Fed up of being nagged to install the latest Java update just to play Minecraft on your PC? Want the game to run faster? A new Minecraft installer does away with the need to have the tiresome Java installed separately on your computer and could well boost performance.

Java is the bane of many PC user's existence. Not only does the software demand to be updated every ten minutes, temporarily taking over the PC screen to inform you there's a new version available, it also attempts to worm the Ask toolbar into your browser with a pre-ticked box in the installer. What's more, it's one of the biggest security risks on a PC, with Java a common target for malware writers (hence the need for constant updates).

The Minecraft team have clearly grown weary of the situation, too, and have now released two new versions of the Minecraft installer that includes the latest version of Java, so that users don't need to maintain Java separately. The new installer automatically selects the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Java depending on the capabilities of your PC, and doesn't require any user intervention - it's all handled automatically and there's no call to untick a box to prevent Ask smuggling its way into your web browser.

There are two versions of the Minecraft installer available for download - one that fully installs the game into the Start menu or a straight .exe file that you can run from the desktop (or a folder of your choice). Both now have Java pre-installed, allowing you to uninstall the separate Java application if you don't use it for anything else.

Not only will you benefit from less nagging, you might even see a boost to gameplay with the new installer. Many players may have been using the 32-bit Java software on 64-bit PCs, potentially hampering performance. Many PC users also ignore the bothersome Java updater, meaning they're likely to be running on outdated software that hasn't benefited from the latest performance tweaks.

HowToGeek reports Minecraft frame rates improved from around 40fps to 70fps when it tried the new installer, even though it was previously running the 64-bit version of Java 8 on its test PC. So you won't only be more secure, you might even be able to squelch creepers more smoothly, too...