Ever since I can remember, Minecraft has always been a fairly unoptimized game. Despite having the most barebones graphics out of any popular game down to literal block building, the render distance barely reaches a few hundred meters before your FPS starts chugging. Bedrock Edition alleviates most of these problems, but that doesn’t necessarily fix Java Edition. What if I want good performance with a plethora of mods and the Java engine? That’s where Sodium comes in. Today, we’re going to go over Sodium, how it works, and everything involved. Let’s begin!
Summary
Sodium is a free and open-source rendering optimization mod for Minecraft which greatly improves frame rates and stuttering while fixing many graphical issues. Boasting wide compatibility with the Fabric mod ecosystem compared to other rendering-focused mods, you can be sure this mod doesn’t compromise on visual fidelity while giving you the authentic block game feel.
Currently, Sodium is the most stable version of the mod at this point. Although, it does not contain support for the Fabric Rendering API, which a small number of mods currently use. If you try to use these mods with Sodium, your game may crash or behave unexpectedly.
Performance
Here are some performance metrics which can be used to determine the improvements to expect from using Sodium on your computer. Framerate can be improved for a wide range of computers, whether fast or slow. Most players report a 250% to 500% increase in average frame rates.
Hardware
Performance
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 / AMD Radeon RX 580
(before 88 fps, after 418 fps)
Intel Core i3-6100U / Intel HD Graphics 520
(before 17 fps, after 73 fps)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / NVIDIA RTX 3080
(before 61 fps, after 251 fps)
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G / AMD Vega 8 Graphics
(before 58 fps, after 173 fps)
Intel Core i5-3330 / NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030
(before 36 fps, after 89 fps)
Intel Core i7-10700K / NVIDIA GTX 1660 SUPER
(before 81 fps, after 256 fps)
Intel Core i7-1165G7 / NVIDIA GeForce MX450
(before 45 fps, after 156 fps)
AMD Athlon II M300 / ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500/5100
(before 9 fps, after 47 fps)
As explained, you can expect to see significant improvements regardless of the age or make of your PC build. Whether it be the best gaming PC in the world or the worst craptop ever, starry skies inbound!
Compatibility
Compatibility is ensured with most graphics cards that are using up-to-date drivers for OpenGL 4.6 Core, which covers most graphics cards released after mid-2010.
INTEL HD Graphics 500 Series (Skylake) or newer
NVIDIA GeForce 400 Series (Fermi) or newer
AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series (GCN 1) or newer
Older graphics cards could potentially work (as long as they’re using up-to-date drivers), but hardware requirements are subject to change for future releases.
If you need help downloading and using Sodium, check out our in-depth installation guide here.
Conclusion
That’s all! Sodium is a very helpful mod that makes Minecraft perform as it should be. It shows us that although our lovable block game performs like it was made in 1985, the ever-so-helpful modding community is always there to save us with innovative modifications at the ready. This mod is especially paramount with older machines, but it works just as fine on newer PCs as well. With that being said, I hope you all have a great day!
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