Are you a fan of Minecraft but interested in whether you can play without a graphics card? Don’t despair, we have the answers and we’re here to tell you.
The way to play Minecraft without a graphics card is to use integrated graphics that your device will already have installed or use low graphics settings on Minecraft to get away with not using a dedicated graphics card. It’s worth bearing in mind that the game won’t perform at peak performance and you may encounter error codes within Minecraft gameplay. However, the game will still be very much playable, you may just need to adjust certain settings to improve game performance.
So how do you go about playing Minecraft without a graphics card? Continue reading to find out.
What Can You Do To Play Minecraft Without Using A Graphics Card?
Integrated Graphics
Playing Minecraft without a graphics card is very much possible, however, you will need integrated graphics within your machine in order to do this.
Integrated graphics are essentially a form of Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), that is built into the processor of your computer. These graphics can be used to play games that don’t require a dedicated graphics card to get full use out of the game – Minecraft is a great example of this.
Dedicated memory isn’t required for integrated graphics, as it will share system memory from your Central Processing Unit (CPU) in order to work.
Providing you have a good CPU; you can expect Minecraft to work well without a dedicated graphics card.
To check if your machine has integrated graphics, you can follow the below instructions:
- Open your Control Panel
- Navigate to Device Manager
- Select Display Adaptors
On this next page, if you see a section labeled ‘Intel’ this means your device already has integrated graphics.
Use Low Graphics Settings
If you use low graphics settings on Minecraft, you can play the game without requiring a dedicated graphics card. You will need to give the graphics some time to fully render as without a graphics card you may find the game is a little slow to load. However, once the game has been rendered you shouldn’t have any issues providing that your graphics settings are set to low.
Lowering the graphics within the game settings will essentially improve your performance without needing to use a specific graphics card. We recommend following the below steps to lower your graphics settings on Minecraft:
- In Game Settings, set render distance to 8 Chunks
- Change Graphics Settings to Fast
- Switch Off Faders
- Switch Off Bobbing
- Switch Off Distortion
- Make sure Dynamic FOV is switched On
- Check Particles are kept at Minimized
With these game settings, you should find that your game performance improves even without a dedicated graphics card. These are quick ways to reduce your graphics enabling gameplay without having to purchase any extra graphics cards.
Install Mods
Another way of using Minecraft without a graphics card is to install different modifiers (mods). Mods essentially modify the default functionality of a game so that different modes/gameplay can be used, for example not using specific graphics cards.
The mods that you’ll need to use to enable gameplay without a dedicated graphics card are Sodium and Optifine. Without these mods, you’ll find that the performance of the game is really bad, and it won’t be very enjoyable to play.
Once you’ve installed both the Sodium and Optifine mods, follow the below instructions for optimum results:
- Select Optifine
- Switch on Fast Math
- Change Settings to Fast instead of Fancy
- Switch Shadows either to Low or Off
- Switch Render Distance to Low or Off
With these steps, you should be able to achieve a Frame Rate (FPS) of between 45 – 50. This should enable you to successfully play Minecraft without a graphic card.
Increase RAM & CPU
You may find that you can play Minecraft without a graphics card, but that the performance of the game isn’t ideal. There are some ways of improving this, such as increasing the amount of Random Access Memory (RAM) that is stored on your device.
To play Minecraft without a dedicated graphics card, you’ll require at least 4GB of RAM on your device in order to play. Without this, you’ll find the game won’t run or will be so incredibly slow that it will be practically impossible to play.
You’ll also want to make sure that your computer is running a decent CPU. Without this, you may also find that the game struggles to function or run at all.
You’ll need a minimum of an Intel Celeron J4105, or AMD FX-4100 in terms of CPU. Anything above this will work fine too, but these are the minimum requirements in order to play the game effectively.
We also recommend a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) of at least 4GB. This will give your device the extra storage it needs to effectively run Minecraft without the need for a specific graphics card.
Conclusion
Hopefully, now that you’ve read our helpful guide you know exactly how to use Minecraft without a graphics card.
If some of these ideas haven’t worked for you or if you still have questions, we recommend submitting a support request via Minecraft’s website. They should be able to direct you if you need any further help with playing the game without a dedicated graphics card.