Samsung has just taken a big step in the gaming laptop market by releasing its Series 7 gamer laptop in the U.S. If you remember, it is the same laptop that was showcased in Samsung pavilion at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2012. It is the first laptop to feature Intel's latest Ivy Bridge architecture. The Series 7 Gamer is currently available in the U.S. market at a price tag of $1,900 and it boasts of impressive specs. But can it give Alienware, the leader in gaming laptops, sleepless nights?

Samsung Series 7 gamer laptop features 17.3-inch full-HD LCD display, which can produce a maximum brightness of 400 nit. It packs third generation Intel Core i7 "Ivy Bridge" processor clocked at 2.3 GHz with 16GB of RAM and 1.5TB hard disk. The gaming rig is loaded up with Nvidia's latest graphics technology - the GeForce GTX 675M graphics card with 2GB of Video RAM.

Other hardware specs include Dolby Home Theater surround sound speakers with built-in subwoofer and Blu-ray optical drive. And like Alienware, Samsung is also offering a mode-changing dialer to switch between different modes.

"The Series 7 Gamer offers all the elements of a high-powered gaming machine with the convenience of the mode-changing dial, which enables you to switch off components in order to save power and have a quieter experience when you're using it as a more traditional laptop," said Todd Bouman, vice president of marketing at Samsung.

There are four types of operational modes available - General Mode, Gaming Mode, Quiet Mode and Power Saver Mode. General Mode is suitable for most of regular task like web browsing, multimedia playback and Office works, while Gaming Mode unleashes the true potential of the machine. Windows key and touchpad are disabled in gaming mode. Moreover, the gaming keys get highlighted by a red light, just like Alienware laptops. On the other hand, Quiet Mode is for low-profile operations, minimizing the overall performance. Power Saver Mode is to ensure that the battery can hold charge up to maximum possible time.

Alienware is the current leader in gaming laptop/PC market. On the other hand, Samsung has recently ended the 14-year old reign of Nokia to become the cell phone market leader. Entrance of a tech giant like Samsung into gaming laptop market is enough for Alienware to be afraid. We are sensing a competition building up here that could be enough powerful to redefine the gaming PC world, just like Samsung did with the smartphone market.

(reported by Johnny Wills, edited by Dave Clark)