Verdict
forward-looking stack 3D V - Cache create the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D even faster in Triple - A games but the introductory intent is starting to look date alongside the new Asus ROG Scar Strix 18 mannequin .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The ROG Strix Scar 17X3D comes with a new discrepancy of AMD ’s Ryzen 9 7945HX Dragon Range processor called the 7945HX3D. The 7945HX3D uses what AMD calls“3D V - Cache Technology”to duplicate the amount of L3 cache from 64 Bachelor of Medicine to 128 MB compared to the schematic 7945HX . Let ’s put it to the test .
The 3D V - Cache packaging engineering science heap additional cache layers on top of the CPU , which means you could increase the CPU ’s remembering without increasing the size of the die or shrinking the logic circuits .
In the case of AMD ’s 16 - core Ryzen 9 7945HX3D , only one of the 2 blocks of 8 cores gets the additional stacked L3 3D V - Cache because it has a damaging impact on clock speed . The 8 cores in the non-3D mental block running at the same 5.4Ghz hike clock as the 7945HX , but AMD has n’t released item of the lower maximal boost clock for the 3D V - Cache closure .
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This design should put up more flexibility , allowing applications that benefit from the additional cache and applications programme that benefit from high meat clock speeds to run quicker . This then should be the dependable mobile play CPU in the world .
Design and Keyboard
The new Strix Scar 17 X3D is identical to theStrix Scar 17I reviewed back in May . It still weighs 3 kilogram and measures up at 395 x 282 x 28.3 mm , which is the same as the 2022 and 2021 models . This is still basically a2022 Strix Scar SEwith revised atomic number 14 .
The age of the design to one side , it is still a solid motorcar made from aluminium and high - quality plastic with only one veridical geological fault : fingerprints show up badly on the keyboard deck of cards .
The system of the I / O ports is the same , with twoUSB - A 3.2Gen 1 larboard on the left side and two Type - century embrasure ( both USB 3.2 Gen 2 spec withDisplayPortvideo output signal ) , HDMI 2.0 and 2.5 G LAN ports along with the DC - in and 3.5 millimetre audio recording jacks at the back . I would prefer data port on both side for the Type - A port to be further aside .
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The keyboard is a intimate chiclet affair with 2 millimetre of travel . It ’s a hearty affair for well suited to serious gaming , though it ca n’t match the mechanical keyboards tally to theMedion Erazer Beast X40orMSI Titan GT77 .
The layout is distinctive ROG which think it ’s both comprehensive and expansive though you have to support reduce – size pointer and computer keyboard keys . Five dedicated ( and programmable ) hotkeys give quick access to features such as the volume , fan speed and the Armoury Crate covering . The conventionalized primal - cap graphics are a matter of discernment , but they are clear enough .
The RGB kindling is limited to a solid colour or one of twelve predetermined figure using only the Armoury Crate control panel . you may dress up a per - cardinal inflammation agreement , but it ’s far from straightforward . The trackpad measure 130 x 77 mm , is perfectly antiphonal and has a terse click - natural action .
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have inside the Strix Scar 17 requires care because a ribbon cable connects the light in the front and side of the base of operations to the motherboard . Once inside , you could easily get to the two SODIMMRAMslots , wireless card and twoSSDslots .
The 720p webcam is a crude and drab affair , lackingWindows HelloIR facial credit . In fact , there is no biometric security of any variety , which given the asking damage , is claim the proverbial .
Asus makes no claims regarding the amount of recycled stuff in the ROG Strix Scar 17 , but the packaging is free of plastic derivatives .
Display and Sound
The display is a solid performer with a peak brightness of 348cd / m2 and a becoming dividing line ratio of 1102:1 . There ’s mountain of colour available withgamut coveragesof 99.9 % sRGB , 98.2 % DCI - P3 and 84 % AdobeRGB while color accuracy is satisfactory with a Delta E of 2.8 vs. the sRGB visibility .
It ’s been my experience that the ROG Nebula displays fitted to the raw Scar Strix 16 and 18 laptop are more color - accurate .
In strictly gaming – related terms , the CRT screen ticktack all the good boxes . A 240Hz refresh pace and 3ms response clip with overdrive keeps ghosting to a minimum , there ’s support for Nvidia’sG – Sync adaptive sync technology , and you get Advanced Optimus which acts as aMUX switchwithout the rhetoric of having to boot .
Maximum volume may not be anything out of the ordinary at 72.3dB(A ) , but the sound the stereo utterer produce is good , with rich basso and good high – frequency reproduction .
Performance
The X3D incarnation of the Strix Scar 17 uses the same 175W Nvidia RTX 4090GPUas the regular model , so does the fancy 3D cacheCPUmake it pass games any faster ? In a word , yes .
As we ’ve shift our testing methodology here at Trusted Reviews since I reviewed the Strix Scar 17 , I have focused on the increased carrying out of the unexampled X3D theoretical account vs. the standard Dragon Range machine , which , as we already sleep with , is a very potent play platform .
For a unmediated comparison , I ran three Triple - A gaming benchmarks at 2,560 x 1,440 with ray tracing maxed out and detail levels set to the highest possible with no DLSS upscaling .
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On the X3D machine , Metro Exodus ran at 71fps compared to 63fps on the stock 7945HX model . cyber-terrorist 2077 head for the hills at 48fps compared to 35fps , while Returnal ran at 101fps compare to 80fps .
Those frame rates were keep under the most demanding options potential , the sort commonly hold for powerful background play microcomputer , not laptops . As you’re able to see from the benchmark scores in the table , those titles will all feed two or three times as tight if you antedate ray trace , miss the resolution to Full HD or engager DLSS .
Less demanding title like Horizon Zero Dawn do n’t need to be dialled back to tally a three - bod frame rate , average 175fps compared to 153fps from the 7945HX , at projection screen aboriginal resolution with the highest detail preferences .
Those are some passably impressive increases and are all generally in line with the 15 % modal performance jump AMD reckons the supernumerary L3 stash would hand over though the improvement can depart depending on a plot ’s power to apply the 3D V - Cache .
It ’s not all practiced word , though . Both the Cinebench R23 multicore and PCMark 10 benchmarks score 5 % abject than the received Dragon Range framework . presumptively , the lower clock speed on one of the core blocks set off the welfare of the 3D cache .
The deviation is bordering on irrelevant because both version of the Strix Scar 17 are amongst the fastest laptop computer I have ever tested . I am more than glad to trade off a 5 % drop-off in productivity public presentation for a 15 % increment in gaming speed .
The 1 TB SK Hynix SSD showed quicker successive read speeds but slower write speeds than the received model at 7.4GB / sec and 2.6GB / sec , respectively . The same 6Ghz MediaTek MT7922 card and a RealTek 2.5GbE LAN controller manage communication .
Software
Asus ROG ’s Armory Crate controller venire is one of the most panoptic ascendency board of its eccentric . As well as get by the public presentation story of the laptop computer and the canonic inflammation system , you could also use it to set up active wallpapers and manage your game library .
My beef with Armory Crate is that you need to use the Aura Creator app ( also preinstalled ) and the Aura Sync feature to create your own lighting scenario , even down to wide-eyed things like just make the WASD keys lit . Such basic operations should be much well-heeled to execute .
Bloat levels are about average with a McAfee anti - virus entourage preinstalled along with Start menu connexion for the likes of WhatsApp , Netflix , Spotify and Instagram . take those is the work of moment .
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Battery Life
The 2023 Strix Scar 17 perform well in the PCMark 10 Office productiveness battery test running for 6 hour and 12 minute of arc before the 90Wh stamp battery gave up the trace . The X3D performed much the same , running for 6 hours and 5 minutes . This suggests that the Modern processor has a minimal effect on the overall efficiency .
Again retroflex the 7945HX simulation , the X3D turn out an imposingly tranquil and nerveless performance even when running in Turbo manner under a heavy onus . Maximum outside temperature never jumped above 37 ° , and fan racket never became vexing , peaking at 54dB(A ) .
On the subject of noise , I have read some user complaining of ringlet whine when running games , but this was n’t something I live .
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Should you buy it?
By tot up the revise AMD Ryzen R9 7945HX3D central processor to the 2023 ROG Strix Scar 17 , Asus has made an already powerful gaming laptop computer even more brawny . The ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is the most hefty gaming laptop computer money can buy .
The Ryzen R9 7945HX3D CPU and RTX 4090 GPU may be at the cutting sharpness of mobile gambling carrying out , but why put them in a laptop whose canonical pattern is three years old ? This atomic number 14 should be in the Strix Scar 18 rather than the 17 .
Final Thoughts
Right now , you may get the RTX 4090 / 7945HX Strix Scar 17 for £ 3,300 ( down from the common cost of £ 3,800 ) and the RTX 4080 / 7945HX framework for £ 2,900 . In the UK , the Strix Scar 17 X3D will have an RRP of £ 3,799 , but I do n’t bed if it will be available with the cheaper RTX 4080 GPU .
There is no dubiousness that the latest version of AMD ’s already impressive Dragon Range Ryzen R9 7945H CPU has moved the goalposts regarding gambling performance . The ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D can run game even faster than MSI ’s monstrousTitan GT77and leaves other RTX 4090 machines we ’ve tested , like theMedion Erazer Beast X40 , in its dust .
The outstanding performance does put into sharp relief the fact that the basic design of the ROG Strix Scar 17 is now get rather long in the tooth and has been supplanted by the ROG Strix Scar 18 in the Asus ROG hierarchy . I ’m trusted there are good reasons why Asus has taken this itinerary , but it still entrust the consumer paying top dollar sign for an old excogitation of car , albeit one with a new locomotive engine .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we review goes through a serial of unvarying check designed to gauge primal things , including build quality , operation , blind quality and battery living .
These include formal synthetic benchmarks and written tests , plus a series of real - cosmos cheque , such as how well it runs popular apps .
FAQs
Yes . The excess cache has a big impact on gambling functioning because game require the CPU to process data very quickly , and surplus cache memory is the key to making that happen .
No . Unlike Alienware , Asus ROG does not offer the pick of a mechanical keyboard , but its chiclet design is still suitable for gaming .
Test Data
Full Specs
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