So I got some unexpected performance bonus and I was thinking about upgrading the old videocard.
I game at 1080p only but I like to crank the details up and a smooth frame rate, I was wondering if I'll get a noticeable performance gain with the 970...both seem more or less the same regarding power consumption and noise.
It really depends on the games you play. If you play SC2, Diablo 3, LoL, WoW, L4D series, Counter Strike, DOTA 2, Team Fortress 2, then I don't think it's worth upgrading for. If you play a lot of GPU intensive titles like Arma 3, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider, Metro LL, Ryse Son of Rome, DAI, Skyrim heavily modded, then it's probably worthwhile. Generally speaking if the games you currently play don't run satisfactory to your liking, then it's time to upgrade. Otherwise, GPUs will continue to get faster and/or cheaper over time. If you can afford to wait 6-9 more months, keep waiting as you'll get an even faster card for $350. Right now 970/980 can be priced however NV feels like since they are competing against 1-year-old AMD series. It's not really an optimal time to buy imo. However, if you feel like in 6 months you'll spend this money and won't have anything left for upgrading, then get a new card now.