Minecraft System Requirements on PC (2026): Java and Bedrock Minimum and Recommended Specs

The official Minecraft: Java Edition minimum is a 1080p at 30 FPS target (Fast preset) with 8 GB of RAM (discrete GPU) or 12 GB (integrated GPU) and a Vulkan 1.3 GPU with at least 2 GB of VRAM, while the recommended spec targets 1080p at 60 FPS (Fancy preset) with 16 GB of RAM and 6 GB of VRAM. Bedrock Edition on Windows uses a completely different table with 4 GB of RAM minimum and 8 GB recommended, and the official storage figures are 2 GB and 4 GB for Java, 4 GB and 8 GB for Bedrock. Every value below was read directly from the official Minecraft store page and news post on September 30, 2026, split by edition, and if your PC falls short of the table and you also want to record, the low-end PC recording guide is the next stop. An official news post dated July 21, 2026 raised the Java minimum and recommended specs, so numbers from older articles may not match.

Official Minecraft system requirements (PC, checked September 30, 2026)

Bottom line: read only your edition's rows

According to the official FAQ, if you have Minecraft for Windows you have the Bedrock Edition, and you can still play Java Edition on a Windows PC separately, so you only need the rows for the edition you plan to launch. The same FAQ says Minecraft is more CPU-intensive than GPU-intensive, which fits the Java minimum asking for at least four physical cores. That is why it is safer to check your CPU and RAM before you look at the graphics card. The minimum targets 1080p at 30 FPS, so if you want 60 FPS, use the recommended column as your reference. How much headroom you need to play and record at the same time is a separate question, covered in the recording specs guide.

How to check your PC specs on Windows

1. 1Read the processor and RAM in Settings — Right-click Start, choose Windows Settings, then System and About. Under Device specifications you can see the processor type, the amount of RAM installed, and whether Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit, and under Windows specifications you can see the Windows edition and version. Java needs a 64-bit OS, and Bedrock needs Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher.
2. 2Count CPU cores in Task Manager — Right-click Start and open Task Manager, or press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Go to Performance on the left, then CPU, and read the Cores and Logical processors values. The Java minimum asks for at least four physical cores, so check that Cores is 4 or more.
3. 3Save your system details with dxdiag — Type dxdiag into the taskbar search, open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, and select the System tab. If it asks on first launch whether to check for digitally signed drivers, Microsoft recommends choosing Yes. In the Microsoft documentation the System tab shows the DirectX version, and Save All Information... stores the details in a format that is easy to share. Look for the graphics device name in the entries on screen and compare it with the table, but the Microsoft documentation does not describe how to check VRAM or Vulkan 1.3 support, so look up your graphics card model on the manufacturer's official page for those two.
4. 4Check free storage — Open Settings > System > Storage and read the free space. The official FAQ lists 2 GB minimum and 4 GB recommended for Java, and 4 GB minimum and 8 GB recommended for Bedrock. There is no official figure for real-world usage with worlds, mods, or resource packs, so this guide does not cover it.
5. 5Match your numbers to the edition you will run — Pick either the Java rows or the Bedrock rows and compare RAM, CPU, GPU, and storage side by side with the minimum and recommended columns. If any one item falls short of the minimum, that item is your bottleneck. For Java on an integrated GPU, also remember that the RAM line rises to 12 GB.

Final check before you launch

• Decide which edition you will run. Minecraft for Windows is Bedrock, while Java is a separate edition you can still play on a Windows PC.
• For Java, confirm 8 GB of RAM or more with a discrete GPU, or 12 GB or more with an integrated GPU.
• Confirm in Task Manager that the CPU has at least four physical cores. The official FAQ calls Minecraft more CPU-intensive than GPU-intensive.
• Java needs a Vulkan 1.3 capable GPU, so check that your graphics card is in the families listed in the table, such as NVIDIA GTX 950 or newer or AMD Radeon RX 460 or newer.
• The Minecraft Help Center says the Minecraft Launcher needs Windows 10 or higher, and without it you cannot receive updates and some multiplayer options may be unavailable.
• Leave at least the recommended storage for your edition free, which is 4 GB for Java and 8 GB for Bedrock.

If you want to record Minecraft

DOR is a free Windows desktop app that automatically detects supported games and records them. On an NVIDIA graphics card, its recording uses NVENC hardware encoding by default, and it can record game audio and your microphone together. Whether Minecraft is a supported game, and how it is recorded, should be checked against the Minecraft game page. The table in this article describes what the game itself needs, so do not read it as a separate requirement for DOR. For a walkthrough of the recording process, see how to record Minecraft gameplay.

Official sources

The specs and storage figures in this article were checked by opening the pages directly on September 30, 2026, and they may change afterward. The requirements table and storage FAQ come from the official Minecraft store page, the July 21, 2026 Java spec change comes from the official Minecraft news post, and the steps for checking your processor and RAM come from a Microsoft support article. The Task Manager and dxdiag support articles and the Minecraft Launcher minimum requirements article were also used. The Java system requirements article in the Minecraft Help Center gives no numbers and points to the store page.