Minecraft is one of those games that runs on just about everything. However, it doesn’t always run the best, even on modern hardware. This is where optimization mods come into play, the most well-known of these being Optifine.
Optifine used to be the king of Minecraft optimization back in the day. Granted, there wasn’t much competition in this space until Sodium came around. And compete it has, since it is now arguably the better option. This testing was done to determine if there is still any reason to use Optifine today.
Testing Methodology
To test these mods, I created a world and set up an area to run the benchmark. This area consists of a ton of entities, particles, and a relatively untouched zone to observe how performance normalizes. The goal here was to have a lot going on without creating a literal lag machine.
For the test, the graphics settings were kept at their defaults except for the following three:
- Render Distance: Set to 32
- Simulation Distance: Set to 32
- Mipmapping: Set to 0
The test was run three times using each mod to rule out any run-to-run variance.
Results
Coming out on top is Sodium, as expected. It beat Optifine in all tested metrics. The only areas that were close were the 1% Lows and 0.1% Lows, though Sodium still performed 37% better on the 1% Lows and 19% better on the 0.1% Lows. This is likely because optimization can only go so far in extremely demanding scenarios.
Why use Optifine?
The most common argument for continuing to use Optifine is that it offers the most features out of the box. It supports capes, shaders, dynamic lights, and several other features that Sodium lacks natively.
Why you shouldn’t use Optifine
As for reasons not to use Optifine, there are plenty. First, to counter the feature argument, all of these can be implemented with additional mods. With how easy modding is nowadays, convenience isn’t a strong argument either.
For a more in-depth explanation and some alternatives, I recommend checking out this article: OptiFine Alternatives
Conclusion
So, if not Optifine, what should you use? Sodium is the obvious choice. Depending on your modloader and version, you may need a fork like Embedium instead.
If you’re aiming to boost both performance and visuals, consider pairing Sodium with mods like Nvidium, Sodium Extra, Enhanced Block Entities, Entity Culling, and Iris.
If you just want something quick and easy, the Fabulously Optimized modpack is a great option.
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