Even though Minecraft doesn’t require a beast of a computer to run smoothly, lag can still happen, and it’s perhaps even more annoying when it happens in your single-player world. The recommended amount of RAM to run Minecraft is only 4 GB, but even computers with 16 GB of RAM can experience lag, so what’s the catch? What are the causes of Minecraft single-player lag, and how do you fix it?
- Article Breakdown:
- There are many reasons why Minecraft might lag in a single-player world, but more often than not, the cause is settings that are set too high for your computer to handle.
- One of the best things you can do to make Minecraft run more smoothly is to install Optifine. It’s free to download and doesn’t contain any viruses.
Lag Types
We all know the classic Minecraft lags like blocks breaking and reappearing, choppy frames, or when you keep moving back and forward and suddenly freeze in one place, reappear somewhere else in the next second, and then die. All of these types of lags have names so let’s see what they are.
Client Based Lag
Client-based lag is what you most commonly experience in your single-player world. It is when your FPS drops or the game has choppy frames. There are many reasons why this type of lag might occur, and we’ll get into all of them a bit later on, so find what resonates with your experience and work from there.
Server Based Lag
Server-based lag doesn’t sound like it can happen in a single-player world, and truth be told, it can’t, kind of. It only happens on servers, but it can happen when you’re playing alone on a server. Reappearing blocks and going back and forward rapidly fall into the category of server-based lag. It’s caused by low TPS or Ticks Per Second.
It can happen in single-player as well, and it can be fixed by changing the random tick speed using commands and cheats in your Minecraft world, but more on that later. If you’re experiencing this type of lag on a multiplayer server, you can make sure your internet connection is stable, or you can try to allocate more RAM to the server.
Reasons for Minecraft running poorly.
There are numerous reasons why your Minecraft single-player world might be laggy, and we’ll get into all of them, so follow along:
1. Weak Computer
The minimum system requirement for a PC to run Java Edition Minecraft is CPU – Intel i3, RAM – 4 GB, GPU – Nvidia GeForce 400 series, and HDD – at least 1 GB. These are the minimum requirements, but as we all know, the recommended requirements to run the game smoothly are very different, so you’ll need a CPU – intel i5, RAM – 8 GB, GPU – Nvidia GeForce 700 series, and HDD – 4GB but SSD is recommended. If you have a PC with the first specs, lag is more likely to happen.
2. Too many programs running in the background
Are you playing Minecraft while watching YouTube videos and running ten more windows in the background? If that’s the case, make sure you only run Minecraft. Chrome is a web browser known to suck up all of your RAM, so if you still want to play while listening to music or watching tutorials and other videos, my advice to you is to download Opera GX, which allows you to set a limit on how much RAM it’s using.
3. Too many farms
Large automated farms run in the background, and if you have a dozen of them, it might just be the cause of your lag. There’s too much going on constantly in the background for your computer to process it all on top of rendering your whole world and actions you take, so maybe shut down a farm or two.
4. Too many Redstone contraptions
Redstone gadgets take a lot to work. Think of Redstone contraptions as a high-tech thing in Minecraft that takes a lot to run. You could have made a complicated Redstone door, a farm, an elevator, or a world destroyer. Whatever it is, it’s likely just too much for Minecraft to load, so the game will lag.
How to make Minecraft run smoother
1. Allocate more RAM to the launcher
Did you know you can add more RAM to your Minecraft launcher? The default is 1 GB which is nothing. Players report having success with this method when they boost it to 4 GB, but you need to figure out what will work for you. To add more RAM to your Minecraft launcher, follow these steps:
- Open the launcher
- Edit your profile
- At the bottom of the profile editor, click on Java Settings(Advanced)
- Check the JVM arguments box
- Change the first argument from “-Xmx1G” to “-Xmx4G”. Change the number if you want it lower or higher.
Do this as a last resort since there are easier ways to fix the lag.
2. Remove farms and Redstone contraptions
We’ve already covered this but remove some of your Redstone contraptions and automated farms. If you don’t want to do it, break a block that allows them to run so that they stop running temporarily.
3. Install Optifine or other mods
OptiFine is the god of all mods in offering players a lag-free experience. It allows Minecraft to run faster and smoother and comes with full support for HD textures you might want to add later. Perhaps pause on adding additional HD textures and download OptiFine for now.
To download it, go to the official OptiFine website, check the version of your Minecraft Launcher, and download the corresponding version of OptiFine. After downloading it, run the installation file and follow the steps.
4. Turn down Biome Blend
Biome Blend allows for smooth transitions between biomes, so you don’t get shocked when entering a new biome. It blends textures, and as a result, everything looks a bit nicer. If you’re experiencing lag, you might want to turn down this option.
5. Change the Video Settings
To access the video settings, press ESC and go to Settings and then Video Settings. From here, make sure to turn down a couple of the video settings. It would be best if you turned down Graphics, Render Distance, and Simulation Distance. In the picture below, you can see the recommended values to make the game run smoothly, faster, and hopefully without lag.
How to increase FPS in Minecraft?
There are multiple ways to increase FPS and make it more stable in Minecraft. The first method involves messing around with in-game settings. Go to Settings and then Video Settings, click on Performance, and almost every setting you turn down will help increase your FPS. Smooth FPS will stabilize it and make sure you don’t experience FPS drops.
You can also turn off Vsync, turn on Full-Screen mode, and decrease resolution. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do except allocate more RAM to your Minecraft launcher.
Does RAM increase FPS?
Although GPU has the most direct connection to what you see in your game, increasing RAM will certainly help with increasing FPS and make it more stable. The more demanding the game is in graphics, the higher your RAM will have to be to keep the FPS at pleasurable heights. Since Minecraft isn’t a demanding game regarding graphics, most of your effort to increase FPS should come from RAM.
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