I am looking to upgrade my PC, starting with the video card. I run p3d v2 which I understand would benefit from more than the 1.5gb of memory on my gtx480. I was going to get the new 980gtx but I am wondering whether that will really give me much more performance on p3d than the 970 which is about half the price. I don't really use the pc for any other gaming. I am also planning to get a z97 motherboard and i7-4790k but would be grateful for thoughts on the graphics card as a starter. Thanks.

P3D is still mainly CPU dependant.

 

I bought a 970 as I don't believe the price/perf difference from 970 to 980 makes it a serious proposition.

 

If I were you I would get a 970 and spend the money saved on something else.

 

Likely candidates are top quality cooler for max overclock, fastest RAM you can get and a secondary SSD for apps/games if you really want.

 

I might even consider putting the money saved from a 970 to a Haswell-E setup but I'm ITX so never researched it.

 

I have a 4790k running at 4.5ghz with 2400mhz C11. It runs OK in FSX until final approach at heavy airports and I think that faster RAM and a better overclock (can't do it as I'm prioritising noise over fps in FSX).

 

The only way I've been able to max my GPU so far is with 4xSGSS on top of 4XDSR and even this only loses me a couple of FPS in heavy clouds.

 

In summary I believe the 980 is a waste of money and the 970 is amazing bang for buck and all you'll need for now.

 

Drop in another 970 later down the line...with the money you've saved potentially and you're good to go.