Boutique computer manufacturer Maingear has announced a new ultraportable gaming laptop. Called the Pulse 11, this 11.6-inch laptop is small and thin enough to travel anywhere but also packs Intel third-generation Core i5/i7 processors and a powerful Nvidia GT 650M graphics solution.

This new laptop, along with Origin’s recently announced EON11-S, steps into a market that was pioneered by the Alienware M11x. While the M11x is still currently available there are no plans to update it with the latest hardware. When the current version sells out it will be gone (unless Dell has a change of heart) leaving the Pulse 11 and EON11-S to fight it out.

Besides its impressive CPU/GPU one-two punch, the Pulse 11 will also offer solid state drives with capacities up to 600GB. Connectivity comes via two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port and HDMI.

Total weight will be just a tad less than four pounds and the chassis will be up to 1.46 inches thick. Clearly, this is not the most portable 11.6-inch laptop ever conceived – but endurance should be reasonable thanks to Optimus switchable graphics and a large six-cell battery. Pricing starts at $999.

Keen observers will notice that these specifications, including the price, seem suspiciously close to the Origin EON11-S. That’s because both systems use the same chassis from a third-party manufacturer. So which should you choose? That’ll come down to the customization options made available by each company.