Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 review: powerful portable games

If you’re looking for the absolute most powerful gaming hardware out there … well, you don’t want the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15. You want a desktop or laptop that weighs seven pounds, requires more power bricks, and is basically a desktop. But if you still want something you can realistically carry, Strix is ​​as powerful as it gets.

This year we looked at a number of Asus laptops that are members of the ROG Zephyrus gaming line – powerful, yet portable and attractive. You would buy a Zephyrus if you want decent in-game results, but you also want a daily work machine that you can bring to your office or classroom. The Strix line avoids the last role. These are gaming laptops. I’m just for games. They are not cheap, they are not subtle and they do not hold anything back.

That’s where Strix Scar 15 stands out. Every aspect is designed for gaming enthusiasts and there are a number of unique features for those customers. Of course, they also come with some trade-offs – and people who may need to use their car for tasks other than games should consider other options.

The Strix Scar 15 starts at $ 2,199.99 on the Asus store. The base model comes with a Core i7-10875H, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super, 1 GB of SSD storage and a 240Hz screen. The model we are looking at today is a significant step: it costs $ 2,799.99 and is powered by the Core i9-10980HK with eight Intel cores and an RTX 2070 Super, which is joined by 32 GB of RAM, 2 TB of storage and a screen 1920 x 1080 300Hz (response time 3 ms). 10980HK is a workhorse – it’s one of the most powerful mobile chips on the market – and 300Hz is the fastest display you can get on a 15-inch laptop.

If you clicked on this review, you’re probably most curious about the frame rates this laptop offers. Suffice it to say: they are good.

On CS: GO at maximum settings, Strix Scar averaged 248 fps. Thanks to the screen of this 300Hz model, the chips do not only play 248 fps; you actually see 248 fps. You will see a difference in frame rate between this system and an identical one with a 240Hz display, although a small one. (But for those who play a lot of sports and first-person shooters, it may make a small difference.)

Overall, CS: GO it was a smooth experience. The scar dropped below 100 fps once as we ran through a thick gust of dust.

Not all titles can take full advantage of the 300Hz screen unless you intend to remove the quality settings. Strix set 67 fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raiderthe highest settings with ray tracing on Ultra. On Red Dead Redemption II (one of the most demanding games out there) reached Ultra, Scar averaged 54 fps. Both games were fairly playable on these settings, with no stuttering or slowing down. These results are the same as MSI GE66 Raider (which enabled 50 fps red death and 70 fps on tomb Raider) and defeated the smaller Zephyrus G14 by a significant margin.

It’s worth noting that while letting Scar break into Turbo mode (the highest power profile available), the 10980HK became quite hot during my gaming session, spending some time in the mid-90s and even hitting 99 degrees Celsius a few times. When I switched to the usual performance profile, the processor spent more time in the mid-80s and, as a result, I only saw a difference of 1-2 fps. So if you’re worried about frying your hardware, you won’t lose much if you stay in the performance profile.

Let’s move on to other things about the laptop. Apart from its chips, what distinguishes the Strix Scar 15 as a gaming laptop is its design. It has a customizable RGB keyboard on the key, a bright logo on the lid and a bright LED strip around the three front faces. A glossy tape may seem disgusting, but it’s actually smaller than the tapes you’ve seen on gaming platforms, such as MS66’s GE66 Raider. It wraps around the bottom of the deck so you can’t see it completely; the effect is less full of gamer than GE66 Raider and a more stylish nightclub. (You can turn off all RGB stuff, of course. But then, what’s the point?)

Another interesting thing is the design of the bridge, which is printed with what Asus calls “Cybertext”. Basically, Republic of Gamers is written everywhere in a kind of urban-chic font. It is subtle and far from distracting, but gives the whole product a subtle sci-fi atmosphere.

Speaking of the keyboard: the palm rests are covered with a unique “soft touch paint”. It is much finer than the typical hand rest (you can feel the difference a lot when you touch the rest of the chassis) and it is quite pleasant to put your hands on.

Asus keyboards are often among my favorites, and the Strix Scar keyboard is no exception. I like to write about it. I feel my fingers flying as I use it. There is a satisfactory click with very little resistance. And I especially appreciate the convenient row of top keys at the top, which includes volume controls, a mute microphone, one that changes the performance profile, and another button that displays Armory Crate (the Asus app, where you can adjust various settings and features) .

If you prefer to connect your own peripherals, you have a good selection of ports. There are three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and an audio jack on the left, while the back houses a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (which supports DisplayPort, but not PD charging), the charging port, a RJ-45 LAN and an HDMI 2.0. This is most of what you will need, but there is a glaring omission: Thunderbolt. A lot of people may not care about this, but it’s a port I’m disappointed not to see on a $ 2,799 laptop.

On the right is a Keystone II reader. A Keystone II is a physical key on which you can save your personal settings. You can also use it to access private storage, which Asus refers to as a “shadow drive”. This can be encrypted if you have Windows 10 Pro. (Only this model comes with that operating system. You will need to upgrade from Windows 10 Home if you purchase the basic configuration.)

Keystone II is a neat idea, given how many settings and profiles there are to keep track of the Strix. In the ROG GameVisual application, you can choose between color presets for different types of games (FPS mode improves brightness and contrast, RPG mode gives priority to vivid colors, etc.). In Aura Creator, you can customize the colors and animation of the keyboard. In GameFirst VI, you can prioritize the bandwidth between the programs you run; there are presets such as Gaming First, Live Streaming First and Multimedia First.

Another thing I like: the speakers. The music sounded great, with a pleasant surround quality. Strix will not replace a good external speaker, and the percussion was a bit small. But the voice was quite clear, and at full volume I never heard any distortion. Laptop fans get pretty loud during games, but I had no problem hearing the sound of my games over them. (You can also switch to the Silent profile if you complain it bothers you.)

There are many good things about Strix, as you can see. But there are also trade-offs. Most of them are not very relevant to games (and therefore can be forgiven on a laptop like Strix), but they are still worth considering.

First: there is no webcam. It’s not a break-deal – streamers will use their own equipment anyway – but it’s a big minus for anyone using Strix for an occasional work meeting or virtual recovery with friends.

I also have some problems with the trackpad. It has discreet clickers that require a little more shaking to press than the built-in buttons. I like these special clicks more than most, but they are still easy to miss and sometimes I find myself hitting the chassis when I try to click. Overall, I found it less receptive and less accurate than I wanted it to be. Occasionally, I was thought to click when I’m not, causing me to accidentally drag things everywhere.

The touchpad also has a smart feature that can turn into a numeric LED pad if you press a built-in NumLock button in the upper right corner – but I pressed this button with my palm as I typed and accidentally activated the Numpad several times. Unlike Asus ZenBooks that also have this feature, you can’t navigate with the touchpad while Numpad is turned on, so I had to pause the workflow to turn it off. (You can disable the touchpad itself with the F10, but there is no easy way to disable NumPad without disabling the touchpad.)

However, the biggest disadvantage is the battery life. I performed on average two hours and 28 minutes of multitasking and office work supported with the Strix on the Battery Saver profile with the screen of about 200 nits of brightness. (With all the battery saving features turned off and a slightly higher charge, I’ve reached an hour.) Strix is ​​a gaming laptop, so I wasn’t expecting it for hours. However, a lot of competitors do better: MSI GE66 Raider (also powering an LED strip and an RGB keyboard) managed to cover four hours of the same workload.

Battery games are possible, but not great. red death he ran especially in his teens and 20s. I got an hour and 15 minutes of play for a fee, but I started to see him stuttering when Strix dropped to 60 percent (about half an hour inside) and the game became impossible to play with 10 percent. Realistically, if you plan to bring Scar anywhere, you’ll need to bring the massive 280W adapter and spend some time charging your device. (It took 45 minutes to charge up to 60% while using Chrome very lightly.)

Overall, these nitpicks emphasize Asus’ priority with Scar. It’s not a laptop meant to double as a travel companion or driver at home – don’t buy it to be your main computer.

But that doesn’t mean Scar isn’t great at what should be great, which is games. Its results are on par with those of the best 15-inch platforms on the market and offer useful customization software with a unique colorful design to start with. If you need the best frame rates and the fastest screen, Strix Scar 15 is a great purchase.

Photos by Monica Chin / The Verge