I have a 6950 currently and am badly itching for an upgrade. The 290 non x (waiting for aftermarket coolers) seems to be where I'm putting my money as long at they sit at that $400 price range.
Only thing that has me questioning the upgrade is the expected release of 20nm cards this summer. At a $400 dollar price range, do you think 20nm fabs will have a HUGE improvement over the 290? (temperature aside) I know it would be mostly speculation but have we seen huge improvements when jumping fabs?
I'm in the exact same boat, it's getting to the point where I can't hold off any longer, the 6950 2gb just doesn't cut it any more. I think even if there is some major improvement it might not matter based on the games coming out over the next year or so, but it will matter if still have a 6950.