Index: t3lib/tree/pagetree/class.t3lib_tree_pagetree_dataprovider.php
===================================================================
--- t3lib/tree/pagetree/class.t3lib_tree_pagetree_dataprovider.php	(revision 10261)
+++ t3lib/tree/pagetree/class.t3lib_tree_pagetree_dataprovider.php	(revision )
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 	 *
 	 * @var int
 	 */
-	protected $nodeLimit = 500;
+	protected $nodeLimit = 0;
 
 	/**
 	 * Current amount of nodes
@@ -56,8 +56,15 @@
 
 	/**
 	 * Constructor
+	 *
+	 * @param int $nodeLimit (optional)
 	 */
-	public function __construct() {
+	public function __construct($nodeLimit = NULL) {
+		if ($nodeLimit === NULL) {
+			$nodeLimit = $GLOBALS['BE']['pageTree']['preloadLimit'];
+		}
+		$this->nodeLimit = abs(intval($nodeLimit));
+
 		$this->hiddenRecords = t3lib_div::trimExplode(
 			',',
 			$GLOBALS['BE_USER']->getTSConfigVal('options.hideRecords.pages')
Index: t3lib/config_default.php
===================================================================
--- t3lib/config_default.php	(revision 10272)
+++ t3lib/config_default.php	(revision )
@@ -215,6 +215,9 @@
 		'maxFileSize' => '10240',				// Integer: If set this is the max filesize in KB's for file operations in the backend. Can be overridden through $TCA per table field separately.
 		'forceCharset' => '-1',					// String: Normally the charset of the backend users language selection is used. If you set this value to a charset found in t3lib/csconvtbl/ (or "utf-8") the backend (and database) will ALWAYS use this charset. Always use a lowercase value. NOTICE: This option is deprecated since TYPO3 4.5, and will be removed in 4.7. Please use proper tools to set your installation to native UTF-8.
 		'installToolPassword' => '',			// String: This is the md5-hashed password for the Install Tool. Set this to '' and access will be totally denied. PLEASE consider to externally password protect the typo3/install/ folder, eg. with a .htaccess file.
+		'pageTree' => array(
+			'preloadLimit' => 50,				// Integer: Count of pages that will be preloaded in pagetree. Big amount makes collapsing new branches faster but requires more SQL queries.
+		),
 		'defaultUserTSconfig' => 'options.enableBookmarks=1
 			options.enableShowPalettes=1
 			options.file_list.enableDisplayBigControlPanel=selectable