Maingear this week announced its new F1X Gaming PC series, a line of high-performance systems available exclusively through TigerDirect.com, CircuitCity.com, and CompUSA.com (all Systemax subsidiaries).

"We're excited to partner with Tiger Direct to offer even more gamers the unparalleled performance, meticulous craftsmanship, and premium customer service that comes with every Maingear PC," said Wallace Santos, CEO and Founder of Maingear. "Our partnership with Tiger Direct allows us to bring our message of quality computers and customer service to a new audience, with new ways to acquire a Maingear system including Bill Me Later."

The F1X series is being made available in three different configurations, including the ultra high-end F1X 750. This flagship model packs an Intel Core i7 975 processor overclocked to 3.6GHz, 12GB of DDR3-1333 memory, dual ATI Radeon HD 5870 videocards, an 80GB X-25M (second generation) SSD, 1.5TB Western Digital hard drive, a 6X Blu-ray buer, 22X DVD burner, closed loop watercooling, 1000W Silverstone power supply, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. As a top-end unit, it also commands top dollar to the tune of $5,149.

The F1X 500 (Core i7 950) and F1X 200 (Core i5 750) takes things down a notch and sell for $3,100 and $2,250, respectively. You can view their configurations here.

Boutique system builder iBuyPower this week announced the availability of what the company claims is the planet's first ever multi-touch gaming notebook, the Battalion Touch CZ-10.

"Availability," in this case, means you can pre-order the unit, but you won't have to wait very long. iBuyPower says it will begin shipping the CZ-10 starting on January 22, just over a week from now.

"We believe multi-touch compatibility is the future of mobile gaming," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBuyPower. "We are proud to be the first company to market with a multi-touch gaming notebook and look forward to all the new multi-touch games due out this year."

The customizable Battalion Touch comes standard with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 processor, 2GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 4650 graphics, a 250GB hard drive spinning at 5400RPM (7200RPM available for $11 more), 3X DVD burner, 3-in-1 media card reader, 802.11a/g/n Wi--Fi, a 6-cell battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium. Pricing starts at $999.

Dreaming about what the Xbox 720 (or whatever Microsoft decides to name the Xbox 360's followup console) will be like? Well, keep dreaming, because the Redmond outfit has no plans of replacing the four-year old console any time soon, and is instead focused on Project Natal and other ways of extending the console's lifespan.

"I think it's important to say that the Xbox 360 is the console of the long future for us. There is no need to launch a new console, because we're able to give this console new life either with software upgrades or hardware upgrades like Project Natal," said David Hufford, senior director of Xbox product management. "The Xbox 360 was designed for a long life, and I don't even know if we're at the midpoint yet."

Microsoft is concentrating on bringing Project Natal to the Xbox 360, which the company indicated should be ready for the 2010 holiday season. After that, it's anyone's guess what else Microsoft has planned, especially if, as Hufford suggested, the console hasn't even reached its midpoint yet. Could Blu-ray finally be in the Xbox 360's future? Probably not.

"We love our prices right now," Hufford added. "I don't want to say that technology stops, but we believe we have a high quality console, and we stand by that quality with an unprecedented warranty, so we think we're in a good place now heading into the Natal era."

To help ring in the new year, Asus has a new 17-inch gaming laptop on tap for a late January launch. The upcoming G73JH will carry the company's Republich of Gamers logo and boast an Intel Core i7 processor and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics.

Screen resolution checks in at 1920x1080, which is entirely appropriate (and manageable) given the CPU and graphics combo. Other specs include up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, two SSD/HDD slots, optional 2X or 4X Blu-ray drive, up to a 45-in-1 USB 2.0 card reader/writer, Bluetooth, 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, 2.0MP webcam, and a bunch of other odds and ends.

While Asus plans to show the new laptop off at CES, it's actually available for pre-order now starting at around $1,650.