First things first thank you to everybody who helps:)
So im in the market for a new graphics card and was really hoping to buy a 290x from asus because my 7950 just is not cutting it for 1440p. this is the model i was looking at getting http://www.amazon.com/Asus-R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5-ASUS-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00HSY1TBK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1392257062&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+r9+290x&tag=amaflink-20 , I had wanted to stay with AMD because im a share holder but i dont believe it is feasible at these prices. So 2 quick questions one any guess to when the prices are going to come back down? and 2 would a 780 non ti with the same cooler be a good alternative? because they can be had for $500.
The 290x and 780 trade blows in terms of gaming performance, the 780 is definitely a strong contender as an alternative to the 290x. I'd go for either a MSI or ASUS cooler design.
And looking at the mining craze, high-end AMD cards likely will stay around the price points they are at now.
The 290x is not worth $700+, and I don't believe that the 290 is worth $600+
I'm very satisfied with my 780 at 1440p. Reportedly, the 780 takes the performance crown after overclocking. Benchmarks for your convenience:
http://youtu.be/djvZaHHU4I8?t=8m35s
The R9s will have some performance improvements, but nothing substantial. Nothing that warrants an extra $100-200.
GTX 780 has the best price/performance of the given options. That should be the main concern. It's a huge price difference, not worth any allegiance to AMD.
Prices will not come down for a while on any R9 cards sadly :( The Gtx 780 is probably the best gpu in your price range currently. Basically identical with the 290x in performance, nothing you can actually tell the difference with the human eye. I also don't advise the 290 for 1440p, its weird but some bench marks are saying that the 290 is not as consistent as the 290x at higher than 1080p resolutions. Meaning its basically identical with the 290x in some games, but lacks behind in others... very weird but that may be the difference between them besides true audio which is cool, but not really supported on anything.