So here’s my issue. I’m a new player – I started earlier this month – playing single-player 1.8.1 and still in the Demo World seed (I just kept going with it after I bought the paid version). At first Minecraft ran just fine on my computer (albeit with the graphics turned to their lowest setting). Then after about 2 weeks, as I began to explore my world more, I started getting these terrible lag spikes. My FPS would fall to 1 or 0 for as much as a minute at a time as often as every few minutes, with CPU use frequently (but not always) going went to 100 percent. Although it corresponded to an end to a bout of exploration (and thus an increase in the size of the world) I loaded an old backup with a much smaller world and still get the problem.
Sometimes they reoccur at regular intervals – one evening it they lasted about 1 minute every 2 minutes, for example – sometimes they don’t seem to. I installed Optifine and the spikes seemed unaffected (though my FPS between spikes did improve). These spikes almost always show green in the Optifine Lagometer when I hit F3, which I guess means rendering. Nothing I adjust seems to make much of a difference to these lag spikes: not turning down the render distance (currently set to 5), not turning animations on and off, etc. (Except for a few animations I left on so that my clock and compass will work and my water will flow, and the render distance of 5, I have all the graphics set to the fastest settings.) Giving Java high priority in Task Manager doesn’t seem to have much if any effect, either. There’s one exception: they only happen when I’m on or near the surface. I don’t get them when I’m caving. (I haven’t been to the Nether yet – that’s my next project – so I don’t know if I get them in the Nether or not. It seems like it’s better when I first start Minecraft and gets worse over time (although closing and re-starting it right away doesn’t necessarily improve it) but maybe that’s my imagination.
ETA: It also seems to happen pretty much anywhere, not just in specific areas and not only in unexplored areas.
I’m running the latest version of 64-bit Java, Java 8 update 25, and don’t have any other versions of Java installed. I tried re-installing Minecraft, I don’t run any other programs when I play Minecraft except all the various background processes. Optifine is the only mod I have installed (and the problem started before I installed Optifine.) The graphics driver is old but it’s the latest version specific to my laptop model: I don’t know if using a newer generic Intel driver will mess things up. It’s a 4-year-old high-end business laptop, Windows 7 64-bit, quad-core i7, 4GB RAM, Intel HD graphics, so yes, integrated graphics, but it does seem to meet the minimum specs and (more importantly) it ran Minecraft just fine for about 2 weeks before I started having this problem.
Here’s an excerpt from the latest log. Interestingly, the last two “Can’t keep up” messages correspond with a bout of lag, but there was also a bout of lag from 12:15-12:16 that doesn’t seem to have a corresponding log entry.
[12:07:29] [Client thread/INFO]: [CHAT] A new §eOptiFine§f version is available: §eHD Ultra B4§f
[12:07:33] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 2657ms behind, skipping 53 tick(s)
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:16:34] [Client thread/INFO]: [CHAT] Saved screenshot as 2014-12-27_12.16.34.png
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:18:02] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 5443ms behind, skipping 108 tick(s)
[12:18:30] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 16662ms behind, skipping 333 tick(s)
[12:18:33] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 3320ms behind, skipping 66 tick(s)
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:19:52] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 2146ms behind, skipping 42 tick(s)
[12:20:19] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 14650ms behind, skipping 293 tick(s)
[12:20:27] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 4011ms behind, skipping 80 tick(s)
[12:20:42] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 3631ms behind, skipping 72 tick(s)
[12:20:46] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
I’m not sure if this is the DX Diag you need, but:
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.140303-2144)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: LENOVO
System Model: 2985EYU
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBLx
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU L 640 @ 2.13GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Any thoughts? This is making the game awfully hard to play unless I spend my entire time caving, which I enjoy but isn't all I want to do in Minecraft. :-)
*********
EDIT: I thought I'd come back and post an update, since I know how frustrating it is to search Google, find someone else who had your problem, but who never came back and posted how they solved it!
I don't know if this helps, hypothetical future Google searcher, but my problem turned out to be that my laptop was overheating. I knew that it would shut itself off before becoming dangerously overheated, but never realized that performance started taking a hit before that point. Alas, you have to totally and completely disassemble my laptop to clean out the cooling system (seriously, I think you can leave the wireless receivers in, everything else has to come out) but blowing out the air vents with canned air and running a good USB cooling pad whenever I play Minecraft fixed the problem.
So here’s my issue. I’m a new player – I started earlier this month – playing single-player 1.8.1 and still in the Demo World seed (I just kept going with it after I bought the paid version). At first Minecraft ran just fine on my computer (albeit with the graphics turned to their lowest setting). Then after about 2 weeks, as I began to explore my world more, I started getting these terrible lag spikes. My FPS would fall to 1 or 0 for as much as a minute at a time as often as every few minutes, with CPU use frequently (but not always) going went to 100 percent. Although it corresponded to an end to a bout of exploration (and thus an increase in the size of the world) I loaded an old backup with a much smaller world and still get the problem.
Sometimes they reoccur at regular intervals – one evening it they lasted about 1 minute every 2 minutes, for example – sometimes they don’t seem to. I installed Optifine and the spikes seemed unaffected (though my FPS between spikes did improve). These spikes almost always show green in the Optifine Lagometer when I hit F3, which I guess means rendering. Nothing I adjust seems to make much of a difference to these lag spikes: not turning down the render distance (currently set to 5), not turning animations on and off, etc. (Except for a few animations I left on so that my clock and compass will work and my water will flow, and the render distance of 5, I have all the graphics set to the fastest settings.) Giving Java high priority in Task Manager doesn’t seem to have much if any effect, either. There’s one exception: they only happen when I’m on or near the surface. I don’t get them when I’m caving. (I haven’t been to the Nether yet – that’s my next project – so I don’t know if I get them in the Nether or not. It seems like it’s better when I first start Minecraft and gets worse over time (although closing and re-starting it right away doesn’t necessarily improve it) but maybe that’s my imagination.
ETA: It also seems to happen pretty much anywhere, not just in specific areas and not only in unexplored areas.
I’m running the latest version of 64-bit Java, Java 8 update 25, and don’t have any other versions of Java installed. I tried re-installing Minecraft, I don’t run any other programs when I play Minecraft except all the various background processes. Optifine is the only mod I have installed (and the problem started before I installed Optifine.) The graphics driver is old but it’s the latest version specific to my laptop model: I don’t know if using a newer generic Intel driver will mess things up. It’s a 4-year-old high-end business laptop, Windows 7 64-bit, quad-core i7, 4GB RAM, Intel HD graphics, so yes, integrated graphics, but it does seem to meet the minimum specs and (more importantly) it ran Minecraft just fine for about 2 weeks before I started having this problem.
Here’s an excerpt from the latest log. Interestingly, the last two “Can’t keep up” messages correspond with a bout of lag, but there was also a bout of lag from 12:15-12:16 that doesn’t seem to have a corresponding log entry.
[12:07:33] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 2657ms behind, skipping 53 tick(s)
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:10:53] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:16:34] [Client thread/INFO]: [CHAT] Saved screenshot as 2014-12-27_12.16.34.png
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:17:00] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:18:02] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 5443ms behind, skipping 108 tick(s)
[12:18:30] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 16662ms behind, skipping 333 tick(s)
[12:18:33] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 3320ms behind, skipping 66 tick(s)
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Overworld
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/Nether
[12:18:45] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving chunks for level 'My first world! (Demo World)'/The End
[12:19:52] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 2146ms behind, skipping 42 tick(s)
[12:20:19] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 14650ms behind, skipping 293 tick(s)
[12:20:27] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 4011ms behind, skipping 80 tick(s)
[12:20:42] [Server thread/WARN]: Can't keep up! Did the system time change, or is the server overloaded? Running 3631ms behind, skipping 72 tick(s)
[12:20:46] [Server thread/INFO]: Saving and pausing game...
I’m not sure if this is the DX Diag you need, but:
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: LENOVO
System Model: 2985EYU
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBLx
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU L 640 @ 2.13GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.1GHz
Memory: 4096MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 3892MB RAM
Page File: 3490MB used, 4291MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 120 DPI (125 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 64bit Unicode
---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics (Core i7)
DAC type: Internal
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_0046&SUBSYS_215A17AA&REV_02
Display Memory: 1696 MB
Dedicated Memory: 64 MB
Shared Memory: 1632 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 800 (16 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: ThinkPad Display 1280x800
Monitor Model: unknown
Monitor Id: LEN4011
Native Mode: 1280 x 800(p) (60.003Hz)
Output Type: Internal
Driver Name: igdumd64.dll,igd10umd64.dll,igdumdx32,igd10umd32
Driver File Version: 8.15.0010.2622 (English)
Driver Version: 8.15.10.2622
DDI Version: 10
Driver Model: WDDM 1.1
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 1/10/2012 20:28:32, 8313856 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp:
Device Identifier: {D7B78E66-4306-11CF-DBD5-5A01AAC2C535}
Vendor ID: 0x8086
Device ID: 0x0046
SubSys ID: 0x215A17AA
Revision ID: 0x0002
Driver Strong Name: oem122.inf:IntelGfx.NTamd64.6.0:iILKM0:8.15.10.2622:pci\ven_8086&dev_0046&subsys_215a17aa
Rank Of Driver: 00E60001
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_A ModeMPEG2_C ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_C ModeVC1_B ModeVC1_C
Deinterlace Caps: {BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(YV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(NV12,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC1,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC3,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
{BF752EF6-8CC4-457A-BE1B-08BD1CAEEE9F}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,1) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_EdgeFiltering
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{5A54A0C9-C7EC-4BD9-8EDE-F3C75DC4393B}: Format(In/Out)=(IMC4,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY VideoProcess_AlphaBlend
D3D9 Overlay: Supported
DXVA-HD: Supported
DDraw Status: Enabled
D3D Status: Enabled
AGP Status: Enabled
Any thoughts? This is making the game awfully hard to play unless I spend my entire time caving, which I enjoy but isn't all I want to do in Minecraft. :-)
*********
EDIT: I thought I'd come back and post an update, since I know how frustrating it is to search Google, find someone else who had your problem, but who never came back and posted how they solved it!
I don't know if this helps, hypothetical future Google searcher, but my problem turned out to be that my laptop was overheating. I knew that it would shut itself off before becoming dangerously overheated, but never realized that performance started taking a hit before that point. Alas, you have to totally and completely disassemble my laptop to clean out the cooling system (seriously, I think you can leave the wireless receivers in, everything else has to come out) but blowing out the air vents with canned air and running a good USB cooling pad whenever I play Minecraft fixed the problem.