Samsung’s behemoth Series 7 Gamer is one of a new line of laptops for the Korean electronics giant, clearly an answer to products from the likes of Origin, Alienware, and Asus.

Big-boned and full of high-end components, the Series 7 Gamer comes in only one, $1,899 configuration. The good news is that there’s a lot of meat in this laptop: a quad-core Core i7-3610QM processor, 16GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M graphics, a 750GB hard drive, and a 1,920×1,080-pixel-resolution 17-inch display that’s flat-out gorgeous.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

Yes, it’s heavy (9 pounds). Yes, it’s expensive (nearly $2,000). Yes, it’s a little ugly. However, it’s one of the best-performing laptops we’ve ever seen, at a price that’s not that unreasonable. Samsung’s entry into PC gaming laptops is a success, although it’s a surprisingly bulky and flashy product for a company that’s been making sleek and minimal laptops otherwise.

With its lid closed, the big, black, shiny presence of the Samsung Series 7 Gamer blends in with the “gamer gear” look of so many other competing products. There’s nothing on the surface that screams anything unique.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

The back lid, with its nearly mirrored coating and tapered lines, recalls the midrange R series of Samsung’s laptops more than the recent Apple-like looks of the Series 7 Chronos, Series 5 Ultra, or Series 9. Incidentally, while this laptop is also technically a “Series 7″ by name, it bears no family resemblance whatsoever to any Series 7 we’ve ever seen before. This might as well have been called a Series 8.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

The differences extend to the interior: glossy plastic around the bar above the keyboard showcases the speaker grille and several LED-enhanced circles. The left circle provides volume control, the right is a power button, and the middle “Turbo” circle lights up when the Series 7 Gamer is set to Game Mode (Intel Turbo Boost is applied to the quad-core Core i7 processor in this mode). There are also several LED-lit touch controls for toggling audio mute, the Wi-Fi antenna, and keyboard backlighting.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

To the right of these lit circles is a physical dial knob that emerges from the side, reminiscent of the volume dial on an HP Envy or an old-school home audio system. The knob controls the Series 7 Gamer’s energy/screen modes: a “Green Mode,” “Library Mode” (which seems to automatically mute audio, but not much else), “Balanced Mode,” and “Game Mode,” which optimizes the display’s brightness and contrast and triggers a pretty silly and overdramatic animation and “cyber-effect” that, presumably, is meant to make you feel like your laptop just transformed into a Serious Gaming Machine. It’s one step short of sprouting fake gun turrets from the speakers, but maybe there are some hard-core gamers out there that will enjoy it.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

The Series 7 Gamer has a huge, spacious keyboard with adjacent number pad, backlit, and — lo and behold — it’s an old-fashioned tapered-key affair. Nearly no one makes keyboards like this anymore; even Lenovo did away with its old-fashioned ThinkPad keyboards. It looks odd on this Samsung, but the truth is…it’s a great keyboard. Keys have plenty of travel, concave surfaces cup your fingertips perfectly, and a row of function buttons above the number keys doesn’t get in the way. I wonder if this laptop could have been made any slimmer by giving it a shallower keyboard, but the bottom line here is you’ll be comfortable. Even better, the commonly used WASD keys are lit in mellow orange instead of pale blue.

The touch pad beneath has a smooth, matte surface and a flat button-bar below it. A blue LED strip demarcates the button strip from the pad and provides your eye with a focus zone when attending to the screen, as you can see the bar in your peripheral vision. I wish I could say the touch pad’s responsiveness was as good as the keyboard’s, but that’s a standard problem with Windows laptops. Most gamers will use a mouse, anyway.

Game Mode has a little animated icon that launches a dedicated settings panel: background services and antivirus programs can automatically be set to Limited/Silent, and a few other minimal adjustments like touch pad on/off can be toggled. A few preset animations can be selected for the Game Mode transformation. It all pales next to the customizations on an Alienware or the Razer Blade, but the easy-access launcher is somewhat helpful.

What makes a gaming laptop a gaming laptop? A phenomenal screen can’t hurt. The 17.3-inch glossy display on the Series 7 Gamer has 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution and looks positively fantastic, big and bright, with rich colors and excellent wide viewing angles. Blacks are blacker than on most laptops. It all makes for a great viewing experience, whether watching Blu-rays or playing games. The screen’s so good and big that streamed media like Netflix videos are bound to look like pixelated disappointments by comparison.

Stereo speakers and a subwoofer underneath offer up loud, powerful sound for gaming, and even for movie-watching. The audio experience isn’t head and shoulders above the competition, but it earns points for sheer volume. To listen to 5.1- and 7.1-channel audio, you’ll need to plug in surround-sound headphones or connect to an external speaker set or receiver.

Even the 2.0-megapixel Webcam is top-notch. Samsung preinstalls CyberLink YouCam software, but the 1,920×1,080-pixel-resolution camera had more saturated colors and better light sensitivity in my office-based casual testing than I’m used to seeing in a laptop.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

If you’re paying $1,899 for a laptop, you expect lots of features. This Samsung Series 7 doesn’t disappoint, although it doesn’t deliver anything unexpected. The requisite USB 3.0 ports (2) and video ports (HDMI, VGA and even DisplayPort) are present. There’s onboard Blu-ray. The only thing I wish this laptop had that it doesn’t was a Thunderbolt port, but I don’t know what I would do with it.

The Series 7 Gamer comes in only one configuration, just like Ford’s first Model T. For $1,899, you get two 750GB, 7,200rpm hard drives with 8GB of ExpressCache SSD for frequently used core functions, a generous 16GB of RAM, a quad-core third-gen Core i7-3610QM processor, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M graphics. That compares favorably with a system like the recently reviewed Maingear EX-L 15, which included a slightly faster Core i7-3820QM CPU and the same graphics, but less RAM and hard-drive space, for $2,349. The also-recently-reviewed but less expensive Asus G75VW had the same CPU, slightly less powerful Nvidia graphics, and less RAM.

This laptop’s 2.3GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM CPU, a quad-core processor, is part of Intel’s newest, third generation of Ivy Bridge processors. It’s the same processor we’ve already seen in the Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 and Asus G75VW, and, not surprisingly, it performed nearly the same in our tests. Multitasking is blazing fast, and nearly any task you can think of, from video encoding to large software installations, can be handled lightning-quick. This is more computer than anyone really needs, but if you want something even faster, the Origin EON17-S and Maingear EX-L 15 do best it in performance speed.

The graphics, from an Nvidia GeForce GTX 675M, are even better. They match what was included in the Maingear EX-L 15, and performed nearly identically. Street Fighter IV screamed at 161.5 frames per second at native 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution. Metro 2033, a demanding game, ran at 19.3fps at full 1080p with DX 11 and graphics settings at High. Batman: Arkham City ran at 51fps at 1080p with graphics settings at High, and DX11 off. The recently releasedDiablo III flew, at about 80fps based on my time playing. Battlefield 3 played very well at 1080p with graphics settings ramped up, too. In fact, the performance was extremely close to the Origin EON17-S, a far more expensive machine that’s the current top end of 2012 gaming systems.

By the way: keep this laptop plugged in when playing games. Even in Gamer Mode, unplugging the Series 7 Gamer from its power brick resulted in big dips in framerate for most games. To get the most out of this system’s performance (as well as hot air blasting through the back vents that feels like a space heater), stay on AC.

Don’t expect great battery life from a gaming laptop this large. The Samsung Series 7 Gamer eked by with 2 hours and 33 minutes of video playback, but expect that number to shrink way down when playing any type of game. You’ll want to keep that charge brick plugged in, which, incidentally, is gigantic.

(Credit: Sarah Tew)

Samsung includes a standard one-year warranty with the Series 7 Gamer. Samsung’s Website has an easy-to-find phone number (1-800-726-7864) and a variety of live chat support options, plus manual and driver downloads. You can gain an extra three months of warranty support by registering with Samsung.

Gaming laptops often feel like an extinct breed, and are frequently priced and sized to match. The Samsung Series 7 Gamer does nothing to subvert the stereotypes, but delivers an excellently performing, sharp-screened, fully geared-up example of the form at a price that’s exorbitant but not unearned. Simply put: Samsung’s made a big-boned gaming beast, and it’s yours for the taking if you can afford it and fit it on your desk.

Street Fighter IV (in fps)(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Native resolution, 2X AA, V sync off

Origin EON17-S (Ivy Bridge – Intel Core i7-3920XM)

216.6

Maingear EX-L 15

162.4

Samsung NP700G7C-S01US

161.5

Asus G75V

99.5

Lenovo IdeaPad Y480

59.8

Design and Features
Like most enthusiast-grade gaming laptops, the GT70 sports an eye-catching, over-the-top design. Its chassis weighs 8.37 pounds and measures 2.17 by 11.34 by 16.85 inches (HWD), so it’s not exactly the easiest system to tote around. If you do carry it around, however, you’ll likely receive a bevy of complements on the handsome system tucked under your arm, as the GT70′ sports an intricate design, which consists of a plastic body sporting a brushed aluminum lid and palm rest,.

Designed by SteelSeries, the GT70′s tiled keyboard offers a superlative typing experience, with keys that are springier than those of most laptops. The keyboard features full-colored backlighting that, via preloaded software, can be customized in a few different ways, from a dual-color arrangement to a “breathing” light effect wherein the user-selected colors gently pulsate. Touch-sensitive LEDs above the keyboard include a Cooler Boost button to increase the fan speed, toggles for the keyboard backlighting and display, and a Turbo Drive Engine button that purportedly optimizes performance by maxing out the power settings in a vein similar to the “Turbo” setting on the Samsung Series 7 Gamer‘s $1,899.00 at Walmart.comMode Dial. Though most of your attention will undoubtedly be directed towards the lovely keyboard, the touchpad and its accompanying mouse buttons, meanwhile, work smoothly and provide excellent tactile feedback.

Gaming is obviously a visually intensive experience, and the GT70′s matte-finished 17.3-inch 1,920-by-1,080 display delivers with aplomb. During use, it’s hard not to admire the crisp colors and deep, inky blacks. Likewise, video playback looks fantastic, especially when you toss a Blu-ray disc into the GT70′s Blu-ray burner. Yes, you read that correctl—the GT70′s built-in optical drive can also write Blu-ray discs, a singular feature that sets it apart from other systems in its class, like the Alienware M17x R4$2,224.00 at Dell, for instance, which can play Blu-rays but only burn DVDs. Through dual speakers housed in metallic grilles directly beneath the display and a built-in subwoofer, audio is pumped out at fairly loud volumes thanks to an added boost by THX TruStudio Pro software. Though not exactly ground-shaking, the built-in speakers are good for a laptop. That said, though, the GT70 is clearly designed to be hooked up to a surround sound system, as suggested by the multiple gold-plated audio jack ports and built-in amplifier.

The GT70 is loaded with ports. Alongside the Blu-ray burner, the right side houses two USB 2.0 ports. Meanwhile, the left side features the aforementioned gold-plated audio jacks, three USB 3.0 ports, and a 7-in-1 card reader (with SD and Memory Stick compatibility). At the rear of the GT70, you’ll find an eSATA port in between VGA and HDMI-out ports.

As far as storage goes, the GT70 manages to be both capacious and quick, coming equipped with a pair of 128GB solid-state drives (SSD) arranged in a RAID 0 (striped) array alongside a 7,200 RPM 750GB spinning hard drive. Unlike the Alienware M17x, though, there’s a good amount of preloaded software included on the GT70, some of which can be classified as bloatware, and that gamers would immediately uninstall, like 30-day trial versions of Norton Online Backup and the 2012 edition of Trend’s Micro Internet Security suite, as well as 7-day trials of Magix Music Maker and Magix Video Easy SE.

Performance
The combination of a 2.30GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM processor and 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX, along with 16GB RAM, made the laptop a solid performer in our benchmark tests. While its PCMark 7 score of 4,875 points fell short of the class-leading Origin EON17-S (5,461 points), it nonetheless topped the rest of its class, including the M17x (4,598 points). Despite performing admirably, however, the GT70 didn’t fare as well in our multimedia tests. It completed our Handbrake video encoding test in 1 minute 17 seconds, falling markedly short of the Origin EON17 (1:01) and, to a lesser extent, the Alienware M17x (1:12). Its Cinebench R11.5 score of 6.19, meanwhile, ranked at the bottom of the class and was even outflanked by the substantially cheaper Series 7 Gamer (6.23). Meanwhile, the 3 minutes and 23 seconds it took for the GT70 to complete our Photoshop CS5 test was on par with the Series 7 Gamer (3:23) but was a second slower than the MSI GT70 0NC-011US (3:22) and was significantly outpaced by the Origin EON17 (2:27).

As far as gaming goes, the GT70 unsurprisingly crossed the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier without breaking a sweat, but its frame rates were lower than the rest of its class. In our Crysis benchmark tests, its performance (93fps in medium quality at 1,024-by-768 resolution; 36fps in high quality at native resolution) were eclipsed by both the Alienware M17x (98fps and 38fps, respectively) and the Origin EON17 (120fps and 41fps, respectively). On the other hand, though, the GT70′s performance on our Lost Planet 2 benchmark tests (148ps in medium quality at 1,024-by-768 resolution; 63fps in high quality at native resolution) dominated the rest of the pack, save for the Alienware M17x (159fps and 77fps, respectively). Likewise, its entry-level 3DMark11 score of 8,726 points came in second place behind the Alienware M17x (9,023).

Given their emphasis on unbridled performance, gaming laptops aren’t renowned for stellar battery life. Even with lowered expectations, the GT70s’ removable battery yielded underwhelming results. In MobileMark, it lasted 2 hours 16 minutes, falling slightly short of both the Origin EON17 (2:33) and Alienware M17x (2:36) and significantly behind the MSI70 0NC (5:29).

There is plenty to like about the MSI GT70 0NE-276US, like its inspired design, built-in Blu-ray burner, and beautiful display. At the end of the day, however, performance is the only thing that matters about gaming laptops, and the Alienware M17x R4 outguns the GT70 almost entirely across the board while sporting the same price tag, and it remains the system to beat.

In the 17-inch laptop gaming category the Alienware M17x is still the daddy of the bunch, with the likes of the Medion Erazer X7815, the MSI GT70 and the Samsung Series 7 Gamer playing second fiddle. And, at this point, it’s only MSI that has matched Alienware by playing its Ivy Bridge hand.

Looks-wise, the Alienware M17x 2012 version isn’t any different to theAlienware M17x gaming laptop that wowed us last year. It’s a colossal 17.3-inch HD machine, complete with garish lights and a neo-industrial design that wouldn’t look out of place onboard the spacecraft Prometheus. The exciting new additions are all buried deep within the M17x’s brutish chassis.

The most notable of these additions is the inclusion of a third-generation, Ivy Bridge, Intel Core CPU. The model we reviewed packed an i7-3610QM processor; a four-core monster clocked at a nominal 2.3GHz, which can be pumped full of Intel Turbo Boost steroids to achieve a top-speed of 3.3GHz.

There are also new graphic processing options on offer from both Nvidia and AMD and, proving that the third-dimension fad isn’t dead just yet, you can also opt for a Full HD 120Hz 3D display.

This being an Alienware machine, you can choose to configure the setup to match your exact gaming needs. Prices start from £999/$1,099, with our review model costing £1,089 in the UK and $1,274 in the US. You can seriously max out your credit card if you decide to go for the top CPU (i7-3820QM), extra RAM, a larger SSD hard drive and some of the other bits and bobs on offer from Dell’s gaming brand.

We managed to configure one up to over £4,650/$3,514 before we had heart palpitations and had to stop. And that’s without touching accessories or peripherals.

The smallest Alienware model, the 11-inch Alienware M11x, has seemingly been put out to pasture, with the company telling TechRadar that the focus going forward was on 14, 17 and 18-inch machines.

But the Alienware M11x wasn’t really a machine suitable for a serious gaming session. For the purists, 17 inches of screen real-estate is the bare minimum.

Specifications

The combination of the latest generation Intel CPU technology and the latest graphics cards makes the Alienware M17x a colossal gaming machine that is more than capable of smashing through the latest blockbuster titles such asDiablo III, Batman: Arkham City and Sniper Elite V2.

Our review model was packing a quad-core 2.3GHz Intel i7-3610QM processor, which can be topped out at 3.3GHz using Intel’s second-gen Turbo Boost technology.

Combine this with a seriously powerful GPU punch courtesy of an AMD Radeon HD 7970M configuration and you’re looking at a top-end gaming machine more than worthy of its hefty price tag. There’s also Intel HD 4000 graphics as part of the Ivy Bridge package, meaning DirectX 11 support.

You can opt for a beefier CPU should you wish, with two more i7 chips available for selection – with Turbo Boost-assisted speeds of up to 3.7GHz – and you can also go for Nvidia graphics with both the GeForce GTX 675M and the GTX 660M on offer.

The impressive spec sheet doesn’t end there, however. You can select up to 32GB of RAM (our review sample cruised through everything we threw at it, just fine, with 8GB installed), the 17.3-inch display is of the Full HD 1080p variety and there’s a 2.1 megapixel webcam. It also has a slot-loading optical drive on the side; the review model had a DVD combo drive, but you can opt for a Blu-ray reader if you wish.

You might think that all of this rugged power may result in an explosion of noise, fan activity and a heat overload but, as with previous Alienware notebooks, this is not that case, thanks to its large heatsinks and dual rear exhausts that provide dedicated cooling for all threads and cores of both the CPU and GPU.

If you’ve not laid eyes on one of Alienware’s gaming rigs before, prepare your peepers for an assault of colour and gare. The Alienware M17x certainly doesn’t shy away from extravagance with its unique sci-fi-esque casing and its (in)famous AlienFX lighting system that enables you to set the backlight colours for the keys, speaker grills, buttons, ports and logos.

If you want a nice, calming, cool blue effect then you can have it. Equally, if you want your Alienware M17x flashing bright red neon lights at you continuously, like a panicking air traffic control warning system, then that’s an option too. With 512 trillion distinct lighting combinations, we’ll stop with specific examples now.

And you’ll not be found wanting when it comes to connectivity and port-based fun. As well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, you’ve also got access to four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, a mini-DisplayPort, Ethernet action, an SD card reader, a VGA socket, optical digital output, separate headphone and microphone jacks, and a dedicated headset output. It leaves no boxes unticked.

Travel-friendly the Alienware M17x is not, however, despite the improved battery life on previous generations of 133 minutes under stress. You’ll not only need a big bag to slide the M17x into, since it measures a chunky 410 x 304 x 44.5mm, you’ll also need a strong back to handle its 4.4kg weight.

As you’d expect with the hardcore engine room, the Alienware M17x had little trouble dealing with any task that we threw its way. HD video was handled with a buttery smoothness, recent games titles caused it no signs of despair, and high-resolution photo editing was done with hardly any fuss.

In terms of raw benchmarking scores, the Alienware M17x recorded some of the highest totals that we’ve seen on a mobile PC.

Most people who decide to splash their hard earned pennies on the Alienware M17x will be doing so with some hardcore gaming sessions in mind. And those buyers won’t be disappointed, since it has no issues with the top settings of graphically demanding titles and you’ll comfortably get 60fps+ if you turn things down just a little.

There’s also a plethora of onboard configuration settings at your disposal, including the AlienAdrenaline feature that enables you to customise your M17x’s software behaviour when certain games are running; AlienTouch, which gives you complete control over the trackpad’s sensitivity and means less annoying accidental movements; and AlienFusion for souping up the performance levels (or indeed, toning them down) at the touch of a button.

Boot times are also quick, thanks to the dual SSD and HDD setup. The machine we tested had a 64GB mSATA SSD to take care of Windows 7 booting, as well as a 500GB HDD for storing your digital life.

You can configure the hard drive setup on your own Alienware pretty much any way that you choose, with an array of RAID and high-speed mSATA caching configurations available.

The audio quality of the Alienware M17x is fantastic, thanks to the Creative Sound Blaster THX 7.1 setup and the stereo speakers designed by audio specialist Klipsch. There are a number of pre-set equalisations installed for you to get the most out of this setup – we particularly liked the Crystalizer mode.

Although of the non-3D variety, the Full HD 17.3-inch display on our review sample impressed us greatly. It’s a bit reflective so is better suited for indoor, darker environments, but then the Alienware M17x isn’t exactly the type of laptop you’d want to take to the park with you anyway.

Viewing angles are great and colours are incredibly vibrant thanks to the 621:1 contrast ratio and 298cd/m2 maximum brightness.

The keyboard keys, whatever colour you choose to have emitted from them, are soft to touch with a comforting rubber-like bounce that makes them not only great for gaming but also for more day-to-day tasks such as browsing the web, tapping out an email or knocking up a quick spreadsheet.

The trackpad, which is offset just to the left of centre, also has a smooth rubberised finish, and you’ll not hear a peep from either of its buttons, such is the soft travel that is provided.

Benchmarks

Cinebench: 21,321
3DMark: 23,001
Battery eater: 133 mins

If you’ve been waiting for a next-gen Intel Core gaming machine to land then there’s really no need to hang around any longer. The Alienware M17x is a significant improvement on what was already a brilliant machine.

The Ivy Bridge CPU boosts performance to almost unseen-before benchmark scores, and the latest Nvidia and AMD graphics tech packed in means that you’ll have no hassle when it comes to playing the latest must-have games.

Its bulky frame and ostentatious exterior may make the M17x a specialist laptop but, within the 17-inch gaming notebook market, when it comes to the functions that it specialises in there are few, if any, rivals that come close.

We liked

The Alienware M17x’s gaudy chassis screams high-tech performance, and you won’t be disappointed when you fire it up and get it purring.

It handles HD media and high-end gaming with aplomb, and the build quality is a reassuring reminder of the impressive tech that’s hidden deep within the rugged chassis.

It’s difficult to get lost in a laptop like you can with a big screen TV, but the Alienware M17x manages to completely absorb you using a combo of its lightning-fast, vibrant HD display and the incredibly loud surround sound setup.

We disliked

Although falling into the category of a mobile PC just by virtue of being a laptop, you wouldn’t want to be carrying the Alienware M17x around with you for a long period of time. Tipping the scales at a shade over 4.4kg and measuring almost 5cm at its thickest point, it would be the equivalent of lugging around four Ultrabooks with you, or seven iPads.

Battery life still isn’t great, despite the Ivy Bridge update – although you’re likely to want to be near a mains socket when using the Alienware M17x, anyway.

Final verdict

Despite its chunky frame and weighty anatomy, the Alienware M17x is the perfect gaming machine and also a fantastic desktop replacement, thanks to its impressive HD media features.

The performance is lightning fast, there aren’t many (if any) demanding tasks that seem to bother it and you needn’t worry about longevity, since it’s packing a wealth of cutting-edge, latest generation technology.

While not cheap, its price tag is certainly comparable to its main rivals, such as the Ivy Bridge-packing MSI GT70, and buyers will be investing in one of the best laptop gaming experiences – if not the best – that there is.