Minecraft CPU Benchmarks: Winter 2024 Update
Welcome to a quick update article to check how the latest CPUs perform in Minecraft - specifically the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K.
Originally I wanted to write a more featureful article about this and cover more "stuff", but due to constant issues with Windows 11 24H2, I decided to cut the testing short and release what data I had gathered. Since I ran into various issues that made testing either difficult or impossible, I decided to delay more extensive testing for next year when Microsoft fixes these issues, which also gives me time to improve my methodology further and add even more Minecraft versions.
Testing Methodology
I tested the following 7 Minecraft versions (yep, we have a new one!):
- Minecraft "Vanilla" 1.20.4
- Minecraft Fabric 1.20.4 with Shaders Using Fabric, Sodium and Iris to load the Complementary Unbound shader pack.
- Modded Minecraft 1.18.2 with Shaders Using this mod list and Complementary Unbound shader pack.
- Minecraft "Vanilla" 1.17.1
- Modded Minecraft 1.6.4 Using this mod list.
- Minecraft Beta 1.7.3
- All The Mods 9 (specifically 9-0.3.4)
Each version was tested 3 times and the resulting data was averaged together to produce average framerate and 1% low framerate. The 1% low framerate is the worst 1% of frametimes encountered during the runs, in a sense it is a measure of how laggy the game is.
Since Minecraft is written in Java, which is a runtime-compiled, or JIT compiled, language, the first test run will always underperform compared to the other two. I intentionally leave this data in the dataset to add some JIT-induced lag into the final numbers to reflect actual real gameplay a bit better, while not dragging them down unrealistically. The exception to this is All The Mods 9 where I do four runs total and ignore the first "slow" one, this is because ATM9 is so heavy that the first run is outright garbage data on slower CPUs, such as elevator teleporters taking a solid minute or more to start working.
System Configurations
All of the test systems used as similar hardware as possible, the CPU being the main thing changing.
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, DDR5-5600
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D, DDR5-5200
- Pseudo Ryzen 5 7600X3D (using the 7900X3D with one CCD disabled)
- Pseudo Ryzen 5 7600X (using the 7900X3D with one CCD disabled)
- AMD Ryzen 5 5600, DDR4-3200
- AMD Ryzen 5 2600, DDR4-2933
- Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, DDR5-5600
- Intel Core i7-12700KF, DDR5-5200
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and 7900X3D were tested on an Asrock B650M-HDV/M.2 motherboard using BIOS 3.10.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 and 2600 were tested on an Asus Prime B450 Plus motherboard using BIOS 4604.
Intel Core Ultra 7 265K was tested on a Gigabyte Z890M Gaming X using BIOS F9.
Intel Core i7-12700KF was tested on an Asrock B760M Pro RS using BIOS 10.01.
All systems used an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card and used a fresh Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161) install with Core Isolation enabled and using the Best Performance power profile.
Minecraft 1.20.4
Starting with the unmodded, albeit a little older, version. Here we already see the Ryzen 7 9800X3D with a commanding lead while Intel's latest Core Ultra 7 265K is struggling to beat the last generation Ryzen 7000 processors, and likely struggling to beat even it's own predecesor in the Intel 14th gen family.
Worth highlighting is also the Ryzen 5 2600 in dead last, it is kind of expected there as it is the slowest CPU I tested, but the gap between it and the Ryzen 5 5600 is just crazy, really. If you are running one of these, it is probably time to look for something newer, and those Ryzen 5 5600 and 5500 chips are quite affordable on used markets nowadays.
Minecraft - Vanilla 1.20.4
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, 20 chunk render distance
"Fresh world landscape with typical exploratory chunk loading."
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Shaders 1.20.4
Continuing on with the "mostly unmodded" version where I only added the Sodium render optimization mod, Iris for shader support and a relatively light Complementary Unbound shaderpack. I solely keep this result here to show that if you plan to use shaders, the CPU matters much less, as even something older like the Ryzen 5 5600 is able to get the most out of the RTX 4070 at 1440p.
Minecraft - Fabric 1.20.4 (Sodium, Iris, Shaders)
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, 20 chunk render distance, Complementary Unbound Shaders (All Defaults)
"Fresh world landscape with typical exploratory chunk loading."
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Minecraft 1.17.1
Unmodded Minecraft 1.17.1 is a test case using a late-game demanding base with many mob farms - actually the very save file that got me to consider making Minecraft performance comparison articles in the first place.
Here the margins shrink somewhat but the overall ranking does not change, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D remains firmly in first place, though the Core Ultra 7 265K shows a nicer performance increase over the older Core i7-12700KF.
Minecraft - Vanilla 1.17.1
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, 20 chunk render distance
"Late-game survival base with big farms and storage systems with item sorters."
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Beta 1.7.3
In Beta 1.7.3 is where we see the first unexpected upset. Due to how close the Ryzen 5000 and Ryzen 7000 series CPUs performed in this test, I did not expect much from Ryzen 9000, as I thought it was running into some limitation with AMD's chiplet design, but turns out it "just" needed a new core - Zen 5.
Clearly the architectural changes in Zen 5 are significant, and it particularly improves this old single-threaded Minecraft version, seeing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D leap over the previously dominant Intel processors.
The Core Ultra 7 265K also shows a particularly poor result here, being slower than the older Core i7-12700KF, unfortunate.
Minecraft - Beta 1.7.3
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, Advanced OpenGL On
"Walk-through the main part of Gengar's 404 Challenge video series base."
Special thanks to Gengar for providing the save file: https://www.youtube.com/@gengarjuice69
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| World file provided by https://www.youtube.com/@gengarjuice69 Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Modded with Shaders 1.18.2
Modded 1.18.2 with shaders is a test case of a smaller modpack spiced up with shaders. Now that mods are in the mix, being able to max out the RTX 4070 with an older CPU is no longer a guarantee. Quite the opposite, in my specific testing procedure you can see quite clear performance scaling all the way up to the powerful Ryzen 7 9800X3D, though I think this is where the RTX 4070 finally starts limiting performance.
Minecraft - Custom Modpack 1.18.2 (27 Mods, OptiFine, Shaders)
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, 12 chunk render distance, Complementary Unbound Shaders
"Intermediate base with farms, AE system and auto-crafting."
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Modded 1.6.4
Modded 1.6.4 is a heavier modpack with more mods and a much busier base, here we see more of a return to norm with the Core i7-12700KF narrowly edging out the Ryzen 5 5600, the Core Ultra 7 265K again struggling to beat the Ryzen 7000X3D processors and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D besting them all by at least a 30% margin.
Minecraft - Custom Modpack 1.6.4 (109 Mods)
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, "Far" render distance, Advanced OpenGL Off
"Advanced base with complex AE system automation, IC2/GregTech and farms."
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Intel Core Ultra 7 265K | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| Intel Core i7-12700KF | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
All The Mods 9
All The Mods 9 is a new addition to the test suite, it is an extremely demanding modpack for Minecraft 1.20 with 446 mods, and I made it extra challenging by getting a very late game and extremely laggy base from TheSmcelrea.
Unfortunately, I added this after already having returned the Core Ultra 7 265K, so we will not see it here. Likewise we will not see the Core i7-12700KF as I was having issues getting it to perform correctly in this heavy modpack with Windows 11 24H2.
But from the CPUs that we do see, there is a very clear trend of AMD's X3D CPUs being ahead of the Non-X3D ones by a huge margin - turns out Minecraft will care a lot about oceans of L3 cache if you throw enough mods at it, I guess.
Furthermore my usual cheap 6-Core chips I like to use for testing are not quite enough, I was regularly seeing 70% or higher utilization across the entire CPU when testing the Ryzen 5 5600, not to mention the Ryzen 5 2600.
If you plan to play this modpack a lot, it is probably wise to invest in an 8-Core Ryzen processor with V-Cache, such as the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and particularly the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
Minecraft - All The Mods 9-0.3.4
2560x1440, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 (Driver 566.03), Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2161), Average of 3 runs
Default settings, 20 chunk render distance, 12GB RAM, World Backups Disabled
"Walk-through the main part of a late-game base containing a lot of farms and machinery."
Special thanks to Smcelrea aka Jelly for providing the save file: @TheSmcelrea
| 1% Low FPS | Average FPS | |
|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | ||
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D | ||
| Pseudo-7600X3D | ||
| Pseudo-7600X | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | ||
| AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | ||
| World file provided by https://x.com/TheSmcelrea Minecraft benchmarks by https://nemez.net | ||
Conclusion
First I have to say that Windows 11 24H2 is a nightmare, if you have a Ryzen CPU with multiple CCXs or a hybrid Intel CPU, you will most likely have issues getting it to perform correctly under medium intensity workloads.
Hopefully Microsoft fixes these issues sooner than later, in the meantime I will be improving the test suite and methodology.
As for the CPUs tested, not much has changed for the older models. And for the newer ones it is quite clear - the Intel Core Ultra 200S series CPUs are quite underwhelming if you don't have a use for all the cores but they aren't awful either, they still provide excellent performance, but ultimately discounted Intel 14th gen is probably the better way to go about this.
But then there is the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the new king of the block, there is simply nothing better for gaming, and in Minecraft it shows even greater improvements than in other games - if you have the money for it, it is a no-brainer gaming chip.
And that is a wrap on this shorter Minecraft performance review. I hope to be able to produce a more in-depth piece in early 2025 without having to constantly fight Windows, but until then, I hope you found this quick article useful!