Diagnosing Client-Side Lag

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Resolving Minecraft Lag

You might experience lag while playing Minecraft for a variety of reasons. This article describes causes and potential solutions for client-side lag. For information about other types of lag, read through our article Resolving Minecraft Lag

The "client-side" refers to the game client that is rendering the game on your computer whether you are playing in single-player or connected to a server. When playing single-player, an internal server is running on your computer that your client is directly connected to. That makes understanding client side lag a little bit easier because it's typically associated with a drop in your displayed frames per second (FPS).

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We're Here to Help

If you're hosting your server with Akliz, you might expect that we only offer support for issues on the server side. However, we want to make sure you can actually play your game on the server and sometimes that means helping with client-side issues. If you're running into a problem and you've purchased a server through us, make sure to contact us for support!

Not Enough Memory on the Client

The Minecraft client, especially for modded Minecraft, needs to have enough memory allocated to it to have a smooth experience. The game needs to load a lot of things into memory such as graphics (textures, modules, and associated information), audio (sound effects and music), and input/output (keybindings and other device info).

The game client also needs to create a copy of all of the objects that the game might need for interfacing with the server. If you are playing on a remote server and not in single-player, it still needs to load all of this data so that the client has enough info about what it should be rendering.

The base game will usually need at least 1-2gb of memory allocated to your game client depending on the version you are playing. Newer versions tend to need more memory. If you plan to use a resource pack or want to play with mods, you will need a lot more memory. For modpacks and resource packs, we recommend that you have 4-8gb of memory allocated to your game client. For any newer or more modern modpack, you should have at least 8gb recommended as long as your PC has at least 12gb of memory total.

Reduce View Distance

Sometimes reducing the server view-distance property can help players who have older computers or slower connections. View distance determines how many chunks around each player are loaded. More chunks will require more rendering. Read here to reduce view-distance.

Reduce Render Distance and Simulation Distance

You might be playing Minecraft on a slower system, such as an older laptop or desktop. You might have a low-end GPU or use integrated graphics. Having these limitations might cause you to experience a lot of frame rate lag while playing. One potential solution in this situation is to reduce how much work your computer has to do to render the world around you. Read onto the next section to learn about video settings options and the recommended values for render and simulation distance.

Client-Side Frame Rate

Your game may appear to lag and you might think that there is an issue with your server. But in some cases, the issue is with your game client. To check your frames per second (FPS), press F3 within Minecraft. It'll display your current FPS in the upper left corner of the screen along with a lot of other info. You want your FPS to be as high as your monitor's refresh rate, but anything above 20-30 FPS should provide adequate gameplay. If it's below 20-30 FPS, try adjusting your video settings in game using the following settings:

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Note about game versions

Video settings change from version to version. The below table is for Minecraft 1.19+ and is subject to change. For information about all options and past versions, check the official Minecraft Wiki page.

Depending on your version of the game, you can also attempt to use performance enhancing mods such as OptiFine to increase your framerate and improve your client side rendering performance. However, mods like these rewrite the default Minecraft rendering engine and game logic that the game and other mods depend on. You could experience weird errors, visual glitches, or crashes. Most people trade stability for some increase in performance.

If your Frame rate is still an issue after making these changes check your video card drivers, if they updated recently try reverting them to an older version. If they're behind you may need to update them to a newer version.