Nah... stick with the hardware benchmarks... and maybe get beyond this cpu/gpu bounded debate since that is a function of time, and understand the program being unbounded is a greater issue that will always be with us.

Ryan, glad you got your "problems" sorted! As I've got a similar set-up to you (i7 860 O/C to 4.2Ghz, 4GB Redline 1600) I was looking at your results with the GTX570 with interest as I'm thinking of upgrading to one from my GTX260. Can you tell us......did you just carry out a format of the OS drive or did you reinstall anyhting? Also, have youy tried with your old GPU now you've made the changes to make sure there is a real benefit on a "clean" system?Many thanks!

have youy tried with your old GPU now you've made the changes to make sure there is a real benefit on a "clean" system?Many thanks!

I'm also curious about this. Ryan, could you please do a side by side comparison of both cards in terms of FPS, smoothness and antialiasing levels + clouds in some heavy scenery airport at low altitude instead of FL320 please?

I'm also curious about this. Ryan, could you please do a side by side comparison of both cards in terms of FPS, smoothness and antialiasing levels + clouds in some heavy scenery airport at low altitude instead of FL320 please?

I'm not gonna put the old card back in, I don't want to risk screwing things up again - the 570 uses a different driver than the 260 is and I don't want to risk it.Keep in mind too guys I didn't buy this card just for FSX - I play a lot of other games too and the main goal of the upgrade was to be able to run some of the newer GPU heavy stuff like Metro 2033 with the options cranked. I do think this card is faster than the 260 - I'm sure if I tested the results would be pretty much in line with what Stephen saw in his 580 thread, just adjusted lower a slight amount from what he saw since the 570 and 260 are the slightly slower versions of the 275 and 580 he used. His 480 numbers should be close to what I'm seeing now.I did put in for an EVGA 580 step up too... I'm like 1100+ back in the queue and when the time comes I'll see if I feel like it's worth it to pay the extra. It's less than buying one outright because they're only charging the difference between what you actually paid for your current card and the MSRP of the 580. The actual retail prices on the 580 are $50-70 above MSRP right now, so you get a deal doing it through EVGA.I'll try and post some framerates in different weather situations etc when I get a chance during testing - I'll prob do that in the PMDG forum. When I landed at KSAN Runway 27 over the city I was getting 40-50 or so. Close to the ground in a major urban environment just kills the CPU with draw calls - it's not related to the GPU really and there's nothing anyone can really do about that other than get faster CPUs. There's already reports of Sandy Bridge i7s going to 5GHz on air, so that's probably the next step for everyone...

Close to the ground in a major urban environment just kills the CPU with draw calls - it's not related to the GPU really and there's nothing anyone can really do about that other than get faster CPUs. There's already reports of Sandy Bridge i7s going to 5GHz on air, so that's probably the next step for everyone...

Ok, thanks RyanLooking fordward to hearing from you in the PMDG forums about the card thenNow with Sandy Bridge, I'm not sure which will be the best option, the I5 2500K or the I7 2600K with HT and 2 extra MB of L3 cache. I asked about the L3 cache impact some time ago in overclockers.com and it looks like just 2 extra MB shouldn't be really a factor. I can't wait to see some benchmarks of those SB @ 4.8 (or 5GHz) in FSX

Ok, thanks RyanLooking fordward to hearing from you in the PMDG forums about the card thenNow with Sandy Bridge, I'm not sure which will be the best option, the I5 2500K or the I7 2600K with HT and 2 extra MB of L3 cache. I asked about the L3 cache impact some time ago in overclockers.com and it looks like just 2 extra MB shouldn't be really a factor. I can't wait to see some benchmarks of those SB @ 4.8 (or 5GHz) in FSX

Hi Ryan,Could you post your FSX settings to have an idea what you are using when you had success with GTX 570, i.e. autogen, traffic slider etc. also when you said you have 80+ FPS, which airport /airplane are you using?ThanksVu