AMD dominated back in the day with it's Athlon chips, what was once a mighty CPU company, opted for the best value vs performance approach while Intel went all out. Look at the situation today. I don't know how else to explain it..
The same applies today, if AMD launched a truly Intel beating CPU, at any cost. If would massively raise AMD's profile, to say anything else is just ignorant.
If the 290X is an Nvidia Titan beater, people will flock to it. Nvidia will likely have a response soon, so this doesn't happen.
Here is a good example for you,
"There are two ways to think about GTX Titan and its impact on AMD’s competitive positioning. From a purely logical perspective, AMD doesn’t need to do anything. Radeon 7970s are available for as little as $379.99, $359.99 if you count the rebate. Based strictly on price, Titan doesn’t threaten AMD’s market because the price gap is simply too wide.
Unfortunately, human beings aren’t purely rational creatures. The GTX 690 already commanded the top end of the graphics market — a grip Titan cements further. The halo effect is very real; a potential customer who sees GeForce cards dominating the high end is more likely to pick a midrange card based on the same technology."
http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/1...t-it-means-for-the-future-of-gaming-and-amd/2
Anyway I digress.