Time of Synthesis

I am just wondering how much does it take on average to synthesize a design using any synthesizer (e.g. Precision RTL).

Assume the design is a state machine with 3 states each containing just some arithmetic and assignment instructions.

Assume the PC is an average P4 2 GHz with 512 MB Ram.

How can I know if the synthesizer stopped responding or it is still working but needs more time?

Is it possible for big designs that it takes hours, or may be days as some simulations for other fields like RF or so?

Thanks in advance.

oshouman