Last year, we reviewed the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16, and we were thoroughly impressed by its performance. The laptop offered some of the highest possible performance in its segment and of course, it looked very cool while doing it. For 2024, the laptop has been upgraded with the latest from NVIDIA and Intel, and has also made some other minor improvements. Let’s check it out in this review of the ROG Strix SCAR 16 (2024).
Design and Lighting
The design of the ROG Strix SCAR 16 is pretty much identical to the previous generation we reviewed from last year. You get the same, distinctive, gamer-centric external design that will turn eyeballs towards you wherever you go. As expected there is RGB lighting everywhere, including the ASUS ROG logo on the lid, and the lighting is fully configurable. Fun fact: You can control the lighting either via Armoury Crate or via Window 11’s built-in lighting control. It’s your choice now.
Just like the previous model, the 2024 model’s chassis uses plastic, which is meant to lower the overall weight of the laptop while being durable. The plastic is translucent in many places, giving you a peek into the internals of the laptop, and I gotta say, it looks pretty cool. The plastic does have a tendency to pick up finger oils really quickly, though, so that is a bummer.
Another unique element is the removable Armour cap on the top left edge of the laptop. There are two armour caps included in the box, and ASUS also allows users to 3D print their own.
The laptop is quite massive and heavy, so if you are looking for a light and portable machine, I would definitely recommend looking at other laptops. With all the performance and cooling inside, you should honestly consider this laptop as a desktop-replacement and for that purpose, it is reasonably portable.
Display and Audio
All 2024 models of the Strix SCAR 16 and Strix SCAR 18 come with the wonderful ROG Nebula HDR Display. It features their Mini-LED technology with over 2000 dimming zones, capable of reaching nearly 1100 nits of HDR peak brightness. This enables the display to be Dolby Vision HDR certified too. They have a QHD+ resolution of 2560 x 1600, 16:10 aspect ratio, 240Hz peak refresh rate, 3ms response time, 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, and of course they are G-Sync compatible. ASUS has also added in Pantone Validation for that extra colour accuracy.
The display is simply put, phenomenal. It is bright, fast and colour accurate. I enjoyed using the display both for gaming and for content creation. The bezels are thin all around, and I like the use of matte finish instead of a glossy finish.
Coming to the audio side of things, the laptop features a 4-speaker setup which includes two tweeters and two downward firing woofers. The speakers sound pretty good for a gaming laptop, however it still falls short of the MacBook Pro laptops. Like other ASUS laptops, you also get their Two-Way AI Noise Cancellation technology, which improves the recording quality of your voice in applications such as games, video calls, etc.
Performance and Thermals
Performance is where ASUS has made some real upgrades for the Strix SCAR 16. The 2024 models have been upgraded with Intel’s latest 14th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA’s 40-series GPU. Our review model is equipped with the Intel Core i9 Processor 14900HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Laptop GPU.
The Intel Core i9 14900HX is a 24 core/32 thread beast of a processor that can boost up to 5.8GHz and has a TDP of 65W. The NVIDIA RTX 4080 on the other hand can boost up to 2330MHz at 175W and comes with 12GB of GDDR6 memory. The laptop comes with 32GB DDR5, 5600MHz RAM installed, and it can be upgraded to 64GB. Along with this, it has a 2TB PCIE Gen 4×4 SSD for storage.
As expected, the Strix SCAR 16 is no slouch when it comes to performance. This combination of 14th Gen Intel CPUs with NVIDIA 40-series GPU results in powerful performance, enabling great gaming experiences no matter the title. This is true both for e-sports titles and for visual AAA titles.
This level of performance is also possible thanks to the excellent thermal solution engineered by ASUS. Similar to the previous generation, the Strix SCAR uses Conductonaut Extreme Liquid metal as its thermal interface, and it features their Tri Fan Technology that can move a lot of air through the system. At full tilt, the fans do get a bit loud, but it did not get annoying. There is a 0dB mode too, however it will severely limit performance.
Here are some benchmarks:
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is unchanged from last year’s model. Good amount of travel, good key-spacing, and snappy to type on. The keys are not very click-y, rather they feel a bit soft when bottom-ing out. I wrote this entire review on this keyboard, and I was able to get to my full speed and accuracy quickly. There is also per-key RGB lighting, and the extra macro keys on top are super convenient.
The trackpad is the same great one from last year – glass topped, large and accurate. If you need a number pad, you can long press the NUMLK to show a number pad under the keyboard, just like previous models.
Ports and Connectivity
Here are the ports you get with this laptop:
- 1 x Thunderbolt 4, DP1.4 (connected to the dGPU), with G-Sync
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, DP1.4 (connected to the dGPU), with G-Sync and 100W PD support
- 1 x HDMI 2.1
- 1 x 2.5G RJ-45 Lan Jack
- 1 x Audio combo jack
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports
For connectivity, this laptop supports Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 and Bluetooth 5.3. I faced no issues with network connectivity during my review and it works as expected.
As you can see, there are plenty of ports in this laptop and I would say the only thing missing is a full-size SD Card reader. However, that is certainly not a dealbreaker.
Battery
The battery is the same as last year – 90Wh, 4-cell Li-ion cell that can charge quite quickly with the included 330W charging adapter. With this much power, I didn’t have high expectations with the battery life, especially considering that it is an Intel powered system. With just simple browsing on Chrome and the laptop in full ECO mode, it lasted only about 3 hours.
In the PCMark Battery benchmark, it lasted a longer at 6 hours and 36 minutes
Conclusion
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 continues to be the laptop made for people who want to stand out. The design and the RGB lights will turn heads wherever you go, and the performance will make you forget about wanting a desktop.
I wish that ASUS had made some visible changes to the design to differentiate itself from last year’s model. I expect ASUS will introduce a design refresh next year. Besides this, the battery life is not great, it weighs a lot and the fans do get loud. However, if those issues aren’t a dealbreaker for you, and you like the attention you’ll receive when using this laptop, then I would definitely consider this laptop.
The Strix SCAR 16 (2024) starts at Rs. 2,89,990, which is definitely on the expensive side for a laptop. You are certainly paying a premium for the design and the performance. So depending on what you are looking for in a laptop, the ROG Strix SCAR 16 might be the one for you.