Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18 finally convinced me to like gaming laptops

I’ve always had mixed feelings about gaming laptops because they often make too many compromises, and the result is usually a device that does a little bit of everything but none of it particularly well.

For example, an effective laptop needs to be portable, which means making it small and light. But to maximize performance, you need space to manage thermals with fans and heat pipes. Plus, all that stuff adds to the weight. Another compromise; to be good at gaming, you need power-hungry components, which will reduce battery life even when you’re not gaming. Not to mention gaming laptops often sport less powerful ‘laptop’ GPUs and other components, making the performance situation worse.

For all those reasons and more, I have struggled to get into gaming laptops, but this year, that might change. I’ve been trying out Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 16 and Scar 18, and they surprised me with compelling performance output that was much closer to what you’d get out of a gaming desktop.

Coupled with other compelling features like easy access to internals for upgrades or replacements, the Scar line addresses some of my concerns with gaming laptops.

Specs (Scar 16 / Scar 18)

• Display: 16- or 18-inch ROG Nebula 2560×1600 mini LED 240Hz display
• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
• Memory: 32GB / 64GB
• Storage: 2TB / 4TB
• Dimensions: 354.×26.8×2.08~3.20cm / 39.9×29.8×2.35~3.20cm
• Weight: 2.8kg / 3.3kg
• Camera:
• Operating System: Windows 11
• Battery: 90Whr
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 5, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x 2.5Gbps LAN, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm audio, 1x Asus Slim Power Jack
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop / RTX 5090 Laptop

Note: the above specs are for the Scar 16 and laptops I reviewed. You can find alternate configurations on Asus’ website for the Scar 16 and Scar 18.

Design

Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18 look more or less like you’d expect a gaming laptop to look, for better and worse. If you’re a fan of the ‘gamer’ aesthetic with big, chunky devices and tons of RGB lighting options, then the Strix Scar laptops will be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s not exactly my taste, but to each their own.

The good news is that you can turn off the external lightning, and when off, the laptops look like fairly standard devices thanks to the matte black chassis. In other words, if you need to use one of these for your day job, you can do so without the RGB outing you as a gamer. Plus, turning off all the lighting will help extend the battery life.

The ROG Strix Scar laptops sport Asus’ ‘AniMe Vision’ customizable animated LED lighting on the lid.

The overall build quality of the laptops is excellent, and I particularly like the new tool-less access through a plastic panel on the bottom, enabling easy access to memory, storage, and the battery for replacements or upgrades.

Both the Scar 16 and 18 are too big for my preference – I prefer Asus’ sleek Zephyrus line – but the Scar laptops are less bulky than expected for gaming laptops. Plus, the Scar series offers better performance and thermals than the Zephyrus and don’t get as hot under load, which is great. All that extra bulk makes more room for a cooling system that can handle the internals.

The charging cables, however, are quite big thanks to a literal brick about midway down the cable. Not ideal for portability, but concessions must be made to power laptops like this. It’s more something to be aware of for anyone looking to get a laptop like this, rather than going for a desktop for gaming and an ultra-portable laptop.

Performance

Inside the ROG Strix Scar 18.

The Strix Scar laptops really surprised and impressed me with their performance. The main difference between the two laptops, other than the physical size and screen, is the GPU, with the Scar 16 sporting the RTX 5080 and the Scar 18 boasting the 5090.

However, in my testing, the Scar 16 was right on the heels of the Scar 18 in most tests, with the 5090 squeezing out slightly higher average frames per second (fps) in most titles. What was more impressive, however, was that both GPUs were also right on the heels of a desktop-class 5090 I tested in Asus’ ROG G700 gaming desktop (we’ve also got a full review of the G700 in the works).

To start, the Scar 16 and 18 scored very similarly in CPU benchmarks, unsurprising given they both have Intel’s Core Ultra 9 275HX. Overall, CPU performance was strong, and in real-world use, both laptops felt quite snappy.

In GPU benchmarks, the Scar 18 more clearly pulls ahead thanks to its 5090 and additional VRAM, allowing it to outperform the Scar 16’s 5080. And as I mentioned at the start of this section, both laptops were nipping at the heels of the ROG G700 I tested with a desktop-class 5090 in it, which really impressed me. In the past, I’ve found gaming laptops struggled to compete against desktops, mostly because of limited thermal capacity and lower performance capabilities of laptop-class chips.

But the Scar series, thanks to upgraded cooling features like a full-length rear heatsink, sandwiched vapour chamber, and “Arc Flow Fans,” managed to keep temperatures manageable without throttling performance. However, the Scar laptops were quite loud, especially when the fans ramped up, while the liquid-cooled G700 remained much quieter under load. Noise level isn’t a big deal for me as I game almost exclusively with headphones on, but it’s something to be aware of for anyone who hates when their laptop sounds like a plane taking off.

It’s also worth noting that to get the best performance out of these laptops, gamers will need to activate the ‘Turbo’ mode through Asus’ included Armoury Crate software, or tweak the settings manually. The laptops have three performance modes: silent, performance (the default), and turbo. These modes impact cooling and power, reducing performance in return for quieter cooling. Armoury Crate can also be used to customize the animated ‘AniMe Vision’ LEDs on the lid and other lighting options.

Everything else

Both laptops sport 2560×1600 mini LED displays with up to 240Hz refresh rates and 1,200 nits of brightness. The only difference is the size, with the Scar 16 boasting a – surprise! – 16-inch screen, and the Scar 18 sporting an 18-inch display. Both displays looked excellent to me, and having the included high refresh rate is fantastic for anyone who plans to game directly on the laptop screens. However, the included Thunderbolt 5 and HDMI ports allow for using external displays as well, giving you options.

As far as input goes, I’ve seen better. Both laptops have massive trackpads that work very well. The Scar 16 is too small to include a numpad with the keyboard, so Asus instead added a touch numpad to the trackpad that can be activated by pressing the ‘Numlk’ symbol in the top-right corner of the trackpad. The Scar 18 does include a numpad.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 sports a touch numpad in the trackpad.

However, I found both laptops’ keyboards to be rather unpleasant. The keys feel very mushy with almost no tactile feedback, making them not ideal for typing. That said, the keyboards are passable for gaming. Depending on how you plan to use the laptop, you could also get away with using an external keyboard.

Finally, I want to touch on battery life briefly. I didn’t have high expectations for these devices – gaming laptops typically don’t have great battery life – and the Scar laptops were about as bad as I expected. However, I was very surprised to see the Scar 16 performed much worse than the Scar 18 despite the laptops having the same battery size.

Side view comparing the size of (from bottom to top) the Strix Scar 18, Scar 16, and Zenbook A14.

For my test, I had both laptops play a 4K YouTube video at max screen brightness and with the Silent mode enabled. After an hour of playing the video, the Scar 16 dropped from 99 per cent power to 47 per cent, while the Scar 18 fell from 99 to 71 per cent over the same period of time. After another 30 minutes, the Scar 16 was at 14 per cent and the Scar 18 was at 53 per cent.

I suspect this came down to the GPU. The laptops have an option to not use the discrete GPU (in other words, the 5080 or 5090) to conserve power. Toward the end of the battery test, a pop-up on the Scar 16 warned it had turned off the GPU to conserve power, indicating the laptop had been using the 5080 throughout my test, while the Scar 18 was using the integrated graphics instead of the discrete GPU (hence the significant difference).

Regardless, the battery life was pretty disappointing. And that was just playing a video – gaming on battery is even worse. I do think you can squeeze out a little longer battery life by tweaking other settings, like reducing the screen brightness, but these are certainly not all-day battery champs.

Worth your money?

Ultimately, I think both of the Strix Scar laptops I tested are worthwhile investments for those who want the ultimate all-in-one computer for gaming and everything else and are willing to pay a premium for it. The Strix Scar series doesn’t come cheap, with the Scar 16 ranging from $4,199 to $6,699 and the Scar 18 ranging from $4,499 to $6,999. (The Scar 16 config I tried wasn’t listed on Asus’ website, but the closest version was $4,999. Meanwhile, the Scar 18 config I tested was priced at $6,999.)

That’s a ton of money to put down for a PC, but it’s also in line with similarly specced laptops from other brands and even some desktop options. For anyone who doesn’t want to drop around $5,000 on a desktop and another roughly $1,000 on a laptop or tablet for portable computing needs, gaming laptops like the Strix Scar are the obvious way to go, and that’s before getting into the cheaper options with lower-tier or older hardware.

The Strix Scar laptops have RGB lighting around the bottom edge.

The tool-less entry and upgradability help make the higher cost easier to stomach as they add a degree of future-proofing in case customers need to replace or repair any parts. Still, it’s not as repairable as a full-on desktop PC.

Regardless, I came away generally impressed with the ROG Strix Scar laptops and could totally see making one of them my daily driver if my use case didn’t benefit so much from having lighter, more portable devices. And that’s high praise from me, someone who historically hasn’t really liked gaming laptops.

The ROG Strix Scar series is available through Asus Canada (Scar 16 / Scar 18) and Best Buy (Scar 16 / Scar 18).