and don't want to spend more money, look no further than mental ray, which you've already paid for. Heck, even if you do want to spend more money, try mental ray first and maybe you end up spending the money upgrading your office coffee equipment.