Asus, the renowned tech company, unveiled its latest lineup of gaming laptops, the ROG and TUF series, at CES in January 2023. These laptops were first introduced in India in two waves – high-end models in March and mid-range models in May. We have the privilege of reviewing the ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023) from the earlier batch, a robust gaming laptop priced at Rs. 2,79,990. However, the variant we’ll be reviewing comes with Nvidia’s most powerful current laptop GPU, making it cost Rs. 3,59,990.
Are you in the market for an uncompromising gaming laptop? If so, should you consider the new Asus ROG Strix Scar 18? Keep reading to find out.
Design and Features of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023)
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is an imposing and heavy laptop designed to be used on a desk rather than on your lap. Throughout my testing period, I rarely moved it from its designated spot near a power outlet. Its design is visually striking and will undoubtedly appeal to its target audience.
The laptop flaunts a sleek matte black finish with abundant RGB lighting accents on the exterior. The lid boasts a backlit ROG logo, while a light strip adorns the back above the exhaust vent, and another strip lines the front along the bottom edge. The plastic surrounding the ports on the sides is translucent, as is the upper portion of the keyboard deck. All in all, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 has an intimidating and futuristic aesthetic that will captivate many gamers.
Furthermore, the laptop comes with a hefty 330W AC power adapter, which requires a 16A power outlet. This could pose a minor inconvenience as most homes lack 16A wall sockets, and the few available are typically reserved for heavy appliances like air conditioners. If you plan to purchase this laptop, you might need to install an additional 16A wall socket.
Additionally, the package includes a set of Armour Caps, detachable covers for the hinge portion. These can be magnetically attached to the rear of the laptop, and you even have the option to 3D print custom caps for a personalized touch.
One of the standout features of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is its impressive display. It boasts an 18-inch QHD (2560×1600) IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 240Hz refresh rate. The display features slim borders on three sides and a slight bezel on top to accommodate the webcam. It meets Asus’ ROG Nebula specification, offering 500 nits of brightness, 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut reproduction, Pantone validation, Nvidia’s G-Sync technology support, and Dolby Vision playback capability for OTT apps. However, the lower-priced variant in India comes with a full-HD resolution and 165Hz refresh rate instead of the ROG Nebula certification.
The keyboard on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a full-sized one, complete with a number pad and dedicated buttons for volume control, microphone control, and performance modes. It also provides one-touch access to Asus’ Armoury Crate software. These dedicated buttons can be customized to perform other functions or programmed with macros. According to Asus, the laptop features a “professional esports-grade” keyboard with switches designed to withstand over 20 million presses. Additionally, the keyboard offers per-key RGB LED backlighting with Aura Sync, allowing you to synchronize lighting patterns with other ROG accessories. The trackpad is also generously sized, and it offers precise tracking and smooth gestures thanks to the glass coating.
In terms of connectivity, all the ports are conveniently located on the sides of the laptop, leaving a massive exhaust vent on the back. The ports include two USB 3.2 (Gen2) Type-A ports and one Type-C port, a Thunderbolt 4 (Type-C) port, full-sized HDMI 2.1, a headphone/microphone combo socket, Gigabit LAN, and a power socket. However, there is no SD card slot or security lock slot.
Specifications and Software of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023)
The variant I had the pleasure of testing comes equipped with an Intel Core i9-13980HX mobile CPU, featuring a total of 24 cores (eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores). The HX designation indicates that it belongs to Intel’s high-performance mobile CPU lineup, enabling easy overclocking for even greater performance. Accompanying the CPU is 32GB (2x16GB) of DDR5 4800MHz RAM, occupying both RAM slots in the laptop. For storage, the laptop boasts 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, utilizing a RAID 0 configuration with two 1TB SSDs. The crucial component for any gaming laptop, the GPU, is covered by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU with 16GB of GDDR6 RAM.
On the other hand, the lower-priced variant available in India features the same Intel CPU and RAM capacity but is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU and 1TB of storage.
Keeping all these high-performance components cool is a challenging task. Asus claims to have redesigned the chassis and motherboard to accommodate a full-width heatsink with seven heat pipes and three fans. Additionally, a liquid metal compound is used instead of thermal paste for better heat transfer efficiency.
The laptop is equipped with a 720p webcam, four speakers enhanced with Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and a 90WHr battery. The battery can be charged via a USB Type-C cable, provided the adapter used is powerful enough.
As for the software, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 comes preinstalled with Windows 11, along with trial versions of Microsoft Office suite and McAfee antivirus software. Basic functions like firmware updates and battery mode switching can be performed through the MyAsus app, while the Armoury Crate app serves as a comprehensive solution for customizing various settings. The Armoury Crate app provides real-time CPU and GPU usage and frequency stats, fan speed information, and hardware settings. It also allows customization of power modes, hotkeys, lighting patterns, and microphone settings.
Performance and Battery Life of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023)
When it comes to performance, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 lives up to its reputation as a powerful gaming laptop. There is no sense of hesitation or lag in any tasks performed. The keyboard is comfortable for typing, with quiet keystrokes.
The laptop offers ample space for resting your palms, and the tall display delivers excellent color reproduction and brightness. However, I did notice that the laptop tends to run warm, even in the “Silent” power mode and when running on battery. Even with the discrete GPU disabled and only using Chrome, the area above the keyboard and the vents on the sides always felt warm to the touch.
Now, let’s dive into the performance. Starting with synthetic benchmarks, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 achieved a trace time of just 27 seconds in POV-Ray. In the Cinebench R20 CPU benchmark, it scored 778 points in single-core and an impressive 8,227 points in multi-core. PCMark 10, which measures overall system performance in various tasks such as video conferencing and spreadsheets, returned a score of 7,803 points.
In terms of graphics, the laptop scored 13,753 points in the Time-Spy test suite of 3DMark and 10,438 points in the ray-tracing test of Port Royale. Thanks to the RAID 0 SSD configuration, the read and write speeds were equally impressive. The laptop achieved impressive sequential and random read speeds.
The cooling system of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, especially in Turbo power mode, proves to be quite effective in keeping temperatures in check.
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Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
