NOTE: I’M NOT SAYING THIS IS A SURE-FIRE FIX FOR STUTTERING! IT VERY LIKELY COMES DOWN TO THE POOR OPTIMIZATION OF THE GAME! THIS MAY NOT EVEN DO ANYTHING AND COULD BE JUST A PLACEBO EFFECT! IN MY SEARCH FOR A FIX, NOTHING WAS MORE CONCLUSIVE THAN ADDING MORE PHYSICAL RAM TO THE SYSTEM! PLEASE KEEP THIS IN MIND IF YOU DECIDE TO TRY THIS!
Readyboost…yep…thats where this is going.
Now hear me out: I know Forza Horizon 4 WILL NOT BOOT if you have Superfetch (Sysmain service) enabled! However, I thought I would give something a try ANYWAY. I’m not even entirely sure Readyboost remains active once Superfetch is disabled with the USB still inserted…so chock this whole thing up to placebo if necessary. But it SEEMS to be doing SOMETHING and I’m sticking with it because reasons.
So anyway, if you don’t know what Readyboost is it’s a feature in Windows 10 (and 7, if that’s still relevant) that allows you to dedicate space on a USB drive as virtual memory, where cached data of frequently used applications will be placed for faster access to this data by said application. Pretty much the same concept as a Page File, but acting more like RAM. As I understand (probably wrong, but follow me anyway) this Readyboost can effectively read and write data rapidly and potentially speed up programs in the event physical memory (RAM) becomes overburdened. Get the point? No? Google it then. Onward with the process.
So let’s setup a Readyboost USB drive. Windows recommends 4094MB available for optimal Readyboost performance…we’ll go with that, so any drive above 4gb should do fine. I would recommend a Class 10 USB and an available USB 3.0 port for best results.
Steps:
1 - Enable Superfetch (required for Readyboost feature activation)
2 - Insert USB drive, right click in “This PC”, select Properties, select Readyboost
3 - Select “Use this device” and leave it at 4094MB. Apply and close this window
4 - DISABLE SUPERFETCH, leave the USB in the PC
5 - Start Forza Horizon 4
6 - Profit?
My test environment is a very low-end MSI GP62 7RD Leopard laptop that I’m currently renting from Rent-A-Center (fell on hard times atm…don’t judge). Specs are as follows:
Core i5 7300HQ
8GB DDR4
GTX 1050 2GB
Some crappy mechanical HDD because cheap “gaming” laptop (WD 1TB Sata)
In-game settings:
1080p, Medium preset, disabled MSAA (default 2x), High Shaders, 60fps VSYNC, Motion Blur OFF
I’ve tested both with and without the Readyboost USB in the port after a clean Reboot and after allowing the PC to settle down with its’ process loading before booting FH4. Without the USB in, I can’t even circle the block from Horizon HQ before noticing SEVERE stutters of up to 5 seconds every few loading chunks. Occasionally I’ll even have the world ahead of my vehicle fail to load entirely, driving on an open void until the game catches up. Basically I can’t play for more than a few minutes without wanting to throw a tantrum like my 2 year old daughter. WITH the USB, I’ll stutter for the first 30 seconds, along the same route from Horizon HQ to the first bought home, and then the game clears up. Smooth driving for a couple hours at a time.
With the Readyboost USB I make sure to first Enable Superfetch, insert the USB, check the Readyboost is enabled, then disable Superfetch again before starting FH4. As I said in the NOTE above, I couldn’t tell you if this is ACTUALLY doing ANYTHING…but I was desperate to play and thought I’d give it a go. I have tried removing the USB after shutting down FH4 without a reboot of the system and noticed the immediate return of the stutters. So if you’re as desperate (or dumb) as I am to get some laps in, it might be worth a try.
Or it could just be coincidence and I’m talking out my ass. I’ll leave that up to you to decide should you be willing to give this a go.
Feedback of all kinds is much appreciated. Thanks, and good luck!
