It’s also a great time to build an Intel-based computer. The successor to LGA 1155 (the Sandy Bridge socket), LGA 2011, is not due out until late this year, and looks to supersede LGA 1366 at Intel’s highest-end of the desktop CPU spectrum. Other than supporting Sandy Bridge-E CPUs, LGA 2011 will offer PCIe 3 (which current GPUs can’t take advantage of) and native USB 3.0 (even though third-party USB 3.0 controllers are already shipping on many Intel and AMD motherboards). Considering how capable the Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K are today, it’s unlikely Sandy Bridge-E will field any model that’s astonishingly faster than what’s already available. Thus, if you buy a Core i7-2600K now, you’ll be at the near pinnacle of desktop computing for at least 5-6 months. I think there are times to buy and times to wait. It’s a bad idea to buy right before a lineup refresh (as is the case with AMD today), but it’s also unwise to delay building a system to hold out for the next big thing when that’s half a year away and unlikely to be that much better!

Their TimelineX line of thin-and-light notebooks is being released in 13.1″, 14″, and 15.6″ models. Acer’s press release is a bit cagey on details for the specific models (except to cite model numbers and weight), but there’s some impressive engineering at work here. The 13.1″ 3830T tips the scales at 4.12 pounds, while the 14″ 4830T weighs in at 4.88 pounds and the “big daddy” 5830T remains a relatively svelte 5.6 pounds. Each of the notebooks comes equipped with an HD webcam with a 1280×1024 resolution, Intel 2nd Gen Core i3 or i5 processors, gigabit Ethernet, and 802.11b/g/n wireless networking. The 14″ and 15.6″ models also include integrated optical drives.

What’s most appreciated (at least to me) is the change to a chiclet-style keyboard instead of the dire floating island keyboards that have plagued older Acer notebooks, but what may be most interesting to the rest of you is the inclusion of NVIDIA dedicated graphics. While we wouldn’t expect the 13.1″ model to sport anything other than the IGP, Acer has announced that the GeForce GT 520M and GT 540M would both be available in the new TimelineX notebooks.

Acer expects the notebooks to be available in retailers starting today with an MSRP starting at just $599.

The peculiar thing is, you can’t actually buy it yet. F2F lists staggering prices ranging from €1,809 ($2,642) to €2,839 ($4,146), though it’s not, in fact, available. Meanwhile, search results turn up mentions on staticICE UK and Belgium’s Execute, but they’ve been scrubbed from the actual pages. So, it looks like it’s up to Sony to announce this already — and dish up some pictures while it’s at it.

Given the current price of memory, Patriot expects the default configuration for SNB-E systems to be a kit of four 4GB DIMMs for a total of 16GB. Sandy Bridge E isn’t expected until the Fall at the earliest so memory pricing isn’t certain, but Patriot expects a 16GB SNB-E memory kit to sell for around $130 when Division4 is released later this year.

Hardware specifications are unknown at the moment, as is release date and pricing, though of course Intel has said that Ultrabooks will come in at under the $1,000 mark. We’re guessing a roughly 12.5-inch display, in keeping with the U260, and probably a Core i3 processor.

Beyond that there’ll be the usual Sandy Bridge integrated graphics, wireless options and, given Lenovo’s track record, probably a few integrated WWAN options too. No sign of the U300s on the company’s site yet, but we’ll update when we know more.