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Forza Horizon 6’s bootful of PC-specific tech features was seemingly stuffed capable to warrant a big, colourful blog station astir them. Ultrawide support? Yes. DLSS 4 and FSR 4? Both. Ray tracing? A resounding hai, those souped-up lighting and reflection effects escaping FH6’s car-ogling mode and adorning its unfastened satellite for the archetypal clip successful the series.
Actually playing the thing, nevertheless – and/or spending capable clip successful its benchmarking instrumentality – reveals that its PC show highlights chiefly interest the implicit basics. On modular settings this is astir decidedly a smooth-running game, 1 that’s susceptible of scooting on connected fund builds and handheld PCs portion zooming done frames connected almighty graphics cards. But, that’s not needfully with the assistance of bleeding-edge tech. Upscalers similar DLSS disappoint much than they impress, and the show taxation levied by those RT effects volition resistance you down from supercar luxury to framerate poverty.
- Forza Horizon 6 strategy requirements and PC performance
- Forza Horizon 6 champion settings guide
Clearly, a settings usher is successful order, arsenic is an overview of what happened to Forza Horizon 6 erstwhile I threw a clump of antithetic GPUs astatine it.
Forza Horizon 6 strategy requirements and PC performance
Outside of the information that it takes up one-hundred and fifty-five gigabytes of SSD abstraction erstwhile installed, oregon astir 100GB much than should beryllium socially acceptable for a racing game, I can’t kick excessively overmuch astir the hardware needs here. 16GB isn’t an unreasonable level successful 2026, adjacent with ongoing terms fuckery, and the minimum CPUs/GPUs are either past oregon ungraded cheap. They’re for a respectable 1080p/60fps, excessively – nary miserable 720p/30fps target, similar immoderate games’ min specs purpose for.
If you’re connected adjacent older kit, and don’t caput missing retired connected the 60fps promised land, sub-minimum components tin enactment too. I tried a GTX 1050 Ti (which shares a batch of specs with the GTX 1650, but it yet overmuch weaker) and astatine autochthonal 1080p, with the Low prime preset, it averaged a pass-grade 32fps successful the benchmark tool. Dropping to Very Low bumped that up to 43fps, and successful the crippled proper, this preset could successful information negociate 55-60fps portion tearing astir the map’s little demanding regions.
In presumption of outright 1080p recommendations, though, the RTX 4060 and Intel Arc B580 are overmuch higher connected horsepower. On the High preset (and with zero upscaling help), the erstwhile cruised to 96fps, and the second 111fps; the B580 could adjacent negociate the top-of-the-line Extreme preset astatine 77fps, though the RTX 4060 was a spot inconsistent astatine this level, averaging betwixt 54fps and 64fps crossed aggregate runs.
Both cards were besides good for 1440p, though this was besides wherever I archetypal discovered Forza Horizon 6’s upscaling problems. In short, they conflict to nutrient the framerate boosts that they’ve proven capable of successful truthful galore hundreds of games before: the RTX 4060, for instance, averaged 43fps connected Extreme astatine autochthonal 1440p, and lone roseate to 48fps with the summation of Quality-level DLSS. The Arc B580 did better, scoring 62fps astatine autochthonal and 74fps with Ultra Quality XeSS (Ultra Quality being the equivalent to DLSS/FSR’s Quality mode), but that’s inactive a comparatively insignificant uplift. Likewise with the newer RTX 5050, which produced 54fps astatine 1080p/Extreme and could lone creep up to 60fps with Quality DLSS.
Still, I persevered with upscaling to the higher resolutions, the RTX 4070 Ti – listed nether the authoritative specs’ 'Extreme' tier – reaching 79fps astatine 4K with some the Extreme preset and Quality DLSS successful play. Supersampling grumbles aside, that’s truly not atrocious for a years-old paper that was technically intended for 1440p use. The aforesaid goes for the RX 9070 XT, which deed 90fps connected equivalent 4K settings, including the latest FSR 4 replacing DLSS. Get a 'true' Ultra HD paper and breaking the 100fps+ obstruction is possible, arsenic demonstrated by the RTX 5080 averaging 111fps connected Extreme and Quality DLSS.
Such an abundance of frames, crossed each resolutions and GPU tiers, is encouraging. Racing games simply consciousness amended erstwhile they’re moving faster, owing arsenic overmuch to the lowered input latency that a precocious framerate brings arsenic to the ocular pleasures of the show itself. It’s each the much unfortunate, then, that those shiny caller ray tracing effects aren’t astir arsenic slick.
Slapping them connected a compatible, yet lower-end PC volition apt spot those precocious framerates collapse: the RTX 4060, which got that 54fps minimum connected Extreme/1080p, fell to 33fps conscionable with Low-quality RT reflections enabled. And the overmuch beefier RX 9070 XT, which the authoritative specs specifically sanction arsenic a ray-tracing-ready GPU, dropped from 90fps to 54fps aft switching from the Extreme preset to Extreme+RT (which sets some RT reflections and RT planetary illumination to High).
Even the RTX 5080 isn’t immune, its 63fps connected Extreme+RT a acold outcry from its rayless 111fps. Worst of all, I’m not adjacent convinced that these effects marque Forza Horizon 6 look overmuch better. There are definite reflections that look much elaborate – connected water, especially, and connected a fewer well-cleaned solid skyscrapers down successful the game’s compacted rendition of Tokyo. But these are comparatively isolated upgrades, and portion of maine prefers the starker, higher-contrast look of modular planetary illumination. See what you think:
I’m not saying Forza the Sixth runs severely successful general. Without ray tracing, the other is true: rasterised settings are, arsenic car radical similar to accidental astir engines, saccharine arsenic a nut. But it is ironic that this long-awaited summation to the series’ container of PC tools instantly starts jamming up its gears.
Not each of the caller tech is simply a letdown, mind. DLSS framework generation, which successful different games tin oscillate betwixt 'reasonably bully gloss layer' and 'hateful bullshit' depending connected the implementaton, is connected the erstwhile extremity of the standard here. Because astir PCs volition beryllium capable to get FH6 going astatine precocious accepted framerates, framework gen tin simply adhd ocular smoothness to already-nippy performance; it’s not trying to enactment constitution connected sludge. The RTX 5080 jumped from 63fps astatine maxed-out 4K to 110fps with 2x generation, portion the basal RTX 5050 upped its 60fps astatine upscaled, Extreme-quality 1080p to 106fps. In some cases, the interaction connected input lag (which typically rises with framework gen) was negligible. As RTX 50 bid GPUs, some tin besides prosecute 4x generation, getting the RTX 5080 and 5050 up to 195fps and 170fps respectively. Although, since this did adhd a small latency to the controls, 2x remains the mode to go.
4x mode besides makes it overmuch much apt that you’ll spot mushy-looking graphical artifacts retired of the model of your modded Honda, which alternatively spoils the go-faster phantasy somewhat. Though arsenic it happens, this isn’t the lone mode that DLSS tin meddle with the visuals. Several of the upscalers, connected apical of producing underwhelming framerate gains, tin besides present disposable ghosting – and not conscionable the benignant wherever you’d request 1 of Digital Foundry’s magnifying glasses to spot it, but glaringly evident duplicates of details similar car aerials and spoiler edges:
I’d accidental this was an upscaling issue, arsenic some Nvidia DLSS and Intel XeSS person shown it successful my testing, but past it tin besides look erstwhile utilizing DLAA: DLSS’s native-rez antialiasing cousin. At the precise least, the ghosts of antennae contiguous bash lone materialise connected precise circumstantial details, and lone against comparatively flat, accordant inheritance textures similar tarmac, arsenic opposed to grass, trees, oregon buildings. That’s nary excuse, though, and I’ve made enquiries arsenic to whether this is simply a known contented that mightiness beryllium fixed.
Luckily, and dissimilar truthful galore different modern games, Forza Horizon 6 does not usage supersampling arsenic a crutch for heaving ‘core’ performance, nor is its usage of ray tracing a mandated must. Fundamentally, this is simply a racer that runs good and looks plentifulness bully capable connected the astir straightforward of settings – careless of whether its bells and whistles request immoderate brass polish.
Even the Steam Deck tin grip it, and astatine not-quite-rock-bottom quality. The Low preset looks a just woody prettier than Very Low, and portion it's somewhat much prone to chugging astir Tokyo, pairing with FSR 3.1 was capable to support maine supra 30fps, with framerates rising to the mid-forties retired successful the sticks and adjacent touching 60fps up successful the bluish mountains.
Forza Horizon 6 champion settings guide
Another method do-good of FH6 is that for each the lightness of its touch, it’s besides rather hard to marque ugly. You truly request to driblet down to Very Low earlier things truly commencement looking off, and portion I’d privation to debar settling for Low connected a large desktop display, it works good capable wrong the confines of a lil’ handheld screen.
1920x1080, Extreme quality, TAA
These precocious standards besides mean I’m going to interruption with an RPS settings usher tradition. Usually, we’d usage the highest preset arsenic a starting point, and past marque idiosyncratic settings reductions from there, keeping arsenic galore maxed-out arsenic possible. As you tin spot with thine ain eyes, however, Ultra is not a important measurement down from Extreme, contempt moving considerably quicker: 70fps versus 54fps connected the RTX 4060 astatine 1080p. It is truthful Ultra that volition signifier the ground of our custom-tweaked configuration, which I’ve landed connected aft investigating the show interaction of each mounting individually.
- Motion blur: Short
- Resolution scaling: DLSS/FSR connected Quality
- Frame generation: Off
- Nvidia Reflex Low Latency: On, if supported
- Car level of detail: High
- Environment texture quality: Medium
- Environment geometry quality: High
- Car reflection quality: High
- Screen abstraction reflections quality: Medium
- Raytraced reflections quality: Off
- Shadow quality: Ultra
- Night shadows: Ultra
- Screen abstraction GI quality: High
- Raytraced GI quality: Off
- Shader quality: High
- Audio quality: Ultra (not definite wherefore this is successful the graphics sections but okay)
- Deformable terrain quality: Ultra
- Particle effects quality: High
- Volumetric fog quality: Ultra
- Lens effects: Low
- Motion blur quality: High
"James, you feckless egg," I perceive you typing. "You conscionable said DLSS was dilatory and a spot broken, yet it’s the 2nd mounting you’d power on?" With immoderate reluctance, yes. It’s existent that Nvidia’s upscaler is disconnected its game, but for RTX graphics cards, it’s inactive the slightest worst anti-aliasing enactment of the bunch. Native TAA someway manages to look blurred and jaggedy astatine the aforesaid time, FSR 3.1 has a fuzziness to it adjacent astatine higher resolutions, and XeSS has the aforesaid ghosting occupation without matching DLSS’s cleanable edges. In truth, I’ve besides lone seen that ghosting connected 2 circumstantial car models crossed the dozens that I’ve driven, and lone for a fewer minutes retired of implicit 10 hours played. And possibly different games tin extract much frames with upscaling, but still, a tiny fistful is amended than nothing.
This, positive the other velocity from dropping settings similar biology textures and surface abstraction reflections, got my RTX 4060 averaging 92fps – nary tiny betterment connected the 70fps that it scored with the unalloyed Ultra preset. I’ve near framework procreation disconnected successful the list, arsenic it’s ne'er personally been my bag, but if you’re consistently achieving specified precocious 'natural' framerates past you could flip it connected without overmuch drawback.
Ray tracing, connected the different hand, tin spell backmost successful its Forzavista box. Near-enough halving show is thing I’d expect from afloat abdominous way tracing, not a mates of circumstantial RT effects; happily, neither of them are remotely necessary.
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