FreeArc for Windows

User Reviews

• Disappointing

  lunchmeat777April 6, 2013

  Pros

  Excellent interface, may not be for a beginner. Integrated well with other freeware and Windows 7 from an install to a remote drive.

  Cons

  LOW compression, almost the same as any other less sophisticated program. I decided to try to see what I could do with archiving a small section of my digital library. The test subject was a batch: 2520 full picture quality scans of books in PDF format, in 47 subfolders. The unpacked volume= 10.4 Gb. With 7zip 64 I ended up with a folder= 10.2 Gb, with Freearc I achieved a folder volume of 10.1 Gb. Wooptie-doo. I understand that compressing these types of files is not crazy effective, I expected WAY more from a program with hype all over the web. Now, with a volume= 10.1 Gb + the program itself is approaching the original unpacked volume. This may work for you but is useless to me.

  Summary

  If you have a huge volume of text files, simple spread sheets, etc. this may be your ticket. But if you have anything of quality, and actually worth backing-up, look elsewhere.

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• Best compressor so far

  ndmushroomOctober 6, 2012

  Pros

  I compressed a 7,2GB random file collection using the "best compression" settings in WinRAR. After 37 mins, I was left with a 4,22GB .rar file. I did the same using the (basic) "maximum compression" settings in FreeArc. It took about 15 mins more, but the resulting file is only 1,73GB! I've yet to encounter a compression software (7zip and Winzip included) capable of such high compression.

  Cons

  Compressing a file is very resource-heavy. I suppose it's less resource-heavy for lower compression rates, but I haven't checked.

  Summary

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