In addition to their new desktops and notebook, made-to-order honchos Velocity Micro are also throwing a little love to your living room with the CineMagix Grand Theater Entertainment System. Powered by your choice of Intel Core 2 Duo, Quad or Extreme processors, the unit features CableCARD support, optional dual digital cable tuners, optical 7.1 surround sound and system design by the Dolby Home Theater crew. Add storage to taste and centralize your media bits HD and otherwise starting at $2095 come February 4 of this year.

Custom manufacturer Velocity Micro brought some new goodies to CES, including a brace of gaming PCs, a mid-range desktop, and configurable notebook. The Raptor Signature Ultimate Gaming line (pictured, left) takes approximately 5995 of your hard earned smackers (depending on config) in exchange for a personal blessing by Velocity founder Randy Copeland and some actual functionality in the form of Intel's Core 2 Extreme QX9650 and quad 3.0GHz cores. The Edge M40 system (pictured, right) is billed for those "beyond casual gaming," so if you're beyond Peggle but not quite ready to call yourself a hardcore gamer, this could have your name on it. The Edge M40 is built on AMD's new Spider platform and sports AMD Phenom processors and your choice of ATI or nVidia motherboard, starting around $2000 with plenty of options for the tinkerers amongst you. For those still mired in casual gaming, the mid-range Vector Z20 might be your ticket starting at $899, or perhaps the $1499 and up NoteMagix C90 Ultra notebook for some Puzzle Pirates action on the road. Street dates vary on these but all will be rolling out within the next month.

Microsoft's Windows Home Server is saying balls to its dicey launch year and rallying the troops for a holiday hardware blitz. Its original hardware launch partner HP's on-sale-again-off-sale-again MediaSmart Home Server is officially back and on sale (huzzah!), and multiple hardware partners are (re)announcing their own boxes.

Up to bat with new and "new" WHS hardware: Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega, LaCie, Leo Computers, LifeWare, Maxdata, Medion, and Tranquil. Sure, some have already announced, but those named today will either be introducing new WHS gear in short order, or at least intend to in the next quarter. Also getting official and on sale today: Velocity Micro's NetMagix (previously VMHS). Expect it with a Core 2 Duo, 1GB of RAM, eSATA, gigabit Ethernet, front / rear USB, and up to 4TB of storage (starting at $1000 for 1TB).

P.S. -We're sure Microsoft would like us to remind you of the burgeoning WHS software add-on scene, with the dozens of apps now written for the platform. That's all well and good, but we'll worry about getting that hardware first, then take a look at that software.

Velocity Micro -- the crew that brought you many a tricked out rig and the first CableCARD Vista boxes sold -- is working on a product tentatively titled the Home Server based on, you guessed it, Windows Home Server. What we know is the Home Server can be oriented horizontally or vertically, use an Intel Conroe-like processor with DDR2 RAM, have SATA II (with NCQ), gigabit Ethernet, eSATA, and will launch at an "extremely competitive price". More as we get it.

Update: Our bad, the Home Server's drive expansion box will launch Q108, but the server itself will launch when Windows Home Server is released. Also, zoomed-in pic after the break.

Although the folks over at boutique PC shop Overdrive PC must have been on a serious Spaceballs bender when they decided to call their proprietary method of performance tweaking 'hyperclocking,' such silly naming conventions didn't stop custom manufacturer Velocity Micro from wooing and finally winning over the firm. Velocity, probably best known for its relationship with Best Buy, will leave Overdrive as a separately run brand and subdivision within the larger company, while employing the mind-blowing hyperclocking technique in its own off-the-shelf systems. None of the deal's financial details were disclosed, but we do know that Overdrive will relocate its headquarters to Richmond, VA, where its founder and CTO will take on the role of Director of Advanced Technologies at Velocity and General Manager of Overdrive. Sure it's no HP / Voodoo or Dell / Alienware pairing, but during Golden Week in Japan, this is what passes for hot news.

[Via Crave]

It's been a hot couple of days for the shipping industry, as we've seen everything from automatic HDMI switches to the OQO Model 02 leave the docks en masse, and while Velocity Micro's much-anticipated CineMagix Grand Theater PC didn't quite beat out Niveus (which is admittedly just a CableCARD-ready solution), it's apparently joining the fray anyway. According to a report / screenshot over at Gearlog, it looks like Velocity Micro's intentions to ship its CableCARD HTPCs within the month actually panned out alright, as at least one lucky user is enjoying "premium HDTV on a Media Center PC" already. Notably, the coveted recipient didn't seem to have any major qualms when contacting Verizon for assistance in bringing the FiOS action into the HTPC, which makes the collective majority of us weep in envy. So if you've been waiting around to make sure this wasn't just one long-winded dream, feel free the pinch yourself and hand over your credit card deets, because these bad boys are ready and waiting to head your way.

Well, well, Mr. Velocity Micro Director of Product Development Chris Morley -- didn't think we read AVS Forum, did you? Well, maybe you did, we dunno, but we appreciate your letting us know that "Grand Theater systems look to be 100% and we're shipping [this] week. Pro Cinemas are a few days behind due to issues with Asus." Shipping full-on CableCARD-equipped HTPCs that soon huh? Good, because we can't fricking wait to start rocking some CableCARD HTPC action -- DRM and expensive tuners and delays and all. Let's get it on.

[Thanks, Keith]

Looks like Okoro Media Systems isn't the only HTPC builder on the block cramming Microsoft's latest OS into its systems and upping the specs, as Velocity Micro has taken a break from its NoteMagix series to amp up a few media PCs. Both boxes come with Windows Vista Premium pre-installed, ATI's TV Wonder Digital Cable tuner, and options for HD DVD and Blu-ray playback. The CineMagix Pro Cinema rocks a fairly average black chassis, 500-watt power supply, AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, HDCP-compliant ATI Radeon X1950 Pro, onboard 7.1 audio, 8-in-1 flash card reader, up to 1.5TB of hard drive space, dual gigabit Ethernet adapter, 802.11b/g, a pair of FireWire connectors, six USB 2.0 ports, and a wireless keyboard / mouse combo. The Intel-powered CineMagix Grand Theater swaps in your choice of CPU, including options for both the Core 2 Extreme X6800 or QX6700, up to 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, up to 2.25TB of HDD space, but otherwise mimics its AMD-packin' sibling. Both units are fully customizable if you've got the cash to burn, and while the CineMagix Pro Cinema starts at $1,695, the Grand Theater rings up between $2,195 and near-five digits.

[Via 64-Bit-Computers]

While you might not be exactly keen on waltzing into your local Best Buy for gadgetry purchases (for various reasons), Velocity Micro is going all in, hoping that millions of others just might. The gaming-centric boutique is unveiling its latest NoteMagix offering -- dubbed the L80x Ultra -- in select Best Buys today in favor of its own website. Pumping up the specs from the plain ole L80, the 6.5-pound L80x Ultra reportedly packs a 15.4-inch LCD, 2.0GHz T7200 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 100GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce Go 7600GS graphics, an integrated webcam, and a fingerprint scanner. While elaborate details concerning the wireless suite, host of ports, and collection of stickers you can expect to find on the palm rests aren't currently available, we do know that it'll set you back $1,999 -- if you manage to dodge that additional "protection plan," of course.

[Via TGDaily]

You probably thought we were done with this latest volley of Merom-powered laptops. Ha -- you were wrong. Next up to board the Core 2 Duo train is Velocity Micro's 15.4-inch NoteMagix L80 "Ultra Notebook Computer," which adds T5500, T5600, T7200, T7400, and T7600 options (ranging from 1.66GHz to 2.33GHz) to the already available suite of regular Core Duo and Celeron M configurations. So besides the latest processors, what makes this model so "ultra"? Well first of all, it ships with a 256MB nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600GS card standard -- a refreshing change-up from the usual integrated graphics we see around here -- plus an option to bump the LCD resolution up to 1,680 x 1,050 from a ho-hum 1,280 x 800. You can also cram in as much as 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 7,200 RPM 100GB hard drive, and dual-layer DVD burner, with WiFi, a card reader, and three USB 2.0 ports part and parcel of any configuration. Available immediately, you can pick up a decently-speced L80 for about $1,655, but of course for the one we'd want, pricing is a little closer to $2,600.

[Via laptoping]

The flood of Core 2 desktops continues with Velocity Micro being the latest to get in on on the party, announcing that both Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme options are now available in a whole slew of its systems. The basic Core 2 Duo processor gets slotted in Velocity Micro's lower-end ProMagix and Vector lines of desktops, while the beefier Raptor DCX, Gamers' Edge PCX, and ProMagix systems get the high-end Core 2 Extreme as an option. You can get any of 'em pre-built or customized to your liking from Velocity Micro or from Best Buy online, both of whom are now taking pre-orders. Or if you can wait a bit, you can grab one off the shelf when they hit Best Buy retail stores on August 7th. Five bucks to the first person to ride theirs home like a skateboard.