The Samsung Series 7 Gamer

In order to be a PC player, a company needs a high-end gaming machine. Samsung’s Series 7 Gamer laptop, which sports a 17.3-inch high-definition LCD display, fits the bill. At a starting price of $1,899, this laptop offers Intel’s third-generation Core i7 along with an Nvidia GeForce GTX675M graphics chip. There’s 16GB of main memory and 1.5TB of storage, and the laptop runs Windows 7, although there is no word on whether it will upgrade to Windows 8. Dolby Home Theater provides the audio for the gaming experience. The laptop does weigh more than 13 pounds, so the portability aspect is somewhat limited.

With the Series 7 Gamer, Samsung wanted to offer something unique. In this case, it’s a physical dial that can change the laptop’s mode. There are four different settings: Gaming Mode for optimal gaming; General Mode for everyday Internet and computer use; Quiet Mode for eliminating sound; and Power Saver Mode for reducing battery use.

Samsung has found a lot of success with Android for its smartphones and tablets, and the company is hoping to have the same luck with Chrome OS. The company Chromebox, which Samsung and Google rolled out earlier this year, is a sub-3-pound mini-desktop that starts at $329. Designed for home or a small office, the Chromebox offers a 1.9MHz Intel Celeron B840 dual-core processor and Intel HD Graphics 3000, and it can connect to two 30-inch displays.

Samsung made sure to offer enough ports with the Chromebox to help the average worker. Here’s what the rear of the box looks like. All together, the machine supports six USB 2.0 ports, two DP++ display out ports that support High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and Digital Visual Interface (DVI) for a resolution of 2560 by 1600, a headphone/microphone jack and a Gigabit Ethernet port. There’s 4GB of RAM and a 16GB solid state drive (SSD).

This 17-inch laptop offers many of the same features found in the gaming notebook, including Windows 7 and a third-generation Intel Core i7 chip. However, the Chronos offers 8MB of main memory and 1TB of disk storage. There’s also an Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 2GB graphics card. The laptop weighs about 6.5 pounds and retails for $1,499. If the brushed aluminum look reminds you of an Apple Mac, you’re not alone.

This 17-inch laptop offers many of the same features found in the gaming notebook, including Windows 7 and a third-generation Intel Core i7 chip. However, the Chronos offers 8MB of main memory and 1TB of disk storage. There’s also an Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 2GB graphics card. The laptop weighs about 6.5 pounds and retails for $1,499. If the brushed aluminum look reminds you of an Apple Mac, you’re not alone.

With the lid closed, the laptop fits nicely into the ultraportable category. The 14-inch Series 5 weighs about 5 pounds and offers more than six hours of battery life under certain circumstances. However, these are not considered Ultrabooks, since the machines don’t meet Intel’s specific standards.

Earlier this year, Samsung and Google introduced a new addition to the Chromebook line, which is also called the Series 5. This Chromebook measures less than 1 inch thick, weighs about 3 pounds and offers a 12.1-inch display. The notebook is powered by a 1.3GHz Intel Celeron 867 dual-core chip and it offers 4GB of small-outline dual in-line memory module (SO-DIMM) and a 16GB SSD. With WiFi, the Chromebook costs about $450, and a 3G option adds another $100 to the base price.

These newly introduced laptops offers either 13.3-inch or 15-inch displays and run either Intel’s Core i5 or i7 processors. Main memory runs from 4GB to 8GB, depending on the model, and Samsung also offers SSDs up to 256GB. These models, which all run Windows 7, are due out a little later this year and while no specific pricing has been set, the general range will run from $1,299 to $1,799.

Despite their larger screen sizes and other options, Samsung worked to keep the Series 9 as thin as possible. This 15-inch model is 0.58 inches thin and weighs about 3.6 pounds.

Many PC makers, including Samsung, are betting a lot on Microsoft’s Windows 8, which is due out later this year, possibly in October. In this glossy ad from this month’s Computex show, Samsung gives a glimpse at a new Series 5 “hybrid” that runs Windows 8 and works as both a slate tablet as well as a clamshell laptop. It also offers a full magnetic keyboard. Samsung is not sharing additional specifications just yet.