Mum's the word on what controller Hitachi has attached to its new enterprise-class Ultrastar SSD400S.B family of solid state and whether it skipped Intel's chipset in favor of something from SandForce, just like the Santa Clara chip maker recently did, but we at least know the new SSDs are rocking Intel-produced 25nm single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory chips, a fact both companies are quick to boast.

Tax season is upon us, and for many, that means a tax refund is just around the corner. Looking to spend it wisely? A first generation Ultrabook might be just the thing. They're fast, lightweight, still relatively new, and best of all, they're about to come down in price. It might require hunting deal sites to score an Ultrabook on the cheap, but as vendors get ready to roll out second generation models, first generation Ultrabooks will drop in price to clear out inventory and make room for the new stuff.

Boutique system builder AVADirect is breaking new ground today by being the first to offer Clevo's P270WM gaming notebook, the long anticipated successor to the popular Clevo X7200. What makes the Clevo P270WM so special is that it's rocking an Intel X79 foundation with Sandy Bridge-E processor options, a potent combination for the next generation of desktop replacements.

Who knew netbooks would prove so resilient? By all means, the growing popularity and falling prices of tablet PCs along with the rollout of Intel's Ultrabook bandwagon could have spelled doom for the netbook form factor. But along comes Cedar Trail and suddenly there's renewed interest in these pint-sized notebooks, at least for one more generation anyway. MSI, one of the driving forces in the netbook category, just unveiled its new Wind U180 for 2012.