How many files can you put in a Windows folder without a noticable performance degradation?

How many files can you put in a Windows folder without a noticable performance degradation? I'm guessing there's no hard limit, but I know that performance degrades when you put too many files into a single Windows folder. Does anybody have any good rules of thumb for when it becomes noticeably slow to open a file?
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Total answers/comments: 4

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bert [Entry]

"Look here. It says for files per volume, not per folder.

NTFS: 2^32 - 1 = 4.294.967.295 files
FAT: Approximately 4 million"

bert [Entry]

I use Windows 10, and 25,000 images in one folder (average size of the file is 500 KB took more than an hour to load completely in the folder. The suggested number of files in one folder is 5000.
I use Windows 10, and 25,000 images in one folder (average size of the file is 500 KB took more than an hour to load completely in the folder. The suggested number of files in one folder is 5000.

bert [Entry]

It depends on the file system. NTFS is way better than FAT32. FAT32 has a hard limit. However, the rule of thumb I go by is about 500 per directory.

bert [Entry]

update 2021: as stated somewhere around 4 billion according to MS, I have tested with 1,8 million files in one dir on Windows 10, Win-Explorer scrolling and opening a random file was as fast as 1 file in a directrory