Forza Horizon 4 PC Performance Review

PC System Requirements 

Playground Games expects 0Forza Horizon 4 players to have a minimum of a dual-core, quad-thread Intel Core i3-4170 processor or an older quad-core processor that is as powerful as an Intel i5-750 processor, with the developers recommending a four core, eight thread i7-3820 CPU. The game will require PC players to be using Windows 10 build 15063.0 or higher and have access to 8GB of system memory, though 12GB is recommended for higher graphical settings.

On the graphics side, the games minimum requirements remain the same as Forza Horizon 3, asking for an AMD R7 250X or Nvidia GT 740, though the Nvidia GTX 650 Ti has also been added to the list. Playground Games recommends Nvidia’s GTX 1060/GTX970 graphics cards or AMD’s R9 290X or RX 470 graphics cards.

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 version 15063.0 or higher
Architecture: x64
Keyboard: Integrated Keyboard
Mouse: Integrated Mouse
DirectX: DirectX 12 API, Hardware Feature Level 11
Memory: 8 GB
Video Memory: 2 GB
Processor: Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz OR Intel i5 750 @ 2.67Ghz
Graphics: NVidia 650TI OR NVidia GT 740 or AMD R7 250x

Recommended

OS: Windows 10 version 15063.0 or higher
Architecture: x64
Keyboard: Integrated Keyboard
Mouse: Integrated Mouse
DirectX: DirectX 12 API, Hardware Feature Level 11
Memory: 12 GB
Video Memory: 4 GB
Processor: Intel i7-3820 @ 3.6Ghz
Graphics: NVidia GTX 970 OR NVidia GTX 1060 3GB OR AMD R9 290x or AMD RX 470

 

GPU Drivers

When playing Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 4, we used the latest drivers that were available for both AMD’s Radeon graphics hardware and Nvidia’s Geforce GPU offerings. On the Radeon side we used the company’s Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.9.3 driver, and on the Nvidia side, we used the Geforce 411.70 driver. 

Testing Methodology

OC3D is a website that is dedicated PC hardware, so you better believe that we test every game on a wide range of hardware configurations. This commitment to variety means that we will be using both Intel and AMD based testbeds as well as a range of GPU offerings from both Nvidia and Radeon. 

Our primary test system uses Intel’s X99 platform, containing an Intel Core i7 6850K at a fixed clock speed of 4GHz. This testbed will use 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 memory and will be powered and cooled by an HX1200i PSU and an H110i AIO liquid cooler respectively, with everything sitting inside a Corsair 460X chassis. In this system, we are using an ASUS Strix X99 motherboard. 

 

Game Test Rig
Intel i7 6850K @4.0 GHz
ASUS X99 Strix
Corsair Vengeance LP 4x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
Corsair HX1200i
Corsair H110i GT
Windows 10 x64 “April 2018 Update”

 

Secondary Ryzen Test System

Aside from our standard X99 test system we also have a testbed based on AMD’s Ryzen 7 1700X CPU, which will sit at a clock speed of 4GHz be housed in an ASUS Crosshair VI Hero motherboard. This system will use Corsair’s 3200MHz Vengeance White LED memory and is contained inside another Corsair 460X chassis. 

This extra system will allow us to see if any games offer a performance advantage to AMD’s Ryzen or Intel’s Core series processors.  

 

AMD Ryzen Game Test Rig
AMD Ryzen 7 1700X @ 4.0GHz
ASUS X370 Crosshair VI Hero
Corsair Vengeance LED 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz
Corsair 460X System Chassis
Corsair RMi650
Corsair H115i
Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
Windows 10 x64 “April 2018 Update”

 

 

GPU Selection

No gaming test suite would be complete without a selection of GPUs, which in this case covers Nvidia’s GTX 10-series and 9-series and AMD’s RX Vega, RX 400 and R9 300 series graphics cards. We have replaced our RX 480 GPU with its RX 580 equivalent, giving us a fairer comparison point between AMD/Nvidia’s modern graphics card lineups. 

Geforce GTX 10-series

– Nvidia GTX 1080 Founders Edition
– Nvidia GTX 1070 Founders Edition
– ASUS GTX 1060 Strix Gaming OC

Geforce GTX 900-series 

– ASUS GTX 960 Strix 

       

AMD RX Vega Series

– AMD RX Vega 56

AMD RX 500 Series

– AMD RX 580 Strix OC


AMD GCN GPUs

– ASUS R9 380 Strix

Keyboard & Mouse

To control this setup, we will be using Corsair Strafe RGB keyboard with Cherry MX Silent keys alongside a Corsair M65 RGB mouse, matching the general theme of this RGB illuminated system.  

Cherry MX Silent Keys are ideal for gaming, coming with similar characteristics as Cherry MX Red keys, but with quieter operation. This comparative silence will help keep players immersed in their games, without the distracting clicks that are present in other Cherry key switches.