Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 review – powerful gaming laptop with a cool design

• The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is the company’s latest gaming laptop in the ROG lineup.
• The laptop comes with a 16-inch display and top of the line hardware.
• Here’s my review of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 that will help you decide whether you should buy the laptop.

Asus recently launched its 2024 gaming devices under the Republic of Gamers (ROG) lineup, including the Strix Scar 16 and the Strix Scar 18, the company’s latest premium gaming laptops.

The ROG Strix Scar series has been launched in two sizes – 16-inch and 18-inch. Apart from different screen sizes, the laptops are also equipped with different hardware. Both the laptops get premium hardware and come in a gaming-oriented design, meaning it is packed with a ton of RGB lighting.

I’ve been using the ROG Strix Scar 16 laptop with the 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900HX processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 for a few days now, and here is my detailed review of the latest premium gaming laptop from the house of Asus.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 price and availability

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 laptop has been priced at ₹2,89,990 and is available from Amazon, Flipkart, Asus online store and authorised retailers across the country.

In the box

• Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 laptop
• Charging adapter
• 1 x customisable Armor cap
• Documentation

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 specifications

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent Mini LED display
• Powerful hardware

Cons

• Keyboard
• Expensive

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 design

One of the most important things about laptops is the portability, which depends on the size and the weight of the device. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is a power-packed device and as such is large and bulky, meaning it is not as portable as you would want a laptop to be.

The device weighs 2.65 kg and its large charging adapter further increases the weight.


There is nothing subtle about the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 and this is a device that will stand out from the regular laptops. It comes with a plastic back with a matte black finish.


The laptop comes with a large Asus ROG logo at the back that comes with RGB lighting. The lid also comes with a strip that reads Republic of Gamers. It comes with two large RGB light strips – one at the front and one at the back. The RGB lighting comes with Aura Sync support and can be completely customised as per your preference.


The laptop comes with translucent plastic at the top of the keyboard and on the sides, which give it a distinct look.


The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 comes with an RGB-backlit keyboard and the keys are very responsive, with 2.0mm travel distance. The trackpad is decent as well. It comes with number keys integrated, which can be activated by pressing the “NUMLK” key. During my usage, I found the keyboard to be slightly cluttered and it will take some time to get used to the layout.

The keyboard also comes with five programmable hot keys, which can be set to your preferred actions.


In terms of ports, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 comes with a Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, an ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio port. You also get a 720p webcam on the top, but there is no privacy cover on it.


Being a gaming laptop, the company has employed several measures to keep the temperature down. It comes with a full width heatsink at the bottom, which cools the GPU. It also comes with a tri-fan technology and full-surround vents to ensure proper air circulation.

Display

Coming to the display, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 features a ROG Nebula HDR Display. It is equipped with a 16-inch Quad HD+ Mini LED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, a 240Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time with Dolby Vision HDR support.


The resolution and the high refresh rate make it a treat to play on the laptop. The colours look great as it comes with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. The Mini LED panel ensures excellent visuals with amazing contrast with 2,304 dimming zones. The 1,100 nits brightness delivers good visibility, even under direct sunlight.

I played games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 on the laptop, with the device offering amazing visuals in each game.

Performance

If you are looking for a powerful gaming laptop, the ROG Strix Scar 16 will not disappoint. It is equipped with the Intel Core i9 14900HX high-performance processor with 24 cores and 32 threads. This is coupled with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 16GB GDDR6 graphics.

The laptop comes with 32GB DDR5 5600MHz RAM, which can be extended up to 64GB. For storage, it offers a 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, which can be upgraded to 4TB.

I tested the laptop with several games, including Red Dead Redemption 2 and Forza Horizon 5. Both the games performed well and the laptops were able to handle them without any issues. The powerful hardware means that you will be able to run any game at the best graphics without even having to look at the system requirements.

I played Starfield and Forza Horizon 5 at maximum graphics and the laptop was able to handle them with ease. Even during extended gaming sessions, the laptop’s cooling apparatus kicked in, keeping the temperatures down.

The laptop is equipped with a 90Whr battery, the battery life is not one of the strongest points of the ROG Strix Scar 16. While gaming, I was able to get around 2 and a half hours of battery life out of the device. Then again, you will mostly be gaming while you are connected, so battery life is not a very big issue.

Verdict

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is a feature-packed laptop that ticks all the right boxes, including a vibrant display, powerful performance and decent battery life. If you don’t have a problem with the weight and are looking for a premium gaming laptop, the ROG Strix Scar 16 is a great option.

An added benefit with the ROG Strix Scar 16 is its translucent plastic body and the RGB lighting offered, which will please a lot of gamers.

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