"Short" it is a optical deception. Or it seems to me that the card is longer as the Titan, if measured length with the length of the rear panel.
I don't think so. If you look at the metal I/O bracket, about 2 of those are the size of the entire PCB. It looks like the card is now 2/3 of the size of an R9 295X2.
I mean it looks significantly smaller in size compared to modern cards.
It's much bigger than Gigabyte's or Galaxy MiniITX 970s:
The size seems closer to the Zotac GTX970, but with a slightly longer PCB where as the Zotac 970's heatsink extends beyond the PCB.
2/3 of R9 295X2 (12.13") => 8.09". I think sub-9 inches seems possible for Fiji XT. Maybe 8.5"?
I can't believe after waiting this long and all the hype, these are the release cards? WTF AMD
What does that mean? A flagship card with nearly 300W TDP in what looks like an 8-9" PCB with warrantied AIO CLC that will make it cool and quiet is disappointing to you? We just need performance and price at this point. The design part they absolutely nailed. What did you expect? Another reference blower ~11" card that sounds like a jet engine?
Blowers for flagship cards are not the answer either. Titan Black 250W TDP = 57 dBA at 3100rpm to maintain the same temperatures as an after-market cooler can do at 46-48 dBA at sub-2100 rpm.
If PC gamers embrace AIO CLC for flagship 250W cards, it's going to be possible to make cool and quiet 300W flagships for both AMD and NV, and thus create a CF/SLI setup with most of the heat being exhausted out of the case. For gamers who still want air cooling, there will be open air cooled after-market versions. The blower has really shown to be ineffective for flagship cards like he Titan X once overclocking comes into play. It's not really acceptable to put such a crappy heatsink on premium products anymore as gamers demand superior cooling at high price points.