Fix Minecraft Lag Spikes [6 Methods]

Lag spikes in Minecraft can freeze up the game and make the game difficult to play. If you see lag spikes when playing the game, you must be very frustrated. Fortunately, the lag spike issue can be fixed. Read on to learn the possible fixes.

To fix Minecraft lag spikes, you can try these methods:

Method 1: Turn off all other applications
Method 2: Reinstall Java
Method 3: Reinstall graphics card drivers
Method 4: Allocate RAM to Minecraft properly
Method 5: Use Optifine
Method 6: Make Java high priority in Task Manager
If you have the Nvidia Control Panel installed…

Method 1: Turn off all other applications

Some applications may be running in the background and cause the Minecraft lag spikes issues. If you have applications running when you’re playing the game, turn them off.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. In Task Manager, you can see all applications running in the background. End them all and check to see if the Minecraft lagging issue is fixed.

turn off applications in task manager

Method 2: Reinstall Java

To fix Minecarft lag spikes, you can try to reinstall Java. Here’s how:

1) Right-click on the Start menu button and select Apps and Features.

2) Scroll down and locate Java. Click on it and select Uninstall.

how to uninstall java

3) After you uninstall Java from your computer, go to Java’s official website to download the latest version of Java and install it on your computer.

4) Restart your computer and check to see if the lagging issue is fixed. If not, try to reinstall the graphics card drivers. See Method 3.

Method 3: Reinstall graphics card drivers

To fix Minecraft lag spikes, you can try to reinstall graphics drivers.

Here’s how to reinstall your graphics card driver:

1) Open Device Manager (learn how to open Device Manager).

2) At the Device Manager window, expand the Display adapters category and then double-click on the graphics card device to open the Properties window.

expand the display adapters category in device manager

3) At the Properties window, select the Driver tab and then click the Uninstall Device button.

uninstall graphics card driver from device manager

4) Tick the box next to Delete the driver software for this device and then click Uninstall to confirm the uninstallation.

confirm to delete the driver for graphics card

5) Once the driver is uninstalled, restart your computer. Then Windows will install a new driver for the graphics card.

If you have two graphics cards, reinstall the driver for both graphics cards by following the above steps.

It’s strongly recommended you go to the PC’s manufacturer’s website or the graphics card manufacturer’s website to check for the latest version of graphics card driver, as sometimes Windows may not be able to offer the latest version of driver.

Method 4: Allocate RAM to Minecraft properly

To ensure Minecraft is running smoothly, you should allocate RAM to Minecraft properly.

How much RAM should you allocate to Minecraft? It depends. If you’re playing Minecraft without mods, 3GB is enough. If you’re using mods and adding more players, more RAM is required.

You should avoid allocating too much RAM to Minecraft. If you do that, some memory won’t be used. It will take longer for the Java garbage collector to clean up the unused memory. This process can produce massive lag spikes.

The RAM you can allocate to Minecraft should depend on how much memory is installed on your PC. If you have no idea how much memory you have, you can follow these steps to find it out:

a) Open Settings.

b) Click on System.

c) Click About on the left panel, and then you can see the Installed RAM on the right panel. In the screenshot below, the Installed RAM is 16GB. It means this PC has 16GB RAM available.

find out how much ram you have

How to allocate more or less RAM to Minecraft:

1) Open Minecraft launcher.

2) Go to the “Installations” tab.

3) Find and select the version that you’re currently playing. If you’re using the latest version, select the “Latest release” option.

4) Click on the three horizontal dots next to the Play button, and then select Edit from the drop-down menu.

5) In the next window, click on More Options.

6) In the “JVM Arguments” text box, look for the code that says “-Xmx[number]G”. This indicates the amount of RAM allocated to Minecraft. For example, if the number is 2, it means you have 2GB of RAM allocated to Minecraft.

The argument "Xmx" is used to specify the maximum memory usage by Minecraft on your system.

7) To allocate more or less RAM to Minecraft, change the number in “-Xmx[number]G” and then click the Save button.

For example, if you’d like to allocate 8GB RAM to Minecraft, change the number to 8. In that case, the full argument should be “-Xmx8G”.

If you already have a small amount of RAM allocated to Minecraft, you’ll need to change the number to allocate more RAM to Minecraft. On the other hand, if you have a large amount of RAM allocated to Minecraft, you’ll need to change the number to allocate less RAM to Minecraft.

Method 5: Use Optifine

Some players have reported that installing Optifine can help fix the Minecraft lag spikes issues. You also try this method and see if it works for you.

Firstly, you need to download OptiFine on your computer. Follow these steps:

1) Go to the OptiFine download page.

2) Once you’re on the download page, you’ll see a list of OptiFine versions corresponding with each Minecraft version. Find the version depending on the Minecraft version you’re currently playing, and then click on Mirror.

how to download install optifine

3) Click on Download to download the OptiFine installer to your computer.

Secondly, install OptiFine in Minecraft.

After you download OptiFine, follow the steps below to install OptiFine in Minecraft.

1) Right-click on the installer file and select Open with, and then select Java(TM) Platform SE binary. After that, a little program will open up.

2) Click on Install then OptiFine will be installed automatically.

The installation process may take a few minutes. Wait a few minutes until you see a box saying “OptiFine is successfully installed” pop up.

Lastly, run OptiFine in Minecraft. Then check to see if the Minecraft lag spikes issue is fixed.

Method 6: Make Java high priority in Task Manager

To fix lag spikes in Minecraft, you can try to provide Java with more priority on your device. It means you can make Java high priority in Task Manager. Here’s how:

1) Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.

2) In Task Manager, select the Details tab, right-click on “javaw.exe“, and then select Set priority -> High.

how to make java high priority in task manager

3) Click on Change priority.

4) Close Task Manager and restart your computer.

If you have the Nvidia Control Panel installed…

You can turn off Threaded optimization in the Nvidia Control Panel and see if it helps fix the issue.

1) Open the Nvidia Control Panel.

2) Go to 3D Settings -> Manage 3D Settings -> Global Settings.

3) Select Off next to the Threaded optimization menu, and then click on Apply.

Hopefully you find this post helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Leave a Comment