I know my sim experience is GPU-limited (system specs are in my profile.) With GA aircraft in less resource-hungry areas it’s not terrible, by any stretch, but @ 4K DLAA or TAA with the mix of Ultra/ High settings I use, I start to run into a wall, meaning I really need to use DLSS Quality. Even with that, more complex aircraft in difficult scenery are borderline OK.
Here’s what I see as positives for making the switch:
The 5070 Ti has a significantly faster clock speed.
3090 Ti Base clock 1,560 MHz / Boost clock 1,860 MHz
5070 Ti Base clock 2,295 MHz (+47%) / Boost clock 2,572 MHz (+43%)
The 5070 Ti can run DLSS 4.5 Preset L or M
The 3090 Ti hardware needs to stay on DLSS 4 Preset K
I can sell my liquid-cooled 3090 Ti and recoup a good percentage of the cost of a 5070 Ti.
I can buy an open box 5070 Ti for <$1000, but I would want to add around $250 to get a liquid-cooler. Still, the cost to upgrade wouldn’t be bad.
The 5070 Ti consumes less power (TDP 300W vs. 450W for the 3090 Ti.)
I have a beefy power supply, but less power draw = less heat and less electricity used.
Here’s what I see as reasons for not making the switch:
My 3090 Ti has 24GB VRAM, meaning I never run out - and probably never would.
The 5070 Ti only has 16GB, which worries me a little as I start to explore airliners and airports.
60xx-series cards will eventually be released. They’ll be more expensive, but what if nVidia releases a 6070 Ti /24GB card for a ‘reasonable’ price? I’m afraid I’d regret spending $1,250 on a previous generation GPU with only 16GB VRAM.
More info:
Game tests I’ve seen show an average of 20% better average FPS, and around 20% better 1% Low FPS.
The 3090 Ti uses DDR6, while the 5070 Ti uses DDR7, and that means better memory speed as well.
I can’t afford a 5090, and have a hard time justifying the cost of a 5080. I want to stick with nVidia.
This is the crux of the matter as I read your post, and based on my recall of your experiences recounted here in the forums. TAA and perhaps to some extent DLAA (which I never got into) along with 4k rendering seem to demand you stick with you 24GB VRAM card, full stop. From here on I can only share my experience as anecdote…
DLSS 4/preset k Quality was a game changer for my one year old PC with the 5070Ti. The way glass cockpits rendered allowed me to walk away from TAA and get 4K 60Hz output to my old HDTV while getting 60 FPS nearly all the time. In game Dynamic Settings keeps things moving on the ground in heavy scenery. In the air, all is great getting 60 FPS at 300 TLOD (150 on the ground) and 200 OLOD. With DLSS 4.5/preset M performance everything just got better, as 2K rendering seems to be the sweet spot for the 5070Ti since SU4 released last year.
Next is speculative. The future is DLSS and similar strategies. They know that hardware prices will continue to be challenged by competition from data centers and are hot to find AI based software solutions for gaming to address the power gap for us end users. Traditionalists who favor/prefer 2K/4K rendering in TAA will be frustrated by this. Folks open to exploring/partaking of what machine learning AI based solutions like DLSS offer stand to benefit, but there are always tradeoffs regardless of strategy, right?
So may I posit that you stand at a crossroads of sort where it makes sense to choose a strategy to stick with for a while? A 24GB TAA/DLAA strategy you have mastered to date; or a 16GB DLSS (not DLAA by the way) strategy rendering in 2K while getting 4K output. The 5070Ti is really a 2K card, but (and this is a big but) it has more Tensor Cores than what you are flying now, and Tensor Core count is non-trivial from this point in time on, indeed, probably over the past few years but nobody counts Tensor Cores around here LOL! The Tensor Cores are what produce the magic, or misery, depending upon ones preferred strategy.
P.S. on my air cooled PC, the 5070Ti also runs cool, so no need for water cooling here; but this is very much also a matter of personal preference so I only offer it as my experience, without the force of recommendation.
I have a 5070Ti running DLSS 4.5 preset M. But speed-, altitude etc. tapes in glass cockpits are still a blurry mess.
That being said, overall performance is stellar, and with 1440p resolution and reasonable settings, 16GB VRAM are always more than enough (except for the FSLabs A321neo, which needs more RAM and VRAM than any other addon known to mankind ).
Try Preset L instead of M. M pushes the performance much more over clarity - I have no problems with L - same looking as the old K to me but much better performance.
No filters, DLAA. Absolutely no difference with balanced or quality. Only TAA brings clarity to the glass cockpits. But it’s not a big deal for me. I can live with it. Overall graphics quality is superb.
I would wait for prices to come down or even some deals to happen. I got my 5070 TI 16 GB for $700 in July 2025, and $1000 for less VRAM right now isn’t quite worth it in my eyes. I run the sim with High and some Ultra settings, still get occasional messages that VRAM is full when running anything bigger than the FA 18. If you get good performance at medium or high settings and are satisfied with the quality, hold onto that 3090 TI. VRAM is so important for high quality aircraft and airports. DLSS 4.5 is nice, but the changes in this game aren’t really noticeable to me. Glass cockpit blur is fixed by using the built in pop out tool using right ALT and clicking the display.
What about this?
(Not trying to be pushy; I’m genuinely curious)
I have some thoughts about how a monitor plays into the ghosting, because I use DLSS 4 Preset K, Quality and have none. Zero ghosting.
The 5070 TI is a good 1440p card, but I would not buy it in a 4K scenario. I am 100% sure you would regret the swap pretty soon (a lot of money spent, but still the gains are not convincing)
If AMD is an option for you as well, I would probably prefer the fantastic 9070XT, because right now it is a bargain compared to the 5070 TI. Again this is for 1440p.
We all know the sim eats vram like candy and that’s not going to change. Yes, there is a fall back with dlss however you’ve had 24GB vram forever and now you’re going to have to compromise after spending $1k. I don’t think that will sit well with you in the long term…
As of 24 SU4, it all depends on which DLC airliners and airports. Those that are optimized efficiently will run just fine in DLSS 4/4.5 on the 5070Ti. The DLC that is not well optimized, well, we all know about what to expect there, regardless of hardware (even those with god level PCs complain).
Great video on the tube for the pop out. Just watched it. I can see a use for that myself. Thanks for that post. I’d have a hard time only because of that 24gb v. If I did move on, I’d keep that card nearby until I thoroughly tested it’s replacement. I also agree with the DLC being an important player. Also thanks for the post on L setting JPVann. I agree totally. Good luck BegottenPoet. I’m sure you’ll weigh it all before taking the plunge.
Holding the right ALT key in your keyboard (option for Apple keyboards), hover over the glass cockpit display. Your cursor should show a small magnifying glass image with a + sign in it. Click the display and it should open a separate, resizable window with the display. I use it in my 737 MAX cockpit setup on a 29” display, the sim should remember where you had the windows next time you pop them out. Here is an example: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/S28echybNao From 0:22 to 0:30
I’ve seen that the 9070XT is comparable to the 5070 TI, and it’s definitely a competitor with prices right now. @BegottenPoet228, if you want to upgrade and are willing to switch to AMD, the 9070 XT could probably be an amazing choice right now.
I don’t know if you or anyone you know are a Best Buy Plus Member, but you have 60 days to return it no questions asked. In fact they are offering several open box 5070ti models here in Florida, some as low as $950. I would grab one and run it for 45 days and see how it works.
has 16GB, which worries me a little as I start to explore airliners and airports.
).