Is Minecraft lagging? Can you get bare bones fps only at the sacrifice of ultra-low settings? This tutorial contains game adjustments and even hardware recommendations in order to get the maximum Minecraft experience.
In game Settings
Settings that have a big impact
Render distance: This setting has the biggest impact on performance, hands-down. Every computer has a render distance “sweet spot”. It is found when your fps is close to or right at 60 fps. Turning render distance down 2 chunks from that sweet spot can add as much as 35 fps. Turning it down adds fps in a linear fashion. The impact on FPS differs from computer to computer.
Fast or Fancy: Turning from Fancy to Fast sacrifices 3D tile drops, transparent leaves, and better colors. However, it can be rewarding with fps. The amount depends on what computer Minecraft is run on. On old or very-low-end machines, the gain can be as much as 10 fps, but on new ones, the gain usually is about 3-5 fps.
Smooth lighting: Turning off smooth lighting has the potential of making an abundance of fps. The increase can be as high as 15 fps, but only on older computers. Modern computers will see only about a 3 fps increase.
Clouds: Turning clouds off results in a 5-8 fps increase.
Settings that have a little impact
Minimap levels: The performance gain from adjusting the levels is varied. On some systems, turning it off can have gains as high as 5 fps. On others, it won’t have any effect.
VBOs: Play around with this one. It sometimes increases fps by about 2 or 3, but it sometimes hurts fps.
Entity shadows: Turning this off won’t result in much of a performance increase, unless there are dozens of entities around.
Fullscreen: Making Minecraft fullscreen will improve framerates slightly.
Game Modifications
One way to help Minecraft is to increase the RAM allocated to it. To know whether to allocate more RAM, hit F3. On the top-right corner to the debug screen, there’s a statistic that shows how much RAM Minecraft is using. If it’s at or above 85%, then Minecraft probably needs more. Increasing the RAM will eliminate a potential bottleneck, give a varied (5-20) fps increase, and sometimes eliminate most microstuttering. Minecraft should have at least 1 GB allocated to it if your computer has 4 GB of RAM. Computers with 6 or 8 GB of RAM can safely allocate 2 GB of RAM. As a general rule of thumb, your computer should have 2 GB (preferably 3 or 4) of RAM not allocated to Minecraft. One thing keep in mind is that Minecraft will use about double the RAM allocated to it.
To allocate more RAM, open the Minecraft launcher. Click on “Edit Profile”. On the bottom of the Profile Editor window, there’s a box that says JVM arguments. If it isn’t selected, select it. This enables editing of the arguments. Change the arguments to this: “-Xms1024M –Xmx2048M –Xmn512M”. Don’t include the quotations.
The numbers after the –Xmx, -Xms, and -Xmn say how much RAM, in megabytes, is allocated to Minecraft. The first number indicates the initial size while the second indicates the maximum. The initial should never be higher than the maximum, or else Minecraft won’t start. The third number is too complicated to explain in this section, but it should be set at about 512 Megabytes.
Another way to boost fps is to have Minecraft updated to the newest edition. Older versions of Minecraft run slower than the current version, because of increased programming efficiences.
Installing the mod Optifine increases the framerate. Optifine is designed to make video settings more customizable while streamlining Minecraft’s code. Gains range from slightly negative fps to massive increases.
Upgrading Hardware
The hardware upgrade that makes the biggest difference is the CPU. Minecraft is mainly CPU based. It used to be that Minecraft ran on only 1 thread, but now it runs on many. The best CPU for Minecraft is an Intel CPU that has more than 2 cores. The difference can be huge. Going from an Intel laptop processor to a desktop processor resulted in a 30 fps increase.
Minecraft typically uses between 1-3 GB RAM, depending on how much is allocated to it and whether texture packs and mods are installed. Because of that, a computer with Minecraft should have at least 4 GB RAM, but 8 GB is more optimal. You can go all the way 32 GB of RAM and see benefits, but they will not show in survival worlds or small default worlds.
Upgrading your graphics card won’t bring about a big benefit, unless you use a high resolution texture pack. Even then, a cheap desktop graphics card will be more than enough for Minecraft. Integrated graphics on current CPUs will be enough for regular Minecraft. Upgrade to a discreet graphics card only if your current GPU is running at >85%. Any graphics card made after 2010 will be enough.
The main part of the tutorial is done. Below is a technical explanation of what hardware is best for Minecraft. (Noobs beware)
Minecraft is very CPU dependent. It’s written in Java script, but new editions now don’t need Java to run. Java creates a virtual machine to run Minecraft in. The Java machine runs on over 25 threads, so it seems like a multicore processor will run faster. However, that’s not the case. There are two main threads that power Minecraft. They each will run 1 core at 100%. The other threads each will use between 1% and 25% of the remaining cores. Minecraft will run as fast as the two big threads are run. Because of that, a quad core will usually beat a dual core in fps. The reason why is not because of the performance gain of the minor threads having their own cores. It’s because the two major threads have a core to themselves, so they don’t constantly have to be paused to allow other threads to process.
The CPU I recommend using is an i5 6600K. It has 4 cores, so two can be dedicated to the major threads. I could have said an i7, but scaling up to that won’t have a big impact on performance, especially since the 6600K can be overclocked.
Let me explain the arguments on the memory. The initial heap size shouldn’t affect Minecraft at all. The maximum needs to be a number high enough that it can never be full. It’s much faster than having rendering data being loaded from the RAM than from the hard drive. If the memory is too low, then the game will start to lag. Those of you who have seen computers with not enough RAM (and thus having to use virtual memory) know what I’m talking about.
Vanilla Minecraft (no resource packs and mods) will typically use less than 1 GB of RAM in default survival worlds. That amount scales up when you go on amplified or crazy custom worlds, and even more when you go on creative (there is more stuff to render when you're flying around). The typical creative world typically doesn't use up more than 3 GB of RAM. However, I have seen Minecraft use up to 9 GB in extreme cases, and even more when loads of TNT is involved.
The –Xmn argument is a must-have. Minecraft will accumulate RAM at a fast pace; at rates as high as 200 MBs. If left unchecked for even a short amount of time, then the allocated memory will get full. Thus, useless bits of render or chunks of data must be dumped. The number after the –Xmn argument tells how much data is dumped at one time. If the number is too low, then memory will constantly have to be dumped, causing lag because command overhead is too large. Set it too large, then the amount of time necessary to dump the data is large enough to cause a microstutter. The default is 128 MB, which is too low. Any number between 400 and 800 MB is optimal.
In game Settings
Settings that have a big impact
Render distance: This setting has the biggest impact on performance, hands-down. Every computer has a render distance “sweet spot”. It is found when your fps is close to or right at 60 fps. Turning render distance down 2 chunks from that sweet spot can add as much as 35 fps. Turning it down adds fps in a linear fashion. The impact on FPS differs from computer to computer.
Fast or Fancy: Turning from Fancy to Fast sacrifices 3D tile drops, transparent leaves, and better colors. However, it can be rewarding with fps. The amount depends on what computer Minecraft is run on. On old or very-low-end machines, the gain can be as much as 10 fps, but on new ones, the gain usually is about 3-5 fps.
Smooth lighting: Turning off smooth lighting has the potential of making an abundance of fps. The increase can be as high as 15 fps, but only on older computers. Modern computers will see only about a 3 fps increase.
Clouds: Turning clouds off results in a 5-8 fps increase.
Settings that have a little impact
Minimap levels: The performance gain from adjusting the levels is varied. On some systems, turning it off can have gains as high as 5 fps. On others, it won’t have any effect.
VBOs: Play around with this one. It sometimes increases fps by about 2 or 3, but it sometimes hurts fps.
Entity shadows: Turning this off won’t result in much of a performance increase, unless there are dozens of entities around.
Fullscreen: Making Minecraft fullscreen will improve framerates slightly.
Game Modifications
One way to help Minecraft is to increase the RAM allocated to it. To know whether to allocate more RAM, hit F3. On the top-right corner to the debug screen, there’s a statistic that shows how much RAM Minecraft is using. If it’s at or above 85%, then Minecraft probably needs more. Increasing the RAM will eliminate a potential bottleneck, give a varied (5-20) fps increase, and sometimes eliminate most microstuttering. Minecraft should have at least 1 GB allocated to it if your computer has 4 GB of RAM. Computers with 6 or 8 GB of RAM can safely allocate 2 GB of RAM. As a general rule of thumb, your computer should have 2 GB (preferably 3 or 4) of RAM not allocated to Minecraft. One thing keep in mind is that Minecraft will use about double the RAM allocated to it.
To allocate more RAM, open the Minecraft launcher. Click on “Edit Profile”. On the bottom of the Profile Editor window, there’s a box that says JVM arguments. If it isn’t selected, select it. This enables editing of the arguments. Change the arguments to this: “-Xms1024M –Xmx2048M –Xmn512M”. Don’t include the quotations.
The numbers after the –Xmx, -Xms, and -Xmn say how much RAM, in megabytes, is allocated to Minecraft. The first number indicates the initial size while the second indicates the maximum. The initial should never be higher than the maximum, or else Minecraft won’t start. The third number is too complicated to explain in this section, but it should be set at about 512 Megabytes.
Another way to boost fps is to have Minecraft updated to the newest edition. Older versions of Minecraft run slower than the current version, because of increased programming efficiences.
Installing the mod Optifine increases the framerate. Optifine is designed to make video settings more customizable while streamlining Minecraft’s code. Gains range from slightly negative fps to massive increases.
Upgrading Hardware
The hardware upgrade that makes the biggest difference is the CPU. Minecraft is mainly CPU based. It used to be that Minecraft ran on only 1 thread, but now it runs on many. The best CPU for Minecraft is an Intel CPU that has more than 2 cores. The difference can be huge. Going from an Intel laptop processor to a desktop processor resulted in a 30 fps increase.
Minecraft typically uses between 1-3 GB RAM, depending on how much is allocated to it and whether texture packs and mods are installed. Because of that, a computer with Minecraft should have at least 4 GB RAM, but 8 GB is more optimal. You can go all the way 32 GB of RAM and see benefits, but they will not show in survival worlds or small default worlds.
Upgrading your graphics card won’t bring about a big benefit, unless you use a high resolution texture pack. Even then, a cheap desktop graphics card will be more than enough for Minecraft. Integrated graphics on current CPUs will be enough for regular Minecraft. Upgrade to a discreet graphics card only if your current GPU is running at >85%. Any graphics card made after 2010 will be enough.
The main part of the tutorial is done. Below is a technical explanation of what hardware is best for Minecraft. (Noobs beware)
Minecraft is very CPU dependent. It’s written in Java script, but new editions now don’t need Java to run. Java creates a virtual machine to run Minecraft in. The Java machine runs on over 25 threads, so it seems like a multicore processor will run faster. However, that’s not the case. There are two main threads that power Minecraft. They each will run 1 core at 100%. The other threads each will use between 1% and 25% of the remaining cores. Minecraft will run as fast as the two big threads are run. Because of that, a quad core will usually beat a dual core in fps. The reason why is not because of the performance gain of the minor threads having their own cores. It’s because the two major threads have a core to themselves, so they don’t constantly have to be paused to allow other threads to process.
The CPU I recommend using is an i5 6600K. It has 4 cores, so two can be dedicated to the major threads. I could have said an i7, but scaling up to that won’t have a big impact on performance, especially since the 6600K can be overclocked.
Let me explain the arguments on the memory. The initial heap size shouldn’t affect Minecraft at all. The maximum needs to be a number high enough that it can never be full. It’s much faster than having rendering data being loaded from the RAM than from the hard drive. If the memory is too low, then the game will start to lag. Those of you who have seen computers with not enough RAM (and thus having to use virtual memory) know what I’m talking about.
Vanilla Minecraft (no resource packs and mods) will typically use less than 1 GB of RAM in default survival worlds. That amount scales up when you go on amplified or crazy custom worlds, and even more when you go on creative (there is more stuff to render when you're flying around). The typical creative world typically doesn't use up more than 3 GB of RAM. However, I have seen Minecraft use up to 9 GB in extreme cases, and even more when loads of TNT is involved.
The –Xmn argument is a must-have. Minecraft will accumulate RAM at a fast pace; at rates as high as 200 MBs. If left unchecked for even a short amount of time, then the allocated memory will get full. Thus, useless bits of render or chunks of data must be dumped. The number after the –Xmn argument tells how much data is dumped at one time. If the number is too low, then memory will constantly have to be dumped, causing lag because command overhead is too large. Set it too large, then the amount of time necessary to dump the data is large enough to cause a microstutter. The default is 128 MB, which is too low. Any number between 400 and 800 MB is optimal.
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