Initially set for a December 20th roll-out, the student-friendly ThinkPad X130e 11.6-inch laptop has now found its way to Lenovo's online shop and where it's awaiting orders (actual shipments start on February 9).

The X130e features a durable construction (rubber bumper around top cover, extra-tough bezel, hinges, keyboard and ports), it runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, and packs an Intel or AMD processor, an LED-backlit (1366 x 768) display, integrated graphics, up to 8 GB of RAM, up to a 500 GB hard drive (or a 128 GB SSD), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, optional Bluetooth and mobile broadband, and a 6-cell battery allowing for up to 8 hours of operation.

Currently Lenovo is offering two base configurations for this machine, one priced at $429, with an AMD E-300 (1.3 GHz) APU, 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB HDD, and one costing $549 that boasts an Intel Core i3-2367M (1.4 GHz) CPU, 4 GB of RAM and a 250 GB HDD. Both are available here.

It looks like Radeon HD 7970 and HD 7950 won't share a common design after all, as press-shots of the HD 7950 suggest. The HD 7950 is also said to use a different PCB design from the HD 7970, diminishing any chance of the HD 7950 being "unlockable" to HD 7970 using a BIOS update.

The reference design card uses a cost-effective heatsink with internal ventilation using a top-flow fan, and not a fin-canal design the HD 7970 uses, which pushes hot air out of the case.

Matrox Graphics Inc. today announced that the Matrox Mura MPX video wall controller boards are HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant, simplifying the work for AV Integrators seeking to enable copy protected content across Mura-driven video walls. Mura input/output boards facilitate HDCP interoperability by capturing high definition video signals from up to four HDCP sources and displaying the content on up to four HDCP-enabled displays.

A video wall controller with up to six boards can support up to twenty-four inputs that are scaled, positioned and manipulated across twenty-four outputs. Designed for high-performance video walls, Mura MPX Series is suitable for a wide range of applications including corporate boardrooms, auditoriums, large venue events, digital signage, and mission-critical environments.

Reeven unveiled the RFC-01 "Six Eyes" series of case fan controllers, which saw the light of the day in mid-2011. Designed to fit into the 5.25-inch drive bays of your case, the RFC-01 provides six fan channels with independent speed-control knobs and diagnostic displays for each channel.

Measuring 148 x 42 x 100 mm, the controller comes in two variants: black (RFC-01BK) and white (RFC-01WH). Apart from the six fan speed channels, the controller displays temperatures from six thermal zones, along with a safety alarm when temperatures exceed a limit. The RFC-01 will be priced at 4,480 JPY (US $57). It will likely be marketed under local brands such as Scythe.

Not to be outdone by their US-based brethren, several European stores have jumped the gun and put up for pre-order the (still not officially announced) Radeon HD 7950 aka AMD's second 28 nm-powered graphics card. The listings in Europe reveal three HD 7950s, two that seem to be based on AMD's reference design (one from XFX, one only carrying the AMD brand) and a custom model coming from Gigabyte.

All three cards feature DirectX 11.1 and OpenGL 4.2 support, 1792 Stream Processors, a 384-bit memory interface, 3 GB of GDDR5 VRAM clocked at 5000 MHz, CrossFireX support, and include four display outputs - DVI x 1, HDMI x 1, mini DisplayPort x 2.

The 'stock' models have a GPU clock of 800 MHz while Gigabyte's card (GV-R795W3-3GD) is listed with a core clock of 900 MHz (although it may be a typo). The GV-R795W3-3GD also has a blue PCB and a dual-slot, triple-fan (WindForce style) cooler.

In its latest round of pre-launch testing of the Radeon HD 7950, DonanimHaber overclocked the GPU to match the clock speeds of the HD 7970, that's 925 MHz core, 1375 MHz (5.50 GHz effective) memory, from its reference clock speed of 800 MHz core, 1250 MHz (5.00 GHz effective), and pitted it against a Radeon HD 7970 reference and GeForce GTX 580 reference.

Tests included 3DMark 11 Extreme Preset, and 3DMark Vantage Performance. At the outset these figures establish the HD 7950 to be faster than GTX 580 in the two tests. When overclocked to match the clock speeds of the HD 7970, the HD 7950 on average is 4% slower than it. In related news, DonanimHaber reports that AMD could also be working on affordable variants of the HD 7950 that come with 1536 MB of memory, on the same 384-bit GDDR5 memory interface. That would probably depend on how NVIDIA's lineup stacks up against it.

CoolerMaster announced new version of the popular 690 II case, and it will get few updates, and a new colors which will give it a fresh look. Here are some highlights...

Optimized Cooling System - Time tested as a titan among mid-tower cases, the CM 690 II makes it possible to take advantage of excellent airflow and water cooling options to vastly reduce temperatures on system components. The roomy interior space of CM 690 II Advanced Black & White enables users to install up to 10 fans, with enlarged mesh design for superb ventilation. Users can accommodate 120 x 240 mm radiator at the top and bottom for superior cooling performance. It also supports up to 2 radiators for water cooling units, and larger CPU cooler, such as Hyper 612 PWM.

Newly phased in USB 3.0 interface - Loaded with features, the CM 690 II delivers as the ultimate mid-tower for any purpose. With the announcement today, Cooler Master will begin offering improved Advanced Black & White Edition that will maintain its image with a performance and value update. This is accomplished by implementing the exciting new internal changes and exchanging the e-SATA port for two additional USB 3.0 internal connectors. The I/O on the top also offers a more convenient way to access.

The improved CM 690 II Advanced Black & White will be available for €99,95 and will hit the stores around the beginning of March.

EVGA has now released the EPower Board, a VRM board which can be hooked up to a motherboard and/or graphics card (some soldering required) and provide more watts required for uber-overclocking.

This warranty-voiding device features a 10-phase main output, a 3-phase secondary output, digital PWM (for the main output), three 6-pin PCIe power connectors, plus EVBot and fan support. The EPower Board costs $99.99 and is "intended only for advanced users with electronics experience."

According to dell-lab.posterous.com (a site known for accurate tips on future Dell products), a trio of updated Alienware laptops are currently in plan, the M14x R2 (14-inch), M17x R4 (17.3-inch) and M18x R2 (18.4-inch). There's not much info on the M18x R2 except for the fact that it will be available in both red and black.

Also, the M14x R2 is said to come with the same colors and have 1 GB and 2 GB graphics options. The M17x R4 is claimed to feature at least three new GPU choices, including the yet-unannounced AMD Radeon HD 7970M, Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M and GTX 675M. All three laptops should also adopt Intel's upcoming 22 nm processors (Ivy Bridge). No word on when they'll be released.

One month after making its North American debut, ASUS' ET2700 27-inch All-in-One desktop PC is now gearing up to reach European retail and e-tail. Set to ship in Europe next month, the All-in-One (codenamed ET2700INKS-B005C) has a Full HD (1920 x 1080) MVA display, a Core i5-2400S processor, 6 GB of RAM, a 2 TB (5400 RPM) hard drive, a GeForce GT 540M 1 GB graphics card, and a Blu-ray combo drive.

ASUS' PC also packs Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, a 2.0-megapixel webcam, a TV tuner, two 3.5W speakers (an external subwoofer is included in the package), two USB 3.0 ports, and both D-Sub and HDMI outputs. The ET2700 runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, it comes bundled with a wireless keyboard and mouse and a remote control, and is set to cost 1,399 Euro.