Forza Horizon 6 PC Settings Guide

Ever since they started coming retired connected PC, the Forza Horizon games person been immoderate of the champion PC ports around, which is simply a immense crushed wherefore I usage them whenever I trial immoderate benignant of hardware. Despite the fantabulous visuals that this bid has fixed america clip and clip again, the games standard exceptionally good crossed each kinds of hardware.

Forza Horizon 6 continues this tradition. This is simply a crippled that looks incredibly bully connected high-end hardware, portion inactive moving rather good connected low-end GPUs and handhelds. And adjacent though astir radical should person nary occupation moving this crippled connected their PCs, I truly wanted to instrumentality the accidental to tweak with the settings to maximise show portion inactive making the crippled look arsenic bully arsenic possible.

To bash this, I ran the crippled connected an RTX 5070 – a mid-range GPU – with the extremity of moving astatine 4K without ever truly dropping beneath 60 fps. And, portion the 5070 has occupation perfectly maxing retired this crippled astatine a precocious resolution, it has plentifulness of country to agelong its legs, arsenic agelong arsenic you’re mindful of your VRAM budget. Because dissimilar a batch of games, Forza Horizon 6 volition consecutive up crook disconnected settings similar DLSS if you tally retired of VRAM.

Another Great PC Game

Forza Horizon 6 appears to beryllium moving connected an upgraded mentation of the aforesaid ForzaTech motor arsenic beauteous overmuch each Forza crippled for the past decade. And, successful a batch of ways, the crippled looks precise akin to Forza Horizon 5, conscionable with much robust ray tracing and upscaling options.

And, sure, that’s a spot disappointing if anyone was wishing for immoderate existent next-gen racing here, but what it means is that Playground Games had a overmuch easier clip optimizing it for lower-end hardware. So while, yeah, determination are immoderate details successful the situation that don’t look great, similar aliasing successful powerfulness wires oregon the PS3-esque quality models, that’s worthy the commercialized disconnected for awesome performance, particularly successful a crippled each astir going fast.

However, determination are immoderate pitfalls that Forza runs into that are a small too acquainted to different games this year. For instance, immoderate of the ray traced reflections are a spot noisy, peculiarly connected immoderate car that’s painted white, oregon different airy color. I’ve besides noticed immoderate upscaling artifacts astir immoderate elements of my car, though the extremity of this varies from conveyance to vehicle.

But what truly matters for Forza’s Horizon 6’s visuals is however bully the cars look. And, well, conscionable similar with Forza Motorsport 3 and Horizon 5, the cars look amazing. Everything other is benignant of secondary anyways. Most of the time, you’re going to beryllium blazing done environments astatine a 100 miles an hour, truthful if determination are immoderate blemishes, you’re not going to announcement them anyways. That’s benignant of the magic of racing games successful the archetypal place, and wherefore this benignant of crippled is typically overmuch much photorealistic than immoderate genre wherever going accelerated isn’t the full point.

Maybe they should marque a photo-real Sonic game. Just saying.

Best Settings For Forza Horizon 6

When I was sitting down to find the close settings for Forza Horizon 6, I had 1 wide goal: my car needs to look arsenic bully arsenic possible. Luckily, determination are plentifulness of graphics settings successful the crippled that abstracted car item from the remainder of the game. This is particularly adjuvant connected a handheld similar the Xbox Ally X, due to the fact that with the deficiency of beardown performance, being capable to people the horsepower truly helps compression retired a fewer other frames.

On PC, I tuned Forza Horizon 5 to tally arsenic good arsenic imaginable connected the RTX 5070 astatine 4K. My extremity determination was to get bully capable show truthful that it ever runs astatine 60 fps. I besides wanted to marque definite determination is capable buffer truthful that erstwhile you spell done an unexpected puddle, you don’t dip beneath that 60 fps threshold.

For astir people, if you conscionable privation a bully ‘set it and hide it’ preset, the High + RT preset volition get you a coagulated 60-70 fps astatine 4K without DLSS. However, the crippled looks a spot much level than it should, peculiarly erstwhile it comes to reflections and item connected the cars themselves. However, the adjacent preset up, Ultra + RT, volition driblet the RTX 5070 to astir 43 fps. That’s not great, but it’s a bully starting point.

In the video menu, I won’t beryllium changing much. Resolution is acceptable to 3840 x 2160, and portion I similar an unlocked framework rate, you tin acceptable the bounds nevertheless you privation here. Just marque definite to acceptable Vertical Synchronization to ‘Off’ if you privation to unlock your framework rate.

The astir important happening to alteration successful this paper is the upscaling. If you’re connected an AMD GPU, you tin alteration FSR 3.1.5, portion Intel GPU users tin alteration XeSS. For Nvidia users, the crippled besides supports beauteous overmuch each DLSS diagnostic nether the sun. As a wide regularisation of thumb, I urge upscaling astatine the ‘Quality’ preset for 1080p, ‘Balanced’ for 1440p, and ‘Performance’ for 4K. However, due to the fact that Forza Horizon 5 runs arsenic bully arsenic it does, I acceptable DLSS to ‘Balanced’ for the RTX 5070.

You tin besides alteration your FoV for each your antithetic camera views here, but that doesn’t truly impact performance. So, consciousness escaped to acceptable that arsenic wide oregon arsenic constrictive arsenic your small bosom desires.

All of the much nitty-gritty graphics settings are successful the ‘Graphics & Performance’ tab, and I’ll interruption down astir what each 1 does, arsenic good arsenic what I’d urge for some a mid-range GPU similar the RTX 5070 and for a handheld similar the Xbox Ally X oregon the Steam Deck.

Car Level of Detail This changes the exemplary item and mesh prime for each the cars successful the game. This tin impact your VRAM usage, truthful I’d little it if you’re starting to stutter. But, this is Forza and the cars are ace important, truthful I’d crook down the different level of item options earlier I interaction this one. Mid-Range PC: Ultra Handheld: High

Environment Texture Quality This 1 is beauteous straightforward, and conscionable changes the solution of biology textures. Because the RTX 5070 lone has 12GB of RAM, and we privation to alteration DLSS to boost our framework rate, I’d little this down to High. It doesn’t marque that overmuch of a difference, and it’ll springiness the upscaling algorithm immoderate representation to enactment with.

Mid-Range PC: High

Handheld: High

Environment Geometry Quality

This simply changes the mesh prime for each the objects successful the environment. I’d permission this higher, particularly due to the fact that you’re going to beryllium spending a important magnitude of clip chasing down mascots to smash with your car, but this is unluckily tied to texture quality.

Mid-range PC: High

Handheld: High

Car Reflection Quality

Another straightforward one! This conscionable changes the prime of reflections connected the interior and exterior of your car. These are the astir noticeable reflections successful the game, and this mounting does a batch to boost the game’s presentation. However, it is very dense connected your GPU, truthful chopped this if you’re struggling to get bully performance.

Mid-range PC: High

Handheld: High

Screen Space Reflections Quality

This changes the prime of non-ray traced reflections. This fundamentally reuses information from the presently rendered framework to astir cipher what each reflection should look like. This is different precise dense setting, but it is automatically disabled if you alteration ray traced reflections.

Mid-range PC: Off

Handheld: Medium oregon Off

Ray traced Reflections Quality

This changes the prime of ray traced reflections passim the full game. If you don’t person an RT-capable card, I wouldn’t adjacent effort turning this on. However, it is really not that dense connected the RTX 5070, particularly if you’re not trying to max it out. There are a batch of reflective surfaces successful this crippled too, truthful it truly does bash a batch to marque the crippled look better.

Mid-range PC: Medium

Handheld: Off

Shadow Quality

This changes some the solution of shadows, and however often they update. Because everything successful this crippled moves truthful fast, determination is simply a batch of imaginable for shadows to rapidly alteration arsenic your constituent of presumption changes. It’s inactive not worthy the show outgo to maximise this, though, truthful I’d support it astatine high.

Mid-range PC: High

Handheld: Low

Night Shadows

This adds shadows to definite airy sources astatine night, mostly conscionable your headlights and thoroughfare lights. The mounting does adhd moonlight shadows astatine its highest setting, but that’s thing you should lone truly alteration if you person a high-end GPU, oregon if you’re moving down to 1440p.

Mid-Range PC: Ultra

Handheld: Off

Screen Space Global Illumination Quality This improves ambient lighting, which does a batch for making the crippled much atmospheric. It’s a bully touch, but planetary illumination ever comes with a dense show cost, truthful it’s 1 of the archetypal things I’d chopped if you’re moving into show problems. Plus, if you crook connected ray traced planetary illumination, SSGI gets disabled automatically.

Mid-range PC: Off

Handheld: Medium

Ray Traced Global Illumination Quality

This does the aforesaid happening arsenic Screen Space Global Illumination, but much accurately, and with a bigger show cost. Even astatine low, RTGI looks amended than SSGI, truthful I’d conscionable acceptable it to debased if you person an RT-capable GPU, and past if you person the horsepower for it, you tin crook it up for adjacent amended lighting.

Mid-range PC: Low

Handheld: Off

Shader Quality The crippled claims that this changes the “visual fidelity of the materials and lighting”, however, nary substance however overmuch I messiness with this setting, I don’t truly announcement a difference. However, I didn’t bash overmuch pixel peeping this clip around. Luckily, it doesn’t truly impact show that much, truthful I conscionable permission it astatine ultra.

Mid-range PC: Ultra

Handheld: High

Deformable Terrain Quality This changes the prime of dirt, mud, oregon immoderate different benignant of terrain that’s gonna get torn up by your tires. Surprisingly, it doesn’t impact show excessively overmuch connected a desktop, but it volition commencement to hamper show connected a handheld.

Mid-Range PC: Extreme

Handheld: Medium

Particle Effects This conscionable changes the prime and quantity of particles that are flung up erstwhile you’re driving astir Japan. This tin wounded show a spot erstwhile you’re driving done puddles oregon mud, and you’re flinging debris everywhere. I’d permission it astatine high.

Mid-range PC: High

Handheld: Medium

Volumetric Fog Quality There is simply a ton of fog successful Forza Horizon 5, peculiarly erstwhile it’s raining. This was 1 of the archetypal things I tried to crook down to prevention performance, particularly due to the fact that the built-in benchmark is, well, quite foggy. To my surprise, though, this didn’t truly alteration show astatine all. And, due to the fact that it looks great, crook it up a bit!

Mid-range PC: Ultra

Handheld: Medium

Both Lens Effects and Motion Blur Quality are wholly aesthetic choices. Neither 1 is going to impact show that much, truthful crook them up oregon down depending connected your preference.

With each of the recommended settings, I was capable to get my framerate up to 70 fps successful the built-in benchmark, which is close wherever I wanted it. I did privation to trial it successful the existent game, too, though, truthful I acceptable a framework antagonistic and conscionable played the crippled usually for an hour.

And, fto maine archer you, Forza Horizon 6 runs similar an implicit imagination now. In the unfastened satellite with these settings, the RTX 5070 sits astir 90 fps astir of the time, and lone truly dips to 70 fps successful races with a batch of reflective puddles and particle effects. No substance what I tried, I could not get this mid-range GPU to driblet beneath 60 fps, and that’s without immoderate framework generation.

The RTX 5070 isn’t adjacent marketed arsenic a 4K graphics card, but astatine slightest successful Forza Horizon 6, it doesn’t look similar the barroom to get bully show astatine that solution is precise high.

Even connected a handheld, Forza Horizon 6 runs beauteous well. Really, my recommended settings are a premix of the mean and precocious presets, and erstwhile the Xbox Ally X is plugged in, I tin get betwixt 50-60 fps, sometimes adjacent stretching up to 70. Then, erstwhile I unplug it and tally the handheld connected its lowest powerfulness settings, I’m inactive capable to get astir 30 fps, which is perfectly good if you’re conscionable trying to agelong immoderate artillery beingness retired of the thing.

I went into Forza Horizon 6 expecting bully show retired of it – aft all, the strategy requirements are beauteous modest. But I’m inactive amazed astatine conscionable however good this crippled runs, adjacent connected low-end hardware. For however dire the PC hardware satellite is close now, astatine slightest determination are immoderate games that’ll tally good connected beauteous overmuch anything. That’s my metallic lining close now.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra