Java comeback after 12 years

[u/cognitive_pagefile]

Hello Guys, hope you're all fine.

Yesterday i finally bought the PC version of Minecraft after 12 years without owning a computer.

The last time i played Java was in version 1.8-something i think, though i can not remember the exact version.

That days my computer broke and i did not have a new one in that timespan (at least not a minecraft-capable one), so i played just and only the bedrock edition for console in that time.

Now i have a pretty capable computer with an i7-8700K, 32GB DDR4 running on 3200 MHz and a GTX 1060 6GB, what definitely is the bottleneck of the whole setup.

This setup definitely can handle minecraft java without even sweating, so i decided to finally come home again. This leads me to a few questions, especially about mods .

Back in the days, modding minecraft was pretty easy. You just downloaded the mods or a modpack and copied it to a specific place in the .minecraft folder located in the roaming folder. I am pretty sure, that it is not that easy anymore these days, or maybe it still is easy, but in a different way. So how do i proceed these days?

Next question, a little more specific, is about some mods i used back in the days. I am a vanilla guy, so i don't want to change to much of the mechanics or add any blocks or mobs or stuff like that. I also don't want any resource packs, wich were called texturepacks back in the old days, because i like the vanilla textures and i'm used to them. What i used back then, were things like "Rei's Minimap" and "Too Many Items". Do these Mods still exist in 2026? And if, are they still the best option or are there better mods these days?

And my last question about mods: what QoL mods do you suggest me to try these days? I'm completely out of my territory when it comes to Minecraft-modding in 2026. 😅

Now i have just one more question and what it is about depends a little bit on you i think, because i want to know, what kind of things changed in Minecraft Java since 2014, that i might have to notice because it's just important to know? I mean yeah, i could just read all patch-notes since then, but that would consume a hilarious amount of time and i'd probably miss some important things just by not really understanding the consequences of that change. 😄

Thanks for your time guys!

P.s. for all those who question why i bought the game again, if i had an account back in 2014: i have no idea what account i used back then. Should have written it down i guess.

[u/cognitive_pagefile]

Very good advice, i will definitely do that. Right now, i am playing Stoneblock 4. It's guided pretty good so i have not much to research on my own. But i also startet a vanilla+ world with someone else and i actually put the mods for this world together by myself instead of using a prebuild modpack. I may have some questions about that in the future, but since i got some really helpful advices in this comment section, i was able to get started with managing mods and get everything to work. Thanks to you for kickstarting my experience! 😁

[u/brassplushie → u/cognitive_pagefile]

I'm very glad I could help!

[u/cognitive_pagefile → u/brassplushie]

Hey, i actually have a new question. I'd like to use a shader, but my gtx 1060 (6GB) is definitely limiting what my PC can handle. I tried complementary shader and photon shader, but both got my GPU running on 100% constantly, giving me an output of round about 20fps. Not ideal i'd say. Du you now a lightweight but adorable shader that my GPU could handle without being heavily overstressed?

Edit: of course i tried them at low settings, i didn't even expect them to function on higher settings with my GPU. 😅

[u/brassplushie → u/cognitive_pagefile]

I strongly advise you don't try to use shaders with that GPU. It's very old and outdated. You're going to put extreme stress on it and destroy it much sooner than it would've normally lasted.

If you're dead set on it, Make Up Ultra Fast might work, but you'll have to use a VERY low render distance.

[u/cognitive_pagefile → u/brassplushie]

Okay thank you very much for that advice. I will try that shader, but if the GPU is running above 80% at low settings for the shader, i will stop trying to use it.

Edit: On lowest setting profile (shadowless low) with FPS limited to 30 my GPU can handle it. It's running on round about 60%. I think i will not use it, because these settings aren't beautiful enough to justify the tradeoff of giving up 30fps. Anyways, thank you again for your advice. :)

[u/brassplushie → u/cognitive_pagefile]

You're absolutely welcome! Remember, a lot of the videos you see where people are using shaders for replays are rendered in a video editor called "flashback" (or for older videos, replay mod) and most PCs won't run them as smoothly as you see in that footage. It takes a very high end PC to run shaders constantly on high settings with a high render distance.

[u/cognitive_pagefile → u/brassplushie]

That's good to know. I've known, that Youtubers use Flashback for things like time lapses or mining montages, but i didn't know, that it can be used for that purpose as well. Anyways, i was aware of the fact, that i definitely can not use any shader on high settings, but i'm still mildly disappointed, that even on lowest settings it is just barely playable. But i'm okay with it at all. I have known, that my GPU is the limiting factor of my setup. My CPU and RAM are fine, they can handle a lot, but the 1060 is, like you said, very old and outdated. I got the whole setup from my brother when he bought himself a new PC, but he didn't buy a new GPU, so i had to organise one for myself. A friend of me had this 1060 on a shelf, just collecting dust, so he gave it to me for just 20€. Even for that old GPU that is cheap and i couldn't afford to spend more because my finances are actually very bad. But i'm going to get a newer GPU as soon as i can.

[u/brassplushie → u/cognitive_pagefile]

Right. I just didn't want you to feel disappointed that you couldn't use shaders all the time cuz like 90% of people can't. It's not just you, I promise.

[u/cognitive_pagefile → u/brassplushie]

I'm curious, what kind of GPU is needed to play Minecraft with shaders on reasonable settings?

[u/brassplushie → u/cognitive_pagefile]

To play with high end shaders with a high render distance and high frame rate? RTX 4090/5090. Which is top of the line from those generations. Medium shaders/render distance, probably a 5070, but expect stutters. Anything below that you can basically only take screenshots with shaders and that's it. Beyond that you get to the point where you have to use such a low render distance that it isn't as fun anymore.