Forza Horizon 5 PC System Requirements: Minimum, Recommended, and Ideal (4K)
Forza Horizon 5 is still one of the most-played racing games on PC heading into FH6’s launch on 2026-05-19, and its requirements remain a useful baseline for what FH6 will demand. This page lists the official minimum, recommended, and ideal 4K specs straight from Steam and Playground Games’ published spec sheet, plus context on the rumoured 4K Ultra tier. All data was re-verified on 2026-05-14.
Key Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Official Tiers | 3 (Minimum, Recommended, Ideal) |
| Separate 4K Ultra Tier | (unconfirmed) |
| Minimum OS | Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher |
| Minimum CPU | Intel i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 |
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GTX 970, AMD RX 470, or Intel Arc A380 |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB |
| Minimum Storage | 110 GB |
| Minimum DirectX | 12 |
| Recommended CPU | Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X |
| Recommended GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1070, AMD RX 590, or Intel Arc A750 |
| Recommended RAM | 16 GB |
| Recommended Storage | 110 GB |
| Ideal CPU | Intel i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT |
| Ideal GPU | NVIDIA RTX 3080 (10 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16 GB) |
| Ideal RAM | 16 GB |
| Ideal Storage | 110 GB SSD |
| Ideal Target | 4K Ultra settings at 60+ FPS |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection required |
Full Spec Comparison: Minimum vs. Recommended vs. Ideal
| Component | Minimum | Recommended | Ideal (4K Ultra) |
|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 v18362.0+ | Windows 10 v18362.0+ | Windows 10 or later |
| CPU | i5-4460 / Ryzen 3 1200 | i5-8400 / Ryzen 5 1500X | i7-10700K / Ryzen 7 3800XT |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | GTX 970 / RX 470 / Arc A380 | GTX 1070 / RX 590 / Arc A750 | RTX 3080 / RX 6800 XT |
| VRAM | 4 GB | 8 GB | 10 GB |
| Storage | 110 GB | 110 GB | 110 GB SSD |
| DirectX | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Target | 1080p / 30 FPS Low | 1080p / 60 FPS High | 4K / 60+ FPS Ultra |
How Many Tiers Does Forza Horizon 5 Actually Have?
Despite occasional fan claims of a four-tier spec chart, Playground Games has only ever officially published three PC requirement tiers for Forza Horizon 5: Minimum, Recommended, and Ideal. The Steam store page lists only Minimum and Recommended, while the original Forza Support spec sheet (originally hosted at support.forzamotorsport.net, now redirected to support.forza.net) added the Ideal tier targeting 4K Ultra at 60+ FPS.
No separate “Ultra” tier above Ideal has been officially published by Microsoft, Playground Games, or Turn 10. Some third-party sites informally treat the Ideal tier as the 4K/Ultra recommendation, which is consistent with how Playground Games describes it: hardware capable of delivering “the ultimate Horizon experience” at 4K with Ultra settings.
If you have seen a screenshot showing four columns, it almost certainly groups the Ideal tier under a “4K Ultra” header rather than adding a fifth set of hardware. We mark a distinct fourth tier as (unconfirmed).
Minimum PC Requirements (1080p / 30 FPS)
The minimum specs target 1080p at low settings, roughly 30 FPS. The Steam page was updated post-launch to include Intel Arc as an option.
| Component | Minimum |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher |
| CPU | Intel i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 970, AMD RX 470, or Intel Arc A380 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| Storage | 110 GB |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection |
The 8 GB RAM floor is unusually generous for a 2021 racing title, and the GTX 970 / RX 470 baseline means most mid-range hardware from 2015 onward will boot the game. Note that the original launch spec sheet listed “Windows 10 version 1909 or higher”; the Steam page has since been bumped to build 18362.0+ (May 2019 update).
Recommended PC Requirements (1080p / 60 FPS High)
The recommended tier targets 1080p at High settings around a stable 60 FPS.
| Component | Recommended |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher |
| CPU | Intel i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1070, AMD RX 590, or Intel Arc A750 |
| DirectX | 12 |
| Storage | 110 GB |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection |
The GTX 1070 / RX 590 pairing is the practical sweet spot — anything in the RTX 2060 / RX 5700 class or above will comfortably exceed this tier at 1080p and serve as a solid 1440p starting point. RAM was bumped from the launch sheet’s 12 GB recommendation to 16 GB on the current Steam listing, which aligns with how the game scales texture streaming.
Ideal PC Requirements (4K Ultra / 60+ FPS)
The Ideal tier is the highest officially published spec, intended for native 4K at Ultra settings above 60 FPS.
| Component | Ideal |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 or later |
| CPU | Intel i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| GPU | NVIDIA RTX 3080 (10 GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16 GB) |
| Storage | 110 GB SSD |
This tier was first published by Playground Games via the Forza Support spec chart and reported across TweakTown, PCGamesN and TechSpot at launch. It is the closest thing FH5 has to a “4K Ultra” tier — there is no separate published spec above it. Modern equivalents (RTX 4070, RX 7800 XT) will hit the same target with significant headroom and remain a useful reference for FH6’s likely Ideal-class hardware.
Storage, DirectX 12, and Other Notes
Storage footprint is 110 GB across all tiers. Playground Games has never officially required an SSD for Minimum or Recommended, but the Ideal tier explicitly calls for one — and given FH5’s heavy texture streaming (see the FH5 full map for a sense of the world scale), an SSD is strongly advised at any tier.
Other key notes:
- DirectX 12 only. No DX11 fallback path.
- Always-online for launch / sync: a broadband connection is required.
- Ray tracing on PC is supported in Forzavista and during photo mode on capable GPUs; gameplay ray tracing was added in a post-launch update but is not part of the published spec tiers.
- HDR, unlocked frame rate, 21:9 ultrawide, and FOV sliders are all supported on PC.
For FH6 (launching 2026-05-19), Playground has signalled a higher floor including SSD-required DirectStorage; see our FH6 PC requirements page for the full comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the minimum PC requirements for Forza Horizon 5?
An Intel i5-4460 or Ryzen 3 1200, 8 GB RAM, a GTX 970 / RX 470 / Intel Arc A380, Windows 10 (build 18362.0+), DirectX 12, and 110 GB of storage. This targets 1080p at low settings, around 30 FPS.
What are the recommended specs for Forza Horizon 5?
Intel i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 1500X, 16 GB RAM, and a GTX 1070, RX 590, or Intel Arc A750. This targets 1080p at High settings at a stable 60 FPS.
What PC do I need to run Forza Horizon 5 at 4K Ultra?
Playground Games’ Ideal tier calls for an Intel i7-10700K or Ryzen 7 3800XT, 16 GB RAM, and an RTX 3080 (10 GB) or RX 6800 XT (16 GB) on a 110 GB SSD. That is the official 4K-Ultra-class hardware spec.
Does Forza Horizon 5 have a separate 4K Ultra tier above the Ideal tier?
No. Officially Playground Games has only published three tiers (Minimum, Recommended, Ideal). The Ideal tier itself targets 4K Ultra at 60+ FPS, so there is no fourth, higher official tier.
How much storage does Forza Horizon 5 need?
110 GB on all tiers. An SSD is required for the Ideal tier and strongly recommended for everyone else due to texture streaming.
Does Forza Horizon 5 run on Windows 11?
Yes. The official requirement is Windows 10 build 18362.0 or higher; Windows 11 is fully supported and is the recommended OS for current FH5 builds.