In Settings > View > Misc. there is the option "Read one image ahead".
However, it doesn't work after opening the first image.
Tested with XnViewMP version 0.75 beta2 (2015-06-06) win32 and 0.72 (2014-12-19) win32 on Windows 7 64 bit SP1.
"Read one image ahead" doesn't work on first image
Moderators: XnTriq, helmut, xnview, Dreamer
Re: "Read one image ahead" doesn't work on first image
See Bug Tracker Issue 671 for current status and details.
-- Karl