How To Show FPS in Minecraft [Illustrated Guide]

Featured Image credit: Mojang.

When video games start stuttering and everything seems choppy, you first want to check your FPS.

Even though Minecraft does not automatically have it shown at all times, there are several ways to check your current FPS to see whether you fall under the recommended 60 FPS. 

Keep reading to see different ways to show FPS in Minecraft and the various tools available to accomplish this task.

I’ve also included some recommended tweaks to optimize your FPS. Let’s dig in!

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Method 1: Use the In-game Controls To Show FPS

The in-game fps counter is the first and most commonly used method of showing your Minecraft FPS. 

To use the Minecraft built-in tool, press “F3” to open the debug screen. 

You may need to press “FN” + “F3” if it does not pop up when just pressing “F3.” 

It will show many different stats, but what you are looking for is in the top left corner, as shown below. It will tell you your current number of frames, allowing you to see if you have a low FPS. 

You are fine if you are over 60 FPS, though you can never have too much fps when playing Minecraft. 

It is important to note that fps will never stay stagnant, so any fps tool you use, including Minecraft’s built-in, is a functional fps indicator.

Are you having trouble controlling your mouse in Minecraft? Check out how to turn off mouse acceleration in the game.

Method 2: Use Various FPS Mods

While Minecraft’s built-in FPS tool is perfectly fine, there are plenty of various FPS mods available that you can use to show FPS alongside other benefits.

One of the most common is an FPS display mod called Optifine, which not only shows FPS but also provides additional optimizations to the graphics engine of Minecraft.

Another great optimization mod that can display FPS is Sodium, which also has a Forge fork called Rubidium that works on modern versions. 

You can use mods like FPS and FPS Monitor if you don’t care about having additional optimizations with your FPS display.

Though if you are playing modded Minecraft, it is almost always better to use optimization mods due to how many graphics and CPU resources Java eats up.

Without them, even if you have top graphics drivers, you will struggle with getting higher fps once you add more than a few dozen mods. 

Method 3: Use the Xbox Game Bar

The next way you can show FPS when playing Minecraft, or any other video game, is by using the Xbox game overlay if you play on a Windows device. Follow the below steps to check your FPS with the Xbox game overlay:

1. Press “Win + G” (or whatever other keybind you have set your Xbox game overlay to) to open the overlay.
2. The overlay will pause Minecraft and show several stats. 
3. Your FPS can be found in the Performance Tab.
4. The Performance Tab will also show your current GPU, CPU, VRAM, and RAM usage. 

Another benefit of using the Xbox game overlay is that you can easily take a screen capture by pressing “Win + Alt + PrtSc” to show off your 200+ FPS to your friends with less impressive video cards than you.

Method 4: Use Nvidia GeForce Experience

If you have an Nvidia GPU, you can use the software with your graphics card to show FPS in various games. Here’s how:

1. Open GeForce Experience.
2. In the top-right corner, click your profile icon to open the settings.
3. Select Account from the options available, and then navigate to General.
4. Locate the In-Game Overlay section and press the Settings button. 
   • A menu will open up, allowing you to change the HUD layout to display your FPS.
5. Click Performance > FPS.
6. Choose where you would like it to be located by selecting it on the screen under Position.
7. Click Save.

Now your FPS will be displayed as an overlay while you play Minecraft! 

How To Improve Your FPS

After you check your frame rate, if it is low, you will want to know how to improve it to enjoy your Minecraft world in all its glory. Luckily, even though

Minecraft can suffer from low FPS frequently. There are several ways that you can improve your FPS fairly easily.

First, check your video settings, often the main culprit of low FPS.

This is why Rubidium, Sodium, or Optifine are highly recommended if you have low FPS, as they allow you to target your video settings better to optimize your gaming experience.

The main settings you will want to lower are:

• Render Distance
• Shadow Distance
• Simulation Distance
• Smooth Lighting

You can also play around with the max framerate setting (it can cause buffering if the game has unlimited framerate but your system can’t handle it) and chunk builder, which determines how the chunks are loaded throughout your world, which can have a noticeable effect if you play modded. 

Second, close unnecessary apps that are running on your device. The Minecraft launcher steals a ton of resources, and when running, Java will take up all the RAM you are willing to give it and more.

So if you are experiencing some lower FPS than normal, open up your task manager and close anything that doesn’t need running. 

Finally, update your computer’s graphical drivers. Typically, Windows will tell you if you have any available driver updates, but sometimes you may need to go directly to the third-party software’s website to check for any updates.

This is especially true for graphics drivers, as Windows can be several weeks behind when it comes to graphical drivers. 

Conclusion

Knowing your FPS and how to improve it is incredibly important when playing Minecraft and ensuring a great user experience.

If you enjoyed this article, check out How To Show Chunk Borders in Minecraft to make it easier to see where your chunks start and end. Until next time, happy gaming!