Samsung announces Series 7 GAMER notebook

If you can’t wait for the Razer Blade — with critical test data stolen, who knows how long it’ll take to come to shop shelves — you might want to consider the Samsung Series 7 GAMER notebook instead. Announced three weeks ago, Samsung promises a “smarter and richer gaming experience without compromise”, just like every other gaming laptop manufacturer.

Besides a dedicated gaming mode, where CPU performance is maximised and the cooling system is set to 100% fan speed, the Series 7 GAMER also has a number of niceties for keyboard warriors: a fully-backlit desktop keyboard layout with a 2.7mm keystroke and separated arrow keys to provide more precise control. When in “gaming” mode, the keyboard is backlit in blue and the main gaming keys will be in red and the Windows key is disabled.

Here are the notebook’s specifications, as taken from the press release:

• Intel Core i7-2670M Processor
• 8GB DDR3 RAM
• 17.3″ LED backlit display (1920 x 1080)
• AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB graphics memory
• 1.5TB 7200rpm SATA HDD
• Blu-ray Drive
• 41 cm (width) x 28.5 cm (depth) x 3.3 ~ 5.0 cm (height)
• 3.8kg

While the Samsung Series 7 GAMER isn’t quite as sleek, as light or as cool as the Razer Blade (specs available here), it has a faster processor, better graphics card, more hard disk space and comes with a Blu-ray drive, all at a cheaper price point of S$2,899 versus US$2,800 (S$3,368) for the Blade.

If you’re looking for a good desktop replacement and not for portability, then the Samsung Series 7 GAMER will probably be choice. Otherwise, you’re stuck waiting for the Razer Blade, supposedly due for release in North America at the end of the year.