For 90% of modern emulation setups, CHD is the superior choice . It offers better compression ratios and ensures that game audio doesn't stutter or lose quality. How to Compress Your Own PS1 ROMs to CHD
A game like Tekken 3 (500 MB original) becomes a 180 MB .pbp file. A massive RPG like Xenogears (700 MB) becomes 300 MB . Ps1 Roms Highly Compressed
A “highly compressed” PS1 ROM refers to a game file (originally in a standard disc image format like .bin/.cue or .iso ) that has been processed through specialized compression techniques to significantly reduce its file size while preserving full playability. Unlike simply archiving a game in a .zip or .7z file—which requires full decompression before the emulator can run it—modern compression formats for PS1 games are designed to be directly playable by emulators while remaining substantially smaller than their raw counterparts. For 90% of modern emulation setups, CHD is
: This is currently the gold standard for PS1 compression. It can reduce file sizes by roughly 40% by removing "padding" (empty space) originally used to fill the CD-ROM. A massive RPG like Xenogears (700 MB) becomes 300 MB
When searching for "PS1 ROMs highly compressed," you will find many websites. It is important to look for reputable sources to avoid malware.
What are you using to emulate? (PC, Android, Steam Deck, Anbernic, etc.) What emulator or frontend do you currently prefer? Are you dealing with a specific multi-disc game ?