Hardware and handling very large databases

[roger]

My database is now around 32000 references and is still growing, and though Bookends basically works very well on both my iMac and Macbook, there are some operations that are frustratingly slow. Moving from one Group to "All", or to a group that contains many references, can take as much as 10 seconds, and changing the sort order can also take several seconds. This is OK except that when you do it several times in a row, trying to locate something, the time taken can be annoying. That set me wondering how to speed things up.

I have tried changing the cache size, and it is currently on 30MBm but that does not seem to make a very big difference. I note the warning in an earlier post that a very big cache can slow things down.

Option 2 is reorganising splitting the database, which I could do, and may do anyway, though I will have to work out a system to make sure that I can easily bring back references relegated to the "not needed" database into the "current project" database if I need them. I might post another post about how to do this, so I can make sure I do it the optimal way.

But this made me wonder whether a newer iMac would help, which led me to the question in the header. How much difference would upgrading from my mid-2011 iMac (upgraded to an SSD and 32GB RAM) to a 2020 iMac. From what I have read, the SSD would be 4 or 5 times as fast; the processor would be a similar clock speed, though more cores and 10th generation instead of 2nd; and it could run Mojave or Catalina instead of High Sierra. Would it make a difference to how Bookends runs? What makes me pause is that, although I think it is a bit faster, I am not convinced that my 2016 model Macbook is that much better, despite being a faster machine

I would not upgrade the machine just for this, but there are other reasons to consider upgrading a model that is nearly ten years old, but it would be useful to know what to expect.

[Jon]

I'd probably bump the cache to 50 MB or so. Then quit and relaunch. Setting the best size is a matter of trial and error, so you might experiment a bit.

I can't comment on the improvements a new Mac might bring, but if you're near an open Apple Store it's possible that they'd let you install Bookends on a demo Mac and try it there. You could ask, anyway.

Jon
Sonny Software

[roger]

Thanks. That idea of the Apple store had come to mind, but Covid=19 risks mean it is not a sensible strategy for me. I have not been into buildings other than home and medical centres since March. I will try more experimenting with the cache.