Minecraft graphics settings

The video settings menu (Options > Video Settings) is the first place to look when Minecraft runs slowly. The catch is that most players don't know what half of these options do, so they leave everything at the defaults. And the defaults aren't tuned for performance: they're set so the game looks decent on average hardware. If you play on a weaker computer, or you want more FPS on a powerful one (because you plan to run shaders), this guide is for you.

We go through every setting one by one, explain what it does and how much FPS you can gain by changing it, and give recommended values for three hardware tiers: a weak PC (integrated graphics, 4-8 GB RAM), a mid-range PC (dedicated graphics card, 8-16 GB RAM) and a powerful PC (modern GPU, 16+ GB RAM).

Render Distance

Render Distance sets how many chunks (16x16-block sections of the world) the game renders around your character. The default is 12 chunks, and the range goes from 2 to 32. Of all the graphics options in Minecraft, this one has the biggest impact on FPS. Doubling the render distance roughly quadruples the load, because the area grows with the square of the distance.

At a render distance of 32, the game renders over 4,000 chunks at once. At 8 chunks, it's around 225. That's a huge difference. On a weak PC, set it to 6-8 chunks. On a mid-range PC, 10-12. On a powerful PC you can easily go up to 16-20, but even on an RTX 4090, going past 24 chunks without optimization mods can drop you below 60 FPS, especially in biomes with lots of vegetation.

Graphics

Two options: Fast and Fancy (since 1.16 there's also Fabulous). The difference is mainly in leaf transparency, rain rendering and a few visual effects. On Fast, leaves are solid (opaque), rain doesn't render behind glass and shadows are simplified. On Fancy everything looks nicer, but it costs 5-15% of your FPS.

Fabulous adds transparency with correct sorting (looking at water through glass, for example, renders properly), but it needs a stronger graphics card and takes off another 5-10% of FPS. For weak PCs: Fast. For mid-range ones: Fancy. Use Fabulous only if you have a GPU with at least 4 GB of VRAM and you don't notice any drops.

Smooth Lighting

Three options: Off, Minimum and Maximum. Smooth Lighting smooths out the transitions between different light levels on blocks. Without it, every block has a single flat light level, which looks blocky (more than it should). The impact on FPS is minimal: the difference between Off and Maximum rarely goes over 2-3%. Recommendation: Maximum for every hardware tier. You gain almost no FPS by turning it off, and the visual difference is huge.

VSync

VSync (vertical sync) syncs the game's frames to your monitor's refresh rate (usually 60 Hz). With it on, your FPS won't go above 60 (or 144 on a 144 Hz monitor), but you also won't get screen tearing (the image "splitting" horizontally). The problem: VSync adds input lag, a delay between moving your mouse and seeing the reaction on screen. In Minecraft you notice it most when you look around quickly.

Recommendation: turn VSync off and set Max Framerate to your monitor's refresh rate or a bit higher instead (for example, 144 on a 144 Hz monitor). If you have a G-Sync (Nvidia) or FreeSync (AMD) monitor, turn VSync off and enable those technologies in your driver settings: they give you smooth frames without the input lag.

Max Framerate

A slider from 10 to 260 FPS, plus an Unlimited option. Unlimited sounds tempting, but it isn't always a good idea. When the game is pushing 500+ FPS, your GPU runs at full load for no reason, which means more noise, higher temperatures and more power use. Besides, if your monitor refreshes 60 times per second, it won't show 500 FPS anyway.

Recommendation: set the limit to twice your monitor's refresh rate. A 60 Hz monitor? Set 120. A 144 Hz monitor? Set 288 or Unlimited. Rendering more frames than your monitor can show won't make a visual difference, but keeping them above the refresh rate reduces input lag.

Particles

Three options: All, Decreased and Minimal. Particles are effects like torch smoke, breaking blocks, raindrops, campfire sparks, potion effects and explosions. On All, the game renders every particle. On Minimal, most of them are hidden. The FPS impact depends on the situation: in normal gameplay the difference is 1-3%. But near big farms with lots of entities, or while fighting the Wither (which spawns hundreds of explosion particles), switching to Minimal can give you as much as 10-15 FPS more.

Recommendation: Decreased is a good compromise. Minimal is worth it on weak PCs, or when you play on a server with lots of players and entities. Use All only on powerful hardware and in singleplayer.

Biome Blend

A slider from 1x1 to 15x15 (since version 1.18). It controls how smoothly grass and leaf colors blend between biomes. At 1x1, biome borders are sharp. At 15x15, the transitions are beautiful and natural, but the game has to average the colors over a large area for every block. FPS impact: 3-8% at 15x15 compared to 1x1. On a weak PC, set 3x3 or 5x5. On a mid-range PC, 5x5 or 7x7. On a powerful PC you can use 7x7 or go up to 9x9.

Entity Distance

A slider from 50% to 500%. It sets how far from you mobs, animals, dropped items and other players are rendered. At 50%, mobs only appear when you're close. At 500% you see them from far away, which costs FPS. Every visible entity means extra calculations for geometry, animation and AI (even though AI runs independently of rendering, rendering the models alone is expensive).

Recommendation: 100% for weak PCs, 100-150% for mid-range ones and 200-300% for powerful ones. Lowering it to 75% makes sense on multiplayer servers, where 50+ players can be standing in one spot.

Entity Shadows

On/Off. A simple choice: whether mobs and players cast shadows on the ground (the round, flat shadows under their feet, not to be confused with shaders, which add full, realistic shadows). FPS impact: 1-3% in normal conditions, more on servers with lots of players. Turn it off on a weak PC. On mid-range and powerful PCs you can leave it on.

Clouds

Off, Fast and Fancy. Fancy clouds are 3D blocks floating at Y=192. They look nice, but they cost FPS, especially at a low render distance (because then they make up a proportionally bigger part of the rendered scene). Fast turns the clouds into flat 2D ones. Off removes them completely. The difference between Fancy and Off is 3-8 FPS. On a weak PC: Off. On a mid-range PC: Fast. On a powerful PC: Fancy, unless you use shaders (which have their own clouds).

Mipmap Levels

A slider from 0 to 4. Mipmapping is a graphics technique that smooths the textures of distant blocks, reducing the "shimmering" effect (aliasing) in the background. A higher level means a nicer image at a distance, at the cost of slightly more VRAM. The FPS impact is practically zero on modern hardware. Recommendation: 4 for everyone. The only reason to lower it is a GPU with less than 1 GB of VRAM, which in 2026 means very old hardware.

Simulation Distance (since 1.18)

A setting separate from Render Distance (available since 1.18). It sets how far from you the game simulates world mechanics: crop growth, mob spawning, redstone signals and villager activity. You can have a render distance of 16 (you see far) but a simulation distance of 8 (mechanics run closer to you). It's a powerful option, because simulating is more expensive to compute than just rendering chunks.

Recommendation: on a weak PC, set Simulation Distance to 4-6. On a mid-range PC, 8-10. On a powerful PC, 10-12. Keep in mind that a farm needs a simulation distance that covers the whole farm, so if your farms are big, don't lower it too much.

FOV (field of view)

A slider from 30 to 110 (70 by default). FOV doesn't affect FPS much directly, but a higher FOV means rendering a wider view angle, which can lower performance slightly (by 1-2 FPS). More important is that a higher FOV (80-90) gives a better sense of speed and spatial awareness, while one that's too high (100+) distorts the image at the edges. Most competitive PvP players set their FOV to 80-90. For singleplayer exploration, 70-80 is comfortable.

Graphics API: Vulkan or OpenGL

Since version 26.2 (June 16, 2026), Video Settings has a Graphics API option. It has three values: "Default", "Prefer Vulkan (Experimental)" and "Prefer OpenGL". In 26.2 and 26.3, "Default" means OpenGL, while in the 26.4 snapshots it already means Vulkan. The new API only takes effect after you restart the game.

Recommendation: leave it on "Default", as Mojang advises. The game itself describes Vulkan as an experimental feature that "might reduce performance or cause instability on some systems". Switch to "Prefer OpenGL" if you play with shaders through Iris (which doesn't support Vulkan in 26.2) or if Vulkan makes the game crash. Since July 2026, Mojang requires a graphics card that supports Vulkan 1.3. For the list of cards, how to check your hardware and what to do about a black screen, see the guide Vulkan in Minecraft Java: does your graphics card support it.

Recommended graphics settings table

Settings outside the Video Settings menu

A few options that affect performance aren't on the Video Settings tab:

• GUI Scale (Options > Video Settings): doesn't affect FPS, only how readable the interface is. Auto picks the scale based on your resolution. On a 4K monitor, set it manually to 3 or 4.
• Fullscreen: fullscreen mode (F11) can give 5-10% more FPS than windowed mode on some systems, especially with older graphics cards. On Windows 10/11, borderless fullscreen (fullscreen in the settings + Alt+Enter) gives identical performance.
• Music & Sounds: sound doesn't affect FPS much, but on very weak machines turning sounds off can take 1-2% of the load off the CPU.

Graphics settings are only the start. If you still don't have enough FPS after optimizing them, the next step is installing an optimization mod: OptiFine or Sodium. Both can double or even triple your FPS without lowering graphics quality. And if you want more quick tips without digging deep into the settings, check out our 20 ways to get more FPS.