Aperture 3 - which machine to make it snappy?

[Vel]

I'm running an i5 imac which chews the heck out of anything it wants to but it keeps tripping up on aperture 3. Very slow to respond. 100% of 8gb RAM used. 60c + Heat build up. 300+% processor power just looking at an image. Although this seems to have stopped when the new update was installed. It seems to be running fast and cool. I think the last patch was a duffer.

I'm scared to install it on the Macbook as that struggles with photoshop a little bit so who knows what it would do if it had to run aperture.

Trust me (I have the same MB) it is painfully slow when using A3 even just to browse pics etc.

I have however purchased 4GB of RAM hoping this will help, so once I receive the RAM I'll be sure to let you know how it performs. Also CS5 with the stock 2GB RAM runs slow as well,

Vel

 

[SOLLERBOY]

Trust me (I have the same MB) it is painfully slow when using A3 even just to browse pics etc.

I have however purchased 4GB of RAM hoping this will help, so once I receive the RAM I'll be sure to let you know how it performs. Also CS5 with the stock 2GB RAM runs slow as well,

Vel

thanks for the heads up. Could you also let me know how much faster the system runs in general with the 4gbs? The system is running quite slow and can really feel the difference between it and the imac. Thanks.

 

[CrackedButter]

I was running Aperture 3 on a Macbook Pro 15" 2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo with 4gb of memory. It was brutal with 3.0. But after 3.0.1 it ran pretty slick. I had no problems with it. The trick to Aperture is to keep your library small. I create a new Aperture library for every new shoot I do. I keep a generic one for shots that really aren't worth making a new library for. Never let your Aperture library get over 1000 photos. It will run ridiculously slow on pretty much any machine. I'm picking up a new 27" i7 iMac tonight, so that should really give it a boost. But yeah, really, the trick with Aperture is smaller libraries. It's somewhat of an inconvenience to have them separated, and sort of defeats the purpose of photo management, but you can search across Aperture libraries with spotlight, so it's not too hard to look for a photo.

I'm going to try this thanks.

 

[Vel]

thanks for the heads up. Could you also let me know how much faster the system runs in general with the 4gbs? The system is running quite slow and can really feel the difference between it and the imac. Thanks.

Yeah I agree, everything seemed to be running fine up until recently, as I used to run CS4 MC without much lag at all for minor projects at work. I also used to use A2 a lot (my library is currently ~£100GB) and it used to work without any issues at all, so I'm definately hoping the additional RAM will speed the system up dramatically, as I don't really fancy forking out on an SSD to improve speed even further,

Vel

 

[Vel]

Yeah I agree, everything seemed to be running fine up until recently, as I used to run CS4 MC without much lag at all for minor projects at work. I also used to use A2 a lot (my library is currently ~£100GB) and it used to work without any issues at all, so I'm definately hoping the additional RAM will speed the system up dramatically, as I don't really fancy forking out on an SSD to improve speed even further,

Vel

My RAM arrived yesterday, and I must say Aperture is running a lot smoother and I'm no longer put off editing my photo's, also there has been a major performance increase in CS5 MC which also always a good thing and the system is running generally faster, my mac is once again a pleasure to use

Vel

 

[kxfrog]

Aperture works fine on my Mac Pro, 12 GB RAM 2.66 GHz Quad 09. Everything is fast and Photoshop works nicely as well for my T1i raw files (15 MP)

 

[sth]

Never let your Aperture library get over 1000 photos. It will run ridiculously slow on pretty much any machine.

My Aperture library consists of over 8000 RAW files and weights more than 130gb. Everything is very snappy, even with Aperture 3.
On my old C2D MBP, the same library was quick to manage and navigate but adjustments were painfully slow (everything was fine back in Aperture 2, though)

Maybe Aperture 3 uses OpenCL for realtime adjustments (which the old X1600 doesn't support).

 

[blackmtn]

..snip
Maybe Aperture 3 uses OpenCL for realtime adjustments (which the old X1600 doesn't support).

Maybe that explains why I have terrible graphical glitches with my x1600 too.

I got into an Apple retail store last week (hard to come by in northern BC, was in Vancouver) and spent a couple hours in there trying different comps. Even the comps with the 9400m were better than my x1600 (which isn't the case on some games I've played). Though it was better, I'm looking for a substantial upgrade, so no Mac Mini - it didn't feel much faster than my current computer.

AP3 was noticeably faster on the comps with dedicated graphics. Didn't see a speed difference between the stock i7 iMac or the quad-core Mac Pro. Surprisingly, I could probably live with the MacBook Pro i7 too, especially with that nice matte screen. After playing with the 27" for a while though, I know I can't buy it as the glossy screen drove me crazy.

So it looks like it's Mac Pro or bust! Hurry up with the 2010's Apple. (Or put an anti-glare BTO on the iMac! Pretty please!)

 

[The Mad Kiwi]

After playing with the 27" for a while though, I know I can't buy it as the glossy screen drove me crazy.

So it looks like it's Mac Pro or bust! Hurry up with the 2010's Apple. (Or put an anti-glare BTO on the iMac! Pretty please!)

It's not so bad in a normally lit room, those Apple stores are lit up like a Christmas trees. Doesn't do the glossy screen any justice.

 

[HBOC]

My 2.5GHZ handles my Aperture 3 library fine. I don't have 8K RAW files imported yet, but more like 600-1000. I will see how it will run when i add more. I don't know if this even affects the performance, but i have my iTunes running (92GB, all music) when i am PP'ing in A3.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

As one of the above poster, I too have a Mac Pro, 2.93ghz quad-core, 6gb ram with 4870 gfx card, Snow Leopard on a 30" screen, it runs superb. On my 08' 2.4 Penry 4gb ram MBP running Leopard, it is definitely slower, such as a 2-3 second "loading" time when I switch from one photo to the next. Nik software plugins are slower as well, but still acceptable.

 

[Marksmith29]

I5?

Did you consider the i5? That 17" is huge... What camera are you using? I've got a 5d mkii and need a new MacBook.

I am running Aperture 3 on my 17" i7. It runs much better than my last MBP which was a 13" C2D with the 9400m chipset.

 

[Marksmith29]

I5 MacBook for 5dmkii, ps5, aperture 3?

I currently have an early 2008 MacBook pro 2.5 core duo with 512 ram and 4gb ram using ps5, aperture 3 and the raw files from a 5dmkii.

Up until one month ago, My 10mp images using A2 were pretty snappy. Of course, that was a 25mb psd, not a 125mb psd x3 pics at a time thanks to the mkiii.

When i got the new 21mp camera, my workflow just ended. It takes 10 minutes to open an image- I can't sustain profitability as a photographer. Bu

The portability of the i5.... Nice. Fast enough? I7? iMac? I don't want to spend $2k and eat it again. The applestore guys in town- while having cool hair and all- don't have a clue.

I've wondered if this is an Aperture 3 problem- maybe LR would help. Any input- Greatly appreciated!

Mac Pro (2009) 2.93Ghz Quad, 6GB RAM & 4870 GPU. Aperture 3 is working nicely with my 5DII and 1DIII files without any slowdown that I can notice. Certainly happy with the performance, though I may upgrade to 12GB RAM in the future (mainly for CS5...).

On the secondary machine, which is a late 2008 Unibody 2.53Ghz, 4GB RAM, 9600GT/9400M I've noticed it is definitely slower - but still usable. I wouldn't want to do my primary edits on it though.

 

[sth]

A new one will be a bit faster but I'm not sure if that's the problem. It simply shouldn't be that slow on your machine.

When things get slow while editing, could you fire up Activity Monitor and check the amount of swap used in the "Memory" tab?

I also suggest running Aperture 3 in 32bit mode if you "only" have 4gb RAM.

If you don't want to spend money on a new computer, I would suggest upgrading to a faster hard-drive and 8gb RAM.

 

[Puqq]

I am using the trial as well and it is plenty fast with a 2.53ghz and 4gb ram

It's working fine with 5D RAW files on my MBP 13 2.4/4gb/320M (base model). It is not perfectly snappy, but very close to it.

 

[peskaa]

I currently have an early 2008 MacBook pro 2.5 core duo with 512 ram and 4gb ram using ps5, aperture 3 and the raw files from a 5dmkii.

Up until one month ago, My 10mp images using A2 were pretty snappy. Of course, that was a 25mb psd, not a 125mb psd x3 pics at a time thanks to the mkiii.

When i got the new 21mp camera, my workflow just ended. It takes 10 minutes to open an image- I can't sustain profitability as a photographer. Bu

The portability of the i5.... Nice. Fast enough? I7? iMac? I don't want to spend $2k and eat it again. The applestore guys in town- while having cool hair and all- don't have a clue.

I've wondered if this is an Aperture 3 problem- maybe LR would help. Any input- Greatly appreciated!

I'd personally buy an i5 iMac in your case. The iMacs are faster than the laptops by a decent amount, and Aperture 3 when combined with the 5D Mark II needs as much as you can throw at it. You can get to 8GB of RAM very cheaply thanks to the four slots as well.

Sell the 2008 MacBook Pro!

 

[blackmtn]

I currently have an early 2008 MacBook pro 2.5 core duo with 512 ram and 4gb ram using ps5, aperture 3 and the raw files from a 5dmkii.

Up until one month ago, My 10mp images using A2 were pretty snappy. Of course, that was a 25mb psd, not a 125mb psd x3 pics at a time thanks to the mkiii.

When i got the new 21mp camera, my workflow just ended. It takes 10 minutes to open an image- I can't sustain profitability as a photographer. Bu

The portability of the i5.... Nice. Fast enough? I7? iMac? I don't want to spend $2k and eat it again. The applestore guys in town- while having cool hair and all- don't have a clue.

I've wondered if this is an Aperture 3 problem- maybe LR would help. Any input- Greatly appreciated!

When I was playing with all of the difference Macs at the Apple Store, I noticed that most of the files in the library (and in particular the ones I was playing with) were RAW files from a 1Ds and were 21mp. The only two computers AP3 was snappy on for those files were the i7 iMac (I didn't try the i5) and the 2.66 Quad Mac Pro. The i7 MBP was still useable, but not snappy (to me).

 

[Grimace]

I can get 1Ds MkIII and 5DII RAW files to be [almost] snappy even on a MacBook Air -although I do most of my heavy lifting on a Mac Pro. More RAM always helps, and Aperture v.3 does seem to use far more cores than in v.2

General Tips:

1. Make sure that you allow all of the files in the Library to completely render the previews (this takes a long time when you create a new Library or import a ton of new photos).
2. Limit the preview size (that shares with iTunes, etc.) - or don't use them at all.
3. Use multiple libraries, when possible. Separating work from play, etc. helps keep libraries from getting too big and slowing down the system (10,000+ images)
4. Sometimes, if the particular photo takes a while to load (spinning "loading" message) -- use the arrow key to go backwards or forward to another photo - and then come right back. Often, that gets it to load right away.

 

[andalusia]

Although, I do find it surprising that my friend 4GB DDR3 RAM is able to load stuffs faster or about the same time as my 6GB DDR2 RAM. Is the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is so significant?

It's not totally the fact that DDR3 is 400Mhz faster, there's also the fact that he will have 2x2GB of memory which means they can run in dual channel mode (they work better together) whereas you will have 1x4GB and 1x2GB modules, which cannot run in dual channel mode, so the increase in total GB doesn't make AS much of a difference. Shame they don't do 3GB memory modules.

 

[GregPQ]

I had a lot of respect for the resource requirements of Nikon NX View and even Elements on my ASUS netbook.

Now that I have a new MBP (see Signature), I'm assuming I'd have no problems running Aperture 3. My D60 puts out RAW files in the 8-9MB range.

My MBP is so fast now, before I install any software! I don't want to slow it down....

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Grimace]

I had a lot of respect for the resource requirements of Nikon NX View and even Elements on my ASUS netbook.

Now that I have a new MBP (see Signature), I'm assuming I'd have no problems running Aperture 3. My D60 puts out RAW files in the 8-9MB range.

My MBP is so fast now, before I install any software! I don't want to slow it down....

Thanks,
Greg

8-9MB RAW files won't be problematic at all. It's the 21+MP images on some cameras (and in large quantities) that can cause Aperture to slow down a bit.

 

[RebootD]

Best way to get Aperture to run faster is to Install Lightroom 2

 

[Binford]

slow

ap3 is struggling on my 2 year old mac pro

 

[lienpaul]

My Mac Pro1,1 was slow with four GB of RAM and Aperture 3. After an upgrade to 8 GB, Aperture works quite well, but Aperture is using about 4.5 GB most of the time.