By the FlowUP team, gaming PC builder in Genappe (Belgium) · Updated 29 September 2026
In brief: Forza Horizon 6 (released 19 May 2026 on PC) is far more demanding than Forza Horizon 5. For 1440p on high settings, Playground recommends a Core i5-12400F or Ryzen 5 5600X, a RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT, and 16 GB of RAM; for 4K with ray tracing, a RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT and 32 GB. Key point: 8 GB of video memory is not enough for the highest settings, aim for 12 to 16 GB. The game depends mainly on the graphics card, with little impact from the CPU. Forza Horizon 5, on the other hand, runs well on more modest setups (GTX 1070 or RX 590 recommended).
Forza Horizon 6 changes the game
Off to Japan for Forza Horizon 6, with more than 550 cars, released on 19 May 2026 on PC (Xbox app and Steam) and Xbox Series X|S, and included with PC Game Pass. The PS5 version is due later in 2026.
Technically, the gap with Forza Horizon 5 is clear: ray tracing for reflections and global illumination, far heavier textures, and an installation size of 167 GB. A PC that could run FH5 in Ultra may struggle on FH6, especially if it only has 8 GB of video memory.
A gaming setup: for FH6, the graphics card and its video memory make the difference.
Forza Horizon 6 system requirements
| Tier | Target | Processor | Graphics card | RAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 1080p, 60 FPS, Low | Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 1600 | GTX 1650, RX 6500 XT or Arc A380 | 16 GB |
| Recommended | 1440p, 60 FPS and up, High | Core i5-12400F or Ryzen 5 5600X | RTX 3060 Ti, RX 6700 XT or Arc A580 | 16 GB |
| Extreme | 4K, 60 FPS and up, Extreme | Core i7-12700K or Ryzen 7 7700X | RTX 4070 Ti or RX 7900 XT | 24 GB |
| Extreme ray tracing | 4K with upscaling, 60 FPS and up | Core i7-12700K or Ryzen 7 7700X | RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT | 32 GB |
Sources: Playground Games via Game Informer (14 May 2026) and the Steam page. Windows 10 or 11 (22H2 or newer), SSD required (NVMe for both Extreme tiers), 167 GB of disk space. Pascal cards (GTX 10), Polaris and Vega are not supported.
On the technology side, the game offers DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation on RTX 50 (Frame Generation on RTX 40), DLAA and Reflex, as well as FSR 4 and XeSS 2.1. According to ComputerBase, only DLSS offers frame generation in FH6.
FPS measured in Forza Horizon 6
| Graphics card | 1440p, Extreme with upscaling | 4K, Extreme, Balanced upscaling |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB | 88 FPS | 60 FPS |
| RX 9060 XT 16 GB | 93 FPS | Not recorded |
| RTX 5070 | 118 FPS | 83 FPS |
| RTX 5070 Ti | 139 FPS | 103 FPS |
| RX 9070 XT | Not recorded | 107 FPS |
| RTX 5080 | 152 FPS | 114 FPS |
Source: ComputerBase, Forza Horizon 6 test (19 May 2026), Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Rounded average FPS.
TechSpot’s test (Hardware Unboxed, May 2026) confirms the importance of video memory: at 1440p high settings with ray tracing, the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB reaches 135 FPS, 25% more than the 8 GB version. In Extreme with ray tracing, the 8 GB version even drops to around 30 FPS after a dozen minutes of gameplay, when its memory is saturated. ComputerBase recommends 12 GB at 1440p and 16 GB at 4K without ray tracing.
CPU or graphics card?
The graphics card, clearly. PCGH judges the CPU demand to be “pleasantly low”: even a Ryzen 5 5600 already exceeds 100 FPS. The Ryzen X3D chips lead the CPU tests, but that’s a bonus, not a requirement. The older 6-core models from 2017 to 2018 are, however, borderline with ray tracing at maximum settings: PCGH recommends at least a Ryzen 5 3600 or a Core i7-8700K.
To tune the game as best as possible for your setup, Alexis details the graphics and driving settings:
Alexis, “The best settings for Forza Horizon 6”, July 2026.
And Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 is much more accessible. Minimum configuration: Core i5-4460 or Ryzen 3 1200, GTX 970 or RX 470, 8 GB RAM. Recommended: Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 1500X, GTX 1070 or RX 590, 16 GB. For 4K at 60 FPS, Playground indicated an RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT. The game takes up 110 GB on Steam. Any PC capable of running FH6 on high settings will run FH5 on Ultra.
Which PC for Forza Horizon, depending on your screen
| Your screen | Recommended graphics card | What you can aim for |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB or RX 9060 XT 16 GB | FH6 in Extreme with upscaling, FH5 in Ultra |
| 1440p | RTX 5070 or RX 9070 XT | FH6 in Extreme, over 100 FPS with upscaling |
| 4K | RTX 5070 Ti, RX 9070 XT or RTX 5080 | FH6 in Extreme ray tracing with upscaling |
For the rest of the configuration, follow our guide how to choose your gaming PC in 2026. And if you’re torn between 16 and 32 GB of RAM (the ray tracing tier requires 32), read 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM in 2026.
Our PCs for playing Forza Horizon 6
Swift PC: 1080p and 1440p
The RTX 5060 Ti in a 16 GB version, the one that doesn’t saturate in FH6.
PC Novara GeForce RTX 5070 12GB
Ryzen 5 7500X3D, RTX 5070 12GB, 16 GB DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB M.2 SSD: a plug-and-play setup ready to game straight out of the box.
Shadow V2 PC: 1440p and 4K
RX 9070 XT 16 GB, the card named for the Extreme ray tracing tier, with 32 GB of DDR5.
Arctic PC: 4K without compromise
RTX 5080: 114 FPS in 4K Extreme with upscaling in ComputerBase’s test (with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D), and DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation.
The entire range is in the category FlowUP gaming PC, with indicative FPS per game.
FAQ: PC for Forza Horizon
What configuration for Forza Horizon 6?
Recommended by Playground for 1440p at high settings: Core i5-12400F or Ryzen 5 5600X, RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT, 16 GB of RAM and an SSD. For 4K with ray tracing: RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT and 32 GB.
Is 8 GB of video memory enough for Forza Horizon 6?
For medium to high settings, yes. For the maximum settings, no: tests show big FPS drops on 8 GB cards. Aim for 12 GB at 1440p and 16 GB at 4K.
How much space does Forza Horizon 6 take up?
167 GB according to Steam, and an SSD is required.
Is Forza Horizon 6 available on PC Game Pass?
Yes, the Standard Edition is included in PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate from launch.
My PC runs Forza Horizon 5, will it run Forza Horizon 6?
Not necessarily. FH6 needs noticeably more: even a GTX 1070, which is recommended for FH5, is no longer supported, and the recommendation goes up to an RTX 3060 Ti.
Sources
- Forza, Forza Horizon 6 release (19 May 2026)
- Game Informer, Forza Horizon 6 PC requirements (14 May 2026)
- Forza Support, Forza Horizon 6 PC specs
- ComputerBase, Forza Horizon 6 benchmark test (19 May 2026)
- TechSpot, 8 GB vs 16 GB in Forza Horizon 6 (May 2026)
- PCGH, processors in Forza Horizon 6 (19 May 2026)
- Steam, Forza Horizon 5
