Adding a $549 graphics card to your PC may be out of budget for most people, but AMD's newest card promises to be one of the best ever invented. Yes, that's saying a lot, but this card is really up there as far as what you can get out of it.

Here's a closer look at the AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics card.

The Specs

Without further adieu, here's what you'll get:

176 texture units
1000MHz boost clock
2816 Stream Processors
5GHz GDDR5 memory clock
GCN 1.1 architecture
Hawaii GPU
4GB VRAM
True Audio

As you may have noticed, the R9 290X card has the only Hawaii GPU in all of AMD's latest lineup. What do all of these specs mean? This card is bigger and badder, and that's not just AMD press releases talking. In all tests, this graphics card outperformed most of the rest with just a few drawbacks.

Some Slight Drawbacks (Depending On How You Look At It)

While bigger and better is definitely something that you want in any new graphics card, there's another factor to consider. When a card has all of the above, it's bound to heat things up. Calling this card a complete system sucker isn't an understatement, and that means noise, heat, and lots more power consumption. So, those are some things to keep in mind when shopping for a new card.

There's also the price factor. If you are serious about gaming, spending more than $300 on a card is plausible - but more than $500? That just seems really excessive. Sure, this card is better than the rest (and it is one of AMD's prides), but adding any component to a computer that's more than $500 is a lot of dough to plunk down. Whether or not it's worth that price depends on what you think of AMD products, and what you want to get out of your PC.

Release Date and Other Details

Guess what, folks? AMD is launching this card today. That's right, today. If you want to get your hands on this little treat, now's the time to order online. Just head to the AMD site to pick one up. Of course, there's also the AMD versus Nvidia debate to consider. For some, Nvidia means more allowances as far as graphics go. For others, AMD rules the roost.

It's hard to say whether or not Nvidia will be coming out with a card to compare to AMD's latest masterpiece (some compare the newest AMD offering to Nvidia's Titan card - which, by the way, retails for $999!). It doesn't look likely, though, since Nvidia does have the Titan. But, hey, we can dream of a nice little battle between the two, right?

If you're into gaming and love AMD, there's no better card on the market right now. Sure, you'll have to spend more than $500 to get it, but that's the price you pay for greatness, right? Again, that release date is today - so go get your new AMD card before it's too late!