Shader packs and Minecraft performance

Shader packs change lighting, shadows and other rendering effects. A shader pack is different from a resource pack: one changes rendering, while the other replaces game resources. The required shader loader depends on the pack and the game version.

Read the pack’s compatibility notes before installing it. Choose settings suitable for your graphics hardware and test in a familiar world. Start with lower shadow quality and render distance, then increase them while checking frame rate.

If rendering is broken, first test without additional visual mods or resource packs. Keep a working graphics profile so you can return to it quickly. A screenshot made with high-end settings is not a guarantee of the same performance on your computer.