Some time ago I researched compression in various systems, ranging from software archivers (like WinRAR, WinZip etc.) to database solutions (like Oracle data compression).
Then I figured there is one more type of compression that I did not touch yet - NTFS compression. People on the net say it’s pretty much useless, still I decided to give it a try. And here is what I came up with:
| Folder name | Uncompressed size, MB | Compressed size, MB | Space savings, MB | Space savings, % | Proof/screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor (Personal) | 11820 | 10130 | 1690 | 14.3 |  |
| MATLAB | 650 | 486 | 164 | 25 |  |
| Steam | 71502 | 61876 | 9626 | 13.5 |  |
As you can see, there is not much of space savings, yes there is some. Performance wise, I did not notice this change at all. Where this gain would be more noticable is on an SSD, price wise. With a current cost of ~2$/GB, you can calculate some real dollars to be saved.
Not much? What if you maxed out your current SSD? You either buy a new one, or use compression and delay the purchase for 2-3-6 months. With how technology keeps evolving, this is what can provide you with even greater savings.
So the verdict is: NTFS compression is worth it, if you absolutely need that 15% of extra space.
