IPhoto Performance issues at 5,000 photos, /15Gb

Question

My name is Mike and we have a 17” flat-panel iMac – 800MHz G4. We have an 80Gb hard drive with 20Gb still free. iPhoto takes ~ 15Gb with a “mere” 5,000 photos, ~ 2,000 of which are from the 4 megapixel digital camera (2-3Mb per pic).
I have experienced severe performance issues in the past few months as we approached and surpassed 5,000 photos (I almost exclusively work with only iPhoto running). First-tier apple 800-support suggests that I need more memory than the current 512k. Process Viewer shows that iPhoto consumes from 10-90% of CPU cycles and usually 40-55% memory, with very infrequent “spikes” to 66.7%. (only Process Viewer and iPhoto are running.) iPhoto consumes ~ 33-37% of memory when “just sitting there” – when it’s open and “doing nothing else”… I’m just moving the mouse on the screen to keep the screen saver from kicking in.
Does anybody agree with the assessment that we just need more memory? If it works, and performance improves, do I have reason to believe that we are going to max out ~ 10,000 photos (twice the memory leads to almost twice the pix before performance degrades (drive size notwithstanding)?
Also, if more memory is the solution, then what about the machine prevents memory consumption over 66.7%? I’d expect the spikes to be closer to 80% or 90%.
Do newer iMacs have similar issues?
What is the recommended size of the 25,000 pictures Apple notes as the amount all our iPods should be able to hold? If the photos are ~ 2.5Mb apiece (4 megapixels have been “standard” since 25,000 was first mentioned, and is arguably “small” compared to the newer 5 & 6+ megapixel cameras flooding the stores today), 25,000 would consume ~ 62.5 Gb by my math – larger than all iPods.
On a related note, are iMacs similar to other machines, where their overall performance, iPhoto and otherwise, degrade as drive consumption approaches and surpasses 80% or 90%?
The Apple Store personnel agreed to help me test and install the memory… I will just be “stuck with the memory” whether or not it works, and I’d like to avoid any unnecessary purchased.
Any and all help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
P.S. If you are willing, I'd prefer to discuss your insights on the phone. If you're willing, we can trade phone numbers via e-mail first. Mine is [email protected].

Answer 1

Hi Michael,
I have the same computer, same ram, 26 gigs free.
I have a 3,000 image library at 3 gigs in size.
I use a Canon camera which does not make larger Makernotes in the EXIF data.
If you want to find out more about the large Makernote problem, visit this thread
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.68b4c129
-Will more memory help speed iPhoto up. It sure will and many have noted that it has.
-the images are converted to a smaller size before they are synced to the iPod.
-There are steps you can take to speed up scrolling in the iPhoto Library.
do not use shadows
do not use outlines
use white for background
view by rolls and keep the rolls closed
when viewing images keep them around 5 or less across in the rows
choose not to "show photo count for albums"
Since your images are quite large it is also advisable to make multiple libraries. Smaller libraries will load and work faster. Use the Option key when launching iPhoto to create and switch between libraries.
You can also use iPhoto Library Manager or iPhoto Buddy to manage your libraries.
iPhoto Library Manager
iPhoto Library Manager documentation
this page will show you everything you can do with iPhoto Library Manager.
You can also try iPhoto Buddy
You should have a t 15% free space on your hard drive. Things get slow after that.
@}-}-- Lori