For a Minecraft server with up to ten players, 4 GB of memory and two fast CPU cores are enough. With modpacks, plugins and more players, above all the RAM requirement and the demand on the clock speed of a single core increase. More important than many cores is a high clock speed, because Minecraft calculates its world largely in one thread.
What Minecraft demands from the server
Minecraft runs on Java and calculates the world, i.e. chunks, mobs and redstone, mostly in a single main thread. That is why a processor with a high clock speed per core delivers more than many slow cores. Memory holds the loaded world: the more players move around different places at the same time, the more chunks are loaded.
Guideline values for RAM and CPU
The values are empirical values for the Java edition with Paper or Spigot. Vanilla needs a little more, modpacks considerably more.
| Players | Memory | CPU | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 10, vanilla or Paper | 4 GB | 2 cores, high clock | 20 GB NVMe |
| 10 to 30, with plugins | 6 to 8 GB | 2 to 4 cores | 40 GB NVMe |
| 30 to 60, several worlds | 12 to 16 GB | 4 cores, high clock | 80 GB NVMe |
| Modpack (e.g. 150+ mods) | 8 to 16 GB, regardless of player count | 4 cores, high clock | 40 to 80 GB NVMe |
Why clock speed matters more than core count
A server with eight slow cores does not make Minecraft run faster than one with two fast ones. On FameSystems root servers the CPU cores are dedicated and not oversold, so you reliably get the clock speed you book. If you run several servers or a large network, a dedicated server on AMD Ryzen 7000 serves you best: high clock speed per core, the entire machine for you.
Storage and backups
A Minecraft world grows with every explored chunk. NVMe storage noticeably speeds up loading and saving the world, especially with many players. Plan twice the world size for backups and back up regularly to a second system, such as cloud storage.
Java settings that really help
- Assign Java only as much memory as the server has, minus 1 to 2 GB for the system (parameter -Xmx).
- Use Paper instead of vanilla: same game mechanics, considerably less load.
- Limit the view distance to 8 to 10 chunks, that saves the most RAM.
- Enable the Aikar flags for the garbage collector, they reduce stutter with many players.
Root server for Minecraft: KVM, NVMe, fixed clock
Dedicated cores and RAM, NVMe storage and DDoS protection. Packages with 4 to 64 GB of memory compared.