to me as well...

Solutions:

 - using procedural colors/textures instead of maps

 - re-using the maps over multiple objects

 - shrinking map sizes.

Note: a texturemap needs about twice as much pixels (in its visible area) as shown in the render result. With your vast amount of objects, each one only can take a small portion of the render image, and hence won't need a large texture. It's some work, but a real saver.

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Usually I'm wrong. But to be effective and efficient, I don't need to be correct or accurate.

visit www.aRtBeeWeb.nl (works) or Missing Manuals (tutorials & reviews) - both need an update though