So one day, you were playing Minecraft, and all of a sudden, a thought struck your head to create your own Minecraft server where you can invite your friends to play together and have an exceptional gaming experience. On the other hand, your kids love to play Minecraft and you want them to be safe from unwanted adults on the internet who are playing Minecraft on a multiplayer game server.
Then again, you need to create your own server to make the game environment safe for your kid while still allowing his friends to join in via an ID and password. But now the question of how much RAM you need for a Minecraft server is making you search the internet as it’s a technical question, and when you are not buying RAM for your computer, why do you need it anyway? We have all the answers, and we will provide you with all of them with an explanation so it will be easier for you to decide how much RAM you actually need for creating a Minecraft server.
Minecraft server RAM plays a crucial role as it decides how much of a bigger world you can create in Minecraft in addition to the number of players and mods you can enter. Considering the most basic configuration of the Minecraft server, at least 1GB of RAM is recommended for the server to work properly.
But why do you need 1GB? What are the other configurations which you should consider? The answers to these questions can only be found in this article. So before you go and buy that 1GB server package from a hosting website or buy a 4GB memory stick for your computer that you want to transform into a Minecraft server, consider reading this article thoroughly.
What is RAM?
RAM is the abbreviation for Random Access Memory and typically, the information stored in this type of memory will be flushed out when the computer is shut down or when the power is switched off. The information present within the RAM can be seen in the BIOS, and there are two types of RAM. The first one is the static RAM and the other one is the dynamic RAM. If you want to run many programs side by side, then you need more RAM in your computer as RAM stores the active information of the tasks which your computer is currently performing.
On the other hand, RAM is not just for heavy usage tasks like gaming or editing but it also helps a computer or any other computing device to perform all the essential functions. Even a simple process like opening an application requires RAM. For instance, if you want to browse the internet on your computer, you need to open a browser, which requires RAM to operate. RAM is used to run and load all the applications present in your computer, and it is the one of the hardware that is constantly active and being used all the time when the system is running.
Why is RAM Necessary for Running Games?
When you are upgrading your PC, there is always one question that comes to mind, should I buy more RAM for my system?
RAM is not costly and it’s easily available; you don’t have to look out for it in the scraper’s market at a much higher cost. RAM is pretty important for your gaming experience because your system depends on it to access the active game data which is stored in the hard drive. You have the entire game stored in your computer’s SSD or hard drive, but to pull up the data for execution, you need RAM. When a computer is running a heavy AAA title, it needs to move lots of data from the game files, which is stored in the hard drive.
If your computer has low RAM, you still might be able to play some heavy games, but you will likely face low FPS, which will cause game lag. Some games are not well optimized for running on Windows, and those games can actually exploit the lack of memory and won’t even run. It’s recommended for your computer to have at least 8 GB of RAM even if you are not playing games on it. Most of the windows applications require a minimum of 4GB of RAM, and another 4GB will be left for your operating system to work without hitting the bottleneck.
Does Having More RAM Help?
Now you know that RAM makes your computer run demanding games smoothly. So, it’s obvious the second question in mind would be done having more RAM help in gaming? Well, if you are thinking adding more RAM will result in better performance, well that’s not the case. If you have installed more than the required RAM, which is needed to hold the information, then the extra RAM goes to a complete waste.
How Does RAM Work in a Computer?
RAM is considered random access because you can easily access the memory cell directly if you have the information about the row and the column that intersects at that cell. A RAM is made up of capacitors and an integrated circuit which is made by the combination of millions of transistors. The most common form of computer memory is dynamic RAM. In this form of memory, a transistor and capacitor pairing are used to create a memory cell. These memory cells represent a single bit of data storage space. The capacitor in the combination is used to hold the information which is present in the form of zeros and ones. The latter part of the binary code which is one work as a switch that is used to control the circuitry on the memory chip and allow it to read the capacitor or, depending on the value of the capacitor, change its state.
A capacitor is like a small bucket, which has the ability to store electrons. To keep a binary code 1 in a memory cell, the bucket needs to be filled with the electrons and to hold a binary code 0, and it needs to be emptied. But each dynamic memory has to face the capacitor’s leak. In just a matter of a few seconds, the information stored in the capacitor gets flushed out. As a result, the dynamic memory has to take help from the CPU or a controller to recharge all the capacitors holding binary code 1 before they get discharged. In order to do this, the memory controller reads the memory and writes it back. This operation of refreshing the capacitors happens thousands of times per second, and that’s how RAM works in your computer and stores the active memory.
Faster RAM vs More RAM, Which is Better?
You might be suffering from a bottleneck if you have a shortage of memory in your computer. On the other hand, if you do have a lot of memory but the speed of RAM is pretty poor, you are missing out on the performance. There are two ways to measure your RAM: one is in MB, and the second is in GB. Increasing the size of your RAM will reduce the cycle of temporary loading files from the hard drives. But when you reach a certain threshold, then adding more RAM will be of no good.
The speed of RAM is measured in frequency, as it affects the maximum bandwidth and how much data can be transferred from a memory stick. The latency affects how quickly a RAM can respond to the request. The RAM frequency is typically measured in megahertz (Mhz). In simple terms, you want this number to be as high as possible. On the other hand, the latency appears to be in the form of a series of numbers and you want it to be lower. Once you have reached the threshold of the maximum performance, which you can get from your RAM, then increasing the frequency and reducing the latency will help you get desirable performance.
In short, first, go with the more RAM option and see how much memory your computer uses when it’s pushed to a full load. If there is no bottleneck, but you are still not satisfied with the performance, then replace your current RAM stick with one that offers higher frequency. Also, you must know that when changing the RAM sticks, you need to install RAM sticks having the same frequency. You can manually lower the frequency of the RAM from BIOS, but that’s not an ideal option.
Benefits Of Having Your Own Minecraft Server
Why do you need to run your own Minecraft server? What benefits are you going to get? Will it be able to run Minecraft like a live server? Well, we have listed below some of the most important benefits that you get when you create a Minecraft server:
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Your Games Your Rules
Now that you have made a server, you have basically created a copy of your own game. So now you can set your own rules in the game. In terms of Minecraft, you get to choose the world, its design, and what content is valid and banned. You will be the sole administrator of the game. As a result, you have the power to assign and deny the roles to other players that join your server. Apart from that, you can control the spawn rates, physics of the game, and landscapes. With your own server, you will be introduced to an entirely new way of playing Minecraft.
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Build Your Community
As you are creating new things in the world of Minecraft, you are going to meet several people. They could be your friends, family members, and even your fans or curious anonymous people who are just there to partake in your adventure. From having your own server, you get to build your own community and decide who can join your Minecraft game. A lot of community-based content of Minecraft, which you see on YouTube or Twitch, really started with just a thought of individuals creating their own servers.
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Install Mods
When you are running a server, you get to choose the mods that can be installed in the game along with the ones that are banned. With a ton of mods available at your disposal, you can create an entirely new environment by testing and implementing mods to enhance the gaming experience.
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Keeping An Eye On Your Kids
With the virtual server made on the computer, parents can enjoy the total administration of the game and see their children’s activity. In addition to this, they can even restrict certain things to happen in the game, making the game better for their kids. When a child is playing a game with the internet-connected, you don’t know about the other people playing alongside them. To create a safer environment for your kids, creating a server of your own is the best thing possible.
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Enhances Computer Skills
Starting your own server is like understanding the basics of Linux computing. With the use of Linode, you can deploy and make changes to your server in a few seconds. Hosting a server will teach you a lot about how a game works and how you can edit its files to make it run according to your liking.
Server System Requirements For Minecraft
Given below is the bare minimum requirement of running a Minecraft server on your computer, these system requirements could vary depending on the server software you are using.
- First, you need to have a Java runtime (JRE), version 8 or higher. The JDK files do contain JRE so that they can work too.
- At Least 1 GB of RAM allocated specifically for the server.
- A CPU with a single-core performance, a multi-core CPU is a must because the server uses other cores as well to perform different sets of operations. But at most, three cores are used by the server.
- At least 500 MB space in hard drives for saving game data.
- Lastly, make sure you have the best low-ping internet connection, such as DSL or cable.
These are the bare minimum requirements to run a Minecraft server, and you can use hardware with more powerful specifications depending on how complex you want your game to be. The above requirements are for the server only and support a very basic Minecraft world. If you are increasing the size of the world, make sure you have enough memory; otherwise, you are going to see a drop in your frame rates.
Recommended Server Configuration Based on Players
Now you have created a server and wanted some friends to play along with you. Well, in that case, your server will need a specific configuration to support a certain number of players.
For 1- 4 Players
- CPU – Intel Core 2 Duo Or AMD Athlon 64×2
- RAM – 1 GB
- Storage – At least 150 MB for world saves.
For 5 – 10 Players
- CPU – Intel Core 2 Duo Or AMD Athlon 64×2
- RAM – 2 GB
- Storage – At least 300 MB for world saves.
For More Than 10 Players
- CPU – Intel Core i5-4690 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
- RAM – 4 GB
- Storage – At least 400 MB for world saves.
Conclusion
So now you know the importance of RAM when it comes to creating a Minecraft server. You should go with the recommended requirements as going bare minimum will leave you with a bad user experience. In addition to this, there are multiple ways to make a Minecraft server and you can create one on Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems. Also, the requirement of RAM will remain the same across all the operating systems.
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