How to optimize Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition settings for a slow PC

Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition is already a step above the Java version of Minecraft when it comes to the burden on your PC. Still, some PCs can have a hard time running it — there is a lot going on. A choppy Minecraft will lead to an unhappy miner, so here are a few tips to get the game running well on a slow PC.

• How to change graphics settings in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition
• Three tips for a smooth Minecraft experience

How to change graphics settings in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition

There are several graphics settings within Minecraft itself you can change to optimize performance. To open the settings menu, follow these steps:

1. Launch Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.
2. Click Options.
3. Click the Graphics button. It looks like a bunch of blocks and is located to the left of the window.

From the graphics settings menu you have plenty of options to tweak. Finding the perfect balance of beauty and performance is up to you.

Lower render distance

Render distance is the number of blocks that are rendered around you as you play. Having a high render distance makes your PC work hard managing a lot of blocks, whereas having a low render distance lets your PC work at keeping your game running smooth.

There are six different levels of render distance you can try out. Start with the lowest and work your way up to see what your PC can handle.

1. Click and hold the slider knob next to Render Distance and move it to the far left of the slider. Left is low, right is high.

Lower anti-aliasing

Anti-aliasing attempts to smooth out jagged lines in a game. It will also, at a high level, slow down your PC.

There are four notches on the anti-aliasing slider: 2X, 4X, 8X, and 16X. Start with the lowest and work your way up to see what works with your PC.

1. Click and hold the slider knob next to Anti-Aliasing and move it to the far left of the slider. Far left is 2X, far right is 16X.

Turn off texel anti-aliasing

Texel anti-aliasing is another form of anti-aliasing that deals with textures on a pixel level.

1. Click the button next to Texel Anti-Aliasing to turn it off.

Lower particle render distance

Particles appear often in your game, like anytime there is an explosion, you walk on sand, or it rains. Start at the lowest distance and work your way up to see what works best with your PC.

1. Click and hold the slider knob next to Particle Render Distance and move it to the far left of the slider. Left is low, right is high.

Lower your field of view

Field of view (FOV) is the number of blocks you can see at once on your screen. A higher FOV means your PC has to render more blocks per frame. Start with a low FOV and work your way up to see what your PC can handle.

1. Click and hold the slider knob next to FOV and move it to the far left of the slider. Left is lower FOV, right is higher FOV.

Turn off fancy graphics

As the name suggests, fancy graphics make your game look better and make your PC work harder.

1. Click the button next to Fancy Graphics to turn it off.

Turn off beautiful skies

Beautiful skies are nice to look at, but will slow down your PC.

1. Click the button next to Beautiful Skies to turn it off.

Turn off fancy leaves

Fancy leaves let you see through leaf blocks hanging off trees. They're unnecessary, and turning it off will help your PC.

1. Click the button next to Fancy Leaves to turn it off.

Three tips for a smooth Minecraft experience

Tweaking graphics settings might only go so far helping your PC run Minecraft. Here are a few other things you can try to help your PC keep up.

Close other apps running in the background

Listening to music while you play Minecraft is enjoyable, but streaming through a web browser can slow things down. Likewise, having other apps open while you play will hog valuable resources that could be put toward Minecraft. Close any unnecessary apps before starting your play session and see if performance doesn't ramp up.

Change your power plan

Windows 10 has some built-in power options that help balance your PC against energy use and performance. Here's how to change your power plan to maximum performance:

1. Click the Search Windows field next to the Start button.
2. Type power options.
3. Click Power Options.

4. Click the drop-down arrow next to Show additional plans.
5. Click High performance.

Update your graphics card drivers

Using an outdated driver for your graphics card might cause some problems with Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition.

NVIDIA users:

1. Navigate to the NVIDIA driver support page in your favorite web browser.
2. Click Graphics Drivers in the Automatic detection row to allow NVIDIA to scan your computer and offer you the latest GPU driver.

AMD users:

1. Navigate to the AMD driver support page in your favorite web browser.
2. Click Download Now beneath Automatically Detect and Install Your Driver to allow AMD to scan your computer and offer you the latest GPU driver. You might have to scroll down a bit.

Your Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition experience

Did these graphics settings help your slow PC run Minecraft? Let us know in the comments section below!