How Much RAM for a Minecraft Server

Your Minecraft server won’t run well without having adequate RAM. The more players and mods you include in your server, the more important a large RAM allocation becomes. While there is a recommended minimum for each Minecraft build, that doesn’t mean you should stay at the lowest point.

RAM and Minecraft

RAM is a significant consideration when deciding how big your world will be, considering structures, mods, and players. The more modded and expansive, the more RAM the server will require. Without adequate RAM, your server may be laggy or not work as well in other ways. It will be harder for multiple players to be on at the same time as well.

How Much RAM for a Minecraft Server

If you look at professional Minecraft hosting plans, there’s a base of 2GB of RAM for minimal worlds with ten plugins and ten players. The largest world that can support more than 50 mods, 150 players, and 150 GB in size require at least 15 GB of RAM.

Here’s a short overview of how much ram you’ll need depending on the server and mods:

You can see that servers with more players require more RAM, even if the mods aren’t increased. In the same token, larger worlds with the same players and mods will also need more RAM. This means that you need to adjust your RAM as your world size, player base, and mod needs grow.

How To Allocate More RAM to Minecraft Server

Allocating RAM is easy, whether you rent a server or manage your own. Of course, if you rent a server, you just have to go to your control panel and upgrade your plan to include more RAM. It will cost more as your needs increase. If you manage your own server, though, it’s helpful to know how to change your RAM allocation as needed.

Allocating RAM on Java Edition

You can change the RAM right from the launcher of the Java Edition. If you use a different launcher or your standard launcher is having problems, you can still change it through an alternate one.

1. Open your Minecraft Launcher.
2. Click on Installations.
   
3. Click the three-dot button on the installation you want to manage.
   
4. Click “More Options.”
   
5. Examine the “JVM Arguments” line.
   
6. Change the number by “Xmx6G” to include the amount of RAM you want to allocate. For example, it should say “Xmx6G” to use 6 GB of RAM.
   

You have to manage each installation separately.

Allocating RAM on Third-party Launchers

Third-party launchers all have the JVM arguments in different places, but the overall steps are the same as changing it on the Java Edition. Search for Preferences or Edit Profile. Those two locations are likely to have the JVM Arguments that you can adjust to give Minecraft more RAM.

Allocating RAM on Forge Server

You can edit the text document in your Forge Server installation to change the amount of RAM allocated to Minecraft.

1. Open the folder containing your Forge server installation.
2. Open the “Launch” text document.
   
3. Make sure your Forge installation matches the one with the .jar installation listed in the document.
   
4. Type in the amount of RAM you want to use in the Xmx command line.
   
5. Save the document.
6. Use the “Launch” file option to start your Forge server.
   

If you change your Forge settings often, consider using ServerStart Scripts to manage RAM allocation and other settings.

How to Allocate More RAM to Minecraft Through Twitch

The Twitch Launcher is another way to start your Minecraft game. You can also use it to give more RAM quickly.

1. Go to the Minecraft tab in Settings.
   
2. Click the allocated memory slider bubble.
   
3. Drag it to the amount of memory you want to allocate to Minecraft.

It’s as simple as that. Once you open the game from that launcher, you’ll be playing with the amount of RAM you allocated.

Why Can’t I Allocate More RAM to Minecraft

Sometimes people have trouble allocating more RAM to Minecraft. If you’re experiencing this issue, it’s likely you don’t have the Java SE Development kit for Windows x64 installed. It won’t work if you’re using the 32-bit version. 

You may also be running the Windows 10 edition of Minecraft. Windows automatically manages the RAM on that particular game, so you don’t need to change it.

Can You Allocate More than 12 GB of RAM to Minecraft

You can allocate as much RAM as you have on your system. You can certainly add more than 12 GB of RAM to Minecraft since professional hosts offer up to 15 GB. 

You always want to have at least 2 GB of RAM to run Minecraft. However, most people have better results if they set the minimum amount to 4 GB instead. The performance boost is noticeable enough to make it worth it, even if you’re running with limited RAM.

Tips for Adding RAM to Minecraft

You shouldn’t try to add more RAM to Minecraft than you have on the computer hosting the game server. Make sure you have enough left over to run any other programs or processes you’re using as well. It’s imperative to leave enough RAM not allocated if you’re playing on the same computer since your graphics might not be as smooth if you’re low on memory.

Don’t feel like you have to stick with a set amount of RAM. You can try changing to different amounts at different times. If you have a sudden surge of players, doing a brief shutdown to allocate more RAM might help it run smoothly while you’re very populated. If only a few people are on normally, you can turn the RAM back down.

Sometimes adding too much RAM can cause servers to lag or have performance issues. Try lowering the RAM if you find that your server isn’t working as well after increasing it. You might have to experiment a bit to find the perfect amount.