Sorted List of Render Methods

[Caid]

Does anyone know if there is a list of render methods available that is sorted by rendering speed (from the shortest render time to longest render time) including which options and/or features of each render method affect the rendering time?

Also, is there a list available that shows other items that affect render speed (i.e. does it take longer to render a shaft that's been drawn using the the sweep tool or does it take longer to render a circle that's been extruded to create the shaft?; are items outside the viewport crop still rendered thus eating up CPU time?; does the use of symbols increase or decrease the render time?; etc.)

My goal is to use a more anticipatory method of setting up sheet layer viewports in which to maximize quality while limiting the render time. Not all of my viewports need to be van Goghs. But instead of creating a viewport as a wire-frame and then taking time to tweak it UP to an acceptable level of quality, there must be a set of questions that I can ask myself during viewport creation (and even during the modeling stage) that will help me create the most efficient viewport to fit the bill. (I realize that there are more variables than can be listed in any single list, but a generalized list must be available somewhere).

Any direction is much appreciated.

[grant_PD]

As far as I know...no. Here are a few observations I've made in my time:

OpenGL is all dependent on your graphics processor.

A sure fire way to slow down your rendering time is to have a light with the distance falloff set to "none".

Shadow mapping, while a beautiful thing, does not take advantage of multiple threads. Last time I checked.

Neither does Radiosity.

More reflections, more recursions= slower.

Symbols=faster.

Polylines are faster than polygons.

Shadows=alower.

As far as the rest of the rendering modes (hidden line, artistic, etc...) I have no idea what really determines their speed.

[bc]

For some reason the existence of stair objects really bogs down my final rendering but here I am still in the dinosaur of 12.5.3. If I make them invisible or model them from scratch all is acceptable.