Here you go : 290x from Gigabyte for $699... get it while it's hot...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125499
No thanks I'd take a 780 Ti over that any day
Well you gotta realize, a few fps on an overpriced card is paramount these days. With reviews claiming cards "kill" one another over 2fps.
Coming from a longtime nvidia fan (own 4 titans) and a new first time amd owner (3 290x) I have had a much much better experience with the 290x.
I can't speak from a single monitor to a single card standpoint, but in a multi monitor situation I find myself with lower/smoother frame times, higher frame rates, and much better multiple display performance from the amd cards. Of all these the biggest point is the last.
Nvidia is so stuck on pushing a few more fps out so they can milk you for a 100% price premium.
You pay this premium for bad software support and even worse customer support. (I've been working with nvidia for 10+ months now to get ffxiv fixed in surround) with no sign of any change or fix in the forseeable future.
With all that said, I wouldn't call myself an amd fan by any means. Discounting the other due to your preference just makes you a short sighted immature fool. Same type of conservative idiocy that has American society stuck in the 50s.
Your best bet is to take the speed of the card and the price of the card, and compare it with the technologies available on either and make your choice based on your application and personal environment instead of selling yourself short based on some faux loyalty that I can assure you the manufacturer could give to shuts about.
EDIT: I'm sure a smart fellow like yourself can understand the current price is so high due to the insane demand for the cards right? Said demand is created due to reasonable folks realizing value coupled with the fact they are vastly vastly superior to nvidia gpus in mining.
One would usually call this a no brainer. That being said (back to my original point) I don't mine, nor do I ever expect to (late to the party - too late) so I was as miffed as anyone to see the prices so high. Just smart enough to understand why and know they wouldn't remain that way. I ended up getting 3 of the R9s (from a miner) for 950 to my door.
