The 7870 was a mid range card, the direct competition to the 680 was the 7970 -- and since your memory seems to be poor, the 7970 was out performing the 680 in many scenarios after the release of the 12.11 driver. The 7870 is being compared to the 580 because it has a similar level of performance.
Bought this morn and just downloaded on Steam! Can't wait to get going! First time I've bought a game day one in a very long time
