- Sep 3, 2016
- 1,940
- 3,823
TL;DR
Anyway, after testing I suggest compressing with both formats and upload the smaller file, since the result is not predictable. 7z seems overall better if set right.
My settings attached.
A combination of 4GB dictionary, solid archiving, saving identical files as references, long range search, exhaustive search may cause some archives smaller.
An example:
Sugoi-Translator-Toolkit-V6.0-Anniversary:
3.40GB (the dev compressed with RAR 5.X default settings)
2,58 GB 7z solid, 512MB dictionary, best
2,24 GB RAR 7.X with above mentioned options
For REN'PY games it give a lot less, RAR 7.X vs ZIP: 1.91GB vs 1.93GB
Inatari Tales - The corruption of the Village v0.3.1:
7z is better for some reason: 348MB vs 359MB
Crusader Kings III:
Folder size: 10,7 GB
7z 3,83 GB
rar 7.x 4,27 GB
ProjectPro2021Retail.img unpacked files
RAR 7.X 3,06 GB
7z 4,33 GB
Kirikiri and Unity games - it depends. However, 7z 768MB dictionary seems better than RAR 7.X 4GB dictionary.
Most important points:
1. Compression dictionary sizes larger than 1 GB are supported
for RAR archive format. Depending on the amount of physically
available memory, dictionary up to 64 GB can be selected.
Not power of 2 dictionary sizes can be specified for dictionaries
exceeding 4 GB. So we are not limited to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 series
and can use values like 5 GB or 22 GB.
Archives with dictionaries exceeding 4 GB can be unpacked only
by WinRAR 7.0 or newer.
Increasing the dictionary size can improve the compression ratio
for large files with distant repeated blocks, like virtual machine
disk images. It also can be efficient for sets of large similar files
in a solid archive, such as a collection of software ISO images
differing by version or localization.
4. Alternate search algorithm, optimized to locate longer and more distant
repeated data blocks, can be used when creating RAR archives.
It helps to improve the compression ratio and sometimes speed
for redundant data like big text files.
It increases memory usage and might reduce the compression speed
for some types of data. It can be turned on or off with
"Long range search" options in "Advanced compression parameters" dialog
or with -mcl[+|-] switch. If "Auto" option is selected, WinRAR applies
the long range search depending on the compression method, dictionary
size and other parameters.
This algorithm is required for dictionaries exceeding 4 GB
and turning it off is ignored for such dictionaries.
5. Much slower and more exhaustive repeated data search and compression
algorithm can be enabled with "Exhaustive search" option
in "Advanced compression parameters" dialog or with -mcx switch.
It might provide the additional compression gain for some types of
redundant data, but at much lower compression speed.
Long range search is needed to implement this mode efficiently,
so the exhaustive search option activates it automatically.
Both long range and exhaustive search option do not affect
the compatibility of created archives. So if dictionary size
is in 128 KB - 4 GB range, archives created with these search options
can be unpacked by all WinRAR versions beginning from 5.0.
Anyway, after testing I suggest compressing with both formats and upload the smaller file, since the result is not predictable. 7z seems overall better if set right.
My settings attached.
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A combination of 4GB dictionary, solid archiving, saving identical files as references, long range search, exhaustive search may cause some archives smaller.
An example:
Sugoi-Translator-Toolkit-V6.0-Anniversary:
3.40GB (the dev compressed with RAR 5.X default settings)
2,58 GB 7z solid, 512MB dictionary, best
2,24 GB RAR 7.X with above mentioned options
For REN'PY games it give a lot less, RAR 7.X vs ZIP: 1.91GB vs 1.93GB
Inatari Tales - The corruption of the Village v0.3.1:
7z is better for some reason: 348MB vs 359MB
Crusader Kings III:
Folder size: 10,7 GB
7z 3,83 GB
rar 7.x 4,27 GB
ProjectPro2021Retail.img unpacked files
RAR 7.X 3,06 GB
7z 4,33 GB
Kirikiri and Unity games - it depends. However, 7z 768MB dictionary seems better than RAR 7.X 4GB dictionary.
Most important points:
1. Compression dictionary sizes larger than 1 GB are supported
for RAR archive format. Depending on the amount of physically
available memory, dictionary up to 64 GB can be selected.
Not power of 2 dictionary sizes can be specified for dictionaries
exceeding 4 GB. So we are not limited to 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 series
and can use values like 5 GB or 22 GB.
Archives with dictionaries exceeding 4 GB can be unpacked only
by WinRAR 7.0 or newer.
Increasing the dictionary size can improve the compression ratio
for large files with distant repeated blocks, like virtual machine
disk images. It also can be efficient for sets of large similar files
in a solid archive, such as a collection of software ISO images
differing by version or localization.
4. Alternate search algorithm, optimized to locate longer and more distant
repeated data blocks, can be used when creating RAR archives.
It helps to improve the compression ratio and sometimes speed
for redundant data like big text files.
It increases memory usage and might reduce the compression speed
for some types of data. It can be turned on or off with
"Long range search" options in "Advanced compression parameters" dialog
or with -mcl[+|-] switch. If "Auto" option is selected, WinRAR applies
the long range search depending on the compression method, dictionary
size and other parameters.
This algorithm is required for dictionaries exceeding 4 GB
and turning it off is ignored for such dictionaries.
5. Much slower and more exhaustive repeated data search and compression
algorithm can be enabled with "Exhaustive search" option
in "Advanced compression parameters" dialog or with -mcx switch.
It might provide the additional compression gain for some types of
redundant data, but at much lower compression speed.
Long range search is needed to implement this mode efficiently,
so the exhaustive search option activates it automatically.
Both long range and exhaustive search option do not affect
the compatibility of created archives. So if dictionary size
is in 128 KB - 4 GB range, archives created with these search options
can be unpacked by all WinRAR versions beginning from 5.0.