How to make Minecraft run faster on a bad computer?

This guide shows you methods to run Minecraft (1.19) faster and smoother on a low-end or bad computer. Minecraft is one of the most popular games for Windows PC. This video game involves the creation and breaking of different kinds of blocks in 3D worlds. It is played by over 100 million users monthly. However, some computers might not be able to run it smoothly and the game just slows down.

A lot of users keep wondering how they can make Minecraft run faster on their PC. To answer their queries, we have created this post showing various methods to speed up the performance of Minecraft on your computer. But, first, we will recommend you check the minimum system requirements to play the Minecraft game. If your computer doesn’t meet the least system specifications for Minecraft, the game is going to lag and falter.

How to make Minecraft run faster on a bad computer?

You can optimize your Minecraft and computer settings in order to make Minecraft run faster on a low-end or bad computer. Here are the methods to do so:

1. Use the default resource package in Minecraft.
2. Lower your in-game video settings.
3. Decrease Minecraft game resolution.
4. Disable Sound in Minecraft.
5. Allocate more RAM to Minecraft.
6. Kill unnecessary background tasks.
7. Set high priority for Java and Minecraft in Task Manager.
8. Update the graphics driver to its latest version.
9. Plug in your laptop to a power source.
10. Use third-party mods.
11. Upgrade your computer.

1] Use the default resource pack in Minecraft

We recommend you lower your in-game settings to make Minecraft run smoother and faster on your computer. To start with, try switching to the default resource package to avoid stressing your RAM while running the game. It should help you boost the performance of the game and make it run faster.

A resource pack consists of custom models, textures, sounds, etc. If you are using a custom resource package, it is likely to utilize more RAM and cause lags and performance issues in the Minecraft game. Hence, you can change your resource pack in Minecraft to default and see if it speeds up the Minecraft game or not.

Here are the steps to change to the default resource pack in Minecraft:

• Firstly, launch Minecraft and click on the Options button.
• Now, tap on the Resource Packs button.
• After that, select Default and press the DONE button.
• Once done, try playing Minecraft and see if there is any improvement in its performance.

2] Lower your in-game video settings

You can also try decreasing your in-game video settings to run Minecraft better. If you have set higher video settings in Minecraft on a low-end PC, the game will become slow and will keep on lagging. Hence, lower in-game video settings to improve its performance. However, you will not be able to view various graphics details while playing the game. But, it is a good trick to speed up Minecraft on a bad PC.

Here’s how to optimize in-game video settings in Minecraft:

1. First, open Minecraft and click on Options.
2. Now, press the Video Settings button.
3. After that, change the following settings as mentioned:
   Graphics: Fast (lowers several in-game graphics details, but gives a performance boost)
   Smooth Lighting: Minimum or OFF (reduces lighting effects in the game)
   Entity Shadows: OFF
   Max Framerate: set a lower value
   3D Anaglyph: OFF
   Use VSync: OFF
   Clouds: OFF
   Render Distance: set a lower value (8 chunks or lesser is recommended to get a faster performance)
   GUI Scale: Normal
   Particles: Minimal or Decreased (shows particle effects in your game)
   Mipmap Levels: Proper
4. Once done, play Minecraft to check if it runs better or not.

Decreasing these video settings should help you speed up Minecraft. However, if you want to speed it up further, we have some more methods that you can use.

Read: Minecraft Forge installer not opening or working in Windows 11.

3] Decrease Minecraft game resolution

The next thing you can do to run Minecraft faster on a bad computer is lower the in-game resolution. It will shrink the game window but will help you speed up the game. Here are the steps to change the game resolution in Minecraft:

1. Firstly, launch Minecraft and click Options.
2. Now, click on the Video Settings button.
3. Next, drag the Fullscreen Resolution slider to adjust the resolution accordingly.
4. Finally, try playing the game and see if the issue is resolved or not.

4] Disable Sound in Minecraft

If you want to speed up Minecraft, you can try disabling sounds in the game. Also, if you don’t like too much noise and sound while playing the game, it is best to switch it off. Here are the steps to turn off different music and sounds in Minecraft:

1. Firstly, press the Options button from the home screen of Minecraft.
2. Now, tap on the Music & Sounds button.
3. Next, disable all sounds and then return to the game and check if there is an improvement in Minecraft’s performance or not.

See: Minecraft Error 0x80070057, Deep Ocean, Something went wrong.

5] Allocate more RAM to Minecraft

The next method you can use to run Minecraft faster on your computer is to assign it more RAM. RAM (Random Access Memory) stores the temporary data and makes your apps and game launch faster. Thus, if you are on a low-end PC, assign a bigger part of your RAM to Minecraft to run it better. Here’s how you can do that:

• First, note down how much RAM you are running. To do that, open Settings, go to System > About, and check the amount of installed RAM on your system.
• Now, open Minecraft Launcher (Java Edition) and go to the Installation tab.
• After that, click on the three-dot menu button present next to the “Latest Release” option and select the Edit option.
• Next, press More Options in the next window.
• Then, move down to the JVM Arguments box and replace Xmx2G with Xmx4G. 2G is 2GB RAM, while 4G is 4GB RAM. You can change it accordingly and then press the Save button.
• Now, run Minecraft and see if it is faster than before or not.

6] Kill unnecessary background tasks

If there are too many background applications running on your computer, Minecraft is likely to falter. As a good amount of system resources will be used by other programs, Minecraft will be left with fewer system resources causing it to slow down. Hence, close all unnecessary programs and try running only a few important apps that are essential at the moment. You can open Task Manager using the Ctrl+Shift+Esc hotkey, select a program from the Processes tab, and press the End task button.

7] Set high priority for Java and Minecraft in Task Manager

Minecraft is built around Java and it is a necessity to run the game. You can try setting the high priority for Java software as well as Minecraft game in Task Manager to speed up the game. Here are the steps you can use to do so:

• Firstly, make sure Minecraft is running on your PC.
• Now, hit the Ctrl+Shift+Esc hotkey to open the Task Manager app.
• Next, from the Processes tab, right-click on Minecraft and select the Go to details option.
• After that, right-click on the Minecraft process in the Details tab, go to the Set priority option, and choose the High option.
• Now, from the Details tab, right-click on the Java program and repeat step (4).
• Once done, close the window and try playing Minecraft to see if there is an improvement in its speed or not.

See: Fix Minecraft game has crashed with Exit Code 0.

8] Update the graphics driver to its latest version

To run a video game faster and smoother, you must have an up-to-date graphics driver installed on your PC. It is a basic requirement to play video games on a Windows computer. Hence, if your display/ graphics driver is outdated, update it using the below steps:

• First, press Win+I to open Settings and go to Windows Update.
• Now, tap on Advanced options and click the Optional Updates option.
• From the list of pending optional updates, download and install device driver updates and the other updates you want to install.
• When done, restart your computer to let the changes apply and then open Minecraft to check if it started running faster or not.

Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD graphics card users can also download the latest graphics driver installer directly from their websites. Windows Device Manager app can also be used for the same purpose. Open it, expand Display adapters, right-click your graphics card, and select the Update driver option.

9] Plug in your laptop to a power source

If you are using a laptop, we suggest you keep your battery fully charged by plugging it into a power source. Your apps and games might not run smoothly if you are running on a low battery. Also, by default, laptops are configured to save battery by disabling certain tasks. So, if you want to achieve a higher gaming performance, you must charge your battery to 90-100%.

Read: Minecraft Launcher won’t open on Windows PC.

10] How to make Minecraft run faster using third-party mods?

You can also make Minecraft run faster with the help of third-party mods. There are a lot of third-party mods available for Minecraft to customize and enhance your experience. Some of these Minecraft mods even allow you to run the game faster on your computer. Here, we will be mentioning two such mods that are OptiFine and Sodium.

OptiFine is a Minecraft most that enabled you to speed up Minecraft and also look better. It supports HD textures, shaders, dynamic lights, and various other configurations. Here’s how you can install OptiFine mod to make Minecraft run faster:

• Firstly, download OptiFine’s latest version from its official website i.e., www.optifine.net.
• Now, simply install the downloaded JAR file.
• After that, open Minecraft and try playing the game. Hopefully, you will experience a performance boost in the game.

The second mod that you can use to make Minecraft faster is Sodium. It is a free and open-source mod for Minecraft especially designed to enhance frame rates and decrease micro-stutter. It also resolves various other graphical issues in Minecraft. You can install this free mod and speed up your Minecraft game. Here’s how you can do that:

First, download the Sodium mod from GitHub, as well as download Fabric Installer and Fabric API. Download the Windows installer for Fabric Installer and then run it by double-clicking on the application file. Now, select the same version of Minecraft that you are running and then press the Install button.

After that, we need to install Fabric API and Sodium mod. To do that, open the Run command box using Win+R and enter %AppData% in it. In the opened directory, look for the .minecraft folder and open it. Inside this folder, locate the mods folder. In case there is no mods folder, open Minecraft Launcher, choose Fabric Loader from the bottom, and press Play. It will generate a mods folder.

Inside the mods folder, you need to copy and paste the downloaded Sodium and Fabric API files. Once done, open your Minecraft Launcher, choose Fabric Loader, and play the game. There should be an improvement in the game’s performance now.

Read: Minecraft keeps crashing or freezing on PC.

11] Upgrade your computer

If you further want to improve the performance of Minecraft, it is recommended to update your computer hardware. You can try running Minecraft on a solid state drive (SSD) instead of a hard disk drive (HDD) as SSDs are comparatively faster and more power efficient. Besides that, you can also expand your RAM to make Minecraft run faster. You can also upgrade the CPU and get a better CPU, or install a new graphics card to enhance gaming performance.

Why is Minecraft FPS so low?

Low FPS issues in Minecraft are usually caused due to an out-of-date graphics driver. Hence, make sure you have installed the latest version of your display/ graphics driver on your PC. Third-party application interferences can also cause FPS drops in Minecraft. So, close all unnecessary background applications and then try playing the game.

Is 90 FPS good for Minecraft?

90 FPS is considered good for Minecraft. It will provide a good gaming experience with smooth animations and no lags. If you want even better gaming performance, 144  FPS is considered great on a high-end PC.