Notebooks built around Intel's X79 Express chipset are starting to trickle out in pre-order form, including Maingear's refreshed Titan 17. Actually, it wouldn't be right to call this a notebook. The Titan 17 is a full-fledged desktop replacement that can be configured with an Intel Core i7 3960X six-core processor and two Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M graphics cards in SLI.

You don't have to be a spendthrift to shop a system from a boutique builder. That's not to say you can't still configure a professionally built system that costs as much as a Kia, it's just no longer required. Even liquid cooling setups are fair game for frugal enthusiasts. Enter Origin PC's new Frostbyte 360 liquid cooling system (LCS). Origin PC claims it's reaching speeds up to 5.2GHz using the Frostbyte 360, and starting at $1,599 you can grab a Genesis system configured with the new cooler.

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.

There are two trains of thought in the field of competition. One is 'The best offense is a good defense,' and the other is simply the reverse. Acer plans to implement the latter in 2012 as it goes into attack mode with a barrage of Ultrabooks, laptops, tablet PCs, and smartphones, Acer chairman JT Wang reportedly indicated at the company's ceremony for the Lunar New Year.