Can i make Aperture run faster ?

Question

To help those struggling to understand why their computer is running Aperture slowly, let me add a few thoughts to help out. I've been using the application since 1.0, bought a G5 quad to run it (launched on same day) with the stock video card. My Photographic interest was Landscape and macro work in film (hobby) and been using digital since 94 and now turned Pro adding Portrats and Weddings to my interest.
How do i run Aperture at a decent speed ?
1. Invest in good hardware. In any of Apple's product line max-out the graphics card option (except perhaps expensive Quadro fx4500), max out CPU option then the RAM. Invest as much as possible in the non-upgradeable components. Over time you can add more ram, but don't underestimate the importance of RAM in OSX. Keep your boot/application and data drives below 70% capacity as above this they start to slow down.
2. Use the vaults and backup the library (don't forget any referenced images).
3. When editing images, don't whang the sliders freely left to right. Be a crafstman, use the number adjustment arrows, with the modifier keys for fine tunng SHIFT and ALT. This is faster.
4. If an image has a lot of spot'n'patches, do this first before any other adjustments (or untick their box in the HUD). Similarly for strighten, do this before H&S or exposure mods.
5. Switch off previews, for marginal improvements.
6. Don't use full-screen mode, its lovely, but with my awful graphic card it kills it when adjusting. Remove the projects window W and control bar D. Toggle the adjustments with I. Real estate is arranged better with the browser on LHS.
7. Try culling the rejects with the viewer off V and maximise the thumbnail size. Suprisingly fast and effective when only going for rejects.
8. After culling use the auto stack feature to reduce the number of images your viewing into 'like' shots. Helps when choosing your story for output.
9. Setup some presets for varying degrees of edge sharpen and White balance as this helps get you get in the vacinity of where you want the adjustment. eg. I have five increasing degrees of edge sharpening intensity and six white balance settings (daylight, cloudy, shade, flash, tungsten, flourescent) which gets me closer to a good WB faster than playing with multiple sliders.
10. Learn the keyboard shortcut.
11. Use Aperture feedback. If your unsatisfied with anything then tell apple as well as the forums. So far we have seen big improvements in Aperture, some were really alpha/beta issues but it is clear Apple is serious about investing in this young Application. I hope they invest in the pixel-pushing, local editing, masks and layers abilities, but do it true to an intuitave workflow platform that Aperture has become.
12. RTFM as well as buy a book - invest in your skills, become better, faster and ultimately more productive.
13. Don't believe in bad luck !
The reason for Aperture running sluggish when using specific adjustments is because i need to upgrade my video card. Fortunately, i can, but might invest in a MP for more storage.

Answer 1

If You go to the Aperture site page for basic requirements needed to run it, It will state a Powerbook in fairly basic design will run the Application.
And before I purchased Aperture, and as you can see I updated my RAM to 2 GB.
I ordered this laptop with the top line of all hardware possible.
So I could run also run a 20" screen.
And no, I didn't pack the 20" in my suitcase.
It's amazing how far you have to make sure people don't take one word and run with it.
Not ONLY Aperture, but DDP (Digital Photo Professional), as I hate when people only use abbreviations for everything, and the person trying to learn something is slammed out the door for even looking.
But both applications run pig azz slow. So much so, and I also use the Activity Monitor to keep watch over things in realtime.
When things run this slow to the point you can't see a live change in the view,
You don't learn much, and you can't complete a simple project.
Like one person suggested earlier, just tweak the image one mark at a time.
Well hey, we don't have 6 hours to make one adjustment.
The processor is running at 100% and never backs off till you kill the application.
Making the move from Canon G5, to a Canon 30D and a few thou in lenses, is about the biggest joke while in Europe. Yea, drag all this stuff you don't see to Europe, with 2 portable hard drives to keep the Mac hard drive happy.
It all adds up to roughly a $7000 dollar mistake.
The ads are a total farce. Get this, and do stuff beyond the norm.
Yea Right, like your going to bring a G5 tower in a suitcase.
Oh sure, I'll struggle with the software till get through with 20 images, and
what if you have 300?
Now, one question... Who's next , as far as an application that runs RAW images with no lag. With out all the BS.
Power Book G4-1.67-2GB, Bluetooth Mouse & Keys   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   20" screen for dual view.