P3D Graphics Card Upgrade

[thetford569 104]

For the first time I am considering a graphics card upgrade so I can run Prepar3D better since I understand a more powerful video card will actually help the sim unlike FSX.  There are way more knowledgeable people here than me so I'll list my current specs and see what you think.  I am pretty much thinking that the card I am going to be purchasing will be he MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G (when it's finally available again).

 

My current computer specs:

 

i5 2500k 3.3 GHz currently overclocked to 4.7 GHz

eVGA GTX 680 2GB

ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Corsair H60 Liquid Cooler

 

I am currently running Prepar3D decently well with FPS around 15 in the most demanding areas.  Lesser demanding areas I am in the 40s for FPS.  Most of the time the experience is smooth but I do have stuttering from time to time and I have had some crashes here and there.  All I'm looking to change out is the video card at this time.  My i5 2500k still seems to be going strong and it seems going to the newer, faster, 970 with 4GB of VRAM will be a good bang for my buck.

 

Thoughts?

 

Brandon Thetford