The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023): A Pixel-Destroying Beast for Power Users
The world of gaming laptops is a thrilling realm of cutting-edge technology, where performance reigns supreme and features are pushed to their limits. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023) is the epitome of this relentless pursuit of power, boasting a formidable combination of hardware that’s sure to leave any gamer awestruck. This monstrous machine, starting at an eye-watering price of Rs. 2,79,990, doesn’t hold back on anything, and the variant we’re reviewing, equipped with Nvidia’s top-of-the-line RTX 4090 laptop GPU, takes the experience to a whole new level at Rs. 3,59,990. Does this beastly gaming laptop deserve a place on your wishlist if money is no object? Let’s delve into the details and find out.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2023) Design and Features
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is, in a word, massive. This isn’t a laptop you’ll be carrying around lightly; its sheer size and weight suggest a home-bound companion destined for a desk. With its imposing design, it isn’t just powerful, but looks the part too.
The laptop’s matte black finish exudes a sleek elegance, complemented by a liberal sprinkle of RGB lighting across its exterior. The backlit ROG logo on the lid, the light strip at the back above the exhaust vent, and another running along the bottom edge create an alluring aura. The translucent plastic on the sides around the ports and the upper portion of the keyboard deck add to its futuristic appeal. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 screams "gamer" and it does so with confidence.
The 330W AC power adapter required to juice up this beast is a beast in its own right. It necessitates a 16A power outlet, which can be a limiting factor as these are not readily available in most homes. However, the Armour Caps, magnetically attachable extra covers for the hinge portion, offer a touch of personalization, allowing you to even 3D print custom caps for a unique look.
Show-Stopping Display
The 18-inch QHD (2560×1600) IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 240Hz refresh rate is the crown jewel of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. The display boasts thin bezels on three sides, with a small lip at the top for the webcam. The display earns the ROG Nebula certification by achieving 500 nits of brightness, supporting 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut reproduction, being Pantone validated, and offering Nvidia’s G-Sync technology and Dolby Vision playback. This translates to a vibrant and immersive visual experience that’s perfect for gaming, creative work, and video consumption. The lower-priced variant in India skips the ROG Nebula certification and settles for a full-HD resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate.
Comfortable Typing and Spacious Trackpad
The large chassis allows for a full-sized keyboard with a number pad, ensuring comfortable typing. Dedicated buttons for controlling volume, microphone, performance modes, and one-touch access to the Armoury Crate software provide a user-friendly experience. These buttons can be customised or programmed for macros. Asus boasts "professional esports-grade" keyboard switches designed for over 20 million presses, promising durability for hardcore gaming sessions. Per-key RGB LED backlighting with Aura Sync ensures a visually stunning experience that syncs up perfectly with other ROG accessories. The large trackpad with a glass coating ensures smooth tracking and precise gesture control.
Unleashing the Beast: Specifications and Software
Under the hood, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a powerhouse of performance that leaves no room for compromise. The top-end variant is equipped with an Intel Core i9-13980HX mobile CPU, boasting a total of 24 cores (eight performance, 16 efficiency). This is coupled with 32GB (2x 16GB) of DDR5 4800MHz RAM, occupying both RAM slots. The storage department is handled by 2TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage (2x 1TB SSDs in RAID 0), ensuring lightning-fast loading times. And finally, the heart of any gaming laptop, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 laptop GPU with 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, ensures a visually stunning and effortlessly smooth experience.
The lower-priced variant in India maintains the same Intel CPU and RAM, but steps down to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU and 1TB of storage.
Keeping all these high-power components running smoothly requires a robust cooling system. Asus has redesigned the chassis and motherboard to accommodate a full-width heatsink with seven heat pipes and three fans. The use of liquid metal compound instead of thermal paste over the CPU and GPU further enhances heat transfer, ensuring optimal performance even under heavy workloads.
Powerful Performance and a Touch of Warmness
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is undoubtedly a performance behemoth, offering a seamless and responsive user experience. From everyday tasks to demanding gaming sessions, there’s no lag or hesitation. The keyboard is incredibly comfortable for typing, with quiet keys. The spacious palm rest and tall display provide a comfortable and visually pleasing experience. However, even in the "Silent" power mode, the laptop tends to run warm, especially above the keyboard and vents.
Benchmarking the Beast
In synthetic benchmarks, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 shines brightly. The laptop achieved a trace time of just 27 seconds in POV-Ray and an impressive score of 778 points in single-core and 8,227 points in multi-core in the Cinebench R20 CPU benchmark. PCMark 10 returned an overall score of 7,803 points.
The 3DMark benchmark showcased the laptop’s graphics prowess, scoring 13,753 points in Time-Spy and 10,438 points in Port Royale’s ray-tracing test. The RAID 0 configuration of the SSDs resulted in impressive sequential and random read speeds over 12GBps and sequential and random write speeds over 7GBps.
Real-World Performance: A Pixel-Destroying Machine
Real-world tests cemented the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18’s reputation as a performance monster. It compressed a 3.24GB folder in a mere 47 seconds using 7-Zip, rendered the BMW test scene in Blender in 2 minutes and 14 seconds, and encoded a 1.3GB AVI file to H.265 in just 27 seconds.
Gaming performance is simply phenomenal. The powerful hardware effortlessly handles the latest titles, delivering immersive and smooth gameplay. Cyberpunk 2077, despite its demanding nature, was a breeze for this laptop, averaging 124fps at QHD resolution with Ray Tracing: Medium. Even with the highest preset, Ray Tracing: Overdrive, the laptop delivered an impressive average of 121fps. Death Stranding averaged 140fps at native resolution with all options maxed out, showcasing the laptop’s impressive frame rates. In Doom Eternal, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 effortlessly averaged 200+fps at native resolution with ray tracing enabled, demonstrating its dominance over demanding games.
Battery Life: The Trade-Off For Power
Gaming laptops are not renowned for their outstanding battery life, and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is no exception. The laptop managed just 1 hour and 10 minutes in the Battery Eater Pro benchmark, using only the CPU’s onboard graphics and with RGB lighting on. In typical usage, you can expect around 2-3 hours of runtime at best. This limitation is not surprising considering the laptop’s powerful components. It’s safe to assume that most users will have this laptop plugged in for extended gaming sessions.
Verdict: The King of the Hill
The 2023 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a top-tier gaming laptop that delivers unmatched performance for those willing to pay the price. While its affordability isn’t its strong point, it offers the best mobile CPU and GPU currently available for a Windows laptop. Its powerful hardware ensures it will age gracefully over time, making it a valuable long-term investment. The only real drawbacks are the warmth it generates even during idle usage and the bulky nature that makes it less portable. However, these minor inconveniences are overshadowed by its exceptional performance and impressive features. If you’re searching for a gaming laptop that pushes boundaries and can handle even the most demanding of titles, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is undoubtedly a strong contender. It’s a pixel-destroying machine that will put a smile on any gamer’s face.
