Forza Horizon 6 has arrived, and it brings Japan’s breathtaking landscapes — from neon-drenched Tokyo streets to winding mountain passes — to our monitors in stunning detail. But with great beauty comes great hardware demands, and if you want to hit a smooth 60 FPS (or beyond) without sacrificing visual fidelity, you need the right settings for your specific GPU.
We’ve spent hours testing and tweaking every graphics option across four hardware tiers to bring you the definitive Forza Horizon 6 PC settings guide. Whether you’re pushing a budget GTX 1650 or going all-in with an RTX 5070 Ti at 4K with ray tracing, we have optimized configs that balance performance and visuals. We also break down which settings tank your FPS the hardest, how DLSS 4 and FSR 4 compare, and whether ray tracing is actually worth enabling on your hardware.
Bookmark this page — we update our settings as patches roll out and new GPU drivers land.
Forza Horizon 6 System Requirements
Before we dive into specific settings, let’s establish the baseline. Playground Games has published four official spec tiers for Forza Horizon 6, ranging from a surprisingly accessible minimum up to a serious enthusiast tier for 4K ray tracing. Here’s the full breakdown:
| Tier | Target | CPU | GPU | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 1080p Low, ~30 FPS | AMD Ryzen 5 1600 / Intel equivalent | NVIDIA GTX 1650 / AMD equivalent | 16 GB | SSD (type TBD) |
| Recommended | 1080p High, ~60 FPS | Intel Core i5-12400F / AMD Ryzen 5 5600 | NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 6700 | 16 GB | SSD |
| Extreme | 1440p Ultra, ~60 FPS | Intel Core i7-12700K / AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | 24 GB | NVMe SSD |
| Extreme RT | 4K with Ray Tracing | [VERIFY — likely Intel i7/i9 or Ryzen 7/9 high-end] | NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti / AMD equivalent high-end | [VERIFY — likely 24–32 GB] | NVMe SSD |
A few things stand out. First, 16 GB of RAM is the absolute floor — this game loves memory, and the Extreme tier jumps to 24 GB. Second, an SSD is mandatory at every tier; Forza Horizon 6’s open-world streaming simply does not work on a hard drive. And third, the Extreme RT tier demands an RTX 5070 Ti or equivalent, which tells you ray tracing in this game is no joke. If you’re shopping for a new GPU to pair with this game, check out our Best Graphics Card for Gaming guide for current recommendations.
Best Settings for Every GPU Tier
One of the best quality-of-life features in Forza Horizon 6 is that all PC render settings can be changed without restarting the game, and many options include a live preview. This makes tuning incredibly fast — you can adjust a setting, see the impact immediately, and revert if needed. We’ve taken advantage of this to nail down optimal configs for four hardware tiers.
Budget Tier (GTX 1650 / RX 6500 XT) — 1080p Low, Targeting 30–45 FPS
If you’re running a GTX 1650 or similar entry-level GPU, Forza Horizon 6 is playable but you’ll need to make compromises. Our recommended settings:
- Resolution: 1080p (no upscaling or FSR 3 Quality mode if available)
- Preset: Low
- MSAA: Off or 2x
- Shadows: Low
- Environment Detail: Low
- Ray Tracing: Off
- Reflections: Low
- Motion Blur: On (hides low-FPS stutter)
- Upscaling: FSR 3 Quality if your GPU supports it
At this tier, your priority is frame rate over beauty. Shadows and environment detail are the heaviest hitters — dropping them to Low recovers significant FPS. Keep motion blur on; it smooths the perception of lower frame rates during driving. If you’re on an even older GPU, consider dropping to 900p and using FSR 3 to upscale back to 1080p.
Mid-Range Tier (RTX 3060 Ti / RX 6700 XT) — 1080p High, Targeting 60 FPS
This is the sweet spot for most players. The RTX 3060 Ti and RX 6700 XT can comfortably hit 60 FPS at 1080p High with a few strategic tweaks:
- Resolution: 1080p
- Preset: High
- MSAA: 4x
- Shadows: High
- Environment Detail: High
- Ray Tracing: Off (or Reflections only at Low if you want a taste)
- Reflections: High
- Upscaling: DLSS Quality (RTX) or FSR 3 Quality (AMD/Intel)
- NVIDIA Reflex: On + Boost (if available)
With DLSS or FSR 3 in Quality mode, you gain a solid 15–25% frame rate boost with minimal visual loss. This headroom lets you keep MSAA at 4x and shadows at High without dipping below 60 FPS in most scenes. For a deeper understanding of how these upscalers compare, see our DLSS 4.5 vs FSR 4.1: The 2026 Upscaling Battle Tested article.
High-End Tier (RTX 4070 Ti / RX 7900 XT) — 1440p Ultra, Targeting 60 FPS
At this tier, you’re playing the game as the developers intended. Our recommended settings for a buttery 1440p experience:
- Resolution: 1440p
- Preset: Ultra
- MSAA: 4x or 8x
- Shadows: Ultra
- Environment Detail: Ultra
- Ray Tracing: Reflections only (Low or Medium)
- Reflections: Ultra
- Upscaling: DLSS Quality (RTX 40) or FSR 4 Quality (RX 9000) / FSR 3 Quality (RX 7000)
- DLSS Frame Generation: On (RTX 40 Series+)
- NVIDIA Reflex: On
With DLSS Frame Generation enabled on an RTX 4070 Ti, you can push past 60 FPS at 1440p Ultra and even dabble in ray-traced reflections without tanking performance. On the AMD side, the RX 7900 XT handles 1440p Ultra natively but benefits from FSR 3 upscaling to maintain consistent 60+ FPS in Tokyo’s dense city areas. If you’re considering upgrading to handle this tier, our RX 9000 Prices Are Dropping Fast — Should You Buy AMD in 2026? piece has current pricing analysis.
Enthusiast Tier (RTX 5070 Ti / RX 9070 XT) — 4K with Ray Tracing, Targeting 60+ FPS
This is where Forza Horizon 6 truly shines. With an RTX 5070 Ti or equivalent, you can run at 4K with ray-traced reflections and RTGI enabled:
- Resolution: 4K (3840×2160)
- Preset: Ultra
- MSAA: 4x (or DLAA for best quality)
- Shadows: Ultra
- Environment Detail: Ultra
- Ray Tracing: Reflections + RTGI On
- Reflections: Ultra
- Upscaling: DLSS 4 Quality with Multi Frame Generation (RTX 50 Series)
- NVIDIA Reflex: On + Boost
The RTX 5070 Ti’s DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation is a game-changer for 4K ray tracing. It generates multiple frames between rendered frames, pushing perceived smoothness well beyond what native 4K rendering alone can achieve. On the AMD side, the RX 9070 XT [VERIFY — exact model and performance not yet confirmed] should handle 4K with FSR 4 upscaling and selective ray tracing. For the full system build at this tier, see our Best Gaming PC Builds April 2026: GPU Crisis Edition.
FPS-Killer Settings to Adjust First
Not all settings are created equal. Through our testing, we identified the five biggest FPS-killers in Forza Horizon 6 — the settings that cost the most performance for the least visual payoff. Tweak these first if you need more frames:
1. Ray-Traced Global Illumination (RTGI)
RTGI is the single most expensive setting in the game. Enabling it can cost you 30–45% of your frame rate depending on resolution and GPU. It provides beautiful indirect lighting, especially in Tokyo’s neon-lit alleys and forested mountain roads, but the visual difference is subtle in bright daylight scenes. Our recommendation: Only enable RTGI if you have an RTX 5070 Ti or better at 1440p+, or an RTX 4070 Ti at 1080p with DLSS.
2. Shadow Quality
Shadows go from Low to Ultra, and each step up costs roughly 8–12% of your FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra is minimal — mostly slightly sharper shadow edges at distance. Our recommendation: Set to High. The FPS savings over Ultra are significant, and you’ll barely notice the difference while driving at speed.
3. MSAA (Multisample Anti-Aliasing)
MSAA at 8x costs nearly double what 4x costs, and the improvement over 4x is negligible in motion. If you’re using DLSS or FSR upscaling, you may not need MSAA at all — the upscaler handles edge smoothing. Our recommendation: 4x MSAA max, or Off entirely if using DLSS Quality/DLAA.
4. Environment Detail
This setting controls draw distance for vegetation, crowd density, and small world objects. Dropping from Ultra to High recovers about 10% FPS with a barely perceptible visual change. Low cuts distant trees and crowd detail dramatically. Our recommendation: High is the sweet spot for most GPUs.
5. Ray-Traced Reflections
Separate from RTGI, ray-traced reflections on cars and wet surfaces cost roughly 15–20% of your frame rate. They look fantastic on your car’s paint in showroom mode, but during gameplay at 60+ MPH, you rarely notice them. Our recommendation: Enable on high-end and enthusiast tiers only. Budget and mid-range players should leave this Off.
DLSS 4, FSR 4, and XeSS 2.1 Upscaling Guide
Forza Horizon 6 launches with support for all three major upscaling technologies, and choosing the right one for your GPU makes a massive difference in performance. Here’s our breakdown:
NVIDIA DLSS 4 (RTX 50 Series)
DLSS 4 introduces Multi Frame Generation for RTX 50 Series GPUs, which generates multiple interpolated frames between each rendered frame. Combined with DLSS Super Resolution (available on all RTX GPUs) and DLAA for maximum quality, this is the most capable upscaling stack available in any racing game right now. On an RTX 5070 Ti at 4K Ultra with RTGI, DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation can push 90+ FPS where native rendering would struggle to hit 40. NVIDIA Reflex is also supported, reducing input latency — critical for a racing game.
NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation (RTX 40 Series)
If you’re on an RTX 40 Series GPU, you get DLSS Frame Generation (single interpolated frame) plus Super Resolution. This is still excellent — at 1440p Ultra with Frame Gen, an RTX 4070 Ti comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Use Quality mode for best balance.
AMD FSR 4 / FSR 3
AMD’s FSR 4 is available on RX 9000 Series GPUs, while RX 7000 and older cards use FSR 3. FSR 4 [VERIFY — exact feature improvements over FSR 3 not fully detailed] offers improved temporal stability and image quality. FSR 3 includes its own frame generation, which works on a wide range of GPUs. For AMD players, we recommend FSR Quality mode at 1080p and 1440p, and FSR Balanced at 4K.
Intel XeSS 2.1
Intel’s XeSS 2.1 is also supported, making Forza Horizon 6 accessible to Arc GPU owners. XeSS 2.1 offers improved reconstruction quality over earlier versions. Use Quality mode for the best visual fidelity on Arc hardware.
For an in-depth technical comparison of these upscalers, read our DLSS 4.5 vs FSR 4.1: The 2026 Upscaling Battle Tested article, where we test each technology across multiple games including Forza Horizon 6.
Ray Tracing Performance Impact
Forza Horizon 6 features two distinct ray tracing modes: Ray-Traced Reflections and Ray-Traced Global Illumination (RTGI). Understanding the performance cost of each is essential for making informed trade-offs.
Ray-Traced Reflections affect your car’s bodywork, wet road surfaces, and environmental water reflections. The performance hit is moderate — roughly 15–20% depending on your GPU and resolution. This is worth enabling on any RTX 40 Series or better GPU at 1440p or below, especially if you love the showroom-quality car visuals.
RTGI is the heavy hitter. It replaces screen-space ambient occlusion with real-time indirect lighting, creating realistic light bouncing through Tokyo’s narrow streets and under forest canopies. The cost? A staggering 30–45% FPS reduction. RTGI is only viable on the Extreme RT tier hardware — RTX 5070 Ti, RX 9070 XT , or better — and even then, you’ll want DLSS 4 or FSR 4 upscaling to compensate.
Our ray tracing recommendations by tier:
- Budget: Both Off — no question.
- Mid-Range: Reflections Off, RTGI Off. The RTX 3060 Ti can technically run RT Reflections at Low, but the FPS hit isn’t worth it at 1080p.
- High-End: RT Reflections On (Low or Medium), RTGI Off. You can enjoy reflective car paint without tanking your frame rate.
- Enthusiast: Both On. This is what the Extreme RT spec tier is built for.
For more on ray tracing performance across games, the NVIDIA GeForce news page regularly publishes detailed performance guides.
Steam Deck and Handheld Settings
Playground Games has confirmed official support for Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally, and Forza Horizon 6 includes cross-save across all platforms including SteamOS devices. This is a big deal — it means your progress syncs seamlessly between your desktop and handheld.
Steam Deck (LCD and OLED)
The Steam Deck’s APU can handle Forza Horizon 6 at 720p–800p with adjusted settings:
- Resolution: 800p native (1280×800)
- Preset: Low to Medium (custom)
- MSAA: Off
- Shadows: Low
- Environment Detail: Low
- Ray Tracing: Off
- Upscaling: FSR 3 Quality (if available) or Off at native
- Target FPS: 30 FPS cap for consistent battery life
Cap your frame rate at 30 FPS using the Steam Deck’s built-in frame limiter. This keeps the APU from throttling and extends battery life significantly. The game’s motion blur setting helps smooth out the 30 FPS experience during fast driving.
ASUS ROG Ally / Ally X
The ROG Ally’s Z1 Extreme APU is significantly more powerful than the Steam Deck’s. Target 1080p at 40–60 FPS:
- Resolution: 1080p (1920×1080)
- Preset: Medium
- MSAA: 2x
- Shadows: Medium
- Environment Detail: Medium
- Ray Tracing: Off
- Upscaling: FSR 3 Quality or XeSS Quality
- Target FPS: 40–60 FPS
For the best handheld gaming experience, pair your device with one of the monitors from our Best Gaming Monitor 2026 guide for when you dock at home.
Benchmark Mode and Live Tuning
Forza Horizon 6 includes a built-in benchmark mode at launch — a feature that was conspicuously absent from FH5 at release. The benchmark runs through a fixed sequence of driving scenarios across different environments and weather conditions, giving you a consistent way to measure performance before and after settings changes.
To run the benchmark:
- Open Settings → Graphics
- Scroll to the bottom and select “Run Benchmark”
- Wait for the sequence to complete (approximately 60 seconds)
- Review the results: Min FPS, Avg FPS, Max FPS, and 1% Low FPS
Pro tip: Pay close attention to the 1% Low FPS number. In a racing game, consistent frame times matter more than peak FPS. If your 1% Low drops below 30, reduce settings until it stabilizes above your target — even if your average looks fine.
Beyond the benchmark, Forza Horizon 6 introduces two excellent quality-of-life features for PC players:
- Live settings changes: All render settings can be adjusted without restarting the game. Change a setting, see the result immediately, and keep playing. This is a huge improvement over FH5, which required restarts for many options.
- Real-time memory display: The game shows real-time video memory (VRAM) and system RAM usage. This helps you understand exactly when you’re pushing past your hardware’s limits, and it’s invaluable for fine-tuning settings on GPUs with less VRAM.
For official technical details about the game’s PC features, check the Forza Support page and the official Forza Horizon 6 Xbox page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can your PC run Forza Horizon 6?
The minimum requirements are a GTX 1650, Ryzen 5 1600, and 16 GB of RAM targeting 1080p Low at 30 FPS. If you meet these specs, the game will run — but for a smooth 60 FPS experience, you’ll want at least an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700. An SSD is mandatory regardless of your hardware tier.
Does Forza Horizon 6 support DLSS 4?
Yes. Forza Horizon 6 supports the full NVIDIA DLSS 4 stack: Multi Frame Generation for RTX 50 Series, Frame Generation for RTX 40 Series, Super Resolution for all RTX GPUs, DLAA, and NVIDIA Reflex. This makes it one of the most comprehensive DLSS implementations in any racing game.
What are the best settings for Forza Horizon 6 on a low-end PC?
Set everything to Low, disable MSAA and ray tracing, enable motion blur, and use FSR 3 Quality mode if your GPU supports it. Target 30 FPS with a frame rate cap. The two settings that matter most for performance are shadows and environment detail — keeping these at Low recovers the most FPS.
Is Forza Horizon 6 well optimized on PC?
Generally yes. The game scales well across hardware tiers, supports all three major upscalers, includes a benchmark mode, and allows live settings changes without restart. The four official spec tiers are also refreshingly honest about performance targets. However, ray tracing — particularly RTGI — carries a heavy cost that only top-tier GPUs can handle comfortably.
Does Forza Horizon 6 support ultrawide monitors?
Yes, ultrawide monitor resolution support is confirmed as a launch feature. The game properly renders at 21:9 and 32:9 aspect ratios without stretching or cropping, making it a great experience on ultrawide displays.
Conclusion
Forza Horizon 6 is one of the best-looking racing games ever made, and Playground Games has clearly learned from FH5’s PC shortcomings. The inclusion of DLSS 4, FSR 4, XeSS 2.1, a benchmark mode, live settings changes, and real-time memory monitoring makes this one of the most PC-friendly racing games we’ve tested.
The key takeaway from our testing: you don’t need an RTX 5070 Ti to enjoy this game. A GTX 1650 will get you playable 30 FPS at 1080p Low, and a mid-range RTX 3060 Ti delivers a smooth 60 FPS at 1080p High with upscaling. Ray tracing — especially RTGI — is the real GPU killer, and it’s only worth enabling on enthusiast-tier hardware.
Our top three tips for maximizing your Forza Horizon 6 experience:
- Use upscaling. DLSS, FSR, or XeSS in Quality mode gives you a free 15–25% FPS boost with minimal visual loss.
- Shadow quality is your best lever. Dropping from Ultra to High saves ~10% FPS with almost no visible difference at speed.
- Run the benchmark first. Use the built-in benchmark to establish your baseline, then adjust settings one at a time while monitoring the real-time memory display.
For more PC optimization guides, check out our related articles:
