It seems I don't understand marketing very well..
First, Nvidia announces some uber expensive and performing GPU, the Titan. Afterwards it releases the 780 which is pretty close and makes it look like good value for money compared to the Titan - but still expensive nonetheless (good strategy to get more money I guess). Then they release the "Titan killer" - which AMD was supposed to do - with the 780Ti. If I am not mistaken, the only thing that the Titan has to offer over the 780Ti is extra RAM practically.
On the AMD side, they came with cards that run hot and are noisy as hell but are excellent performers and with a good price. The 290x started trading blows with the 780 - never mind the Titan any longer - but then they won't let them be released with aftermarket coolers. After that, they release the 290 which was very close performance wise to the 290x but even cheaper and it was a better OCer.
Is it only me that is getting confused here? Quite honestly, I want to upgrade my GPU since the 480 is starting to rust, so to speak and I no longer have any clue as to what to get.. Sell my left kidney and buy a 780Ti or keep it and get deafened and sweaty by a 290 or 290x? I honestly don't know any more but it seems I should wait until they release more 780Ti's and for AMD to let aftermarket coolers added on their new GPUs.
Good points you raise there - and I'm not surprised you're confused as these things are always a bit of a grey area.
Personally, I prefer NVIDIA as they tend to have the better all-round product and I've been using them happily for years - just check the reviews on here to see what I mean.
You can stick a 780 / 780 Ti in your system and have superb framerate performance for reasonable noise without having to worry about any annoying issues. Oh and that stock cooler is very nice in terms of performance and looks. All this comes at a rather premium price, of course and that does suck, I know.
However, after all is said and done, the only thing wrong I can really see with the 290 / 290X is that daft stock cooler. Yes, it seems to be beyond comprehension why AMD are forcing their partners to wait with custom coolers and it's frustrating, but they are.
I'd say wait a month or so before buying anything. The 780 Ti will drop in price and those 290 / 290X cards with custom coolers will be out along with the reviews. We'll then see what this chip can
really do when not strangled by heat. You'll then be in a much better position to decide what to buy - and you'll get more for your money.
Whatever you do, don't buy the Titan as it's stupidly expensive and a total waste of money. That 6GB RAM isn't required, it runs slower than a 780 Ti in games with its only advantage being compute, which isn't used by most enthusiasts. It's more for scientific modelling, things like that.
