Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) Review

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a beast of a gaming laptop, delivering extreme CPU and GPU performance in a portable design, powered by both Intel and Nvidia’s most advanced and portable hardware.

While the laptop is at the top of the market in terms of performance and packed with all the best toys to excel at gaming, it does come with a hefty price tag. The version featured in this review retails for $3,900 with an Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and Nvidia RTX 4090 laptop GPU with 2TB of storage. However, you can get the RTX 4080 configuration for $3,000 with 1TB of storage.

However, despite all the bells and whistles to make your portable gaming dreams come true, is the Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 18 worth its weight in a sea of other gaming laptops?

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is available to purchase now via the ROG website.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024): Specs and features

The ROG Strix Scar 18 is a flagship laptop for Asus, offering two configurations that both have a lot to offer in terms of raw power. In terms of specs, the ROG Strix Scar 18 is equipped with:

Dimensions: 0.91 x 11.57 x 15.71 inches

Weight: 6.83 pounds

Processor: Intel Core i9-14900HX

Graphics: Nvidia RTX 4090 laptop GPU

RAM: 32GB DDR5-5600

Display: 16-inch, 2,560 x 1,600, mini-LED, 240Hz

Storage: 2TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD

Ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x Thunderbolt 4, 1x 2.5G LAN port, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm

Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Webcam: 720p

Operating system: Windows 11 Pro

Battery: 90 watt-hour

Price: $3,900

Although the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 carries that previously mentioned $3,900 price tag in comparison to other performance-specialised laptops, it’s actually priced reasonably. When looking at competitors, the MSI Raider 17 is priced at $5,289 on Newegg, while an Alienware m18 (with slightly less impressive hardware) will set you back $3,800.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024): Design and build quality

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 does not have the slimmed-down and petite design associated with other gaming laptops. It takes little effort to be lightweight, measuring over one inch thick, nearly 16 inches wide, and a foot across; this is the Andre the Giant of laptops.

While it is still portable in a sense, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 will struggle to fit in a regular laptop bag, so in essence, it works more as a slightly portable desktop. However, Asus makes this design choice work. It has a simple charcoal chassis adorned by subtle ROG accents that work to present a sleek and minimal design that does all it needs to catch your eye.

The well-placed LED accents add a futuristic cyberpunk quality to the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, giving it an attractive and understated design. The LEDs also have some utility, blinking red when charging, for example, and can be customised through the laptop’s included software or Windows’ personalisation settings.

The only disappointing aspect of the laptop is its overall build quality. For a $3,899.99 laptop, you may think that it would be made with a sturdy metal backplate; instead, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is mostly made with plastic.

While the material does offer plenty of flex across the lower chassis and display lid, and there is nothing functionally wrong with the plastic, it honestly seems no sturdier than the sub-$1,000 Acer Nitro V.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024): Performance

As a performance-specialised laptop, this is a key aspect of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. On paper, Asus certainly delivers the goods.

The ROG Strix Scar 18 in this review has Intel’s Core i9-14900HX, a 24-core, 32-thread processor with eight performance cores, 16 efficient cores, and a maximum Turbo boost of 5.8GHz. It also had Nvidia RTX 4090 mobile graphics with a maximum graphics power of 175 watts. The inside of this laptop is all you need for late-night gaming sessions and running some of the most demanding games.

The ROG Strix Scar 18 was able to easily handle titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, Helldivers 2, and Resident Evil 4 Remake.

While the Intel Core i9-14900HX doesn’t seem to raise the bar over what was available last year, it is extremely quick for processing. This leaves most games with short loading times and the ability for the laptop to easily handle multiple tasks at once.

In terms of graphics, Nvidia’s RTX 4090 mobile graphics is quick, but it’s also fundamentally the same GPU that debuted in high-performance laptops last year.

Overall, while a powerful machine all around, the lack of development or extra goodies over the 2023 model does leave a little to be desired for the asking price.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024): Display, audio

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18’s display is another key feature. With an 18-inch Mini-LED display with 2,304 dimming zones and a refresh rate of 240Hz, the laptop provides an impressive screen for mowing down zombies, exploring ancient runes, or playing solitaire.

Delivering a Mini-LED with this many dimming zones radically improves contrast over a typical IPS display as well as most prior Mini-LED laptops. I measured a maximum contrast ratio of 25400:1 at 100 percent of the display’s maximum brightness. At low levels of brightness, the contrast ratio becomes effectively infinite and comparable to that of OLED.

The display also scores well in colour gamut, colour accuracy, and maximum brightness. There is a maximum SDR brightness of 532 nits and a maximum HDR brightness of 1153. That’s higher than most HDR computer monitors, providing even more visual fidelity for immersive gaming moments. Motion clarity and fluidity are fantastic due to the 240Hz refresh rate and support for Nvidia G-Sync.

However, the biggest issue is with blooming, a common problem for most mini-LED displays. Blooming causes bright halos around bright objects in a dark scene, which is still evident. Although it’s barely visible when playing movies and games, it becomes more noticeable around the edges of apps on the desktop. This issue is most visible at higher levels of brightness and when HDR is turned on.

Asus offers a four-speaker system that provides reasonably crisp, rich audio, but it’s not that loud. The audio can still become muddy or metallic when asked to handle music with deep bass or an explosion-filled cutscene.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024): Connectivity and Ports

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 provides one Thunderbolt 4 port and one USB-C port, both of which provide power and DisplayPort. There’s also one HDMI 2.1 port with FRL, a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Although there is no SDcard reader or another USB-A port, it’s definitely not a deal-breaker with the ports available here.

In terms of connectivity, it has a 2.5G wired Ethernet port and supports Wi-Fi 6E alongside Bluetooth 5.3. The ROG Strix Scar 18’s network connectivity is fairly expansive for a modern gaming laptop.

In terms of power supply, it’s delivered by a 330-watt power brick that connects to the laptop’s left flank through a barrel plug adapter. However, you’ll definitely need to take the power brick wherever you go, which again adds to the issue with the portability of the Strix.

Summary

Overall, checking all the boxes in the performance and display department, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a powerful gaming laptop that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but keeps consistent. Although there is something to be desired in terms of build quality, the specs and performance aspects of the machine make it one of the best top-of-the-range gaming laptops on the market.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 – 8/10

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 was provided to FandomWire for review by Ranieri.