diff --git a/docs/manual.rst b/docs/manual.rst
index faa590c09..25fb6f541 100644
--- a/docs/manual.rst
+++ b/docs/manual.rst
@@ -3707,6 +3707,11 @@ this limit, and once the size hits the limit, peers are no longer
 added to the list. If this limit is set to 0, there is no limit on
 how many peers we'll keep in the peer list.
 
+``max_paused_peerlist_size`` is the max peer list size used for torrents
+that are paused. This default to the same as ``max_peerlist_size``, but
+can be used to save memory for paused torrents, since it's not as
+important for them to keep a large peer list.
+
 ``min_announce_interval`` is the minimum allowed announce interval
 for a tracker. This is specified in seconds, defaults to 5 minutes and
 is used as a sanity check on what is returned from a tracker. It
diff --git a/examples/client_test.cpp b/examples/client_test.cpp
index e1694ec42..9cb7a2ccc 100644
--- a/examples/client_test.cpp
+++ b/examples/client_test.cpp
@@ -754,7 +754,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
 	}
 
 	using namespace libtorrent;
-	session_settings settings;
+	session_settings settings = min_memory_usage();
 	proxy_settings ps;
 
 	settings.user_agent = "client_test/" LIBTORRENT_VERSION;
diff --git a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
index 97a037887..2bdc6857a 100644
--- a/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
+++ b/include/libtorrent/session_settings.hpp
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 			, auto_scrape_interval(1800)
 			, auto_scrape_min_interval(300)
 			, max_peerlist_size(8000)
+			, max_paused_peerlist_size(8000)
 			, min_announce_interval(5 * 60)
 			, prioritize_partial_pieces(false)
 			, auto_manage_startup(120)
@@ -483,6 +484,10 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		// about, not necessarily connected to.
 		int max_peerlist_size;
 
+		// when a torrent is paused, this is the max peer
+		// list size that's used
+		int max_paused_peerlist_size;
+
 		// any announce intervals reported from a tracker
 		// that is lower than this, will be clamped to this
 		// value. It's specified in seconds
diff --git a/src/policy.cpp b/src/policy.cpp
index a5a4551c2..ff4190899 100644
--- a/src/policy.cpp
+++ b/src/policy.cpp
@@ -429,17 +429,18 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		return pe.connection == 0
 			&& pe.last_connected != 0
 			&& !pe.banned
-			&& !is_connect_candidate(pe, m_finished)
-			&& m_peers.size() >= m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size * 0.95
-			&& m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size > 0;
+			&& !is_connect_candidate(pe, m_finished);
 	}
 
 	void policy::erase_peers()
 	{
 		INVARIANT_CHECK;
 
-		if (m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size == 0
-			|| m_peers.empty()) return;
+		int max_peerlist_size = m_torrent->is_paused()
+			?m_torrent->settings().max_paused_peerlist_size
+			:m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size;
+
+		if (max_peerlist_size == 0 || m_peers.empty()) return;
 
 		int erase_candidate = -1;
 
@@ -450,7 +451,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		for (int iterations = (std::min)(int(m_peers.size()), 300);
 			iterations > 0; --iterations)
 		{
-			if (m_peers.size() < m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size * 0.95)
+			if (m_peers.size() < max_peerlist_size * 0.95)
 				break;
 
 			if (round_robin == m_peers.size()) round_robin = 0;
@@ -525,6 +526,10 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		bool pinged = false;
 #endif
 
+		int max_peerlist_size = m_torrent->is_paused()
+			?m_torrent->settings().max_paused_peerlist_size
+			:m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size;
+
 		for (int iterations = (std::min)(int(m_peers.size()), 300);
 			iterations > 0; --iterations)
 		{
@@ -549,8 +554,8 @@ namespace libtorrent
 			// if the number of peers is growing large
 			// we need to start weeding.
 
-			if (m_peers.size() >= m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size * 0.95
-				&& m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size > 0)
+			if (m_peers.size() >= max_peerlist_size * 0.95
+				&& max_peerlist_size > 0)
 			{
 				if (is_erase_candidate(pe, m_finished)
 					&& (erase_candidate == -1
@@ -663,6 +668,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		// override at a time
 		error_code ec;
 		TORRENT_ASSERT(c.remote() == c.get_socket()->remote_endpoint(ec) || ec);
+		TORRENT_ASSERT(!m_torrent->is_paused());
 
 		aux::session_impl& ses = m_torrent->session();
 		
@@ -895,6 +901,10 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		iterator iter;
 		peer* i = 0;
 
+		int max_peerlist_size = m_torrent->is_paused()
+			?m_torrent->settings().max_paused_peerlist_size
+			:m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size;
+
 		bool found = false;
 		if (m_torrent->settings().allow_multiple_connections_per_ip)
 		{
@@ -913,13 +923,13 @@ namespace libtorrent
 
 		if (!found)
 		{
-			if (m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size
-				&& int(m_peers.size()) >= m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size)
+			if (max_peerlist_size
+				&& int(m_peers.size()) >= max_peerlist_size)
 			{
 				if (src == peer_info::resume_data) return 0;
 
 				erase_peers();
-				if (int(m_peers.size()) >= m_torrent->settings().max_peerlist_size)
+				if (int(m_peers.size()) >= max_peerlist_size)
 					return 0;
 
 				// since some peers were removed, we need to
diff --git a/src/session.cpp b/src/session.cpp
index 3a867fdfd..9f44a41e9 100644
--- a/src/session.cpp
+++ b/src/session.cpp
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		set.close_redundant_connections = true;
 
 		set.max_peerlist_size = 500;
+		set.max_paused_peerlist_size = 50;
 
 		// udp trackers are cheaper to talk to
 		set.prefer_udp_trackers = true;
diff --git a/src/torrent.cpp b/src/torrent.cpp
index f7ec87e23..a5478a24c 100644
--- a/src/torrent.cpp
+++ b/src/torrent.cpp
@@ -4826,6 +4826,27 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		}
 #endif
 
+		m_time_scaler--;
+		if (m_time_scaler <= 0)
+		{
+			m_time_scaler = 10;
+
+			if (settings().max_sparse_regions > 0
+				&& m_picker
+				&& m_picker->sparse_regions() > settings().max_sparse_regions)
+			{
+				// we have too many sparse regions. Prioritize pieces
+				// that won't introduce new sparse regions
+				// prioritize pieces that will reduce the number of sparse
+				// regions even higher
+				int start = m_picker->cursor();
+				int end = m_picker->reverse_cursor();
+				for (int i = start; i < end; ++i)
+					update_sparse_piece_prio(i, start, end);
+			}
+			m_policy.pulse();
+		}
+
 		if (is_paused())
 		{
 			// let the stats fade out to 0
@@ -4940,27 +4961,6 @@ namespace libtorrent
 		m_total_uploaded += m_stat.last_payload_uploaded();
 		m_total_downloaded += m_stat.last_payload_downloaded();
 		m_stat.second_tick(tick_interval);
-
-		m_time_scaler--;
-		if (m_time_scaler <= 0)
-		{
-			m_time_scaler = 10;
-
-			if (settings().max_sparse_regions > 0
-				&& m_picker
-				&& m_picker->sparse_regions() > settings().max_sparse_regions)
-			{
-				// we have too many sparse regions. Prioritize pieces
-				// that won't introduce new sparse regions
-				// prioritize pieces that will reduce the number of sparse
-				// regions even higher
-				int start = m_picker->cursor();
-				int end = m_picker->reverse_cursor();
-				for (int i = start; i < end; ++i)
-					update_sparse_piece_prio(i, start, end);
-			}
-			m_policy.pulse();
-		}
 	}
 
 	void torrent::request_time_critical_pieces()