Nvidia has traditionally had better performance, that is true, but in recent generations it has been by a slim margin. Unfortunately also at a premium price, that when boiled down to the performance per dollar level, made AMD the superior choice in my book. And in regards to power usage, heat and noise, AMD cards have also been better these last few cycles. I was quite impressed with the 7970 when they introduced it, especially the OC potential, but I must admit the 680 is looking damn fine. I think that will be my next card. Seems like they got AMD beat in nearly every category, and even the price difference isn’t there anymore. The only thing that annoys me is the lower amount of VRAM on the 680 – 3GB (like on the 7970) would have been a bit more futureproof.
