Verdict
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE provide blistering pace inside a bluff bundle that include a good screen , but its connectivity and ergonomics could do with improvement - and laptops come soon are set to extend even more speed
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Asus is well - know for making some of the boldest and most exciting gaming product on the market , and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE does nothing to fall apart from that hard - come through reputation .
This teras portable surrounds its 17.3 - in display with encumbrance of RGB LED kindling , and on the interior you ’ll find enough power to handle anything alongside a 240Hz screen .
I ’ve reviewed the G733CX - LL014W model , and it ’s not brassy . US resident need to pay off $ 3399 for this monster , and in the UK it go far at £ 3499 . In Europe , gestate to pay N of € 3599 .
That ’s a huge amount of hard currency for any bit of technical school , even one of thebest gambling laptops of 2023 , and it sees the Asus sidle right up against theAlienware x17 R2 – but that laptop is more expensive . Replicate the ROG ’s specification on the x17 and it costs $ 3999 / £ 3759 / € 4199 , although you do get screens with in high spirits refresh rates . There ’s also theMSI Raider GE77 , which is even more expensive .
It ’s also deserving consider whether you should save up for the upcoming 2023 rendering of this rig or some other Asus gaming laptops that will emerge later this year – so I ’ve compared the Strix to those options , too .
Design and Keyboard
There ’s no shortage of customisable ignition here . A mob of light stretch around three border of the root word and more lights sort out the logotype . The keyboard has per - key kindling , and there ’s even a funnies of lighting beneath the screen .
Whole wrapping of the radix use translucent charge card that enables gamers to get a coup d’oeil of circuit display panel . You even get replaceable hinge covers to wreak a different look to your laptop .
There ’s no deny this laptop computer look the part , but it ’s underwhelming in practical orbit . Build quality could be just : this is a 3.1 kg laptop that ’s 28 mm deep , but the metallic element around the keyboard flexes too much . Alienware ’s laptop may be pricier , but it ’s slimmer , sturdier and attend more matured .
I wish international connectivity was ripe , too . The Asus has two full - size of it USB 3.2 Gen 1 port , but they sit next to each other – deploy a large peripheral and the other interface is unaccessible . The Asus has aThunderbolt 4port and aUSB - C3.2 Gen 2 link alongsideHDMI 2.1 , but there ’s no notice reader , fingerprint scanner or webcam . The MSI is notably better in this section , with more ports and an SD posting slot .
The ROG does have 2.5Gbps Ethernet , dual - bandWi - Fi 6Eand Bluetooth 5.2 , but that ’s cold comfort given the omissions elsewhere . Annoyingly , the correct boundary only offer a slot for the gimmicky Asus KeystoneNFCfeature .
The Special Edition stigmatization alter things , too . Positively , the internals have substantially cooling with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut Extreme paste . Negatively , the laptop includes a marketing biz forebode Scar Runner . Invisible ink on the eyelid can help you solve teaser in the game , but the computer code can be read without the included UV flashlight and Asus also take note that “ inks on the lid will fade over clock time ” . It ’s all just zany .
The keyboard ’s sharp , fast action mechanism is good for play . The button do n’t make too much haphazardness , and you get per - key RGB LED backlighting alongside extra buttons for volume , microphone and rooter ascendancy .
Negatively , though , there ’s no grounds for a 17.3 - inch laptop computer to have shrunken numberpad or cursor keys or a single - height Return button . The trackpad is only second-rate , too , thanks to slightly soft button presses – use a USB rodent or else . exploiter can buy the Alienware with a CherryMX mechanically skillful keyboard , which is n’t an option on the Asus , and the MSI ’s SteelSeries typing cogwheel is also very good .
Annoyingly , the Scar ’s 2023 update wo n’t work some of those issues . That revised laptop is 100 g lighter and includes a webcam , but it ’s no smaller and offer no big connectivity improvement .
You ’ll ascertain bigger updates on the forthcoming Asus ROG Strix G16 and G18 laptops . Their 16 - in and 18 - inch displays sit around updated internals , new webcams and good port placement , but they do ditch the numberpad .
Screen
The 17.3 - column inch informatics show immix a 240Hz adaptive sync refresh rate with a 2560 x 1440 resolution . Factor in the 3ms reception time and you ’ve got a dialog box that ’ll cope with most gambling situation .
The maximum brightness of 331nitsis effective enough for indoor situations and pairs with a 0.31 nit black head for a demarcation ratio of 1068:1 . That becoming result means you ’ve got a solid amount of punch in games . That said , more depth would have been welcome for dark scenes , and a higher luminance level would have enabled outside gambling .
The medium Delta E of 2.83 is fine and the display return 99.9 % and 96.3 % of the sRGB and DCI - P3 gamut , so this screen will produce nigh every shade needed by mainstream deed of conveyance . Its lack of Adobe RGB ability mean it ’s not a good enough control board for colour - sensitive design work .
This is a proficient blind . Its contrast , colour handling , resolution and refresh pace will make virtually every game look bluff and nuanced . The resolution intend you get more contingent than the average 1080p panel , and the 240Hz refresh charge per unit is well - placed to handle most competitory scenarios .
You ’ll find safe screens elsewhere . Alienware ’s laptops are available with 4 K , 360Hz and 480Hz displays – the former better for exclusive - participant title and the latter two well - suit to gamey - endeSports . The 1080p panel I review had more exact colours and honorable contrast than the Strix ’s sieve . There ’s little to prefer between the Scar and MSI displays .
There are no significant updates to the screen inside the 2023 model . Head over to the G16 and G18 and the only advance is a 16:10 aspect ratio , which means a higher 2560 x 1600 resolution .
The speakers are fine , too , although a muddy mid - range undermines the loud , hefty and bassy end product . They ’re acceptable for play , although a headset will be better .
Performance
Nvidia ’s GeForce RTX 3080 Ti may have been superseded by the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 , but it ’s no slouch – it still has 16 GB of memory , 7242 current C.P.U. and a freak 175W eyeshade big businessman output . And Intel ’s Core i9 - 12950HX is stonking , too , thanks to P - Cores that vertex at 5GHz .
Elsewhere , the Asus deploys 32 GB of dual - channelDDR5 store . Storage hail from two Samsung PM9A1SSDsin a RAID 0 raiment with fantastic , boot - blasting read and pen speeds of 10,632MB / sec and 10,149MB / sec .
The Scar ’s 2560 x 1440 averages of 104fps and 83fps inHorizon Zero DawnandBorderlands 3mean you ’ve got enough fastness to play any top - grade plot swimmingly at 60fps without compromising on background . It ’ll handleray trace , and you may output games to 4 kB screen , widescreens and VR headset with minimal setting reductions .
An average of 361fps inRainbow Six Siegeat 1440p intend you ’ve got the eSports rate for competitor on the 240Hz screen and for export to 360Hz panel .
There ’s more play pace here than theAlienwarecould offer : the Scar ’s three-D Mark Time Spy score of 13,090 was ahead of that notebook computer . you may get a little extra by switching to Turbo musical mode , too – that choice saw the Scar ’s Time Spy leave improve to 13,684 . A still - respectable result of 10,140 in Silent mode enables mainstream gaming with reduced disturbance levels . Out of laptops mention here , onlythe MSIwas consistently quicker than the Asus – and even then , not by much .
In Geekbench ’s single- and multi - core try the i9 - 12950HX scored 1788 and 14,986 , with the latter almost 3000 points beyond the Core i7 - 12700H used inside the Alienware and only a short behind the monster MSI notebook . That multi - core result ameliorate to 15,755 in Turbo mode and only dropped to 13,474 in understood modality .
You ’ll be able to race high - ending photograph - editing tasks , 4 K video editing workloads and other content instauration apps on this laptop computer , and multi - tax is no issue .
The Special Edition cooling mold well , too . Even when pepper through game the Strix is one of the quieter big gaming laptop , it beats the noisy MSI , and it matches Alienware . The internal verbaliser or a headset will handle the noise even in the toughest situations . The exterior never receive too hot , either .
It ’s a keen beak of wellness for the Scar , but you ’ve got choice if you require even more power . On the graphics side , theforthcoming RTX 4080 coreshould be about 20 % faster than the RTX 3080 Ti . You ’ll find that GPU inside the 2023 interlingual rendition , the G16 and G18 , too , and Price should n’t deviate much from this trailer truck ’s $ 3399 / £ 3499 / € 3599 price .
On the processing side , the Scar ’s 2023 version use anAMD Ryzen 9 7945HX , while equivalent G16 and G18 rigs use the Intel Core i9 - 13980HX . The AMD chip hit about 17,000 points in the Geekbench multi - core examination , while the Modern Intel CPU top 21,000 points .
If you do n’t need that velocity , though , still think the Scar ’s 2022 framework . When it comes to mainstream gambling and message universe , it ’ll do anything , and it ’ll belike throw in price when those update models launch .
Should you buy the 2022 or 2023 Scar , though ? It ’s sly , no matter which components it ’s catch . There ’s no denying the performance on offer , and it ’s get a good screen – but it should have better connectivity , build calibre and ergonomics . It ’s quick , but you ’ll find more finesse elsewhere .
Battery
It ’s no shock that the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE does n’t bid great electric battery life even with a 90Wh power multitude . Expect about an hour of longevity when gaming , just under three hour in an everyday piece of work benchmark , and four hours if you watch pic with the screen at reduced cleverness .
Those results are not great , but not surprising . Alienware ’s laptop was no advantageously here and the MSI outpace both of its competitor . And do n’t expect the 2023 version to improve – it retains the same 90Wh office clique . The G16 and G18 also have 90Wh battery .
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Should you buy it?
The Asus has incredible gaming and processing gait and , thanks to RGB LEDs at every twist , there ’s no deny it look the part . The screen door is a safe all - debauchee , too .
extroverted Asus notebooks will be even faster , and other laptops are svelte , lighter and longer - lasting , with improved keyboard and port wine selection . The Asus is fast , but sick .
Final Thoughts
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE is one of the fastest gambling laptop on the market right now , and it also deploys a substantial screen door and a bluff bod with wad of RGB LED . It ’s not practical or ergonomically pleasing enough , though , and succeeding rigs will offer even more pace without much of a cost jump .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every gaming laptop we review goes through a series of uniform check plan to gauge cardinal things admit build quality , performance , cover lineament and battery life .
These admit formal synthetic benchmark and scripted tests , plus a series of genuine earthly concern checks , such as how well it run when running a AAA secret plan .
FAQs
Yes , this is one of the most sinewy gaming laptops on the market when it comes to gaming – at least until the RTX 4000 GPUs arrive inside laptops .
Test Data
Full Specs
