Does cache really speed up your D7 site?

I've been keeping my cache turned off because of some earlier problems- on some of the betas my templates kept getting screwed up.   I just noticed on Google webmaster tools, that my response rates are a bit slow, so I decided to turn cache on.  The first thing I noticed is all sorts of broken image links in IE, so I went back and turned off image cache.  Now my site hasn't sped up at all - in fact, it has turned into a total dog!   Do I need to wait a while or something?  I need to understand this a bit better or turn it back off entirely.

Rob

Caching can help with the js, but you can speed up the download of your site by using the deflate command in htaccess if you have a dedicated server or a host that allows you to use it.  You can also use a php accelerator to precompile the php scripts (which will cache on your hd for later use).

Here's another topic on the issue of deflate, with a link to "optimal server configuration" posted by alext, at least you can see how deflate can help speed up your website.

http://www.boonex.com/unity/forums/?action=goto&search=1#topic/Site-Slow-to-Load.htm

I run with the caching off. I have some problems with it also.

I did not notice much of a change in performance. At least not enough to make me turn it on again.

I haven't noticed any miracles with caching. All it does for me is annoy the hell out of me when editing the database.

I've found the deflate function in .htaccess to be a far better solution, as it takes allot less time to load pages.