GiST index performance

I have been doing some queries that are best answered with GiST indexes,
however I have found that their performance is a little lacking. I thought
I would do a direct comparison on a level playing field. Here are two
EXPLAIN ANALYSE results for the same query, with two different indexes.
The two indexes are identical except that one is btree and the other GiST.

Here is the query:

SELECT *
FROM
     location l1,
     location l2,
     gene,
     primer
WHERE
         l1.subjectid <> l2.subjectid
     AND l1.objectid = l2.objectid
     AND l1.subjectid = gene.id
     AND l2.subjectid = primer.id
     AND l2.intermine_start <= l1.intermine_start
     AND l2.intermine_end >= l1.intermine_start

Here is the btree index:

CREATE INDEX location_object_start ON location (objectid, intermine_start);

QUERY PLAN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Hash Join
    (cost=26213.16..135980894.76 rows=3155740824 width=484)
    (actual time=2799.260..14256.588 rows=2758 loops=1)
    Hash Cond: (l1.subjectid = gene.id)
    ->  Nested Loop
          (cost=0.00..4364485.01 rows=8891802645 width=324)
          (actual time=9.748..10418.807 rows=390695 loops=1)
          Join Filter: (l1.subjectid <> l2.subjectid)
          ->  Nested Loop
                (cost=0.00..446862.58 rows=572239 width=259)
                (actual time=9.720..4226.117 rows=211880 loops=1)
                ->  Seq Scan on primer
                      (cost=0.00..15358.80 rows=211880 width=194)
                      (actual time=9.678..579.877 rows=211880 loops=1)
                ->  Index Scan using location__key_all on location l2
                      (cost=0.00..2.00 rows=3 width=65)
                      (actual time=0.004..0.007 rows=1 loops=211880)
                      Index Cond: (l2.subjectid = primer.id)
          ->  Index Scan using location_object_start on location l1
                (cost=0.00..3.85 rows=150 width=65)
                (actual time=0.005..0.012 rows=3 loops=211880)
                Index Cond: ((l1.objectid = l2.objectid) AND (l2.intermine_start <= l1.intermine_start) AND
(l2.intermine_end>= l1.intermine_start)) 
    ->  Hash
          (cost=20496.96..20496.96 rows=457296 width=160)
          (actual time=2788.698..2788.698 rows=457296 loops=1)
          ->  Seq Scan on gene
                (cost=0.00..20496.96 rows=457296 width=160)
                (actual time=0.038..1420.604 rows=457296 loops=1)
  Total runtime: 14263.846 ms
(13 rows)


Here is the GiST index:

CREATE INDEX location_object_start_gist ON location USING gist (objectid, intermine_start);

QUERY PLAN
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Hash Join
    (cost=26213.16..136159960.32 rows=3155740824 width=484)
    (actual time=2576.109..2300486.267 rows=2758 loops=1)
    Hash Cond: (l1.subjectid = gene.id)
    ->  Nested Loop
          (cost=0.00..4543550.56 rows=8891802645 width=324)
          (actual time=366.121..2296668.740 rows=390695 loops=1)
          Join Filter: (l1.subjectid <> l2.subjectid)
          ->  Nested Loop
                (cost=0.00..446862.58 rows=572239 width=259)
                (actual time=362.774..13423.443 rows=211880 loops=1)
                ->  Seq Scan on primer
                      (cost=0.00..15358.80 rows=211880 width=194)
                      (actual time=319.559..1296.907 rows=211880 loops=1)
                ->  Index Scan using location__key_all on location l2
                      (cost=0.00..2.00 rows=3 width=65)
                      (actual time=0.041..0.045 rows=1 loops=211880)
                      Index Cond: (l2.subjectid = primer.id)
          ->  Index Scan using location_object_start_gist on location l1
                (cost=0.00..4.16 rows=150 width=65)
                (actual time=3.354..10.757 rows=3 loops=211880)
                Index Cond: ((l1.objectid = l2.objectid) AND (l2.intermine_start <= l1.intermine_start) AND
(l2.intermine_end>= l1.intermine_start)) 
    ->  Hash
          (cost=20496.96..20496.96 rows=457296 width=160)
          (actual time=2157.914..2157.914 rows=457296 loops=1)
          ->  Seq Scan on gene
                (cost=0.00..20496.96 rows=457296 width=160)
                (actual time=3.904..1206.907 rows=457296 loops=1)
  Total runtime: 2300510.674 ms
(13 rows)

The query plans are identical except in the type of index used, but there
is a factor of a few hundred in execute time. Is this the kind of factor
that would be expected, or is there something amiss? Is this seen as
something that might be improved in the future?

Matthew

--
 "We have always been quite clear that Win95 and Win98 are not the systems to
 use if you are in a hostile security environment." "We absolutely do recognize
 that the Internet is a hostile environment." Paul Leach <paulle@microsoft.com>