Yes, I think we read many of the same reviews..... I was thinking the same thing as you were but then sites like techpowerup and Guru3d tried overclocking them....and whereas last gen they were stating how well they did, this time they weren't able to catch the Windforce and cards.
One speculation is that all the extreme overclockers were buying Asus cause they topped the charts.....and that they took it a bit further than maybe they shuda, resulting in lotta returns so this time the bean counters put the nix on the OC.
But at Comdex, Asus unveiled the Poseidon, .... I'm hoping it puts Asus back up at the top again. I can't see them releasing the think unless they can compete the Classified / Hydrocopper....otherwise the release will be a yawner
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Asus-ROG-GTX-770-Poseidon,22899.html