Best Minecraft Settings for Max FPS on Low-End PC (2026)

If you are playing Minecraft on a low-end PC and struggling with 20-30 FPS, the right settings and performance mods can triple or quadruple your frame rate. This guide is specifically for budget hardware: integrated graphics, old laptops, and PCs with 4-8 GB of RAM. Tested on Minecraft 1.21.x with and without Sodium as of February 2026.

Best Minecraft Settings for Low-End PCs

Render Distance: 6-8 chunks

Simulation Distance: 6 chunks

Graphics: Fast

Smooth Lighting: Off

Clouds: Off

Particles: Minimal

Entity Shadows: Off

Biome Blend: Off (1×1)

FOV: 70 (default)

Max Framerate: Unlimited

Vsync: Off

Fullscreen: On

Mipmap Levels: 0

Install Sodium or OptiFine First

Before touching any settings, install a performance mod. On low-end hardware, this is not optional. It is the single biggest FPS improvement you can make.

Sodium (for Fabric mod loader): Typically doubles or triples FPS compared to vanilla Minecraft. It rewrites the rendering engine to be dramatically more efficient. Download from modrinth.com/mod/sodium.

OptiFine (standalone or Forge): A long-standing performance mod that adds shader support and connected textures alongside FPS improvements. Download from optifine.net.

Which one? If you only care about FPS, use Sodium. It is faster than OptiFine on low-end hardware. If you also want shaders and advanced visual options, use OptiFine.

To install Sodium: Install the Fabric Loader from fabricmc.net, then drop the Sodium .jar file into your .minecraft/mods folder.

Render Distance: The Single Biggest Setting

Render distance is the number one performance killer in Minecraft. Every chunk Minecraft renders requires CPU and GPU processing.

At 6 chunks, Minecraft renders 169 chunks total (a 13×13 area around you). At 16 chunks, it renders 1,089 chunks. That is 6 times more work.

For integrated graphics (Intel UHD, AMD Vega): Set to 4-6 chunks.

For entry-level GPUs (GT 1030, RX 550): Set to 6-8 chunks.

For mid-range GPUs on low-end CPUs: Set to 8-10 chunks.

You can always increase render distance later once you have confirmed stable FPS.

RAM Allocation

Minecraft defaults to 2 GB of RAM, which causes garbage collection stutters on low-end systems.

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher.
2. Go to Installations, click Edit on your profile.
3. Click More Options.
4. In JVM Arguments, change -Xmx2G to -Xmx3G if you have 8 GB total RAM, or -Xmx2G if you have only 4 GB.

Do not over-allocate. On a 4 GB system, allocating more than 2 GB to Minecraft leaves nothing for Windows, which causes system-wide lag.

Graphics Settings Breakdown

Graphics: Fast. This disables transparent leaves, reduces rain particles, and simplifies water rendering. The visual difference is minor but the FPS gain is significant on low-end hardware.

Smooth Lighting: Off. Smooth lighting blends light levels between blocks for a more natural look. Off uses flat lighting, which looks blockier but saves 10-20% FPS on integrated graphics.

Clouds: Off. Cloud rendering uses both CPU and GPU resources. Turning them off is an easy FPS gain with minimal visual impact underground or in forests.

Particles: Minimal. Reduces the number of flame, smoke, splash, and portal particles. This helps most in the Nether and during combat.

Entity Shadows: Off. Disables the circular shadow under mobs and players. Saves FPS in areas with many entities like animal farms or mob grinders.

Biome Blend: Off (1×1). Controls how smoothly biome colors transition. Higher values use more CPU to blend colors across chunk boundaries. On low-end hardware, set to Off or 1×1.

Mipmap Levels: 0. Mipmapping smooths textures at a distance. On low-end GPUs, disabling it (level 0) saves VRAM and improves FPS.

Java Arguments for Low-End PCs

Replace your JVM arguments with these optimized settings:

-Xmx3G -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=4M -XX:+ParallelRefProcEnabled -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch

These arguments configure the G1 garbage collector to pause for shorter intervals, which reduces the “lag spike every few seconds” problem common on low-end PCs.

Additional Performance Mods

If you are using Fabric with Sodium, add these companion mods for extra FPS:

Lithium (modrinth.com/mod/lithium): Optimizes game logic like mob AI, block ticking, and chunk loading. Adds 10-20% FPS.

Starlight (modrinth.com/mod/starlight): Rewrites the light engine for faster chunk loading and less stuttering when exploring.

FerriteCore (modrinth.com/mod/ferrite-core): Reduces memory usage by 30-50%, critical for 4 GB RAM systems.

Entity Culling (modrinth.com/mod/entityculling): Stops rendering entities you cannot see, improving FPS in areas with many mobs.

Install all four alongside Sodium for the best possible performance on low-end hardware.

Windows Optimization

Close background applications. Browsers are the worst offender. Chrome with 5 tabs open uses 1-2 GB of RAM that Minecraft needs.

Set Minecraft to High Priority. Open Task Manager while Minecraft is running, find javaw.exe in Details, right-click and set priority to High.

Disable Windows visual effects. Right-click This PC then Properties then Advanced System Settings then Performance Settings then select Adjust for best performance.

Update your graphics drivers. Even integrated graphics get performance updates. Check Intel or AMD websites for the latest driver.

FAQ

Can Minecraft run on 4 GB of RAM?

Yes, but you will need to allocate only 2 GB to Minecraft, use Sodium, set render distance to 4-6, and close all other applications. It will be playable at 30-60 FPS on Fast graphics.

Is Sodium better than OptiFine for FPS?

Yes. Sodium typically provides 20-40% higher FPS than OptiFine on the same hardware. However, OptiFine supports shaders while Sodium requires Iris as a separate mod for shader support.

Why does my Minecraft lag every few seconds?

This is almost always garbage collection. Java periodically pauses to clean up unused memory. Use the optimized JVM arguments above and avoid over-allocating RAM to reduce GC pauses.

Should I use Fullscreen or Windowed for performance?

Fullscreen. It gives your GPU exclusive access to the display output, reducing overhead. Windowed mode forces Windows to composite the game window with your desktop.

Can a laptop with Intel integrated graphics run Minecraft?

Yes. Intel UHD 620 or newer can run Minecraft at 30-60 FPS with Sodium installed, 4-6 chunk render distance, and Fast graphics. Intel Iris Xe (11th gen+) can handle 60+ FPS with moderate settings.