Looking for an opinion here, there is not right or wrong answer, but I need some direction. 

 

I currently run FSX on an i7 3770k OC'd to 4.2 Ghz, an NVidia GTX560, and 8 Gig DDR3 RAM.  In FSX, I think I may be a bit bottlenecked by my GPU, and am not sure if springing for a GTX 580 or 670 will give me that much improvement.

 

I also have started flying more aircraft that require a stick, including helicopters, but currently have only a PFC beech yoke, saitek pedals, with a saitek TQ.

 

My FSX budget is about $500, so my choice here is to either spring for the HOTAS Warthog and forget about a video card, or spend about $300 on a GPU and get a cheaper stick, like the Saitek X-52?

 

Any advice?  Is the HOTAS Warthog that much better than everything else, and will I see that much difference in a new GPU?

Seriously doubt a new GPU is going to give you much more performance - FSX relies heavily on the CPU. (especially at 1080p) The card I'd get right now is a 770 btw, not a 670 or 580.

 

The Warthog is a killer piece of gear - do play DCS A-10C? If so I'd say it's probably a no brainer to go for Warthog.

Thanks for your input Ryan.  I haven't tried any of the DCS series yet (mainly because I don't have a stick), but used to be real familiar with the old LOMAC and loved it.

Go for the stick and a combat sim - Black Shark for the whirpool or Rise of Flight if You are nostalgic.

I think purchasing a better card will only allow You to pick little higher filtering, nothing more.

I have extended my Warthog grip by 15 cm and instantaneously improved my aiming accuracy in RoF. That is very good joystick - I thing the mechanical quality is pretty high. The software sucks a little, but You do not neet to use it anyway.

I have had X45, X52, X52pro and HOTAS Warthog - all the sticks were good, but there is a big difference between the last two from the list.

The Warthog is amazing, you won't be sorry, I use it for all my birds including the MD11 (3 throttles) I used to fly the DCS A10 with the 74th Flying Tigers until I got sick of killing things. I prefer a peaceful life now flying the tube's....

Just ordered the Warthog on Amazon.  Thanks gents.  On a side note, I completely uninstalled and flushed the NVIDA 320.XX driver and reverted back to the 306.XX which did as much for me as I would have hoped a new GPU would do.  Sure glad I didn't go that route.