<p>First of all, take a look on File size, here is detailed <a href="http://arxiv.org/pdf/cs/0502012.pdf" rel="nofollow">Performance measurements</a></p>
Quick file loading in C#
<p>I have a requirement to load a file containing up to 1 million lines of string data. My first thought is to use C# 5.0 async to load the data whilst not blocking the UI thread. If the user tries to access something that relies on the data they will get a loading message.</p>

<p>Still I would like the fastest possible method in order to improve the user's experience. </p>

<p>Is the speed of reading data from the disk purely a function of the disk speed and thus StreamReader.ReadAllLines() is as performant as other c# code? Or is there something 'fancy' I can do to boost performance programmatically. This does not have to be described in detail. If so what approximate percentage improvement might be achieved? </p>

<p>I am purely interested in read speed and not concerned with the speed of code that may process the data once loaded. </p>