Regarding "Compress ISO"

silveruniverse · 07-06-2011, 07:11 AM #1

It was asked on another thread last year but there wasn't a response

(11-10-2010, 10:25 AM)hungry man Wrote: Will compressing hurt performance at all?

so... does compressing an ISO affect the performance of gameplay?

Solarsonic · 07-06-2011, 07:31 AM #2

well ive compressed all my isos like brawl, sonic colors and mario sunshine and e.t.c. i still get 100% so i doubt it decreases performance

silveruniverse · 07-06-2011, 08:02 AM #3

Since I rarely ever hit 100% I did my own tests to see for any minor changes

Using Current Laptop (see sig)
F-Zero, Grand Prix, Emerald Cup, Fire Field

Dolphin 7669
screen res: 1000x625 windowed
game paused at the exact moment the countdown to the race starts
same settings for both (standard with no audio output)

compressed: FPS 13-14, VPS 27-29, Speed 54-56
uncompressed: FPS 14-15, VPS 29-31, Speed 58-64

seems it does, but by a little

**Starscream** · 07-06-2011, 08:11 AM #4

That test doesn't mean anything. There could be any number of things that caused that slight increase.

**KHRZ** · 07-06-2011, 08:11 AM #5

I think a dev said it shouldn't hurt performance... theoreticly

silveruniverse · 07-06-2011, 08:21 AM #6

what other factors should be considered to make more accurate results? temperature? backround processes?

ironman120693 · 08-17-2012, 06:48 AM #7

I'm interested in this topic. I compressed most of my games so that I have more free space on my HDD, but I was wondering if compressing really does affect the performance. From what I've experienced, there is no change. Although, I think in one case I may have experienced a speed up. I think it would be great if someone took the time to use Gamebooster and have the same settings on a few different games(the correct settings for each game though), each with both compressed and uncompressed ISOs. I seriously doubt there is any impact on performance though. I don't feel like doing it myself either Tongue

**LordVador** · 08-17-2012, 06:55 AM #8

(08-17-2012, 06:48 AM)ironman120693 Wrote: I'm interested in this topic. I compressed most of my games so that I have more free space on my HDD, but I was wondering if compressing really does affect the performance. From what I've experienced, there is no change. Although, I think in one case I may have experienced a speed up. I think it would be great if someone took the time to use Gamebooster and have the same settings on a few different games(the correct settings for each game though), each with both compressed and uncompressed ISOs. I seriously doubt there is any impact on performance though. I don't feel like doing it myself either

Did you compress your games with .gcz format? I did and noticed no difference

**Axxer** · 08-18-2012, 02:43 AM #9

Compressing any file and using it compressed should have little to no effect in most cases. Dolphin doesn't access the ISO enough for it to matter. Load times are theoretically slower by a tad, but actual in-game FPS should be virtually the same, because games generally don't read from files during action or a scene. Usually all of that is loaded into memory before the scene takes place or, in the case of large fields, is loaded dynamically so that anything within a certain radius of the camera is in memory.

Therefore your FPS should vary so little as to be unnoticeable and inconclusive to any argument that it slows speed (usually).

If I'm wrong please correct me.

**Runo** · 08-18-2012, 01:43 PM **#10**

Afaik compressing shouldn't affect performance at all in any case, maybe loading times like Axxer said but I doubt it will be noticeable.