diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 37debc2..aea270c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ jobs:
       run: |
         export PATH="/c/users/$(whoami)/.cargo/bin:$PATH"
         echo -e "export PATH=\"/c/users/$(whoami)/.cargo/bin:\$PATH\"\n" >> ~/.bash_profile
+        echo -e "export MINGW_ARCH=mingw64\n" >> ~/.bash_profile
 
     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       with:
@@ -73,22 +74,38 @@ jobs:
         # for ffmpeg
         brew install ffmpeg || true
 
-    - name: Prepare msys
+    - name: Prepare msys dependencies
       if: contains(matrix.os, 'windows')
       run: |
-        set MINGW_ARCH=mingw64
         # important detail: mingw-w64-x86_64-libx264 is installed for the package config files!
         pacman --noconfirm -S git make mingw-w64-x86_64-libx264 mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain mingw-w64-x86_64-clang mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc mingw-w64-x86_64-nasm mingw-w64-x86_64-opus
         # self compile for now
         # https://github.com/msys2/MINGW-packages/issues/8824
-        git clone https://github.com/mirror/x264 ~/x264
+        git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/mirror/x264 ~/x264
+
+    - name: Setup cache for x264 (Windows)
+      if: contains(matrix.os, 'windows')
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      id: x264-cache-compiled
+      with:
+        path: ~/build-x264
+        key: ${{ runner.os }}-build-${{ hashFiles('~/x264') }}
+
+    - name: Compile x264 (Windows)
+      if: contains(matrix.os, 'windows') && steps.x264-cache-compiled.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+      run: |
         (
-          cd ~/x264
-          ./configure --enable-static
+          mkdir ~/build-x264
+          cd ~/build-x264
+          ../x264/configure --enable-static
           make -j$(nproc)
         )
+
+    - name: Prepare msys
+      if: contains(matrix.os, 'windows')
+      run: |
         rm /mingw64/lib/libx264.dll.a
-        mv ~/x264/libx264.a /mingw64/lib/libx264.a
+        mv ~/build-x264/libx264.a /mingw64/lib/libx264.a
         rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
         rustup update stable
         rustup set default-host x86_64-pc-windows-gnu
@@ -97,6 +114,8 @@ jobs:
     - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
 
     - name: Build debug
+      # disable windows for now, since it's the slowest build
+      if: contains(matrix.os, 'windows') == false
       run: cargo build --verbose --features ${{ matrix.features-debug }}
 
     - name: Build release