I am using FSX-SE with windows 7-64, default scenery, default textures, default traffic and with ASN.

My frame rates are locked at 30 (1/2 V-sync) and the sim runs smoothly.

However, as soon as I go into heavy clouds, the FPS drop right down to 18 at times.

I have the cloud draw distance set to 60nm in the sim and ASN (My ASN settings are all set at levels to give me better performance rather than better looks). Clouds in the sim are set to detailed clouds with MEDIUM density.

 

My computer specs:   Intel i5 4690 @ 3.5

                                    ram  - 8GB @ 1600

                                    GTX  560

 

Will upgrading to a GTX 970 improve my FPS in heavy clouds?  I am not expecting a major increase in FPS overall (I believe that is determined by the CPU), but would like to hold 30FPS in dense clouds.

I also don't want to waste good money!

 

 

Regards

Trevor

I went from a GTX 560 to GTX 980 and liked it, and was satisfied with the over all improvement. I noticed that little hitches while in cloud cover went away. I maxed everything and its running just great. I just added a second GTX 980 it's magnificent. But the jump from the 560 to the 980 was more noticeable. So, I would imagine that it would be a good investment. Although it is 970 and not 980 I don't think that will make that much difference. Go for it, treat yourself.

Trevor,

 

I have an i7 4770K o/c to 4.4GHz and with a GTX780 3Gb card I get no hit at all with clouds. So to answer your question even with an i5 I think you'll see an improvement with heavy clouds.

 

This is an interesting comparison. http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-970-vs-Nvidia-GTX-780/2577vs2164

Similar topic here:

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/485566-graphics-cards-for-p3d-v3/

 

As I stated there, beware of the 3.5 GB of the 970 if you are demanding. Don't get me wrong, it is a good card, a good upgrade, value for money is alright, but it has this memory issue.

Trevor,

 

I have an i7 4770K o/c to 4.4GHz and with a GTX780 3Gb card I get no hit at all with clouds. So to answer your question even with an i5 I think you'll see an improvement with heavy clouds.

 

This is an interesting comparison. http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-970-vs-Nvidia-GTX-780/2577vs2164

Ray, thanks for the link to the comparison site. Just tested my system, got a nice aircraft carrier grade. What I noticed is that the 3D tests they are running used about 1 GB of memory while having the card at 99% load. In Prepar3D it's rather 3 times the memory load and about 30% less GPU load. 

Hans,

 

I didn't check the details of that test knowing it wasn't a DX test suitable for FS.

 

The requirements for P3D are very different from FSX. For a start it can utilise far more GPU memory so it's worth investing in a 4Gb card or even more if funds allow whereas 2-3Gb is fine for FSX.

 

The graphics market moves very quickly. My system is 2.5 years old and the 780 was the bee's knees when it came out.

Hans,

 

I didn't check the details of that test knowing it wasn't a DX test suitable for FS.

 

The requirements for P3D are very different from FSX. For a start it can utilise far more GPU memory so it's worth investing in a 4Gb card or even more if funds allow whereas 2-3Gb is fine for FSX.

 

The graphics market moves very quickly. My system is 2.5 years old and the 780 was the bee's knees when it came out.

Still an interesting test to know how the overall system compares. After all, it's not a dedicated Simulator PC. What I never observed closely was the GPU memory use. After doing so, I see a pattern that at about 3.3 GB used out of the 3.5 "fast" one of the 970 the issues start to show. Also, full ASN clouds and high shadows together make only about 300 MB. I reason that I want more than 4 GB of memory because I like my scenery perks. Depending on when the Pascal GPU's come out I'll check some other cards soon. Interesting that today alone we had 3 topics about the right card and 4K, isn't it?

Thank you all for your responses. I am now going shopping!!!

 

Trevor

For anyone who is interested, I'll put a 390X tomorrow night in my rig and compare it to the 970. I never tried an AMD GPU with P3D and I know that most people advise against it but I'll try. Just curious how it will handle the scene below. I'll keep you posted.