Want to read the story of how this data came to be? Read about it on TalesAndTips.com

Key Takeaways

  • The TAR (GNU) ZStandard option set to small compresses the most
  • Several methods give a larger output than just having the files in a folder, uncompressed.
  • For algorithms that do better with compression, the compression time increases, so it’s a trade — do you value speed or disk space more? Do you want to compromise between them?

The Data

Archive FormatCompression MethodCompression LevelSizeSize on DiskSize GBDisk Size – Size
7-ZipBZipFast4,252,562,0454,252,565,5043.953,459
7-ZipBZipSmall4,205,229,2024,205,232,1283.912,926
7-ZipDeflateFast4,181,085,4094,181,086,2083.89799
7-ZipDeflateSmall4,173,617,6174,173,619,2003.881,583
7-ZipLZMA1Fast4,120,553,0004,120,555,5203.832,520
7-ZipLZMA1Small3,910,211,6313,910,213,6323.642,001
7-ZipLZMA2Fast4,119,749,0184,119,752,7043.833,686
7-ZipLZMA2Default (6)3,919,072,7083,919,073,2803.64572
7-ZipLZMA2Small3,910,459,0443,910,459,3923.64348
7-ZipPPMdN/A4,118,499,5604,118,503,4243.833,864
7-ZipStoreN/A5,316,298,3905,316,300,8004.952,410
TAR (GNU)NoneN/A5,317,283,8405,317,283,8404.950
TAR (GNU)GZipFast5,317,799,0835,317,799,9364.95853
TAR (GNU)GZipDefault4,174,543,4204,174,544,8963.881,476
TAR (GNU)GZipSmall4,173,732,6744,173,733,8883.881,214
TAR (GNU)BZip2Fast4,252,710,2994,252,712,9603.952,661
TAR (GNU)BZip2Small4,204,961,6674,204,961,7923.91125
TAR (GNU)xzFast4,119,815,3564,119,818,2403.832,884
TAR (GNU)xzDefault3,919,088,7483,919,089,6443.64896
TAR (GNU)xzSmall3,910,436,1643,910,438,9123.642,748
TAR (GNU)ZStandardFast4,155,709,4064,155,711,4883.872,082
TAR (GNU)ZStandardDefault4,084,093,1114,084,097,0243.83,913
TAR (GNU)ZStandardSmall3,890,847,5123,890,847,7443.62232
ZIPDeflateFast4,181,554,0924,181,557,2483.893,156
ZIPDeflateDefault4,174,917,2804,174,917,6323.88352
ZIPDeflateSmall4,174,120,2624,174,123,0083.882,746
ZIPStoreN/A5,316,525,1405,316,526,0804.95940
In FolderN/AN/A5,316,092,8225,316,997,1204.95904,298

Smallest Three

TAR (GNU)ZStandardSmall3,890,847,512 Bytes
7-ZipLZMA1Small3,910,211,631 Bytes
TAR (GNU)xzSmall3,910,436,164 Bytes

Largest Three

TAR (GNU)GZipFast5,317,799,083 Bytes
TAR (GNU)NoneN/A5,317,283,840 Bytes
ZIPStoreN/A5,316,525,140 Bytes

What was compressed?

A copy of the overworld dimension of the Supercraft Server.

Why did you do this?

Curiosity, a desire to share knowledge, and a desire to conserve disk space since I handle incredibly large amounts of data.

By Josh

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