JD,
I just purchased a new card last year, my first in over 8 years. I did it at the same time I built my new PC, so getting a case for the card was not an issue.
1. I was and AMD person also. Would have gone with an 580, but due to the crypto miners, the prices on those was unreasonable. For about the same cost at the time, I ended up with a 1080 that included a water cooler for it. Specifically this
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-6288-KR.
2. I probably got more card than what I really need, but I know I won't purchase another for another 8+ years.
3. Both AMD and NVIDIA have technology that help with tearing and stuttering issues for monitors. The AMD tech seems to use an industry standard, thus minimul or no extra cost. NVIDIA has developed their own tech, that addess $300 to a monitor. If you not playing games, or those issues don't bother you, then it's not an issue. Just want you to be aware of it before you purshase. Theres a section in this article about adaptive refresh that explains it more.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/monitor-buying-guide,4559.html#p3 4. The card I got require a larger PSU as there are 2 connections from the PSU to the GPU. Keep that in mind when shopping.
Hope that helps. I'm sure others here can be of more help.