I'm ready to jump on board with Fermi. From all the discussions here, it seems that there is little to choose performance-wise between a 470 and a 480, but I'd be glad to hear other opinions on that. The only other issue I have is card memory. I have the 1792MB 275 simple because I use 2560x1600 resolution and thought it would benefit. I've no evidence for that, just seemed a logical thing to do at the time. At this resolution, will using the 1280MB have card have any impact on the FSX experience? Using the GPU-Z monitor I've never got above 750MB, but I don't know if that offers the complete picture of memory consumption. Comments?ThanksSimon

I'm ready to jump on board with Fermi. From all the discussions here, it seems that there is little to choose performance-wise between a 470 and a 480, but I'd be glad to hear other opinions on that. The only other issue I have is card memory. I have the 1792MB 275 simple because I use 2560x1600 resolution and thought it would benefit. I've no evidence for that, just seemed a logical thing to do at the time. At this resolution, will using the 1280MB have card have any impact on the FSX experience? Using the GPU-Z monitor I've never got above 750MB, but I don't know if that offers the complete picture of memory consumption. Comments?ThanksSimon

Hi Simon,After having enjoyed an EVGA GTX 275 with 1792 mb memory since last October, overclocked to 721mhz, I decided to jump to the Fermi. However, in early May I could not find a GTX 480, so I bought an EVGA GTX 470 instead. What an eye opener the 400 series is! I overclocked it to a stable 750mhz for outstanding performance, near to stock GTX 480 levels. See the link below my signature for the details, settings and results. I subsequently registered in a queue for the EVGA stepup program to trade it for a GTX 480 since that was my original intent all along. When my turn came I sent the GTX 470 back to EVGA, and so they have just shipped the GTX 480 which should arrive this Thursday. Meanwhile I am using my EVGA GTX 275 until then.As happy as I was with the GTX 275, as my FSX system is really advanced and fine tuned, the 470 was light-years ahead in this sim. I hope the 480 will be even that much better when overclocked as high as possible, but truthfully, I am not really sure why I traded the 470 since it was so very good. I guess I just wanted the best of the best.I recommend either the GTX 470 or the GTX 480 card, but one thing guaranteed for sure, no matter which one you order, or what resolution you prefer, the performance increase will tickle your socks off. If you are worried about the memory, perhaps you will feel more confident with the GTX 480. If you have a choice, perhaps you may wish to consider EVGA since they have such an outstanding warranty and customer service reputation.Stephen

Hi Stephen, thanks a lot - very helpful.The overclock on the 470 is interesting, and I wonder how far that gets the 470 towards 480 performance level (with higher clock speed and an additional processing unit enabled). Do share your experiences going to the 480 when you have it! If you feel so motivated, a comparison of overclocked 470 v. stock 480 would be interesting.Simon

Hi Stephen, thanks a lot - very helpful.The overclock on the 470 is interesting, and I wonder how far that gets the 470 towards 480 performance level (with higher clock speed and an additional processing unit enabled). Do share your experiences going to the 480 when you have it! If you feel so motivated, a comparison of overclocked 470 v. stock 480 would be interesting.Simon

No scientific comparison yet Simon, but the GTX 480 is sweet with a huge stable overclock as follows:Volts: 1050Core Clock 850Shader Clock 1700Memory Clock 2000Temperatures maxed out on air at 82 in FTX hard running. Very smooth, very impressive and very fast!Stephen

No scientific comparison yet Simon, but the GTX 480 is sweet with a huge stable overclock as follows:Volts: 1050Core Clock 850Shader Clock 1700Memory Clock 2000Temperatures maxed out on air at 82 in FTX hard running. Very smooth, very impressive and very fast!Stephen

Hi Steph,Did ou run MSI Kombustor with these settings?I'm getting computer freeze and forced reboot after few minutes..

Hi Steph,Did ou run MSI Kombustor with these settings?I'm getting computer freeze and forced reboot after few minutes..

Hi David,Actually I misquoted my setting in error slightly. All else is the same but I have 1100 mV. Yes, I ran 45 minutes maxed in Kombuster with 70c tops temp and no artifacts or instability at 1920 x 1200 resolution. I would venture to say that there may be some more headroom yet, but I will stay put for now. MSI afterburner is excellent. If you follow the threads at MSI and EVGA there are quite a few others with substantially larger overclocks than this without any difficulties of any kind. FSX is really smooth and fast with the 400 series. I thought the 470 was great, but the 480 is s leap ahead of that.Core Voltage 1100 (mV)Core Clock 850 (MHz)Shader Clock (MHz)Memory Clock (MHz)Fan Speed 70%FPS Limiter set at 40 FPS257.15 DriverStephenPS: This is so encouraging to see this kind of performance.

PS: This is so encouraging to see this kind of performance.

Hi Stephen,Exciting times! Can you put a (subjective) figure on the FSX performance v. your old GTX 470? In terms of:1) FSX performance is x% better.2) What can you now in FSX that you could not do before?ThanksSimon

Last evening I began to have an occasional artifact flash in multiplayer when flying over the huge forested and treed area of the ORBX PNW. So I adjusted my settings as follows without any apparent loss of performance and rock solid reality-like simulation:Core Voltage 1100 (mV)Core Clock 825 (MHz)Shader Clock 1650 (MHz)Memory Clock 1975 (MHz)Fan Speed Auto, usually running at approx 55%FPS Limiter set at 40 FPS257.15 DriverNo heat or noise problemSubjectively I can hardly tell the difference between the GTX 470 I had, and the GTX 480 I traded up for. If I had both side by side I might notice something more obvious. I will do an apples for apples comparison soon using the benchmarks I established, but if taking a guess, I would say the GTX 480 runs with a 25% increased overhead capacity. Both cards deliver FSX conquering power when combined with a fast CPU and ram. I am glad I got the GTX 480 though, as now I know I am not missing out! :(Stephen

Thanks a lot Stephen, your new settings rock!:--)

Subjectively I can hardly tell the difference between the GTX 470 I had, and the GTX 480 I traded up for. If I had both side by side I might notice something more obvious. I will do an apples for apples comparison soon using the benchmarks I established, but if taking a guess, I would say the GTX 480 runs with a 25% increased overhead capacity. Both cards deliver FSX conquering power when combined with a fast CPU and ram. I am glad I got the GTX 480 though, as now I know I am not missing out! :(Stephen

Fascinating, as Mr. Spock would say. I'm in no rush for the card (that's what my head says, my heart has other ideas) so I'll look forward to your benchmark results. May I ask, which aircraft are you flying in these tests?ThanksSimon