If you\u2019re looking for the absolute most powerful gaming hardware out there… well, you don\u2019t want the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15. You want a desktop or a laptop that weighs seven pounds, requires multiple power bricks, and is basically a desktop. But if you still want something you can realistically carry around, the Strix is about as powerful as it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve reviewed a number of Asus laptops this year that are members of the ROG Zephyrus gaming line \u2014 powerful, while still portable and attractive. You\u2019d buy a Zephyrus if you want decent gaming results but also want an everyday work machine you could bring into the office or class. The Strix line eschews the latter role. These are gaming laptops. They are just for games. They\u2019re not cheap, they\u2019re not subtle, and they hold nothing back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s where the Strix Scar 15 stands out. Every aspect is designed with the gaming enthusiast in mind, and there are a number of unique features for those customers. Of course, those also come with a few trade-offs \u2014 and folks who might need to use their machine for tasks besides gaming should consider other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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, 1GB of SSD storage, and a 240Hz screen. The model we\u2019re looking at today is a significant step up from that: it costs $2,799.99 and is powered by Intel\u2019s eight-core Core i9-10980HK and an RTX 2070 Super, which are joined by 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and a 1920 x 1080 300Hz screen (3ms response time). The 10980HK is a workhorse \u2014 it\u2019s one of the most powerful mobile chips on the market \u2014 and 300Hz is the fastest display you can get on a 15-inch laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you clicked on this review, you\u2019re probably most curious about the frame rates this laptop is putting up. Suffice to say: they\u2019re good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On CS:GO at maximum settings, the Strix Scar averaged 248fps. Thanks to this model\u2019s 300Hz screen, the chips aren\u2019t just rendering 248fps; you\u2019re actually seeing 248fps. You\u2019ll see a frame rate difference between this system and an identical one with a 240Hz display, albeit a small one. (But to folks who play a lot of esports and first-person shooters, a small difference can matter.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, CS:GO was a smooth experience. The Scar only dipped below 100fps once when I was running through a thick flurry of dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not all titles are able to take full advantage of the 300Hz screen, unless you plan on bumping the quality settings down. The Strix put up 67fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raider\u2019s highest settings with ray tracing on Ultra. On Red Dead Redemption II (one of the most demanding games out there) cranked up to Ultra, the Scar averaged 54fps. Both games were quite playable on those settings, without any stuttering or slowdown. Those results are right on par with the MSI GE66 Raider (which put up 50fps on Red Dead and 70fps on Tomb Raider) and beat the smaller Zephyrus G14 by a significant margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s worth noting that while I was letting the Scar rip in Turbo mode (the highest power profile available) the 10980HK got quite hot throughout my gaming session, spending a chunk of time in the mid-90s and even hitting 99 degrees Celsius a couple of times. When I swapped to the regular Performance profile, the CPU spent more time in the mid-high 80s, and I only saw a 1-2fps difference as a result. So if you\u2019re worried about frying your hardware, you won\u2019t miss much if you stay on the Performance profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving on to other laptop stuff. Apart from its chips, what distinguishes the Strix Scar 15 as a gaming laptop is the design. It features a customizable per-key RGB keyboard, a luminous logo on the lid, and a bright LED strip around the front three sides. A glowing strip may seem obnoxious, but this one is actually more subdued than strips you may have seen on gaming rigs like MSI\u2019s GE66 Raider. It wraps around the underside of the deck, so you don\u2019t see it full-on; the effect is less garish gamer than the GE66 Raider and more fancy nightclub. (You can turn all of the RGB stuff off, of course. But then, what\u2019s the point?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another cool thing is the deck design, which is printed with what Asus calls \u201cCybertext.\u201d Basically, Republic of Gamers is written all over it in an urban-chic sort of font. It\u2019s subtle and far from distracting, but it gives the whole product a subtle sci-fi vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of the keyboard deck: the palm rests are coated in a unique \u201csoft-touch paint.\u201d It\u2019s much smoother than your typical palm rest (you can very much feel the difference when you touch the rest of the chassis) and is quite nice to lay your hands on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asus keyboards are often among my favorites, and the Strix Scar\u2019s keyboard is no exception. I love typing on this. I feel like my fingers are flying while using it. There\u2019s a satisfying click with very little resistance. And I especially appreciate the convenient row of hotkeys at the top, which includes volume controls, a microphone mute, one that changes the performance profile, and another button that brings up Armoury Crate (Asus\u2019 app where you can adjust various settings and features).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019d rather plug in your own peripherals, you have a good port selection at your disposal. There are three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and an audio jack on the left side, while the back houses one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port (which supports DisplayPort, but not PD charging), the charging port, one LAN RJ-45, and one HDMI 2.0. That\u2019s most of what you\u2019ll need but there\u2019s one glaring omission: Thunderbolt. Plenty of people may not care about this, but it\u2019s a port I\u2019m disappointed not to see on a $2,799 laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the right side is a Keystone II reader. A Keystone II is a physical key on which you can save personal settings. You can also use it to access a private storage space, which Asus refers to as a \u201cshadow drive.\u201d This can be encrypted if you have Windows 10 Pro. (Only this model ships with that operating system. You\u2019ll need to upgrade from Windows 10 Home if you buy the base configuration.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Keystone II is a neat idea considering how many settings and profiles there are to keep track of on the Strix. In the ROG app GameVisual, you can choose between color presets for different types of games (FPS mode enhances brightness and contrast, RPG mode prioritizes vivid colors, etc.). In Aura Creator, you can customize your keyboard\u2019s colors and animation. In GameFirst VI, you can prioritize bandwidth between the programs you have running; there are presets like Gaming First, Live Streaming First, and Multimedia First.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One more thing I like: the speakers. Music sounded great, with a nice surround quality. The Strix won\u2019t replace a good external speaker and percussion was a bit tinny. But vocals were quite clear, and at maximum volume, I never heard distortion. The laptop\u2019s fans get quite loud during gaming, but I had no trouble hearing my games\u2019 audio over them. (You can also switch to the Silent profile if the whine is bothering you.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s lots of good stuff on the Strix, as you can see. But there are trade-offs, too. Most of them aren\u2019t super relevant to gaming (and thus, forgivable on a laptop like the Strix), but they\u2019re worth bearing in mind nonetheless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For one: there\u2019s no webcam. It\u2019s not a deal-breaker \u2014 streamers will be using their own equipment anyway \u2014 but it\u2019s a big minus for anyone who would otherwise use the Strix for an occasional work meeting or virtual catch-up with friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also have a couple of issues with the trackpad. It has discrete clickers, which require a bit more skittering around to press than integrated buttons. I like these particular clickers more than most, but they\u2019re still easy to miss and I sometimes found myself whacking chassis when trying to click. Generally, I found it less responsive and less accurate than I wanted it to be. Occasionally, it thought I was clicking when I wasn\u2019t, causing me to accidentally drag things everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The touchpad also has a nifty feature where it can morph into an LED number pad if you press an integrated NumLock button in the top-right corner \u2014 but I hit this button with my palm while typing and accidentally activated the Numpad several times. Unlike with Asus\u2019 ZenBooks that also have this feature, you can\u2019t navigate with the touchpad while the Numpad is up, so I kept having to interrupt my workflow to deactivate it. (You can disable the touchpad itself with F10, but there\u2019s not an easy way to disable the NumPad without disabling the touchpad.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The biggest downside, though, is battery life. I averaged two hours and 28 minutes of sustained multitasking and office work with the Strix on the Battery Saver profile with the screen around 200 nits of brightness. (With all the battery-saving features off and a slightly heavier load, I got as low as one hour.) The Strix is a gaming laptop, so I wasn\u2019t expecting hours upon hours of juice. Still, plenty of competitors do better: The MSI GE66 Raider (also powering an LED strip and RGB keyboard) made it through four hours of that same workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AGREE TO CONTINUE: ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it \u2014 contracts that no one actually reads. It\u2019s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit \u201cagree\u201d to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don\u2019t read and definitely can\u2019t negotiate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with other Windows 10 computers, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 presents you with multiple things to agree to or decline upon setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mandatory policies, for which an agreement is required, are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A request for your region and keyboard layout<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Windows 10 License Agreement and Asus privacy agreement<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A PIN<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, there is a slew of optional things to agree to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wi-Fi network<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft account<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Device privacy settings: online speech recognition, Find My Device, Inking and Typing, Advertising ID, Location, Diagnostic data, Tailored experiences<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Customize your device for various purposes (gaming, schoolwork, creativity, entertainment, family, and\/or business)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Link your Android smartphone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
OneDrive backup<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Office 365<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allow Microsoft to access your location, location history, contacts, voice input, speech and handwriting patterns, typing history, search history, calendar details, messages, apps, and Edge browsing history to aid Cortana\u2019s personalized experiences and suggestions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asus member registration<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set up McAfee account<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s five mandatory agreements and 16 optional ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gaming on battery is possible, but not great. Red Dead ran mostly in the high teens and low 20s. I got an hour and 15 minutes of the game on a charge, but I started to see stuttering when the Strix was down to 60 percent (about half an hour in) and the game became unplayable at 10 percent. Realistically, if you plan on bringing the Scar anywhere, you\u2019ll need to bring the massive 280W adapter and spend some time charging the device. (It took 45 minutes to charge up to 60 percent during very light Chrome use.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, these nitpicks emphasize Asus\u2019 priority with the Scar. It\u2019s not a laptop that\u2019s meant to double as a travel companion or a work-from-home driver \u2014 don\u2019t buy it to be your primary PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean the Scar isn\u2019t great at what it\u2019s supposed to be great at, which is gaming. Its results are on par with those of the best 15-inch rigs on the market, and it offers useful customization software with a unique colorful design to boot. If you need the best frame rates and the fastest screen, the Strix Scar 15 is a fine purchase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019re looking for the absolute most powerful gaming hardware out there… well, you don\u2019t want the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15. You want a desktop or a laptop that weighs seven pounds, requires multiple power bricks, and is basically a desktop. But if you still want something you can realistically carry around, the Strix … Continue reading “ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 15 REVIEW: POWERFUL PORTABLE GAMING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[2403],"class_list":["post-3174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-laptop","tag-asus-rog-strix-scar-15"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3175,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions\/3175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}