Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review 2024: powerful gaming laptops

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is the company’s first entrance into the 18-inch gaming laptop market in more than a decade, making it one of the first 18-inch gaming laptops we’ve seen in recent years. Together with other big computers like the Alienware m18 and the Razer Blade 18, the Strix Scar 18 needs to demonstrate, in some way, that a whole size category can be viable.

In spite of the fact that we are unable to claim that the ROG Strix Scar 18 is suitable for each and every gamer, or even for the vast majority of them, the system did, in the end, manage to win me over with its outstanding  performance and sleek appearance. In point of fact, the screen measures 18 inches.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 Specifications

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Design

The Asus Strix Scar 18 is the first laptop we have ever worked with that was too big to fit in my backpack. It is the perfect example of a desktop replacement for 2023, but it won’t be the only one. To be fair, the Strix Scar 18 weighs 6.83 pounds and has dimensions of 15.71 inches by 11.57 inches by 1.21 inches. Just by looking at this huge thing, you can tell it’s not meant to be carried more than to the next room. You can buy this laptop from its official website

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Display

Scale when you open the lid and see the 18-inch screen in all its glory. The bottom bezel is a bit thick, and the webcam case sticks out, but that just makes it look bigger. To be clear, the 18-inch screen may seem huge at first, but it’s actually not that different from 17-inch screens. The aspect ratio of these 18-inch displays goes from 16:9 to 16:10, which means they are a little bit taller but the same width as 17-inch displays.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard is the only part of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 that isn’t as good as it could be. To be clear, the feature doesn’t have any major flaws. It has a nearly full set of programmable RGB keys, including a function row, some navigation keys, and a numpad. But the layout is a little strange. The arrow keys are too close together, the right Shift key is too small, and the Delete key is too far away. The media keys are also in an odd place and only let you change the volume, not play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Performance

A 2.2-GHz Intel Core i9-13900HX processor is in charge of the Scar 18. With up to 5.4GHz turbo frequency and up to eight performance cores and sixteen efficiency cores, Intel’s HX series is the top of the line. It has 11% faster single-thread performance and 49% faster multitask performance than the 12th Gen CPUs it replaced. They can be clocked faster, so you can get even more performance out of them.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Heat

Aside from you fighting to save the day in whatever game you’re playing, gaming laptops like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 are fighting to keep their components cool in such tight spaces. Asus has added a new heatsink with a bigger surface area and a third fan to keep the GPU and VRAM cool, just to name a few things that help the Scar 18 stay cool.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review: Battery life

On our battery test, where we browse the web, stream videos, and run OpenGL tests while connected to Wi-Fi and with the screen brightness set to 150 nits, the Scar only lasted 4 hours and 26 minutes. The MSI Titan GT77 HX lasted 3:48 on a charge, which is about what you should probably expect from these big laptops with lots of power-hungry parts.

Final Words

In terms of performance and thermal design, the 2023 ROG Scar 18 is a huge step up from earlier Scar models. Not only is it faster with demanding CPU loads, work tasks, and games, but it’s also quicker when doing multiple things at once and can be used for 4-6 hours on battery power if needed.

Also, the updated tri-fan cooling does a great job of taming the powerful components, both in the top-tier Turbo mode and especially in the middle-tier Performance profile.

ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 18 REVIEW: THE GOOD AND THE BAD

FAQS

What’s better Zephyrus or Strix?

When not being used for gaming, the battery life of the Zephyrus line is also rather good. The Strix is designed primarily for optimal gaming performance.

Why is ROG Strix so expensive?

Most of the time, ROG Strix cards are high-end products. I.e., RGB, a cool design, overclocking, and most importantly, a better cooling system to handle the tweaks. Because of this, the price of this card is more than the price of the Founders Edition you mentioned. Sorry, something went wrong. 

Why is ROG Strix the best?

ROG laptops are all made for gaming, but Strix machines go even further by having models with the fastest CPU, GPU, and screen refresh rates for laptops.