The Samsung Series 7 Gamer: A Mini-Review

In a departure from their usual product output, Samsung recently released their Series 7 Gamer, a desktop replacement laptop optimized for – what else – video gaming. To further emphasize how big of a departure this gaming rig is, while previous Samsung portables had fairly serviceable laptop parts encased in sleek-looking chassis, the Series 7 Gamer pulls out all the stops with its laptop components’ specs despite being housed in a dull-looking casing.

The company doesn’t have Samsung replacement laptop parts for you to tinker customize the Series 7 with; but then again, the laptop doesn’t really need to be upgraded. It has a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM processor, 16 GB of 1,333 MHz DDR3 RAM, a 1.5 TB 7,200 rpm hard drive, and the very powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M mobile video card.

It also has a 17.3 inch screen capable of showcasing 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of hi-def goodness, two slots each for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, an SD card reader, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet, a Blu-ray drive, and ports for VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort.

The price tag may make you scream holy hell at first glance, but for the laptop parts mentioned above, $1,899 doesn’t sound too bad. In fact, it’s very reasonable compared to what other companies are selling their gaming laptops at (*cough*Alienware*cough*).

As mentioned, the Series 7 isn’t much to look at, with a reflective coating and tapered lines being all that could distinguish it from those old-school box-type lappys. However, lift the screen up and you’ll be treated to a nifty-looking, dashboard-style control panel at the top of the keyboard. Three LED-enhanced circles adorn the panel. The left one adjusts the volume. The right one is the power button. Finally, the middle one (labeled the “Turbo” circle) lights up to indicate when the laptop goes into Game Mode. There are also three smaller LED-lit indicators that show whether the laptop’s audio is muted, whether Wi-Fi connectivity is activated, and whether the keyboard’s backlight is on.

At the rightmost side of the panel is a dial knob that resembles those dials in audio systems of yore. Twisting this around configures whether the laptop is set to “Green Mode,” “Library Mode” (which seemingly just mutes the audio and nothing more), the default “Balanced Mode,” and the resource-hungry “Game Mode,” which is where you’d want the laptop set when letting it do what it was created to do: Run high-spec video games. Amusingly, whenever you set the laptop to this mode, a rather dramatic animation plays to give you that “this-is-gaming-at-the-next-level” feel which, to me at least,  seems more like a holdover from the 90s “rad” era.

That said, the Series 7’s keyboard does have that gaming touch. Where laptop keyboards today come in the island-style variety more often than not, the Series 7’s keys are tapered at the edges, much akin to desktop keyboards. These are very responsive with a tangible quality that should make desktop-bred gamers feel right at home. Furthermore, the ever-important-to-gaming SWAD keys are backlit with an orange glow, to contrast them from the blue backlight of the rest.

What really brings home the bacon though is the laptop’s hi-def display. Capable of running a full 1080p resolution, the screen makes color pop out and also gives users a nice viewing angle range. Nothing says “powerful GPU” like a display able to boast as much.

Gaming laptops have seen a recent popularity-resurgence-of-sorts concurrent with the releases of the latest NVIDIA mobile GPUs, Intels processors, and of course the latest high-profile offerings of this year’s video game season. The Samsung Series 7 Gamer may not be as cool-looking as Alienware or Origin desktop replacements, but it delivers where it counts; and at a sensible price to boot.

Abie Anarna is a blogger who specializes in writing about computers and various other electronic gadgets. Her educational background is in Information and Technology. She is very interested in all things tech-related; and has a particular inclination topwards e-recycling, which is a prominent topic in her articles. She writes for LaptopAid, a company that also contributes to the e-recycling effort. In her spare time, she loves to read books and watch sappy rom-coms.

About Jakk: Jakk Ogden is a professional self-employed blogger and the founder / owner of Technology Blogged. 22, with a love for good writing, you'll find me playing 'Drag Racing' on my HTC One X and rocking a pair of Grado headphones. If you love technology, be sure to subscribe to my feed for unique editorials. Find me on Google+. View author profile.