Forza Horizon 4 is an adrenaline-packed racing game that has captured the hearts of gamers worldwide. However, even the most die-hard fans may face performance issues such as low FPS and lagging, hindering their gaming experience. Fortunately, there are ways to boost FPS and improve performance in Forza Horizon 4. This article will explore the most effective tips and tricks to optimize your gameplay, from adjusting in-game settings to upgrading your hardware. With our expert guidance, you can take your Forza Horizon 4 experience to the next level and race to victory without any hiccups. So, buckle up and get ready to rev your engines!

Adjust the Forza Horizon 4 In-Game Settings

Changing your in-game settings usually makes the most significant performance improvement for low to mid-end systems. Open up your settings, and make changes according to your system’s specifications. Most of the setting changes showcased apply to low-end PCs. If you experience performance issues while using the recommended system requirements, then follow the next steps.

Benchmark Mode

Before making any changes to your settings, I suggest using the benchmark mode first. This will take 2 to 3 minutes to automatically set your settings to your PC’s performance.

Basic Video Settings

To increase your performance, navigate to your video settings. In the Basic tab,enable the Dynamic Optimization option, which will in turn adjust your video settings depending on the game’s utilization. Below, set the Dynamic Render Quality option to Low or Medium, depending on your system’s specs. We suggest trying some of these settings out while in-game to see what works best for you. Set the resolution to your native monitor resolution. If none of the other changes helped you out as much as you wanted, you can slightly reduce the resolution. This will reduce the visual quality, but your performance will increase in any way.

Cap your framerate to 60, in case you struggle to reach 60 FPS.
For 144 hZ monitor users, you should unlock your FPS cap.

Disable V-Sync, and make sure to play in full-screen mode. Set the brightness option to your liking, and enable the FPS counter to benchmark any changes while playing the game. I prefer to disable Motion Blur, but this will also come down to personal preference. The other basic video settings will have no impact on your performance.

2 video settings.jpg — Forza Horizon 4 Settings > Video > Basic

Advanced Video Settings

In the Advanced section, set the preset to Low, which will by default lower all other advanced settings. Disable shadows, as these will often be quite distracting when lowering the resolution and the shader quality option.

Change the Forza Horizon 4 Process Priority

To further increase the game’s performance on your PC, we will change the application’s priority compared to other programs running in the background. Right-click your taskbar to open up your Task Manager. In the Processes tab, right-click the game process and select “Go to Details”. In the Details tab, the application should be highlighted. Right-click the game process and set the priority to high. This will allocate more resources to playing the game and should increase your performance, especially if other programs are running in the background.

forza horizon task manager 4.jpg — Task Manager > Details > ForzaHorizon4.exe > Set Priority > High

To reduce the CPU utilization from other programs, we suggest you end some programs from running in the background, which you don't need when playing the game. Only to end programs from running, which you know won't break your operating system.

Update Graphics Card Driver

NVIDIA graphics cards can utilize the GeForce Experience application. Click here to download the application to your system. When the download is completed, open up the application, and in the Drivers tab, select Download. This will download and install the latest GPU update and should take a few minutes to complete.

Update Operating System

To optimize your system for performance, you should ensure your operating system is up to date. Search for Update in your taskbar search. In your Check for updates system settings window, make sure to download the latest update and make sure to restart your PC after that the download is completed. This will in any case, help you with performance issues.

Disable Windows Game Bar Recording

Some native Windows 10 settings can reduce your overall performance while in-game. Disable the Game Bar recording option, as it continuously records your gameplay and audio. In your Taskbar search, enter: Game Bar to open the game bar system settings. Uncheck the recording option. In the Captures tab, disable the background recording option additionally. These settings will only reduce your performance. If you want to record your gameplay then we suggest using OBS Studio, or an external capture card if you lack performance.

NVIDIA Control Panel Game Adjustments

Making changes to your NVIDIA Control Panel can be essential. Change a few options in your NVIDIA control panel to improve the game’s performance on your system.

To open up your NVIDIA control panel, right-click your desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel. In your control panel, navigate to Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings.

Select to Add a program to customize and add the game from the program list. If you can’t find the game in the program list, click on Browse. In your file explorer, you will have to locate the drive and path on which you installed the game on and add it to the program list from there. Make sure that the CUDA setting is set to your primary GPU, set the Power management mode to Prefer maximum performance, and set the texture filtering quality to Performance.

NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings

Change the Forza Horizon 4 Graphics Preference

Windows 10 allows you to utilize power user settings, such as your graphics settings. To change your graphics settings, enter Graphics Settings in your taskbar search to open up your native settings. When selecting Browse, your file explorer will open up, where you will have to navigate to the drive and path where the game is saved. After adding the program to your graphics settings list, the operating system lets you choose between the following:

Let Windows choose
Power Saving (Usually Intel HD Graphics)
High Performance (Usually, your graphics card(s)
Specific GPU (Choose which GPU to use)

For the most system performance, use the High-Performance option. If your GPU is bottlenecking your performance, you should set it to Let Windows Decide. Don't forget to apply your changes.

Graphics Settings > Graphics Preference > High Performance

Verify the Forza Horizon 4 Game Files

Ensure your game files are up to date and complete. In your Steam library, right-click the application and select Properties. A new window will open, where you must select Verify integrity of game files in the Local Files tab. Redownloading and replacing any missing or corrupted game files will take a minute.

Forza Horizon 4 Properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity of Game Files

Delete the Windows Temporary Files

Your hard drive might be cluttered with unwanted files. These files will induce lag if not removed properly. You can delete your temporary files manually or use PC cleanup programs, such as CCleaner. These applications are usually the best choice as they will automatically keep your hard-drive clean for you. To manually delete your temporary files, enter %temp% in your taskbar search and hit enter.

A new folder will open up. Make sure to delete the content of your temporary files folder. Some files might remain. Sometimes, this can take a few minutes if you haven’t done this before. Some files will most likely stay in your temp folder, as these are still in use by your programs. To completely delete these files, you should also make sure to empty your recycle bin.