Intel’s fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts once again, and the chipmaker posted another record quarter.

While the success can sound a tad tedious from our point of view, as Intel has already posted a series of record quarters, the strong showing indicates that PC sales are still doing quite well.

Intel’s net profits in Q4 2011 rose 6 percent to $3.4 billion, while revenues were up 21 percent, slightly higher than even the most optimistic forecasts. Nothing seems to have put a dent in Intel’s balance sheet, not the floods in Thailand, nor the European debt crisis.

CEO Paul Otellini described 2011 as an exceptional year and announced plans to boost capital expenditure in 2012 to $12.5 billion, up from $10.7 billion in 2011. Otellini believes ultrabooks and Intel powered smartphones and tablets could fuel even more growth in 2012.