Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) Review: A Gaming Notebook Made To Be The Best
Asus kicked off 2023 with an aggressively fresh line-up of gaming laptops packing the latest silicon from Intel, AMD, and Nvidia across its ROG family. This review covers the recently launched ROG Strix Scar 17, an iterative upgrade that combines the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX processor with the might of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4080 mobile graphics. Asus paired those beefy innards with a 240Hz QHD screen, which is not the fastest out there, but still among the best you can get if a top-class refresh rate for high-FPS gaming is your primary concern.
Priced at 2,899, this machine is not exactly cheap, but it still firmly retains its position as the best value you can get from a mobile battle station that has AMD’s flagship CPU ticking inside. It also marks the entry of AMD in a segment where a majority of gaming laptops are rocking 13th gen Intel silicon at a rather steep price. Asus is keeping things modest in the design department and has cut a few corners too, but the overall result is a fiercely competent gaming laptop that can stand its own against the best out there. Asus provided a ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) for the purpose of this review.
A familiar design
Asus is serving a familiar design package as last year’s ROG Strix Scar 17, with a few small modifications. It’s still a slick, all-black affair with matte finish all across, and eagerness to get smudged. The machine needed some wiping after every usage session, especially on the deck area, and worse if you got sweaty palms. The only aspect breaking the monotony is the ROG-branded plate cap in the top-right corner and the dotted pattern on the remaining area resting behind the display lid.
Toying with the looks of the hinge rib offers a neat contrasting effect to the otherwise plain looks of the top lid, which only has the backlit ROG logo outlined in white and a thin line matching the corner plate’s angular aesthetics. To justify its gaming laptop credentials, you will find a glass-like transparent RGB light strip running underneath the front deck edge, which also extends to the sides.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
There is a little bit of flex to the lid, which is noticeable when you lift open the screen, but the hinge mechanism holds things tight without any concerning sideway movements or creaking. The arched hinge is tighter and offers a more reassuring experience compared to the damage-prone hinge engineering on some ROG Zephyrus laptops that we’ve tested in the past. Overall, the ROG Strix Scar 17 is serving a design that won’t turn many heads, but the conservatively familiar looks are still pleasing to the eyes.
An uncharacteristically good keyboard
This ROG Strix Scar 17 review was initiated with a performance-first approach — and it came out swinging with a keyboard that was surprisingly robust and fine-tuned. It’s not a low-profile mechanical keyboard, but the membrane engineering underneath is one of the finest implementations I’ve ever used on a laptop, and almost in the same league as the venerable Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard.
The keycaps have a subtle inward-curved profile and flaunt a matte surface. Of course, you can also customize the backlight underneath with per-key RGB controls using Asus’ pre-installed Aura Sync software. The typing experience on this keyboard is fantastic. The keys offer just the right amount of resistance, around 2mm worth of vertical travel, acceptable upward feedback, and balanced spacing. Right from the start, it was almost natural to punch articles at the usual typing pace.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
While gaming, any mushy character to the keys wasn’t felt. A few colleagues that gave this keyboard a try also liked the execution. The dedicated num pad is a bonus, and five additional function keys at the top are also of great convenience. These can also be customized as macro keys or to launch specific apps. The only downside is the deck material, which feels good to touch, but has a bit of flex to it. The keyboard deck, especially the area right above the trackpad, also pushes down a little. It’s not exactly flimsy, but you will certainly notice it.
A fast display that gets the job done
The ROG Strix Scar 17 configuration tested for review serves a 17.3-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) panel with a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio. But the real gem here is the 240Hz refresh rate, complemented by 3ms response time and Dolby Vision HDR support. It’s a decent screen that delivers contrasty content with acceptable color saturation, but you’ll notice the perks of a pixel-dense, high refresh rate screen from the get-go.
The viewing angles aren’t the best, but since you’ll mostly spend time staring head-on at the on-screen content, you likely won’t notice any color shifts. The mini-LED QHD panel on the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 served was noticeably better, but it was also a heck load more expensive. The ROG Strix Scar 17’s IPS screen works with G-Sync support and color control with 100% DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB gamut coverage.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
Even outdoors under daylight, there was barely any urgent need to re-adjust the screen angle, because the brightness output is good enough for work and play, but colors tend to look a tad muted in this scenario. Asus has better screens to offer under the Zephyrus line-up of gaming laptops, but the ROG Strix Scar 17’s panel isn’t bad on its own, especially considering the premium you pay for rival machines with similar CPU GPU configurations.
Heating and tuning
At the center of all your aesthetic customization and system tuning needs is the pre-installed Armory Crate app. Depending on your usage preferences, you can switch between silent, performance, and turbo profiles, each with a pre-configured level of CPU / GPU frequency and variable fan speed, to offer the desired amount of power. By default, the Turbo profile gives you access to 230W (55W CPU 175W GPU) power, but turning to the Manual preset gives you an extra 10W juice from the CPU side.
In practical life, that won’t create any tangible difference during your gameplay sessions. The Armory Crate app already offers multiple performance presets, but if you want to get the maximum juice out of the machine without having to tinker with aspects like fan speed, the Turbo preset is what you need to enable. However, the laptop needs to be plugged into the charging outlet to deliver the amount of power draw needed to sustain peak performance for gaming sessions. The ROG Strix Scar 17 keeps cool using a four-vent system that pumps hot air outside, while a vapor chamber cooling system, liquid metal layer over the CPU and GPU, and dual arc flow fans keep things from getting toasty inside.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
The whole system actually works. In a room with the sustained ambient temperature set at 74 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celcius) and playing games at the peak performance presets the laptop kept surprisingly cool. After a 40-minute gaming session with all the ray-tracing and DLSS pizzazz in full show, the deck never got uncomfortably hot, which is something that is rarely seen on laptops of this performance caliber. The internal CPU temperature reading, however, touched the 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celcius) mark.
The MUX conundrum
Asus has made the task of enabling the MUX switch easier with a one-click approach in its Armory Crate app. All you need to do is select the Ultimate preset from the GPU settings section. MUX switch, short for multiplexer, essentially connects the display output with the discrete GPU, instead of having a routed connection via the CPU and the integrated graphics. Enabling the MUX switch theoretically paves the way for a higher frame rate output and reduced latency, although it’s hard to notice the difference in a majority of games.
Tests were run, both in terms of benchmarks and games, to see the difference it makes. The test mules were the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 and another laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 series GPU. To describe it in the simplest terms, the more powerful the GPU inside, the higher the gain in performance. So, if your machine has a high-end GPU like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, the gain will easily be in the 10-15% range. But on the lower end of the GPU power scale, the benefit is barely noticeable.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
For example, the difference in net output between running a 3DMark benchmark test with the Turbo preset, and then enabling the MUX switch, was barely 1% for a machine powered by the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 series GPU. But it looks like every PC brand wants to sing the praise of a MUX Switch these days, touting generous performance gains. But as the saying goes, don’t trust every performance graph you see on the marketing slide. There’s always a caveat, and in the case of a MUX switch luxury, you must spend handsomely on a powerful configuration to reap the benefits.
High-end gaming performance
The gaming performance of this machine turned out as good as you would expect. “Cyberpunk 2077” comfortably delivered 50-60fps at Ultra graphics preset with ray-tracing and DLSS enabled, shadow and texture cranked to their peak, all of it coming to life at the native QHD resolution. Scaling down the screen resolution to 1080p and disabling DLSS, the frame rate output jumps into the 90-100fps territory with some graphics quality tuning. There weren’t any deal-breaking stutters, even though the fans were whirring loudly to cool the innards that were being pushed to their limits.
After a healthy few hours of playing “Metal: Hellsinger” with the graphics setting set to max, this machine delivered a steady 120fps output. Not many laptops out there can offer that kind of gaming experience, especially for a game released in 2022. “Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty,” which was released earlier this year, also delivered a top-tier 120fps experience. There were a few jitters, but that was likely due to the poor quality of the game’s PC port.
“Scorn,” which was released late in 2022, offered a consistent 60fps frame rate output at the best possible graphics settings without any performance dips, delivering the best horror game experience I’ve ever had on a laptop. The Asus laptop launched “Doom Eternal” with the performance settings cranked up to the Ultra Nightmare preset and ray-tracing enabled and delivered a buttery-smooth 240fps experience. The FPS count dipped slightly during the intense melee, but those aren’t too frequent to ruin the whole experience.
A few predictable pitfalls
The game “Forza Horizon 5” consistently ran around the 85-90fp mark with all the settings set to extreme. Even at the Performance system preset, which sits below Turbo and Manual in terms of power draw, the acclaimed racing game dipped between 25 and 30fps at peak graphics and visual settings without the charging cable plugged in. The gaming experience was once again consistently good in “Halo Infinite,” “Naraka Bladepoint,” and “Ghostwire: Tokyo.”
A rather annoying issue is that enabling or disabling the MUX Switch — or in this case, turning the GPU Mode to Ultimate profile — requires a system restart. Plus, once you enable the MUX switch, you need to disable it manually. If you miss that chore in the Armory Crate, be prepared for some battery drain woes. To give you an idea of how quickly that happens, while starting a gaming session at 50% battery level with the MUX switch enabled, the battery crashed to 6% in roughly about 35 minutes. To put it simply, you have to carry around the massive in-box charging brick or spend extra on a smaller 100W brick for USB Type-C charging.
Overall, the ROG Strix Scar 17 delivers a thumping performance at AAA games. But this is a gaming laptop at the end of the day, and that comes with three core compromises. You can’t reliably use it as your workstation on the go, especially not for demanding tasks like editing or graphics rendering without a power outlet nearby. Fan noise is still very much an issue, and tipping the scales at 6.6 pounds (without considering the massive power brick), this beefy battlestation is not exactly a treat for your shoulders (if you’re carrying it around in a backpack).
Fast charging, lots of ports, and one hassle
Asus armed the ROG Strix Scar 17 with a 4-cell 90-watt-hours battery, which comes bundled with a 330W power brick. Asus claims a charging pace of 0-50% in just 30 minutes, but that is assuming the laptop isn’t engaged in any system activity. With the machine powered on, a few apps running in the background, and the Silent profile enabled from Armory Crate, the tank filled halfway through in 42 minutes. But if you don’t want to lug that huge brick around, the Asus machine also offers the convenience of 100W charging via one of the Type-C ports.
This machine has extremely powerful innards, which doesn’t come as a surprise that it runs through battery at high speed. With the screen refresh rate set to 240Hz at QHD resolution and working with the Performance mode enabled, the battery only lasted around 4.5 hours at browser-intensive tasks interspersed with some image editing on GIMP. Top-shelf gaming without the barrel-shaped charging pin plugged in won’t last you more than 2 hours, but the mileage might vary depending on the game you are playing.
Nadeem Sarwar/SlashGear
The I/O situation, on the other hand, is expectedly satisfactory. There’s an HDMI 2.1 port (48 Gbps output), a 2.5G RJ45 ethernet port, two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with Display Port 1.4 and G-Sync support, a pair of USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a headphone jack. Most of the I/O outlets are positioned behind the lid, while the right edge is questionably devoid of any ports.
Don’t choose wrong, or overpay
Asus is asking approximately 2,900 for the ROG Strix Scar 17 variant with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 graphics. If you seek a cheaper alternative, the Gigabyte Aorus 17H is a good option at 2,600, but you will have to live with a less pixel-dense FHD screen. The only other competitive laptop from a mainstream brand that undercuts the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is the Dell Alienware M16, which offers a combination of 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU at 2,700.
Asus also offers the machine in a higher-end configuration with the faster Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, however, it is currently listed at a steep 3,499. But that’s still a bargain compared to other laptops with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. The Razer Blade 18, for comparison, costs a whopping 4,499, while the MSI Stealth 17 Studio will have you spending at least 3,800 at the moment.
However, if you want this exact GPU in a laptop, you can buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16, which swaps the AMD processor in favor of the 13th gen Intel Core i9 processor. But if the Asus ROG Strix Scar is the one that has caught your fancy and gaming is your primary objective, the jump from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 to the RTX 4090 variant won’t create much of a difference in your raw experience for the current generation of games. Plus, it will save you a few hundred dollars, so there’s that.
Verdict: Leaving proud gaming scars
The ROG Strix Scar 17 is a value-first machine that delivers top-tier performance. It’s AMD at its best on the mobile platform, thanks to the 16-core Ryzen 9 7945HX processor, which delivers blistering performance. Paired with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 inside the machine, the 2023 iteration of Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is good enough for any game you throw at it, with ease. Plus, the performance status quo will remain intact for at least the next few years.
The design is not exactly new, but it’s nothing to scoff at. Asus is apparently too fond of its tried-and-tested aesthetics and wants to serve it for another generation. I’m glad that Asus didn’t try to cut on the thickness because the slim ROG Zephyrus series gaming laptops from Asus tend to struggle with heat dissipation. The slim Asus ROG Zephyrus G (GA502), for comparison, got extremely mercurial even at non-gaming tasks.
On the bright side, the keyboard is fantastic on the ROG Strix Scar 17, and the port selection is also good. Thermals on the machine are handled fairly well, but just like a majority of gaming laptops out there, the fans are loud. The 240Hz QHD screen leaves a good impression and made even web-based tasks feel smoother than usual. At 2,900 (from Asus through Amazon), the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is a great value, and should definitely be on your shopping list if you plan to splurge luxuriously on a beefy gaming kit.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) Review
The ROG Strix Scar 17 may lack the new Mini LED Nebula display of the Intel-powered Strix Scar 18 models but it’s cheaper and blisteringly fast.
Cons
Introduction
Look inside the new Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 and you will find the same Nvidia RTX 4090 that lurks inside the impressive Medion Erazer Beast X40 that I tested recently. The CPU however isn’t an Intel Raptor Lake chip but one of AMD’s new Ryzen 9 Dragon Range processors.
That’s a Zen 4 architecture 5nm, 16-core processor with a boost speed of 5.4GHz and one aim in life; to offer better performance than the latest Intel Core i9 chips and to do so more efficiently.
These 7045HX-series chips will eventually be available in less powerful and cheaper Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 guises but the top of the range 7945HX is slated to appear imminently in high-end gaming notebooks from both Lenono and Alienware as well as the new ROG Strix Scar 17 I’m testing here.
To say that AMD and gaming laptop makers expect great things from these new chips would be an understatement. At stake is nothing less than Intel not lucking into a monopoly on high-end mobile processors which would clearly have largely negative implications for consumers and for the evolution of laptop gaming.
Design and Keyboard
For the 2023 model year, Asus has split its big-screen laptops into two groups. The new Intel Raptor Lake machines now come with an 18-inch 2,560 x 1,600 display while the new AMD models stick with the 17.3-inch 2,560 x 1,440 panel. The 18-inch models also feature Asus’ new Nebula IPS display which features a Mini LED zonal backlight while the 17.3-inch display continues to be a conventional backlit IPS affair.
The 2023 Scar 17 weighs 3kg and measures up at 395 x 282 x 28.3mm which is the same as the 2022 and indeed the 2021 models. In fact, this is really a 2022 Strix Scar SE with revised internals. Presumably, there is a sign over the door to the Asus ROG design office that says “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Made from a combination of aluminium and plastic the Strix Scar 17 isn’t as rock-solid feeling as Razer’s best. However, the lid doesn’t wobble badly and the keyboard deck doesn’t flex excessively, even when you hammer at it in gaming extremis. If there’s one fault with the black colour scheme, it’s that fingerprints show up badly on the keyboard deck.
On the left side of the Strix Scar 17, you’ll find two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports while at the rear are two Type-C ports (both USB 3.2 Gen 2 spec with DisplayPort video output), HDMI 2.0 and 2.5G LAN ports along with the DC-in and 3.5mm audio jacks. I like to have data ports on both sides so the unbalanced layout doesn’t tickle my fancy and the Type-A ports are unnecessarily close together.
That neither of the Type-C ports offers Thunderbolt 4 connectivity should not come as a surprise on an AMD and Nvidia system though Asus should have sprung for the USB 4 specification.
The keyboard is a chiclet affair with a positive 2mm of key travel. For its type is a very competent effort; solid and silent with clear cap graphics though for hardcore gaming it can’t match the mechanical action of the keyboard fitted to the Medion Erazer Beast X40.
Like all ROG keyboards, the layout is well thought-out even if the reduced–size cursor and keypad keys seem an odd choice given the size of the keyboard deck. Five dedicated (and programmable) hotkeys give handy quick access to features such as the volume, fan speed and the Armoury Crate system-management application.
The Strix Scar 17 is advertised as having per-key RGB lighting but you are limited to a solid colour or one of twelve preset patterns. What you can’t do is change the lighting of individual keys: I like to have just the WASD keys lit and everything else dark and on a laptop costing this much, I expect to be able to do that. The trackpad measures 130 x 77mm which is small for a laptop this size and given the wide expanse of free space surrounding it: The Medion Erazer Beast X40’s trackpad has 50% more surface area. In use, it’s perfectly responsive and has a crisp, clean click-action.
Taking the bottom panel off the Strix Scar 17 requires some care because of the ribbon cable that connects the RGB lights in the front and side of the base to the motherboard. Once you’ve unplugged that you can easily access the two SODIMM RAM slots, wireless card and two SSD slots.
The 720p webcam is a crude affair that produces a drab image even in good light and it lacks the Windows Hello IR facial recognition system. In fact, there is no biometric security of any sort. Of course, the 2022 Scar 17 didn’t have a webcam at all so perversely this is a step forward by Asus.
Screen
It’s in the display that the issues with carrying over components from 2021 and 2022 manifest themselves. The panel is certainly fast enough with a refresh rate of 240Hz and a 3ms GtG response time which results in good motion handling by laptop standards. I’ll not take issue with the brightness which peaks a 348cd/m2, a perfectly respectable figure which when combined with an IPS–typical 0.31 black luminance gives a good contrast ratio of 1102:1.
There’s plenty of colour available with gamut coverages of 99.7% sRGB, 97.8% DCI-P3 and 84.4% AdobeRGB which are very healthy for a laptop not aimed at creatives. The problem is colour accuracy. With no standard colour profiles, I had to measure colour accuracy against the Asus profiles (Cinema, Vivid and so forth) and the lowest Delta E I recorded was 2.8 versus the sRGB profile.
Now that’s not a disaster by any means: Any number below 3 is going to look fine to the untrained eye and will do perfectly well for general use and gaming, but the new Nebula displays fitted to the new Strix Scar 16 and 18 machines have sRGB and DCI-P3 profiles and better colour accuracy. The display fitted to the similarly priced Medion Erazer Beast X40 is also more colour accurate.
In purely gaming–related terms the screen ticks all the boxes. The 3ms response time with overdrive keeps ghosting to a minimum, there’s support for Nvidia’s G–Sync adaptive sync technology and you get Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus GPU manager which acts as a MUX switch without the palaver of having to reboot every time you want to bring the AMD Radeon 610M iPGU back into the game.
ROG Strix Scar laptops have traditionally always packed very good speaker systems and the new AMD model is no exception. Maximum volume may not be anything out of the ordinary at 72.3dB(A) but the sound the Dolby Atmos-certified stereo speakers produce is very impressive with plenty of firm bass and very good high–frequency reproduction.
From the expansive soundscape of Halo: Infinite to a searing live performance of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres for cello and piano the Strix Scar 17 never sounded less than excellent. The virtual surround-sound system also gives a good sense of directionality which is handy if you are being shot at but don’t know exactly where from.
Performance
The AMD Dragon Range Ryzen 9 7945HX chip inside this Strix Scar 17 is a 16–core, 32–thread component with a whopping 64MB L3 cache and a 5.4GHz boost speed. Combined with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 175W Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU you get a recipe for seriously impressive performance. The ROG Strix Scar 17 is another strong claimant to the title of the most powerful gaming laptop currently on the market.
The raw gaming numbers speak for themselves: Running at 2,560 x 1,440 with detail levels set to the highest possible and no upscaling the Strix Scar 17 ran Metro: Exodus at 64fps, Cyberpunk 2077 at 93fps, Horizon Zero Dawn at 153fps and Borderlands 3 at 122fs. Those results either match or better the Medion Erazer Beast X40 and the rest of the boys in the RTX 4090 Band.
CES 2023 Hands-On: The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 Is a Mega-Powered, XXL-Size Gaming Laptop
When it comes to CPU-intensive tasks the Strix Scar 17 makes an even more impressive showing with a Cinebench R23 score of 34,582, a GeekBench 5 score of 20,418 (both multi-core) and a PCMark10 score of 9,262. Those are some of the highest scores ever from a laptop that we’ve tested here at Trusted Reviews.
To cap things off I ran the SPECviewperf 3dsmax workstation 3D modelling test and the Strix Scar 17 chewed through it at 150fps. This isn’t a test we use regularly here a Trusted Reviews so you’ll have to take my word for it that that is a very good frame rate. Asus’ press team is fond of saying that the Strix Scar 17 is a workstation you can fold in half and those scores prove that the comment isn’t just marketing hyperbole.
My review machine came fitted with a single 1TB Samsung SSD which returned sequential read speeds of 6.7GB/sec and write speeds of 4.9GB/sec. That’s pretty quick but not outstanding. I’m told UK retail units will have two 1TB drives tied together in a RAID0 configuration so should be faster. Communications are handled by a Wi-Fi 6E–capable MediaTek MT7922 card and a RealTek 2.5GbE LAN controller.
Battery Life
Given the performance capabilities of the Strix Scar 17, I was prepared to cut it some slack if the battery life was abysmal but far from it. The PCMark 10 Office battery test ran for 6 hours 12 minutes before the lights went out while the Gaming test lasted for 2 hours 2. Even given the 90Wh battery that’s a very impressive result and is confirmation that AMD has indeed created a high-end laptop processor that is both very powerful and highly efficient.
The efficiency is underscored by the thermal properties of this new Asus. Looking at my notes from my review of the 2022 Scar Strix 17 which ran on an Intel Core i9-12900H chip and RTX 3070Ti GPU I see I noted that it almost got too hot to touch at the top of the keyboard with external temperatures peaking at over 45°C.
The 2023 AMD model displays no such volcanic tendencies and even after being flogged like the family mule for three solid hours in Turbo mode the highest external temperature I recorded was 35.2°C and that was localized to the small area below the four white LED status lights at the top of the keyboard deck. Of course, less heat means less for the cooling system to do making this one of the quietest gaming laptops on the market.
Should you buy it?
High performance at a lower cost than key rivals
The 2023 ROG Strix Scar 17 may lack the Strix Scar 18’s larger, Nebula display but it’s a whopping £600 cheaper and gives nothing away in terms of gaming performance while battery life and thermal efficiency are better than any Raptor Lake and RTX 4090 combination that we’ve tested.
Avoid if you’re after a machine with a contemporary design
The CPU and GPU may be the latest things, but the packaging is 2021 vintage and at the top end of the market laptop makers are transitioning to 18-inch 16:10 displays. And the Strix Scar 17’s display is not the most colour-accurate I’ve encountered.
Final Thoughts
AMD has really come out swinging with its new Dragon Range processors. They provide extremely impressive multi-core performance but do so while consuming surprisingly little power and heat. Combine that with a top–of–the–range Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU and you have what is one of the most powerful and practical gaming laptops on the market.
That said, I am left wondering why you can’t buy the new Ryzen 9 chip in the latest ROG Scar Strix 16 or 18 form–factor with the impressive Nebula Mini-LED display. For a Mini LED fix outside of Asus, consider the pricey Razer Blade 16 or, for the more value-minded, consider the non-Mini LED Medion Erazer Beast X40.
The Ryzen 9 7945HX chip will soon be available in the new Alienware 16 and 18 as well as the new Lenovo Legion Pro 7 16 gaming laptops so there is an argument for holding off making a purchase until we get a chance to put those three through their paces.
How we test
Every gaming laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life. These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real-world checks, such as how well it runs demanding AAA games. We use the laptop to play a selection of titles including Cyberpunk 2077, Metro: Exodus and Elden Ring as well as eSport titles Valorant and Apex Legends.
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FAQs
Are the new AMD Dragon Range CPUs good? If this AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX is anything to go by the answer is a resounding yes. Compared to the comparable Intel Raptor Lake Core i9 chips like the 13890HX the AMD processor has superior multi-core performance, lower power consumption and pumps out less heat. That’s quite an achievement even if the Intel chip has better single-core performance.
Is the ROG Scar Strix 17 really a portable workstation? If I had a pound for every time a laptop maker has referred to their latest uber–laptop as a portable workstation I’d have a good few quid but the Strix Scar 17 is the closest yet. Productivity performance is outstanding and the system is efficient enough to be capable of spending a good few hours away from a power supply.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 brings together the best of AMD and Nvidia for powerhouse performance
TechRadar Verdict
Bringing the best of AMD and NVIDIA again for the latest Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 means high performance gaming in a laptop that’s better than ever. Beyond the specs is an impressive audio/visual package inside a war-ready chassis. Be mindful that the exceptionally high price of admission doesn’t provide standard-setting features when it comes to biometric security, web conferencing, or battery life, however.
Pros
- Aggressive yet thoughtful design
- Phenomenal performance
- Respectable image quality
- Lovely sounding speakers
Cons
- – Expensive
- – 720p Webcam is unimpressive
- – No biometric security features or card reader
- – Battery life is sub-par
Why you can trust TechRadar
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Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Two-minute review
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 represents a strong contender for best gaming laptop of the year, following up the smaller Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 or dual screen Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16.
Using the AMD-CPU-and-NVIDIA-GPU-set-up that’s become standard for the ROG brand, the latest Strix Scar 17 features a 16-core Ryzen 9 7945HX, 32GB RAM, 1TB of SSD and the option of either an RTX 4090 or 4080. In the U.S., there are two versions for both GPU options each, so you at least have some variety. The specs are more than enough to play some of the best PC games like Cyberpunk 2077 to Metro: Exodus at max settings with little effort.
It doesn’t hurt that the visual/audio presentation is fairly strong as well. The Strix Scar 17 features a lovely 17-inch 1440p display that offers a 240 refresh rate which is good enough for competitive gamers. Meanwhile, being Dolby Vision-capable ensures that HDR enhances images even further.
Audio is even more impressive through being both Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res Audio certified through its dual speakers. Alongside music and films sounding great, the speakers also offer 5.1.2 channel virtual surround sound which is useful for gamers looking for more situational awareness when playing Call of Duty: Warzone or Fortnite. However, the Strix Scar 17 does come with some limitations.
The very limited battery life means users will usually need to have this plugged up regularly. Attempting to use the laptop on a plane ride and the like for tasks outside of general browsing and video content viewing can drain the Strix Scar 17 fairly quickly.
Meanwhile, the design does have a lot of ports but lacks biometric security or a card reader for gamers leaning more toward creative software. Gamers who don’t care about creating or video conferencing on the regular, however, should be fine. Of course, the Strix Scar 17 comes at a steep price regardless of what NVIDIA GPU set-up potential purchasers use.
That said, serious PC gamers with deep s who are only looking for the highest visual performance in a laptop form factor should strongly consider the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023). you won’t be disappointed.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Price availability
In the United States alone, there are four configurations available for purchase through Asus’ ROG store. Both RTX 4090 and 4080 configurations come with two different storage and RAM options.
The Strix Scar 17 is going to cost 3,499.99 at the highest config, with RTX 4090, 32GB RAM, and 2TB SSD, which can even get you solid 4K video output if you want more than the 1440p display can provide. If that’s too much, though, the somewhere in-between 2,899.99 RTX 4080 provides 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. This is good enough for 1440p with solid frame rates.
In the UK, there are two versions available with one offering an RTX 4090 and 2TB SSD for £3,799 and 4080/1TB combo at the £3,099.99 price point. Both offer the same AMD Ryzen 9 and RAM set up. Australian buyers are only getting one AU5,599 version featuring a RTX 4090, 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Specs
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 currently comes in all configurations in the United States, two in the UK, and one in Australia, with no options to configure the models independently.
| 2,799.99 | 2,899.99 / £3,099.99 | 3,499.99 / £3,799 / AU5,599 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX | AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX | AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
| 16GB | 16GB | 32GB |
| 17-inch WQHD 240Hz IPS (2560 x 1440) | 17-inch WQHD 240Hz IPS (2560 x 1440) | 17-inch WQHD 240Hz IPS (2560 x 1440) |
| 2TB | 1TB | 2TB |
| 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 X USB-A 3.2, 1 x USB-C 3.2, 1 x power delivery, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 x 2.5G RJ45 | 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 X USB-A 3.2, 1 x USB-C 3.2, 1 x power delivery, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 x 2.5G RJ45 | 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 X USB-A 3.2, 1 x USB-C 3.2, 1 x power delivery, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 x 2.5G RJ45 |
| Wi-Fi 6E(802(Triple Band) 22 Bluetooth 5.2.11ax) | Wi-Fi 6E(802(Triple Band) 22 Bluetooth 5.2.11ax) | Wi-Fi 6E(802(Triple Band) 22 Bluetooth 5.2.11ax) |
| 720P HD camera | 720P HD camera | 720P HD camera |
| 3.00 Kg (6.61 lbs) | 3.00 Kg (6.61 lbs) | 3.00 Kg (6.61 lbs) |
| 39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.83 cm (15.55″ x 11.10″ x 0.92″ ~ 1.11″) | 39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.83 cm (15.55″ x 11.10″ x 0.92″ ~ 1.11″) | 39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.83 cm (15.55″ x 11.10″ x 0.92″ ~ 1.11″) |
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Design
The matte-black plastic design of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 chassis gives off an all-around aggressive look. Be mindful that it also smudges pretty easily as well; especially if hands are adequately moisturized. Like the previous iteration of the gaming laptop, the display hinge is offset to make room for the speakers and rear facing ports it sits near when opened. When closed, there is plenty of customizable lighting everywhere from the light bar that slightly wraps around the bottom to the ROG logo.
There are also plenty of ports available on the ROG Strix Scar 17 starting with the right side’s two USB-A ports and 3.5 audio combo jack. Meanwhile, the rear features a HDMI 2.1 port, two USB-C ports with DisplayPort support, an ethernet jack and charge port that connects through a fairly large power brick. It would have been nice to have an SD slot considering its powerful enough to edit various content on through Adobe Suite (and there’s more than enough space in the honking big chassis for it).
Considering the 17-inch screen size and components stuffed in the laptop, it’s pretty large and may take some maneuvering to fit inside a backpack. Though some may have an issue with the matte-black plastic, it does help keep the ROG Strix Scar 17 weighting significantly under 10 lbs.
Once opened, the same wonderful RGB keyboard with per-key lighting remains as beautiful to look at as ever. This includes the five customizable macro keys that by default handle volume, mic on/off switch and fan speed among others. It doesn’t matter if it’s browsing the web and sending emails or gaming, keystrokes on the mechanical feel pretty good.
The lack of security features like a fingerprint scanner or webcam shutter feels behind-the-times, though. Gamers will need a separate mouse to play genres including shooters and RTS but general cursor movement on the touchpad is smooth.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Performance
Here’s how the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
3DMark: Speed Way: 5318; Fire Strike: 41,391; Time Spy: 18,343 GeekBench 6: 2,746 (single-core); 15,730 (multi-core) Total War: Warhammer III (1080p, Ultra): 150 fps; (1080p, Low): 336 fps Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra): 144 fps; (1080p, Low): 160 fps Dirt 5 (1080p, Ultra): 181 fps; (1080p, Low): 239 fps 25GB File Copy transfer rate: 1,185.68 MBps Handbrake 1.6: 2:47 CrossMark: Overall: 2,062 Productivity: 1,905 Creativity: 2,428 Responsiveness: 1,603 Web Surfing (Battery Informant): 4:20:53 PCMark 10 Battery Life: 1:24
General computing tasks allow the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) to show off its relatively quiet nature and ability to stay cool on your lap. When it’s gaming time, the laptop handles 1440p gaming without much problems. The ROG Strix Scar 17 really goes to work on modern titles with the ability to play big AAA games at max settings with respectable frame rates.
There isn’t a better example than Cyberpunk 2077 which can play at 144 fps at ultra settings. Adding ray-tracing will slow that performance quite a bit, but thanks to the RTX GPU’s ability to perform DLSS upscaling, it can take ray-traced frame rates to respectable numbers.
Other games from Forza Horizon 5 to Metro:Exodus perform just as well. When it comes to more competitive leaning games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, motion performance is more than fine and input lag is nearly non-existent. Helps that the display itself provides crisp and clear image quality as well.
This also makes the ROG Strix Scar 17 a great option for creatives. During our test of Handbrake 1.6, it encoded a roughly 12 minute 4K video to 1080p in about two minutes and 47 seconds. This means that users of Photoshop and Premiere Pro can get some quick export times. Add Dolby Vision into the mix and compatible video content looks phenomenal too.
Speaker quality is great as well with punchy volume, solid bass and overall clarity. They also feature virtual surround sound and Dolby Atmos for compatible games alongside video content. Some gamers may feel more comfortable gaming on headphones but the internal speakers are good enough.
One of the weaker elements in the ROG Strix Scar 17 is the 720p webcam. Beyond being really terrible in low light conditions, it’s fairly no frills. Individuals who are looking to stream, it’ll probably be best to invest in one of the best webcams for external use.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Battery
Like many gaming laptops using the latest and most powerful CPU and GPU combinations, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) features a fairly lackluster battery life.
Thankfully, it’s good enough for four solid hours of general computing usage, according to my testing, so the battery should last long enough for a bi-coastal trip if watching video content or web browsing.
Doing anything beyond that like attempting to play any game with heft to it like Forza Horizon 5 without being plugged in is going to wear down the battery life fairly quickly, unfortunately, but you knew that coming in. Gaming on a gaming laptop just isn’t something you can effectively do on battery power.
The Strix Scar 17 does make the most out of its 90WHr battery, however, with a full recharge via its large power brick taking just a couple of hours.
Should you buy the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023)?
| Expensive price aside, the ROG Strix Scar 17 is a premium product when it comes to general performance, port variety and feature set. | 4 / 5 |
| With some of the most powerful hardware available, you can’t go wrong here, even if it’s not really customizeable. | 4.5 / 5 |
| The design of the Strix Scar 17 may off put some individuals with the matte-black plastic, but it looks just as powerful as its performance. Add the customizable lighting and it becomes a real looker. | 4 / 5 |
| Having a combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 and NVIDIA RTX 4090 go a long way in making this a serious performing gaming laptop. | 4.5 / 5 |
| With the power behind the Strix Scar 17, battery life isn’t the best here. Meanwhile, general computing usage only nets less than four hours. | 2.5 / 5 |
| Design and 1440p gaming performance are the highlights of the expensive Strix Scar 17. The laptop provides something for gamers and creatives despite issues with battery life and lack of security features. | 3.8 / 5 |
Buy it if.
You want a 1440p leaning gaming laptop with real performance The AMD Ryzen 9 and NVIDIA RTX 4090 combo allows many modern games to play at max settings with high frame rates.
You require a respectable audio/visual set up Having a 17-inch 1440p display with a 240Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision makes viewing anything on the gaming laptop a pleasure.
You need a laptop with a aggressive and beautifully lit look Beautiful external and internal RGB lighting on the Strix Scar 17 works well while the matte-black plastic keeps the package light enough yet durable.
Don’t buy it if.
You want above average battery life Gaming without the large power pack is going to be fairly difficult on the Strix Scar 17. On its own, users will get under four or so hours of usage out of the laptop.
You need something a bit more affordable At its lowest, potential buyers will need nearly 3K to own the Strix Scar 17. Those who want the higher configuration will pay significantly more than that.
You require better security and SD reader The Strix Scar 17 lacks a webcam good enough to use as a security feature and the keyboard lacks a fingerprint reader. Meanwhile, the laptop doesn’t have a SD card reader.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023): Also consider
| Starting at 2,799.99 / £3,099.99 / AU5,599.99 | 4,499.99 / £4,799 including VAT / around AU6,700 | Starting at 4,299.99 (about £3,570 / AU6,240) |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX | 13ᵗʰ Gen Intel Core i9-13900KF | Intel Core i9-13980HX (Up to 5.6 GHz) |
| Up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X | Up to Nvidia RTX 4090 12GB Laptop GPU (175W) |
| Up to 32GB DDR5 | Up to 64GB DDR5 5600MHz | Up to 128GB DDR5 3600MHz |
| 17-inch WQHD 240Hz IPS (2560 x 1440) | 16-inch WQXGA (2560×1600) IPS 500nits, 100% sRGB, 240Hz | 17.3-inch IPS, mini LED, 4K, 144hz |
| Up to 2TB NVMe SSD | Up to 4TB NVMe SSD | Up to 4TB NVMe SSD Gen4x4 |
| 1 x HDMI 2.1, 2 X USB-A 3.2, 1 x USB-C 3.2, 1 x power delivery, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, 1 x 2.5G RJ45 | 4 x USB-A 3.2, 1 x USB-C, 1 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x RJ45, 1 x power input, 1 x electronic e-shutter switch, 1 x 3.5mm audio jack | 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2 x Thunderbolt 4 w/ DP, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 1 x SD card slot, 1 x RJ45 |
| Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1 | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| 720P | 1080p | 720p |
| 6.61lbs (3.0kg) | 6.17lbs (2.8 kg) | 7.28 lbs | 3.30 kg |
| 15.55 x 11.10 x 0.92 ~ 1.11 inches | 395 x 282 x 23.4mm | 14.3 x 10.32 x 0.86-1.01 inches (363.4 x 262.15 x 21.95-25.9 mm; W x D x H) | 15.63 x 12.99 x 0.91 inches | 397 x 329.95 x 23.11 mm |
If the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) has you considering other options, here are two more gaming laptops to consider.
Lenovo Legion 7i Pro Value wise, the Lenovo Legion 7i Pro offers performance and a design that’s nearly as good as the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 but is a little less.
MSI GT77 Titan (2023) Honestly, if you’re looking for the absolute best and money is no object, then look no further than the GT77 Titan. This beast of a machine is prohibitively expensive, but it’s performance is as good as it gets.
How I tested the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023)
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 was tested for a little over a week, split between general computing, creative suites, and plenty of games. Games played including Cyberpunk 2077 and Forza Horizon 5 among others.
Those titles were played at full 1440p resolution at max settings, while several photos for this review were edited on Photoshop and a sample 1080p video file was exported through Premiere Pro. Between those times, I browsed the web through Google Chrome and opened several dozen tabs.
I’ve been testing and reviewing gaming laptops for several years now, and as a professional photographer, among other creative pursuits, I know my way around Adobe Creative Cloud apps and what kind of performance to expect from a high quality laptop with hardware this powerful.
Ural Garrett is an Inglewood, CA-based journalist and content curator. His byline has been featured in outlets including CNN, MTVNews, Complex, TechRadar, BET, The Hollywood Reporter and more.
Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE review: Cyberpunk 2022
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022). if not the most powerful, then definitely one of the most powerful laptops that can be purchased at the moment. It can fully replace a modern gaming desktop for those who need maximum performance with the possibility of regular transportation. The laptop is equipped with a high-quality 17.3-inch WQHD display with a refresh rate of 240 Hz and a pixel response time of 3 ms. Also worth noting is an efficient cooling system, a very comfortable full-size keyboard and a good set of modern connectors, which lacks only a card reader. The laptop is made of high-quality materials and looks according to its gaming character. With interesting design elements and RGB backlighting. Which can be turned off if desired. Of course, you have to pay for such power with portability: it is not very convenient to carry such a laptop with you every day. Among not critical, but not very pleasant features we can single out the absence of a web-camera and a fingerprint scanner.
One of the most powerful gaming laptops right now. ROG Strix Scar 17 SE is equipped with a high-quality 17.3-inch WQHD screen with a refresh rate of 240Hz, a 12th generation Intel Core i9 12950HX processor, 32GB of RAM, and a discrete nVidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card. Also worth noting is the efficient cooling system and the original design with RGB backlighting.
- unmatched performance;
- high-quality WQHD IPS screen with a refresh rate of 240 Hz;
- efficient cooling system;
- comfortable keyboard;
- many modern connectors
- spectacular appearance and quality materials.
3 reasons not to buy Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022):
- high price;
- you need a more portable laptop;
- no webcam, card reader and fingerprint scanner.
What’s in the package?
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022) is available with different bundles, and we got the maximum version for review. The laptop is packed in a large heavy black box. Inside which there is traditionally another smaller one and some accessories. In our set there is, perhaps, everything you can think of. The laptop itself, the main 330 W power supply with a power cable, an additional 100 W power supply with Type-C and a separate power cable, two additional Armor Caps, a ROG Impact mouse, an ultraviolet flashlight, a Keystone NFC tag with a keychain and a very convenient backpack for carrying. The only thing missing is an external webcam, because there is no built-in one.
What about the appearance and design of Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022)?
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022) is almost entirely made of black matte plastic. The laptop is large and quite heavy: 3 kg. Which is not surprising, given the 17-inch display and very powerful components. From decorative parts it is worth highlighting that the working surface is divided into two parts by a diagonal strip. The main part is the usual black plastic. Which, by the way, turned out to be rather marky and collects fingerprints. The second part is translucent. It is quite original, but we cannot say that it looks somehow extraordinary. There are three LED indicators in the upper part of the working surface, and two speakers on the sides on the bend.
The top cover is more interesting. This is the only metal element of the laptop. It is also divided into two parts diagonally. In the upper one there is a large backlit Republic of Gamers logo. In the lower part there is a drawing applied with special ink. It is visible only under ultraviolet light, that is why there is an ultraviolet flashlight in the package.
All ports are located on the back and left side of the laptop. On the right there is only a section of cooling system holes and a Keystone mark. This is done so that the periphery on the right does not interfere with the hand with the mouse.
On the left there are two full-size USB 3.2 Gen 1, a combined 3.5 mm audio jack and ventilation holes.
Everything else is on the back: a power supply jack, Thunderbolt 4 (compatible with DisplayPort), USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 (compatible with DisplayPort and Power Delivery), HDMI 2.1 and RJ-45 (LAN). On the sides of the connectors there are ventilation holes. Taking into account the dimensions of the notebook and the fact that such models are often used for creating photo and video content, it is a little strange that there is no card reader.
There is one more decorative element on the right side: Armor Cap, of which there are only 3 in the package. They are quite easily fixed and removed. On the Asus website you can download a template and print your own version on a 3D printer.
There are no functional elements on the front of the laptop, there is only a decorative backlight in the form of an RGB strip. Of course, it can be turned off, like any other laptop backlight.
The frame on the top and on the sides of the display is very thin, there are protective rubber inserts around the perimeter. There is no webcam. Similar solutions have already been previously in the Asus ROG Zephyrus line. The company explains this by the fact that the built-in camera is not as convenient for streams as an external one, with which you can change the viewing angle. And such laptops are often used by streamers, which for the most part already have a separate, high-quality camera.
Below there are quite massive rubber legs, a large number of ventilation holes and two more speakers. The front of the bottom cover is removable and provides access to RAM and M.2 SSD slots. There are two of them and it is worth noting that models with SATA interface are not supported. Exclusively PCIe.
In general, the appearance of Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022) fully corresponds to the gaming positioning. Lots of RGB backlighting, additional aggressive design elements. High-quality materials are used and all parts are well fitted. But there are a couple of small Комментарии и мнения владельцев. The brand of the working surface, as already mentioned above. And a slight deflection of the lids under pressure. Which is quite common for large laptops.
How comfortable is the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE (2022)?
The hinges fix the display unit in the desired position quite well. The display does not shake if you accidentally touch it with your hand. Of the little things related to the lid, you can add only a small protrusion, which helps to more conveniently pick it up with your finger when tearing it off. The keyboard in Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022) is full-size, with a separate numeric keypad. It is not separated from the main unit. In all other respects, the layout is very close to conventional keyboards. Both Shift and Enter are long. The upper functional row has a reduced height. There are five additional buttons above it. By default, they are responsible for adjusting the volume, muting the microphone, switching modes and launching the Armory Crate application. You can also configure macros on them. The arrow block also has a reduced height, but it is slightly separated from the main block, so it is convenient to use. The power button is also slightly separated and is located in the upper right corner. In general, it does not take long to get used to the keyboard, the layout is convenient.
First impressions of the ROG STRIX Scar 16 2023!
The keys have a small depression of 0.15 mm and a full stroke of 2 mm, so it is very convenient to use them. One of the interesting features is the ROG Overstroke technology, which means that the keystroke is registered before the button is fully pressed. Simply put. the response speed is reduced, which is important in games. There is RGB backlighting that is fully customizable and can be synchronized with other ROG devices (AURA Sync).
The touchpad is large, which is not surprising given the size of the laptop. In general, it is sufficient for all tasks except games and photo processing. It has good sensitivity and a pleasant coating on which the finger slides well.
Unfortunately, there is no fingerprint scanner or infrared camera to identify the owner of the laptop. So you will have to use a classic password for authorization. Keystone NFC tag has several interesting features. With Armoury Crate you can configure various actions to connect and disconnect it. For example, changing the operating mode, launching certain programs or games, blocking Windows or minimizing all programs. Keystone also provides access to the so-called “Shadow Folder”, where you can store certain personal information.
How good is the screen?
Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022) features a 17.3-inch IPS screen with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio and anti-glare coating. There are two options: FullHD (1920 x 1080) with a refresh rate of 360 Hz, or WQHD (2560 x 1440) with a refresh rate of 240 Hz. Both displays support Dolby Vision, Adaptive Sync frame rate synchronization and have a pixel response time of 3 ms. We had WQHD (2560 x 1440) on review. They promise a brightness level of 300 cd/m2, which is quite enough for indoor use. The screen is really qualitative, with maximum viewing angles and pleasant natural color reproduction. There are also no problems in games: noticeable frame breaks, artifacts or smearing of the picture. The ROG Armoury Crate app has a Game Visual section where you can choose from several picture presets and adjust the color temperature.
We measured the screen performance with a colorimeter. The maximum brightness is 287.17 cd/m2 (which is close to the declared figure), the black field brightness is 0.312 cd/m2, and the static contrast is 920:1. Color space coverage almost completely coincides with sRGB, and deviations of other indicators from the reference values are minimal:
What about performance and autonomy?
Of course, the most interesting aspect of Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022) is its performance. And we can say that this is one of the most powerful laptops at the moment. Inside is a 16-core 12th generation Alder Lake Intel Core i9 12950HX processor, it is manufactured using Intel 7 process technology. As in other current Intel processors, 2 types of cores are used: 8 powerful and 8 energy efficient. It supports up to 24 threads of computation. The base frequency is 2.3 GHz, and in Turbo Boost mode. up to 5 GHz. The size of the 3rd level cache is 30 MB, there is an integrated Intel UHD Graphics (32EU) with a frequency of up to 1.55 GHz. TDP of the processor is up to 55 W in standard mode. But in our case in manual mode it can be raised up to 65 W. RAM. 32 GB DDR5-4800 (2×16 GB), works in dual-channel mode. The laptop supports up to 64 GB. Wireless interfaces Bluetooth 5.2 and fast Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) (Dual Band) 2×2. There is also a LAN port with support for speeds up to 2500 Mbps. As a discrete video accelerator is used NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop. Base frequency. 1230 MHz, boost. up to 1590 MHz with standard TGP up to 150 W. But ROG Boost is supported with an increase in TGP up to 175 W and frequency up to 1640 MHz. Video memory is 16 GB GDDR6. The laptop is equipped with a MUX Switch multiplexer. In most laptops, the discrete graphics card is not connected directly to the display, but through integrated graphics. MUX Switch allows you to connect the video card directly to the display. This reduces latency and increases performance (up to 10% increase). But it increases power consumption
The laptop demonstrates impressive results in performance tests. Both graphic and processor. Therefore, it will be enough for almost any heavy tasks, both games and work with graphics, CAD, Unreal Engine 5, etc.:
To cool such powerful hardware, an evaporation chamber, six heat pipes, two Arc Flow fans with 84 blades and a radiator with 218 fins are used. Thermal Grizzly liquid metal Conductonaut Extreme is used as a thermal interface on both the processor and the video card.
At minimum loads the cooling system is not audible, but at maximum it works quite loudly. That is not surprising, taking into account the notebook power. The case almost does not heat up. The area above the keyboard becomes tangibly warm. The AIDA64 stress test showed that at the maximum load the first approximately 30 seconds the internal components heat up to about 95°, i.e. a small trotting of 8%. After the CO adaptation the temperature stays at about 80° and the system works absolutely stable.
The drive is an M.2 SSD PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe, model Micron 3400 with a capacity of 1 TB. They promise up to 6600 MB/s read speed and up to 5000 MB/s write speed. The laptop has two M.2 slots for drives, they can be combined into a RAID0 array.
The actual read speed is approximately the same as the declared figures. The write speed is a little bit lower. But in general the drive is very fast:
In games the notebook demonstrates very high performance. The native WQHD resolution was used. In Cyberpunk 2077 on ultra settings with ray tracing and automatic DLSS it works with a frame rate of about 60 FPS, sometimes dropping to 55. Dying Light 2, ray tracing (high settings), DLSS (balanced mode): 70-90 FPS. Gears 5, ultra settings: from 90 to 160 FPS. God of War, maximum settings, DLSS in quality mode: 80-90 FPS. Shadow of the Tomb Raider, maximum settings, DLSS ray tracing in quality mode: 90-130 FPS. Spider-Man, high settings, ray tracing, DLSS in quality mode: approximately 80-100 FPS. The Ascent, ultra settings, ray tracing, DLSS in quality mode: 60-70 FPS.
Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022) has a 90 Wh battery. They promise up to 8.5 hours of video. Probably without a network connection, with low brightness. In reality, the laptop lasted about 4 hours in office mode: Wi-Fi connection, work with documents, Photoshop, browser, background music playback. For such a powerful notebook it is very good. From a 330 W power supply unit the notebook is charged up to 50% in half an hour. If you do not need maximum performance, you can use a Type-C power supply with 100 W.
The laptop has 4 built-in speakers. In general, they sound quite good and loud. But it is still better to use a headset during games when the performance and noise of the CO is at its maximum.
To configure the laptop, the program ROG Armoury Crate is used. In it you can select laptop modes, update the system, adjust the backlight, including AURA Sync, monitor the system status, make profiles with different settings for different programs, games, etc.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE
- Unmatched performance
- High-quality WQHD IPS screen with a refresh rate of 240 Hz
- Efficient cooling system
- Comfortable keyboard
- Many modern connectors
- Spectacular appearance and quality materials
Check price
In the dry balance. Three things you need to know about Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022).
- Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE (2022) is one of the most powerful laptops available.
- It is equipped with a high-quality 17.3-inch 2560×1400 screen with a refresh rate of 240 Hz.
- Like all top laptops, not very portable and not very long battery life.
For those who want to know more:
