"A B" <gentosaker(at)gmail(dot)com> writes:
> I'm not sure what the size acctually is... But I can't imagine that it
> is 1,6 GB!!! I'd say I have 11MB of data in it...
Sounds like you've got a rather severe case of table and/or index bloat.
This is typically caused by not vacuuming often enough.
The easiest way to get the size back down is probably to dump and reload
the database. After that you need to look at your vacuuming practices.
> Will I see a general improvement in performance in 8.3.X over 8.1.11?
Probably so, if only because it has autovacuum turned on by default.
That's not really a substitute for careful administration practices,
but it helps.
regards, tom lane