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You won’t find a better set of number crunchers in a gaming laptop than the new line of Zen 4 mobile chips that AMD has released. Because of this, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is easily one of the most powerful gaming laptops that I’ve had the opportunity to evaluate. However, some of the luster has been dulled because I can’t get the notion that AMD machines are still considered to be in the second tier by the manufacturers of those machines.
To be fair, you can still acquire these latest AMD chips in the great Zephyrus G14 machines; they have not simply been confined to the form factors that are less popular. The ROG Nebula Display is included with those systems. Asus has been dipping into its favorite laptops, but I’m particularly disappointed that it hasn’t been able to locate an equal big screen version for this 17-inch laptop yet.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2025) Specifications
When it comes to laptops for gaming, Asus is right up there with the best. Asus’s Republic of Gamers (ROG) line of laptops includes models with varying specifications, making them ideal for gamers of all skill levels.
| Specification | Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) |
|---|---|
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series |
| Display | 17.3-inch Full HD or 4K UHD |
| Refresh Rate | Up to 360Hz (Full HD), 120Hz (4K) |
| RAM | Up to 64GB DDR4 |
| Storage | Up to 2TB SSD + 2TB HDD |
| Keyboard | Per-key RGB backlit |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 |
Design and Keyboard
Asus has split its big-screen computers into two groups for the 2023 model year. The new Intel Raptor Lake machines have an 18-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600, while the new AMD machines still have a 17.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440. The 18-inch version also have Asus’s new Nebula IPS display, which has a Mini LED zonal backlight. The 17.3-inch display, on the other hand, is still a regular backlit IPS screen.
The 2023 Scar 17 weighs 3kg and has the same dimensions as the 2022 and 2021 models: 395 x 282 x 28.3mm. In fact, this is a 2022 Strix Scar SE that has been changed on the inside. You can buy this laptop from its official website
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2025) Display
There are some good things about this screen, like the 240 Hz refresh rate and support for G-Sync, but not everything is great. The light isn’t the best; in our tests, it got as bright as just over 350 nits, which isn’t great. As long as you don’t take the laptop outside, that’s bright enough, but it’s not as good as the Nebula HDR screens that Asus uses on some of its other models.
Black levels are fine, but nothing really stands out. This means that the general contrast isn’t very good. At full brightness, it’s around 980:1, and at half brightness, it’s around 1000:1. This isn’t unusable by any means, but since 1000:1 is the standard for IPS screens, it’s not as good as the rest of the machine.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2025) Performance
Adding ray-tracing will slow this down quite a bit, but the RTX GPU’s ability to do DLSS upscaling means that ray-traced frame rates can still be good.
Just as well are games like Forza Horizon 5 and Metro: Exodus. When it comes to games that are more about competition, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, motion performance is great and input lag is almost non-existent.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2025) Battery Life
Given how well the Strix Scar 17 worked, we were ready to overlook a bad battery life, but it wasn’t that bad. The PCMark 10 Office battery test ran for 6 hours and 12 minutes before the lights went out. On the other hand, the Gaming test took 2 hours and 2 minutes. Even with the 90Wh battery, this is a very amazing result that shows AMD has made a high-end laptop processor that is very powerful and uses little energy.
Price & availability
The best configuration of the Strix Scar 17 will cost $3,499.99. It will have an RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. If you want more than what the 1440p display can give you, you can even get good 4K video output. If that’s too much, however, the between $2,899.99 The RTX 4080 has 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. This is good enough for 1440p with good frame rates.
In the UK, there are two models. One has an RTX 4090 and 2TB SSD and costs £3,799, while the other has an RTX 4080 and 1TB SSD and costs £3,099.99. Both have the same RAM and AMD Ryzen 9 processor. Australians can only get one version that costs AU$5,599 and has an RTX 4090, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
Final Words
If you want a portable gaming machine that performs as well as a desktop PC, this is a contender. You have other options, like as the Asus ROG Strix G18 with its improved display and longer battery life. Even so, there is a lot of functionality in this laptop for the cost. The Razer Blade 16 is just one example of an expensive RTX 4090 laptop.
Spending more than $3,000 for a laptop is a significant investment. The Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 is not a steal, but it is a reasonable deal when you consider the hardware it has. The robust Ryzen chipset really shines in this application.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 (2025) review: The good and The bad
When it comes to gaming laptops, the Scar 17 is among the quickest and most powerful I’ve tried.
The Good
- Incredible gaming performance
- Great port selection and layout
The Bad
- Mediocre battery life
Questions and Answers
Both the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A and the ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q include an IPS panel, support for Adaptive Sync, and a maximum refresh rate of 170 hertz.
You may rest easy knowing that your ASUS consumer laptop has passed the most rigorous testing in the world, as required by the United States military. Your laptop will last longer and be more environmentally friendly if you do this.
