It's that time of my computer's life where I've encountered the first game (FC4) that forces me to put most graphics options to low to get an acceptable framerate so it's time to kiss my GTX460 good bye. The thing is, I'm a university student with a (sort of) limited budget and I'd like to know whether I should go with the GTX760 (~220€) or with the GTX970 (~390€)?

From what I've read the difference is a pretty significant one but I'm wondering if it's worth almost double the money and if something else in my rig (info below) will bottleneck it. Also from what I've read it seems the 970 shines above 1080p resolutions which is above what I need probably for at least some years but if I'm lucky the more expensive option would last me at least 3-5 years making higher resolutions a possibility as well. So far I'm leaning towards the 970. I'll also take any recommendations on manufacturers. I remember hearing somewhere that Asus and MSI are both alright and happen to be the cheapest around here.

Here's what I'm running + 650W PSU which I assume is enough to support either of the new cards.

if you can spare the extra money definitely go for the 970 it will give you way more mileage, that said the 760 should be a nifty upgrade as well, but if you can go 970 for sure, you'll extend that PC's lifetime for at the very least another 2 or 3 years.

I was also worried that my i5 3570k would be a bottleneck for a 980 but apparently that is not a problem, so I don't see your 2500k being a problem either, and you can always OC it if you haven't already, sandy bridge OCs like a champ.

A for brands I used to like EVGA, but really just pick one that is at a nice price then look for reviews, I am myself eying this model from gigabyte, looks neat and has great reviews

I haven't OC'd my CPU yet. I was thinking about it not too long ago but figured I'd get much much more out of a new GPU and didn't really know how it would affect the whole build. Pretty happy I bought the 2500k when I did, probably the best component purchase I've ever made. People seem to still say pretty much only positive things about it even when it's a couple of years old.

The MSI 970 seems to be the cheapest/most sold item pretty much everywhere at 390€ + a Ubi game (too bad I already bought FC4 since that's the only interesting game of the three, probably just end up selling the game to a friend). Don't see many complaints about coil whine or other problems in the reviews either so I think I'll go for that one even if it's a lot of money. I like instant noodles and canned tuna anyway.

Even for 1080 the 970 is not overkill. Tomb Raider (not Definitive) runs at 38 min, 62 max, 51 average on my 2500K 3ghz, 8gig, 970 machine with everything (except TressFX) cranked to max.

Asus is one of the better brands, I've been buying their products for years & never had any issues so I'd recommend them for sure. Also if you can afford it go for the 970, from the reviews I've seen of the games coming out you're going to be able to turn on a bunch more graphics settings & keep the frame rate at 60 at 1080p.

I've seen the Asus Strix 970 as low as 345 euros on Amazon. But they're usually gone very quickly once they get them in stock. I'd wait a little longer, the recommended retail price for the MSI gaming 4g is less than 350 if I'm not mistaken. Just look around for a decent deal. I want one too, I'm just waiting for the right offer.