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.

Habey USA's new BIS-6630 compact fanless embedded PC isn't quite small enough to inconspicuously jam into your pants pocket, though at just 7.5 inches (W) x 7.5 inches (L) x 2.5 inches (H), it's just the right size for digital signage applications, which is what it's intended for. It's built around Intel's Cedar Trail platform and has a power efficiency rating of just 12W.

Sony today announced a bit of a Spring refresh for its Vaio Z laptop line, which is really more like a post-CES refresh here in the States where Spring doesn't officially kick off for about another two months. Timing and verbiage aside, Sony's tweaked Vaio Z laptops represent a minor refresh that begins with a new color option -- Carbon Fiber Silver -- and continues with an optional 4G LTE mobile broadband upgrade.