Turn everything else off.. don't have the usual windows 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 processes running in the background.
define 'how long'; and what CPU do you have ?. I have a quad core and Flick takes 30mins and upwards on mine
some benchmarks? p3 @600MHz 2 hour film approx 6-8 hours depending on number of pixels. athlon 1.6GHz 3-4 hours. ahlon64 @2.4GHz1 1 1/2 hours. 60 node cluster (28.7Tflops) 4-5 mins on a good day Lesson?..the more processing power you throw at it the faster it is.