Upgrading (4 year-old PC) for P3D?

[AtlanticAviator 1]

Hello All,

 

I am considering upgrading the GPU of my 4 year-old desktop. It does show its age however I don't think it'll be worth the investment for me to buy a new computer. The current specs are:

-i7 2600k @ 4.5 GHz

-GTX 570 1.5 GB

-8 GB RAM

-750W PSU

 

The GTX 570 is of course prehistoric by today's standards. The i7 2600k is also a few generations old, but it's still a strong processor that seems to manage pretty fine. So..I need some advice from you guys on what I should be looking at. Would something like a GTX 770 be a sufficient upgrade to minimise stuttering? I'm aware that, whilst P3D places more emphasis on the GPU, it still remains primarily CPU dependent. Or, would it be worth the upgrade to a GTX 970 or similar? Also, I know this won't be giving any massive performance gains, however, coming from a GTX 570 then I think I'd be likely to see more fluidity within P3D, which I lost from FSX because of the greater reliance on the GPU, and it's old age in general.

 

Anyway...I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions. Cheers.

[Charlatan 68]

Get the 970.  Great card, and should still be plenty powerful enough when you do upgrade your cpu and mobo

[Dave_YVR 973]

 Agreed, a new videocard 970 or better is all I would go with for now. Unless that is you feel a serious need to burn roughly $1200+ on a CPU, mobo and ram for maybe a 20% return.

[Trans_27 Pilot Chase 59]

What these guys said.. 

 

I stuck with the 660 that shipped with my system from Alienware for two years and it served me well. I upgraded last year to the Gigabyte G1 Gaming version of the 970 and have been completely impressed. The card shines in more modern games like battlefield, but is still fantastic in the sim. It also overclocks to near 980 speeds and keeps the temps low. I'm planning a new build right now while I slowly but surely move to P3D. When I build, I'll be picking up a second card Gigabyte and running them in SLI. 

[AtlanticAviator 1]

Get the 970.  Great card, and should still be plenty powerful enough when you do upgrade your cpu and mobo

 

 

 Agreed, a new videocard 970 or better is all I would go with for now. Unless that is you feel a serious need to burn roughly $1200+ on a CPU, mobo and ram for maybe a 20% return.

 

 

What these guys said.. 

 

I stuck with the 660 that shipped with my system from Alienware for two years and it served me well. I upgraded last year to the Gigabyte G1 Gaming version of the 970 and have been completely impressed. The card shines in more modern games like battlefield, but is still fantastic in the sim. It also overclocks to near 980 speeds and keeps the temps low. I'm planning a new build right now while I slowly but surely move to P3D. When I build, I'll be picking up a second card Gigabyte and running them in SLI. 

 

Ok, thanks a lot guys. Do you have any idea what kind of performance increase a GTX 970 will bring over my current GTX 570, bearing in mind that P3D is still more reliant on the CPU as opposed to the GPU? 

[Charlatan 68]

You might not see a massive increase in FPS, but will be super smooth.  I went from a 670 clocked to near 680 speeds to a 970 and the difference was night and day.

[AtlanticAviator 1]

You might not see a massive increase in FPS, but will be super smooth.  I went from a 670 clocked to near 680 speeds to a 970 and the difference was night and day.

 

That's nice to know as currently the stutters are unbearable, even just with the NGX, default scenery and medium settings.