diff --git a/server/include/utils.h b/server/include/utils.h
index 7ecef73a1..cc832c07d 100644
--- a/server/include/utils.h
+++ b/server/include/utils.h
@@ -15,6 +15,12 @@
 
 #include <sched.h>
 
+#ifdef __GNUC__
+ #define EXPECT(x, v)	__builtin_expect(x, v)
+#else
+ #define EXPECT(x)	(x)
+#endif
+
 /* Some color escape codes for pretty log messages */
 #define RED(str)	"\x1B[31m" str "\x1B[0m" /**< Print str in red */
 #define GRN(str)	"\x1B[32m" str "\x1B[0m" /**< Print str in green */
@@ -70,7 +76,7 @@ struct timespec timespec_rate(double rate);
 
 /** Check assertion and exit if failed. */
 #define assert(exp) do { \
-	if (!(exp)) { \
+	if (EXPECT(exp, 0)) { \
 		print(ERROR, "Assertion failed: '%s' in %s, %s:%d", \
 			#exp, __FUNCTION__, __BASE_FILE__, __LINE__); \
 		exit(EXIT_FAILURE); \