This - always this. It's also important to remember that what makes a card "better" is always going to be subjective. For me the power/heat/noise strengths are probably more important than the overall grunt, due to my setup and its main uses. I mean look at my PSU choice! For the majority of others (I suspect), brute force has a much heavier weighting.
True - Power/heat/noise matters to me too. However, I wouldn't upgrade for a minimal performance bump and reduced power/noise; which is why I was critical of the original 980 launch, when compared with the 780/780Ti. The 980Ti is the card I'd expect if I was looking to upgrade. It is also the minimum benchmark I want to see from the new flagship AMD card; and if it can manage it with comparable power consumption, all the better. Not that I'm planning an upgrade - all available funds I'm allowed are going into my man cave at the moment*. * with some embellishments
I bet your PS07 has better soundproofing than my 304 I have to agree though, the Ti is a beastie and had I not let the funds burn a hole in my pocket last summer it would have been the perfect upgrade. I forecast that the Fury will be fast and competitively prices, but also power hungry as hell. Just like most other things AMD produce.
Power constraint can be an issue in some systems: I'm quite happily running a 980 with a 300W SFX SPU, but if I was to switch to a 980ti, a 295X2, or future-fury-390x-whateverit'scalled I'd not only need to buy a new GPU, but a new SFX PSU too. If I were running a voluminous monster full of large fans with a 700w PSU then the choice would be easier.
Wait and see what happens as rumours point to just the rebrands getting launched in June with fury delayed till August. At computex it did not even have nailed down clock speeds 12 days before a proposed launch. AIB partners have only been given sample gpus not the full running product. ( anandtechs sources ) That's pretty worrying info so close to a proposed launch.
Attention Gamers and PC Enthusiasts! Our 24 hour livestream at E3 begins on June 16th, we've got TONS of Prizes and Fun planned for you! Link
