Post by crazyjoe1o1 on Jul 19, 2014 18:58:09 GMT
Here's a list of things which could help to improve your Minecraft performance (reduce 'lag'*, improve FPS - frames per second). I didn't devise any of these methods, I have merely gathered them up into one place for reference as I know some players have complained about "lag" or poor FPS.
*Please note: Some "lag" is caused by a poor internet connection or from the server experiencing a heavy workload and providing a slow response to your Minecraft client; these two causes of lag are not addressed by this guide.
The methods in this guide are shown in order of 'estimated effectiveness'; in other words, try the ones at the top first as they are likely to make the biggest difference or be the simplest to use.
Installing Optifine can improve your FPS, as well as your game graphics; but be sure to select a version of the mod which is suitable for your computer.
Install Optifine by clicking the link below and selecting a suitable version and following the installation instructions.
www.minecraftforum.net/forums/mapping-and-modding/minecraft-mods/1272953-optifine-hd-a4-fps-boost-hd-textures-aa-af-and
Gaming laptop / Powerful Desktop + - Ultra
Powerful Laptop / Desktop - Normal
Laptop / Weak Desktop - Light (pretty much computer without a dedicated graphics card or recent integrated graphics solution is in this category)
Game Booster is a program which closes unnecessary programs and services while you game, improving performance. It's very simple to use; just click the boost button when you start Minecraft and then click it again to return to normal after you have finished playing.
Version 3.4 is the easiest to use with Minecraft and doesn't come with useless features, searching "game booster 3.4" should find you a download with the correct version.
If you struggle to run Minecraft, keep other programs to a minimum; they all require system resources (processor time, RAM space and even internet bandwidth) and can steal your precious FPS if you have a weaker computer.
Close any unused applications, and keep all other applications minimised while you are playing Minecraft.
This header contains multiple bits of 'maintenence' which should be done periodically, and can cumulatively have a noticeable effect on your Minecraft FPS.
i) Defragment Your HDD (Hard Drive Disk)
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
Please note, defragging your HDD can take a while, so you may want to do it when you can leave the computer on to finish. You can defragment your HDD using one of many free defragmenting tools (which I recommend doing), but if you don't want to do that then this shows you how to do it on different operating systems and also explains a bit about defragmentation (feel free to skip to the bit where it tells you how to do it):
electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/how-to-defrag-hard-drive.htm
NEVER 'defragment' an SSD (Solid-State Drive) as they are supposed to be fragmented; it's who they are!
ii) De-bloat
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
Over the months and years that your computer is in use, bloatware will work its way into your computer. Bloatware is programs which serve no real purpose on your computer but take up space and stuff.
The short version is to essentially uninstall anything which doesn't look important, but as this poses some risks for the uninitiated, here's a guide on how to de-bloat Windows:
www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-easy-ways-remove-windows-bloat/
iii) Upgrade Your Graphics Driver
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective - Very Effective ]
Whether you have built in graphics, a humble graphics card, or multiple beastly GPUs you should always keep your graphics drivers up to date.
If you have a dedicated graphics card, you will be able to update from within the driver, which will be running from the Tool Tray in Windows operating systems.
There are a huge combinations of graphics solutions and operating systems, so just Google 'how to upgrade my graphics driver (your operating system) (your graphics solution)'.
iv) Clear Temporary Data
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
After a while, the temporary data file can get bloated, I think Windows periodically purges it but it's worth wiping it clean once in a while. Here's another guide:
windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/delete-files-using-disk-cleanup#delete-files-using-disk-cleanup=windows-7
v) Pagefile Settings (Windows)
[ Hard | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
The pagefile is a virtual drive on one of your computer's storage drives which Windows stores data on temporarily instead of using the RAM. It does not matter how much RAM you have; you should still have a pagefile.
The short version of the story is to use a pagefile of 1.5x the size of the amount of RAM you have, kept on your fastest drive.
Refer to the following guide to tweak your pagefile:
lifehacker.com/5426041/understanding-the-windows-pagefile-and-why-you-shouldnt-disable-it
vi) Clean Your Registry (Windows)
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective ]
Download a registry cleaner and use it; I use Little Registry Cleaner and I like it.
This forces Minecraft to allocate a minimum (and maximum) amount of RAM to Minecraft, this ensures that it will not crash during demanding periods or lag as your computer frees up more RAM for Minecraft to use; the RAM will be 'reserved' and ready to use.
a) Open Minecraft and wait for the launcher to load.
b) Click 'Edit profile' at the bottom left.
c) In the settings window which appears, tick the box by "JVM Arguments". In the textbox you will paste the correct arguments for your computer, the arguments below are 'educated' guesses:
1GB RAM -Xmx384M -Xms128M <--- This list is MY rough recommendation and therefore cannot be guaranteed to be the optimal settings.
2GB RAM -Xmx512M -Xms256M
3-4GB RAM -Xmx1G -Xms512M
6GB+ RAM -Xmx1G -Xms512M or -Xmx2G -Xms1G for large texture packs
12GB+ RAM -Xmx3G -Xms2G for HUGE texture packs
d) Click "Save Profile".
This is a pretty obvious one but it's not much to mention it.
The lowest settings for Minecraft without Optifine are shown below.
Render Distance is by far the most critical setting, and will give an instant FPS boost when lowered provided you can handle a shorter view distance. Beware that some lag with this setting comes from actually loading the chunks from the server, rather than rendering them, so give the game 20-30 seconds to load the chunks before making a judgement.
FOV (Field of View, shown on the menu before this), Anisotropic Filtering, Smooth Lighting and Particles are the other important settings.
I find that the FPS cap helps my frame rates to stay a little bit more stable too but this will not be the case for everyone. I'm not sure if View Bobbing makes any difference though.
Optifine is more than I can be bothered with for this guide but there are plenty of guides out there already for that if you have a look.
Lowering your Minecraft resolution may improve your performance. The best way to change your resolution is with the 'Profile Editor' Seen in part 5 of this guide (used to allocate more RAM space).
a) Follow steps a) and b) from method '5) RAM Allocation (Normal Launcher)' to open the Profile Editor.
b) Once the Profile Editor is open, tick the 'Resolution' box and lower your Minecraft resolution to the desired level. Some common screen ratios (shapes) and they're different resolutions are shown with them; in theory the lower the resolution you use the higher your performance will be, but you need to balance this with how the game looks.
16:9 (common widescreen): 1920 x 1080 | 1600 x 900 | 1280 x 720 |
16:10 (less common widescreen): 1920 x 1200 | 1680 x 1050 | 1440 x 900 | 1280 x 800
4:3 (Ye Olde Monitor): 1600 x 1200 | 1400 x 1050 | 1280 x 960 | 1152 x 864 | 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600
A more comprehensive list: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution
c) Click 'Save Profile' when you have entered your new resolution.
This method is not recommended for total noobs. It raises the priority of Minecraft above other tasks the computer has to do, increasing the amount of responsiveness of the game, in theory.
This method is ineffective on multi-core beast computers.
a) With Minecraft running, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and click Start Task Manager
b) Navigate to the "Processes" tab and right click on "javaw.exe", it helps if the list is sorted in descending order of CPU usage.
c) Right click on "javaw.exe" and then "Set Priority" and then select "Above Normal".
Never set the priority to "Realtime"!
There are texture packs which are designed to improve FPS in Minecraft, be it by reducing the number of pixels used from 16x16 (default) down to 8x8 or even 4x4 or by using a smaller number of colours. I'm not really sure how effective these are, but feel free to try one.
Obviously, if you struggle with running Minecraft, don't use a large texture pack, stick to default or a 16x16 texture pack.
minecraft.gamepedia.com/Frame_rate#Increasing_your_FPS
Thanks for reading the guide, I hope it helps. If you have any questions or uncertainties about anything above, please post them below and I will respond.
If you know of any other tips to improve fps, or have spotted anything wrong in the above, please post it so I can include or fix as necessary.
*Please note: Some "lag" is caused by a poor internet connection or from the server experiencing a heavy workload and providing a slow response to your Minecraft client; these two causes of lag are not addressed by this guide.
The methods in this guide are shown in order of 'estimated effectiveness'; in other words, try the ones at the top first as they are likely to make the biggest difference or be the simplest to use.
1) Optifine
[ Easy | Effective - Very Effective ]
[ Easy | Effective - Very Effective ]
Installing Optifine can improve your FPS, as well as your game graphics; but be sure to select a version of the mod which is suitable for your computer.
Install Optifine by clicking the link below and selecting a suitable version and following the installation instructions.
www.minecraftforum.net/forums/mapping-and-modding/minecraft-mods/1272953-optifine-hd-a4-fps-boost-hd-textures-aa-af-and
Gaming laptop / Powerful Desktop + - Ultra
Powerful Laptop / Desktop - Normal
Laptop / Weak Desktop - Light (pretty much computer without a dedicated graphics card or recent integrated graphics solution is in this category)
2) Game Booster (ver. 3.4)
[ Easy | Moderately Effective - Effective ]
Game Booster is a program which closes unnecessary programs and services while you game, improving performance. It's very simple to use; just click the boost button when you start Minecraft and then click it again to return to normal after you have finished playing.
Version 3.4 is the easiest to use with Minecraft and doesn't come with useless features, searching "game booster 3.4" should find you a download with the correct version.
3) Don't Multitask
[ Easy | Ineffective - Effective ]
[ Easy | Ineffective - Effective ]
If you struggle to run Minecraft, keep other programs to a minimum; they all require system resources (processor time, RAM space and even internet bandwidth) and can steal your precious FPS if you have a weaker computer.
Close any unused applications, and keep all other applications minimised while you are playing Minecraft.
4) Tidy Up Your Computer
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective - Effective ]
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective - Effective ]
This header contains multiple bits of 'maintenence' which should be done periodically, and can cumulatively have a noticeable effect on your Minecraft FPS.
i) Defragment Your HDD (Hard Drive Disk)
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
Please note, defragging your HDD can take a while, so you may want to do it when you can leave the computer on to finish. You can defragment your HDD using one of many free defragmenting tools (which I recommend doing), but if you don't want to do that then this shows you how to do it on different operating systems and also explains a bit about defragmentation (feel free to skip to the bit where it tells you how to do it):
electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/how-to-defrag-hard-drive.htm
NEVER 'defragment' an SSD (Solid-State Drive) as they are supposed to be fragmented; it's who they are!
ii) De-bloat
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
Over the months and years that your computer is in use, bloatware will work its way into your computer. Bloatware is programs which serve no real purpose on your computer but take up space and stuff.
The short version is to essentially uninstall anything which doesn't look important, but as this poses some risks for the uninitiated, here's a guide on how to de-bloat Windows:
www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-easy-ways-remove-windows-bloat/
iii) Upgrade Your Graphics Driver
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective - Very Effective ]
Whether you have built in graphics, a humble graphics card, or multiple beastly GPUs you should always keep your graphics drivers up to date.
If you have a dedicated graphics card, you will be able to update from within the driver, which will be running from the Tool Tray in Windows operating systems.
There are a huge combinations of graphics solutions and operating systems, so just Google 'how to upgrade my graphics driver (your operating system) (your graphics solution)'.
iv) Clear Temporary Data
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
After a while, the temporary data file can get bloated, I think Windows periodically purges it but it's worth wiping it clean once in a while. Here's another guide:
windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/delete-files-using-disk-cleanup#delete-files-using-disk-cleanup=windows-7
v) Pagefile Settings (Windows)
[ Hard | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
The pagefile is a virtual drive on one of your computer's storage drives which Windows stores data on temporarily instead of using the RAM. It does not matter how much RAM you have; you should still have a pagefile.
The short version of the story is to use a pagefile of 1.5x the size of the amount of RAM you have, kept on your fastest drive.
Refer to the following guide to tweak your pagefile:
lifehacker.com/5426041/understanding-the-windows-pagefile-and-why-you-shouldnt-disable-it
vi) Clean Your Registry (Windows)
[ Easy - Moderate | Ineffective ]
Download a registry cleaner and use it; I use Little Registry Cleaner and I like it.
5) RAM Allocation (Normal Launcher)
[ Easy | Ineffective - Effective ]
[ Easy | Ineffective - Effective ]
This forces Minecraft to allocate a minimum (and maximum) amount of RAM to Minecraft, this ensures that it will not crash during demanding periods or lag as your computer frees up more RAM for Minecraft to use; the RAM will be 'reserved' and ready to use.
a) Open Minecraft and wait for the launcher to load.
b) Click 'Edit profile' at the bottom left.
c) In the settings window which appears, tick the box by "JVM Arguments". In the textbox you will paste the correct arguments for your computer, the arguments below are 'educated' guesses:
1GB RAM -Xmx384M -Xms128M <--- This list is MY rough recommendation and therefore cannot be guaranteed to be the optimal settings.
2GB RAM -Xmx512M -Xms256M
3-4GB RAM -Xmx1G -Xms512M
6GB+ RAM -Xmx1G -Xms512M or -Xmx2G -Xms1G for large texture packs
12GB+ RAM -Xmx3G -Xms2G for HUGE texture packs
d) Click "Save Profile".
6) Minecraft Graphics Settings
[ Easy | Ineffective - Very Effective ]
[ Easy | Ineffective - Very Effective ]
This is a pretty obvious one but it's not much to mention it.
The lowest settings for Minecraft without Optifine are shown below.
Render Distance is by far the most critical setting, and will give an instant FPS boost when lowered provided you can handle a shorter view distance. Beware that some lag with this setting comes from actually loading the chunks from the server, rather than rendering them, so give the game 20-30 seconds to load the chunks before making a judgement.
FOV (Field of View, shown on the menu before this), Anisotropic Filtering, Smooth Lighting and Particles are the other important settings.
I find that the FPS cap helps my frame rates to stay a little bit more stable too but this will not be the case for everyone. I'm not sure if View Bobbing makes any difference though.
Optifine is more than I can be bothered with for this guide but there are plenty of guides out there already for that if you have a look.
7) Resolution
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
[ Easy | Ineffective - Moderately Effective ]
Lowering your Minecraft resolution may improve your performance. The best way to change your resolution is with the 'Profile Editor' Seen in part 5 of this guide (used to allocate more RAM space).
a) Follow steps a) and b) from method '5) RAM Allocation (Normal Launcher)' to open the Profile Editor.
b) Once the Profile Editor is open, tick the 'Resolution' box and lower your Minecraft resolution to the desired level. Some common screen ratios (shapes) and they're different resolutions are shown with them; in theory the lower the resolution you use the higher your performance will be, but you need to balance this with how the game looks.
16:9 (common widescreen): 1920 x 1080 | 1600 x 900 | 1280 x 720 |
16:10 (less common widescreen): 1920 x 1200 | 1680 x 1050 | 1440 x 900 | 1280 x 800
4:3 (Ye Olde Monitor): 1600 x 1200 | 1400 x 1050 | 1280 x 960 | 1152 x 864 | 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600
A more comprehensive list: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution
c) Click 'Save Profile' when you have entered your new resolution.
8) Windows Priority
[ Moderate | Moderately Effective ]
[ Moderate | Moderately Effective ]
This method is not recommended for total noobs. It raises the priority of Minecraft above other tasks the computer has to do, increasing the amount of responsiveness of the game, in theory.
This method is ineffective on multi-core beast computers.
a) With Minecraft running, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and click Start Task Manager
b) Navigate to the "Processes" tab and right click on "javaw.exe", it helps if the list is sorted in descending order of CPU usage.
c) Right click on "javaw.exe" and then "Set Priority" and then select "Above Normal".
Never set the priority to "Realtime"!
9) FPS / Performance Texture Pack
[ Easy - Moderate | Debated ]
[ Easy - Moderate | Debated ]
There are texture packs which are designed to improve FPS in Minecraft, be it by reducing the number of pixels used from 16x16 (default) down to 8x8 or even 4x4 or by using a smaller number of colours. I'm not really sure how effective these are, but feel free to try one.
Obviously, if you struggle with running Minecraft, don't use a large texture pack, stick to default or a 16x16 texture pack.
10) Buy a Gaming Computer / Overclock your Ghz
[ Easy - Legendary | 2 Good ]
[ Easy - Legendary | 2 Good ]
Useful Links:
minecraft.gamepedia.com/Frame_rate#Increasing_your_FPS
Thanks for reading the guide, I hope it helps. If you have any questions or uncertainties about anything above, please post them below and I will respond.
If you know of any other tips to improve fps, or have spotted anything wrong in the above, please post it so I can include or fix as necessary.