Asus ROG Strix Scar 17: tough, brash, by-product -MyCyberBase

Asus at all times reveals a method to marvel me. It’s an organization that may produce the sublime ROG Zephyrus G14 and G15 gaming laptops — up there with the most efficient within the enterprise relating to design and thinness. It may possibly additionally make the Waft Z13, a skinny gaming pill with tough specifications inside of. Then, it may possibly move totally in the wrong way to make one thing just like the Strix Scar 17, a formidable however a ways much less delicate computer that begins at $1,999 and is going up from there. I’d say that it’s a tool made explicitly for players, however I do know various players who wouldn’t wish to be observed the usage of this factor.

Its thick chassis is in part translucent, with multi-colored LEDs shining thru, and the enclosure for its show has an angular minimize out — simply because! You’ll even change between a couple of incorporated “armor caps” to offer your computer a distinct glance from the again.

The 2022 type of the Strix Scar 17 is simply a refresh, with little or no of its external modified from its predecessors (it nonetheless doesn’t have a webcam, for instance). Maximum of the focal point used to be on making important upgrades to its internals. It’s a pace system, with 32GB of rapid DDR5 RAM, a formidable Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, and Intel’s Core i9 12900H processor integrated. And to peer all of that energy on show (smartly, relying at the video games you play), its 17.3-inch QHD panel has a quick 240Hz refresh charge.

This can be a computer the place you’ll simply see the perks of getting the most recent Intel and Nvidia {hardware} in-built. The Strix Scar 17 can also be relied upon to play any sport at a good body charge. Whilst now not essentially distinctive to this type, this computer used to be greater than succesful sufficient to run a lot of the ones video games smartly at the Alienware QD-OLED gaming monitor, which has the next 3440 x 1440 solution than the Strix’s integrated computer show.

This computer can’t move toe-to-toe with the brand new Razer Blade 17 or Alienware X17, a minimum of relating to appears to be like. Each characteristic a skinny, spectacular design with high-end construct fabrics. But when the ones qualities don’t subject to you, the Strix Scar 17 could be priced extra for your liking. Whilst getting both the Blade 17 or X17 with equivalent specifications will charge you smartly over $3,000, the type that I examined prices $2,499.99 at Micro Middle. As long as you don’t thoughts a few of Asus’ minor cost-cutting measures, like making its computer clad in plastic as an alternative of aluminum, and different annoyances like McAfee anti-virus pop-ups, you’re getting a large number of energy to your cash.

The Strix Scar 17’s design is over the top, in a phrase. Like earlier iterations of this computer, it’s dressed to the nines with RGB LED thrives. There’s a big strip of lighting going across the entrance of the chassis and beneath the wrist relaxation. The ground fringe of the show options any other gentle strip, diffusing gentle (relatively tastefully, in fact) at the raised venting element. The ROG emblem at the again of the show is lit and so are each and every of the keys on Asus’ mechanical keyboard. Keep in mind that, you will have to more than likely steer clear of this computer should you’re after one thing that doesn’t have a visual RGB LED at just about each attitude.

When seen from the top-down, the chassis is bisected with a line that divides an all-black, soft-touch phase with a smoky translucent phase that permits you to see somewhat into the system, which appears to be like cool.

Taking a excursion across the computer, the Strix Scar’s keyboard, as soon as once more, delivers a super typing enjoy. The keys are just about silent, but they really feel tactile and pleasant to kind on. It is going to take a couple of days to get familiar with the keyboard format, however I’m on board with the whole lot that Asus goes for right here. There are devoted keys raised close to the tip of the keyboard for quantity, and the facility button is a ways sufficient clear of the opposite keys not to be pressed on twist of fate. There are even 4 programmable keys that you’ll customise inside of Asus’ Armoury Crate tool that’s pre-installed.

Asus takes complete good thing about the chassis actual property through together with a bunch pad, in addition to a generously sized trackpad. The trackpad itself is excellent, despite the fact that it doesn’t click on in on its proper aspect should you lean an excessive amount of weight at the heart of the computer. This shouldn’t be a topic for most of the people, until you’re any person who leans their weight at the wrist relaxation. The plastic throughout this computer flexes slightly a bit of — to not a being concerned stage, but it surely’s sufficient to affect the capability on this case. Additionally, the computer’s most commonly plastic design creaks every so often once I pick out it up. This isn’t one thing that you just’ll enjoy with Razer or Alienware’s laptops, despite the fact that whether or not that justifies their upper costs is determined by the individual. It’s value noting that the Strix Scar 17’s construct fabrics don’t yield a computer that’s lighter than the contest, however I wouldn’t name it heavy. It weighs 6.4 kilos, whilst Razer’s all-aluminum Blade 17 is 6.06 kilos. The X17 can move as much as seven kilos.

As for port variety, there’s a headphone jack along two USB-A ports across the left aspect (down from 3 in previous iterations). At the bottom, there’s a proprietary energy connector, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet jack, an HDMI 2.1 port, and two Thunderbolt 4 USB 4 Sort-C ports.

Alongside the fitting aspect, there’s the Keystone II NFC bodily key that can be utilized to soundly log into the computer, with all Asus account and instrument settings in tow. Moreover, it may possibly turn on a efficiency mode and a delegated app when inserted. Conversely, you’ll program it to fasten the pc or close down packages when got rid of. It may possibly additionally give get admission to to a “shadow force,” which can also be encrypted if in case you have Home windows 11 Professional. This can be a characteristic that I’d be expecting to peer on a business-class computer, so it’s extraordinary to peer it incorporated with a gaming computer.

Given how horrible maximum gaming computer audio system are, I wasn’t anticipating one among my favourite issues concerning the Strix Scar 17 could be its audio system. On peak of its full-sized keyboard that varieties like a dream, my song and video games sound higher performed thru this computer’s audio system than nearly any that I’ve examined ahead of (on par or reasonably beneath the place Apple’s audio system are within the 16-inch MacBook Professional). Video games have much more punch of their sound than what I’ve skilled with different gaming laptops.

The show at the Strix Scar 17 is excellent whilst the computer is plugged in, however rather less so whilst working off of its battery. That’s as a result of there’s a characteristic that progressively dims and brightens the panel relying on what’s displayed. It’s on through default, however it may be grew to become off throughout the Intel Graphics Command Middle. Some other quirk that’s arduous to forget about is that this computer’s loss of a webcam. Regardless of including a webcam to this yr’s ROG Zephyrus G14, G15, and others, Asus nonetheless has a handful of gaming laptops with out one — the Strix Scar 17 incorporated. The highest bezel turns out sufficiently big to deal with a small lens, so Asus’ determination to put out of your mind a webcam simply looks like a leave out.

Another way, I haven’t any lawsuits concerning the show. The configuration that I’m checking out has a 17.3-inch QHD IPS panel with a 240Hz refresh charge. It helps 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, and its 300 nits of top brightness make it simply shiny sufficient to learn when it’s basking in herbal gentle from a window. Asus provides a 1080p show choice for the Strix Scar 17, however QHD is the fitting solution for a 17-inch gaming computer. 4K remains to be too hard on even the most efficient cellular {hardware}. By way of comparability, QHD isn’t as a lot of a problem, but it nonetheless appears to be like just about as just right as 4K (to not point out, it appears to be like dramatically higher than 1080p).

The Strix Scar 17 talks a large sport about bringing what players need, and its specifications most commonly ship on that promise. Cyberpunk 2077, lately some of the system-intensive PC video games, can run at nearly 50 frames in step with moment with QHD solution, extremely graphics settings (DLSS on), and ray tracing settings switched on. That result’s about 17fps shy of what the 2022 Razer Blade 17’s RTX 3080 Ti used to be able to. That is in a computer that prices $1,500 much less.

Asus’ computer additionally submit a good efficiency in Purple Useless Redemption 2. At extremely settings (no DLSS) in QHD solution, it accomplished a clean 65fps, whilst turning DLSS on yielded a 7fps spice up. With each sport that I attempted to run, the Strix Scar 17 didn’t face many stumbling blocks working them at their very best settings. Its specifications can care for maximum video games with no need to be amped as much as the computer’s “efficiency” or “turbo” modes (the keyboard has devoted buttons to do that), which spice up the clock speeds of the CPU and graphics card, after which amps up the fan pace accordingly.

The computer’s enthusiasts can get loud, but it surely’s no louder than maximum different high-end gaming laptops. Or even at top efficiency, the Strix Scar 17’s above-average audio system do an admirable activity at hushing the sound of the enthusiasts (despite the fact that, dialogue-heavy video games gained’t fare as smartly, so use some headphones if that applies to you). Additionally, at the subject of cooling, most effective the rear-most parts of this computer turn into toasty throughout gameplay, however now not so scorching that it may possibly’t be conveniently used or treated.

The Strix Scar 17 delivers commendable efficiency out of doors of gaming, essentially in creative-focused packages like Adobe Premiere Professional. It ripped thru our export check sooner than most up-to-date laptops that we’ve examined, finishing its render of our 4-minute, 33-second 4K video record in simply two mins and 9 seconds. It additionally fared rather well within the PugetBench suite of benchmarking gear for Premiere Professional, scoring 1,001, which beats each computer we’ve examined up to now in 2022 apart from MSI’s pricier GE76 Raider.

Picture through Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

It’s almost a for the reason that any tough gaming computer could have not-so-great battery existence. And sadly, that’s the case right here. Its 90Wh battery can remaining about 3 and a part hours underneath customary use, which I outline as working a dozen or so browser tabs, song streaming, and a talk app like Slack. At the brighter aspect, you’ll recharge this yr’s Strix Scar 17 by means of USB-C — as much as 100W with a USB-C PD charger. Earlier variations of this computer all however required you to tote round its massive and hefty 280W energy brick. As long as you don’t plan on gaming at the move, USB-C recharging is a viable choice.

Asus’s Strix Scar 17 proves that you just don’t want to lay our a fortune to get get admission to to a quick Intel Alder Lake processor or Nvidia’s 3070 Ti cellular graphics card. And for this type’s $2,499 value, it delivers a large number of different good things, like its tactile keyboard, sharp QHD show, booming audio system, and above-average port variety.

Even though, you’ll to find a lot of its very best qualities in a few of Asus’ different high-end gaming laptops that provide higher designs. The new ROG Zephyrus G14 most likely can’t stack up with its energy. However its new ROG Zephyrus M16, for instance, has equivalent specifications to the Strix, packed right into a sharper design that has a webcam. Moreover, it has a taller 16:10 facet ratio, despite the fact that reasonably smaller display. Crucially, the M16 is $300 lower than the type that I reviewed, costing $2,149.99 — nearly $300 lower than the Strix. Whilst its GPU’s overall graphics energy is most likely lower than the Strix Scar 17’s, the M16 could also be a forged selection if you realize you need a formidable Asus computer.