This is another bag I have about some people who lambast the PT (not saying it doesn't deserve it mind).
Lots of the shots that people pick out as fake look CGI are largely physical models with some CGI elements in them.
Some of that goes down to the extreme cartoonish nature of some of those CGI elements that make the whole show look like a Playstation cut scene.
That's more a design thing than a technical thing.
Even when you have an interesting design (like the basic battledroids) they look delicate, diminutive and plastic which is where Lucas seems to want to go with them story wise but them renders them not menacing (ironically seeing as they debut in TPM) and reduces the emotional impact they can leave.
Early drawings had the same design scaled up so they were 8ft tall with a brushed steel look.
They were based on Jacob Epstein's Rock Drill which looks much more menacing and solid :
To some extent the PT needs it's ethos rejigged much more than it needs it's CGI replaced.