Is there a performance improvement with native images?

Question

I've tried to measure it with a small benchmark collection and my own tests, but the results stay the same or even get worse. I also couldn't find any benchmark data on the web to this question, so here it is:

Is there really a performance improvement if I install native images of .NET assemblies? And if yes, in which areas and is it reasonable to do so?

Answer 1

Using native images will really only give you limited speed improvement, because functions will not have to be JIT compiled upon first entry to them.

Specifically, to quote this MSDN article:

Native images can provide performance improvements in two areas: improved memory use and reduced startup time.

You will find that under the section Determining When to Use Native Images. There are some other times when you will notice improvements in speed, but those times are specific to certain scenarios, as mentioned in that article.