Forza Horizon 5 Performance Analysis

Feast for the eyes. If someone were to claim that Forza Horizon 5 is the prettiest racing game in the world they would not be far from the truth. We benchmarked the gorgeous-looking title to determine the system requirements.

Florian Glaser, 👁 Florian Glaser (translated by Stanislav Kokhanyuk), Published 11/14/2021 🇩🇪 🇳🇱 ...

Technology

Forza Horizon 5 is a major success for Xbox Game Studios in particular and open-world racing games in general. The title received rave reviews. Forza Horizon 5 looks astonishingly good. In some instances, it looks downright photorealistic. It bears a lot of resemblance to Microsoft Flight Simulator in that regard.

In all respects, the visuals of Horizon 5 are on the highest level. At high to maximum settings, the textures and effects (water, smoke, …) look mighty impressive. The reflections and the level of detail (cars, environments etc,) are quite stunning. The vegetation density and the draw distance impress mightily. All in all, the game looks very realistic.

Forza Horizon 5 creates a very dense atmosphere. The game intro impressed us in particular with its cleverly designed video sequences. The vehicle handling is very good as well.

Even though Horizon 5 is more stable and better optimised than Forza Horizon 4, we still ran into some bugs (we installed the Steam version because of our prior bad experiences with the Microsoft Store). On many of our test systems, the settings menu failed to open properly. Pressing Alt and Enter at the same time or restarting the game seemed to fix the issue.

The graphics menu, which consists of two submenus, leaves nothing to be desired. The Display tab contains the settings for resolution, scaling, refresh rate (including an optional FPS cap), V-Sync and display mode. The Graphics tab contains around 20 settings which have a direct impact on the visuals. For those who do not want to do any tinkering with the visual settings, there are 6 presets. Unfortunately, graphics changes require a restart to take effect once the game world is loaded in (the loading times are quite long). Microsoft’s racing game supports ray tracing.

Forza Horizon 5 takes up 100 GB of storage space, which is not particularly good (in light of the latest Call of Duty title). Upon first launch, the game runs through an optimisation process on some PCs.

Benchmark

The quality of the built-in benchmark is praiseworthy. It takes two minutes, which is rather long, but it provides very useful data upon completion. In our view, the built-in benchmark reflects in-game performance very well.

Results

The benchmarks were conducted mainly using the laptops which our partners MSI and XMG (Schenker Technologies) lent us.

FHD (1920x1080)

Gamers do not need a high-end GPU to enjoy Forza Horizon 5 at 1080p and high settings. Even mid-range GPUs such as the GeForce GTX 1650 (Ti) can deliver playable frame rates on the high preset. Ultra/extreme settings require a graphics card with at least 6 GB of VRAM (performance drops severely on 4 GB GPUs at such settings). A GPU with 6 GB of VRAM such as the GeForce RTX 3060 is what we would recommend to those who want to game at 1080p and ultra settings.

Forza Horizon 5
1920x1080 Low Preset 1920x1080 Medium Preset 1920x1080 High Preset 1920x1080 Extreme Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	174 fps ∼51% 154 fps ∼51% 144 fps ∼51% 106 fps ∼50%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	172 fps ∼51% 152 fps ∼50% 140 fps ∼49% 100 fps ∼47%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	168 fps ∼50% 147 fps ∼49% 136 fps ∼48% 97 fps ∼45%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	167 fps ∼49% 146 fps ∼48% 134 fps ∼47% 84 fps ∼39%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	166 fps ∼49% 144 fps ∼48% 132 fps ∼47% 82 fps ∼38%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	140 fps ∼41% 120 fps ∼40% 110 fps ∼39% 58 fps ∼27%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	123 fps ∼36% 100 fps ∼33% 90 fps ∼32% 44 fps ∼21%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Focus 17 @75 W TGP	115 fps ∼34% 94 fps ∼31% 83 fps ∼29% 31 fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	99 fps ∼29% 78 fps ∼26% 67 fps ∼24% 26 fps ∼12%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	85 fps ∼25% 68 fps ∼23% 60 fps ∼21% 22 fps ∼10%

QHD (2560x1440)

For an enjoyable experience at 1440p and maximum settings, a true high-end GPU is needed. Here, we recommend a GeForce RTX 3070 or better.

Forza Horizon 5
2560x1440 Extreme Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	100 fps ∼50%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	93 fps ∼46%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	85 fps ∼42%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	73 fps ∼36%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	71 fps ∼35%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	48 fps ∼24%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	36 fps ∼18%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	21 fps ∼10%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	18 fps ∼9%

UHD (3840x2160)

Most laptop GPUs struggle to handle Forza Horizon 5 at 4K. Even the GeForce RTX 3080 (Mobile) fails to maintain 60 FPS at maximum settings. However, given how beautiful the game looks, this is understandable. Gamers can always lower visual settings, though.

Forza Horizon 5
3840x2160 Extreme Preset
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Suprim X	81 fps ∼49%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming X Trio	75 fps ∼45%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, i9-9900K MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X	62 fps ∼37%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 15 @165 W TGP	55 fps ∼33%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Neo 17 @140 W TGP	52 fps ∼31%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H XMG Core 15 @130 W TGP	35 fps ∼21%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Mobile, i7-9750H MSI GP65 Leopard 9SD	24 fps ∼14%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GP75	14 fps ∼8%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Mobile, i7-10750H MSI GL75	12 fps ∼7%

Note

Because benchmarking video games is very time consuming and is often constrained by installation/activation limits, at the time of publishing, we were able to provide only a part of our performance analysis of Forza Horizon 5. Other graphics cards will be added in the coming days and weeks.

Overview

Test Systems

Device	GPU	CPU	RAM	OS
XMG Neo 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 @165 W TGP (16 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Neo 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 @140 W TGP (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Core 15	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 @130 W TGP (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
XMG Focus 17	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti @75 W TGP (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-11800H	2 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GP65	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (6 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-9750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GP75	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-10750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI GL75	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i7-10750H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Dell G5 15 SE	AMD Radeon RX 5600M (6 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 7 4800H	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
MSI Prestige 14 Evo	Intel Iris Xe (96 CUs)	Intel Core i7-1185G7	1 x 16 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Asus ROG Strix G15	AMD Radeon RX 6800M (12 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX	2 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Desktop PC I	MSI GeForce RTX 3090 (24 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3080 (10 GB GDDR6X) MSI GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB GDDR6)	Intel Core i9-9900K	4 x 8 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit
Desktop PC II	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 FE (24 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12 GB GDDR6X) Nvidia Titan RTX (24 GB GDDR6) Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8 GB GDDR6) Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super (8 GB GDDR6) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1660 Super (6 GB GDDR6) PNY GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB GDDR5) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1650 Super (4 GB GDDR6) KFA2 GeForce GTX 1650 (4 GB GDDR5) AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB DDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 6600 (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5700 (8 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (6 GB GDDR6) AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8 GB GDDR6)	AMD Ryzen 9 5900X	2 x 32 GB DDR4	Windows 10 64 Bit

4K monitors	Nvidia drivers	AMD drivers
Asus PB287Q, Philips Brilliance 329P9H, Acer Predator XB321HK	ForceWare 496.49	Adrenalin 21.11.1

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Editor of the original article: Sebastian Jentsch - Managing Editor Consumer Laptops - 1833 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2010

Computers always had an important place in my life, starting with an Intel 80286 microprocessor in the early 1990s. I became interested in the productive side of technology, especially in campus radio, while studying at TU Chemnitz and during a trainee program in Belfast. Hardware interests led me to manage Notebookjournal.de, which is now a division of Notebooksbilliger, for a few years. I became self-employed in 2010 and took the next logical step in my career by starting to write for Notebookcheck.

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Translator: Stanislav Kokhanyuk - Translator - 78 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

I am a big fan of technology, which is why I try to keep up with it. Among my other passions are literature and writing, and so it should not be surprising to anyone at all that I have a four-year bachelor's degree in philology. However, my interests are not limited just to the world of technology, or, for that matter, the world of literature. I am also interested in people and the stories they have to tell. And more recently, I took an interest in artificial intelligence.

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > Forza Horizon 5 Performance Analysis

Florian Glaser, 2021-11-14 (Update: 2021-11-14)

Legend
5	Stutters – This game is very likely to stutter and have poor frame rates. Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, average frame rates are expected to fall below 25fps
	May Stutter – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, stutters and poor frame rates are expected.
30	Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 25fps
40	Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 35fps
60	Fluent – Based on all known benchmarks using the specified graphical settings, this game should run at or above 58fps
	May Run Fluently – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game. Based on interpolated information from surrounding graphics cards of similar performance levels, fluent frame rates are expected.
?	Uncertain – This graphics card experienced unexpected performance issues during testing for this game. A slower card may be able to achieve better and more consistent frame rates than this particular GPU running the same benchmark scene.
	Uncertain – This graphics card has not been explicitly tested on this game and no reliable interpolation can be made based on the performances of surrounding cards of the same class or family.
The value in the fields displays the average frame rate of all values in the database. Move your cursor over the value to see individual results.