Introduction
CES 2023 welcomed this year’s laptop generation and with the recent competitive streak that both CPU makers are offering, we’ve seen a growth in performance that saw generational leap in performance for the last 2 years. This also marks a significant development for mobile with rapid development of neural gaming technology allowing larger and faster displays to be utilized more in mobile. Speaking of displays, ASUS ROG is also hot off a year following the reveal of their Nebula display standard which is their in-house standard of certifiying ROG displays deliver large color gamut coverage plus extremely fast refresh rate and response times and a minimum brightness rating.
As with every laptop generation, ASUS ROG comes out with a product that breaks convention. We’ve had the ROG GX800, the ROG Motherboard, the ROG Flow (both X and Z models) and today we now get to see the ROG Strix SCAR 18. Yes, the 18 means its has an 18″ display and it is quite big if you’re not used to large flagships. But here’s the thing: while it is and 18″ laptop, it pretty much follows the previous large case trends of thicker laptops of earlier years wherein 17″ displays where housed inside a further 2″ of plastic and metal landing us pretty much the equivalent of a two 19″ monitor sandwiched together. That’s how it felt to have a flagship gaming laptop in the mid 2010s.
But this time, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 is easily a blown-up 16″ or a blown-up 14″. Its simple as that. While the size allows ASUS to use a larger screen, it also allows them to use a larger cooling solution. This entrails more thermal headroom which allows the system to use boosting technology which ultimately leads to better performance. And that’s what we’re here to find out. Powered by the latest 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the SCAR 18 is on the bleeding of gaming laptop componentry and is this generation’s current performance flagship for the ROG banner.
Join us as we take a closer look at the ROG Strix SCAR 18.
Specification
OS |
Windows 11 Pro
|
CPU |
13th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-13980HX Processor 2.2 GHz (36M Cache, up to 5.6 GHz, 24 cores: 8 P-cores and 16 E-cores)
|
Video Graphics |
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 4090 Laptop GPU
ROG Boost: 2090MHz* at 175W (2040MHz Boost Clock+50MHz OC, 150W+25W Dynamic Boost)
16GB GDDR6
|
Display |
ROG Nebula Display
18-inch
QHD+ 16:10 (2560 x 1600, WQXGA)
IPS-level
anti-glare display
DCI-P3:100.00%
Refresh Rate:240Hz
Response Time:3ms
G-Sync
Pantone Validated
MUX Switch + NVIDIA® Advanced Optimus
Support Dolby Vision HDR :Yes
|
System Memory |
32GB (16GBx2) DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM
Max Capacity: 64GB
Support dual channel memory
|
Chipset | N/A |
Storage |
1TB + 1TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 Performace SSD (RAID 0)
|
Keyboard Type |
Backlit Chiclet Keyboard Per-Key RGB
Touchpad
|
Optical Disk Drive | N/A |
I/O Port |
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
1x HDMI 2.1 FRL
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort™ / power delivery / G-SYNC
1x 2.5G LAN port
1x Thunderbolt™ 4 support DisplayPort™ / G-SYNC
|
Audio |
Smart Amp Technology
Dolby Atmos
AI noise-canceling technology
Hi-Res certification
Built-in array microphone
4-speaker system with Smart Amplifier Technology
|
Communications | Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.2 (*Bluetooth® version may change with OS version different.) |
Webcam |
720P HD camera
|
Security | Security (Kensington® Type) Lock Slot Intel® PTT for system without Hardware TPM |
Battery |
90WHrs, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion
|
Adapter |
ø6.0, 330W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 16.5A, 330W, Input: 100~240C AC 50/60Hz universal
TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter, Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal
|
Dimensions (W x D x H) | 39.9 x 29.4 x 2.31 ~ 3.08 cm (15.71″ x 11.57″ x 0.91″ ~ 1.21″) |
Weight |
3.10 Kg (6.83 lbs)
|
Packaging and Content
ASUS ships the ROG STRIX SCAR in a shipping box that contains a backpack and the actual laptop box. Your region package may vary.
The packaging for the ROG Strix SCAR 18 features a new design language from ASUS which references manga-style panels that depicts their ROG lore. The front of the box has a stylish print of the ROG Strix family while the back has a large artwork panel showing us the characters from the said lore.
Opening up the grey box we have the actual content package. Like previous ROG boxes from other product line, the box opens up and lifts to present the product.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 main laptop box contents contains a pair of power adapters: a 330w power brick and a more compact 100W Power Delivery (PD) charger. Also included is a ROG Gladius III (wired) gaming mouse and replacement Armor cover and some documentaion.
If you’re not familiar with the Armor cover or Armor Cap, its a small gimmick from ASUS that allows users to customize the look of their laptop. Some models feature more varied colors. For the ROG Strix SCAR 18 has a simple grey Armor cap and a clear Armor cap. ASUS says you can 3D print your own or customize the extra cap (paint) for further personalization.
The box has this PKD logo underneath the laptop compartment in the box. This is the logo of the character model that represents this product line from the ROG SAGA world lore. ROG’s Zephyrus line is represented by Se7en, the girl with the Katana blade-whip and for this Strix SCAR model, PKD is its related ROG SAGA hero.
Just sharing some branding details as I’ve seen some folks asking about these details that ASUS puts in their products like reference their HQ coordinates, important company dates or in this case, things that come from their ROG SAGA world lore.
Design and Layout
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 follows the same design language as previous ROG laptops. The top cover sees the ROG logo offset to the side with a parting line dress in tiny ROG logos adding visual interest to the flat, metal surface. The ROG logo is glass and is illuminated when powered on.
Flipping the laptop over shows us the large intake grills for the unit with a split-tone panel with the stylized ROG branding. Despite its uniquely shaped layout, the bottom is just a strategically vented plastic plate.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 exhausts heat to the back. Almost the entire length of the rear edge serves as an exhaust. This moves all I/O on the sides. On the right is a pair of USB Type-A ports and on the right is the DC input jack, a full sized LAN port, an HDMI port, a pair of USB Type-C ports and a combo audio jack. Both Type-A ports are 10Gbps ports while both innermost Type-C port is a Thunderbolt 40Gbps port which also acts as a DisplayPort output with G-SYNC. The Type-C port next to the audio jack is a 10Gbps ports but supports Power Delivery as wewllDisplayPort output with G-Sync. The LAN port runs at 2.5Gbps and the HDMI port is HDMI 2.1 compliant.
ASUS opts to stick with their chiclet keyboard which is fine but it seems they didn’t want to add weight to the unit or make it any thicker by adding a low-profile mech keyboard.
The regular 16″ version of the 2023 SCAR features a dual-function touch pad / number pad combo. The ROG Strix SCAR 18, with all the surface area it has can utilize a larger 90%-ish keyboard layout.
Given the larger laptop, the touch pad is also quite equally-sized and has larger area. There’s no notable features here but it does perform as expected and palm reject is quite decent.
ASUS decks out the ROG Strix SCAR 18 with a large light bar on the rear and front edges together with the individually lit keyboard. The laptop is AURA Sync-capable and can sync the lightbars, keyboard and any AURA Sync products connected to the laptop including the AURA Sync wallpaper feature that syncs the desktop wallpaper with the lights.
One of the main talking point for this laptop is the screen. ROG has a display certification standard called Nebula Display and is a set of standards that their displays must adhere to to qualify with the ROG Nebula Display badge. A Nebula Display is a simple list of ratings which includes the following:
- 100% DCI-P3
- 500 nits brightness
- At least 120Hz refresh rate
- 3ms or faster response time
- Adaptive Sync
- TUV Rheinland anti-blue light certification
- Pantone-validated
- MUX switch support
There is also a Nebula Display HDR standard which sees a higher 1100 nits brightness rating as 512 local dimming zones for support for the required VESA DisplayHDR 1000.
With regards to the ROG Strix SCAR 18, its ROG Nebula Display-certified which means its got DCI-P3 full coverage which means its cinema compliant in terms of colors. This also works for games as most games have cinematic lighting. The rating checks out within margin of error on our SpyderX reading while the brightness also is confirmed by our LDAT sensor.
All this marketing fluff is more in-tune with content consumption and entertainment. As mentioned, it also somewhat translates to games but for multimedia professionals, if you mostly work with video where you’re not dealing with stringent color grading then it works well enough. For print artists that need a better proofing monitor, definitely this isn’t the best but for web graphics, it will be quite satisfactory.
Removing the bottom cover of the ROG Strix SCAR 18, we see the cooling solution that ASUS uses on this model to cool the new Intel Core i9-13980HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. A large triple-fan setup with heatpipes connecting the components towards the heatsink grill.
ASUS confirms they’ve moved away from the vapor chamber design they used on the ROG Strix SCAR 17 Special Edition which had a similar performance targets on last-gen’s components. The three fans handle specific adjacent components with the extra fan on the bottom helping divert air from the more static airflow on the lower part of the case.
Battery Life
We start all test off with a battery life test to see how long the battery will last under office usage. We use PCMark 10 Battery Test which loops word processing, email, spreadsheet, and other office applications as well as browsing and teleconferencing over and over again until the laptop cuts off. Depending on your laptop and when power saving kicks in, there may be some battery left once the test cuts off which is anywhere from 10% to 2%.
Temperature and Power Behavior
Let me get this started and 99% of you guys will probably not going to be running an application that resembles the CPU loads that CineBench puts on your system. The important bit here is that system should be able to cool the system but for the most part, a lot of people of have varying degrees of what’s acceptable for thermals. As a pure CPU-only load, shows us how good the cooling is in CPU-only cooling as we can see below:
At single core loads we see sub-60W consumption which pushes the CPU to run at around <85*C running at 5.1Ghz to 5.5Ghz on select cores. Hitting all cores drastically drives thermals up bringing our CPU temperatures at 95*C at 3.9Ghz drawing 140W of power.
Focusing on the GPU, NVIDIA allows the RTX 4090 laptop GPU to boost up to 175W. At native 2560×1600 reso on the ROG Strix SCAR 18, our GPU draws on average 140-150W of power peaking at 167W. Normally I’d have a single benchmark chart here like the one above for our gaming/GPU load test but with games putting on various loads on the GPU, it actually does also affect overall temperatures. Below are the temperate readings of the RTX 4090 on the ROG Strix SCAR 18 on various resolution with different games:
These are taken from our benchmark runs which usually see 30-40 minutes load per games as we gather multiple benchmark samples as well as heatsoak the unit to allow for more relatable real-world data.
Here’s thermal images from the device under Cinebench R23 stress test to map the heat on the unit. This benchmark hits the CPU primarily but as the heat is shared thru the entire cooling system, it shows us the distribution of the heat load across the entire cooling solution:
Take note that these readings observe emissive heat and doesn’t represent actual component readings. Below are readings in a quick 15-20ish minute session of Cyberpunk 2077 RT at native 1600p reso.
Performance – Rendering
Cinebench R20 and Cinebench R23 are industry standard for gauging system performance but outside the arbitrary numbers, the performance scores is the mesure of 3D rendering performance of a given system in Maxon’s Cinema4D application. Meanwhile, Blender Benchmark measures the performance of a system within a minute. Higher values means higher performance.
Performance – Office and Productivity
Photo and Video
PugetSystems is a US-based system builder that provides high-performance computers built for workstation solutions. They developed an in-house benchmarking tool for various apps including Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Davinci Resolve and a few others. These benchmarks put a professional-level workload on systems and are scored based on a reference system. The current version PugetBenchmark for Photoshop is scored against a Core i9-9900K system while the Premiere Pro benchmark is scored against a Ryzen 9 5900X. PugetBench is a plugin to the software it is named after and requires actual Adobe software to function. For a detailed description of the benchmark, see here (Ps) and here (Pr).
Office
Potentially the most used desktop software next to Windows OS is Microsoft Office. . This tests the responsiveness and system performance of the system when doing common office-users tasks, such as copying, pasting, cutting, adding images, resizing, saving, etc.
Performance – BAPCo CrossMark
CrossMark is a cross-platform benchmark aimed to provide comparative data for different platforms. It uses application models and gauges system performance and responsiveness to generate a score.
Performance – PCMark 10
PCMark is a global standard in benchmarking PCs to meet organizational as well as consumer requirements. PC Mark 10 is the latest version and provides details for office, multimedia use as well as extended features like battery testing for mobile devices, storage testing and a lot more advanced testing features.
Performance – SPECworkstation
SPECworkstation is part of multiple benchmark suites provided by the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) aimed at providing a standard and unified benchmarking system to meet organizational requirements and performance expectations.
Game Testing Methodology
For a full-hardware workout, visit https://benchmarks.ul.com for our system warm-up and stress test of choice.
For benchmarking methodology please see our game benchmark method guide.
Test results are gathered and produced on CapFrameX. This makes it easier for use to get both line graph comparison and raw averages without extra tools. Simply the easiest tool for benchmarking and its available for everyone to use, free of charge. Check it out at capframex.com.
Since this is a GPU review, we benchmarked the area of the games that put heavy load on the GPU.
All our test runs are repeatable, click the links below for area and details. Read our benchmarking methodology.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – FPS Benchmark Workshop Map
- DOTA2 – The International Main Event – Day 6: T1 vs PSG.LGD Game 2 (48:00) – The 10-Man Buyback Fight
- Rainbow Six: Siege – Benchmark Mode
- PUBG Battlegrounds
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
- Valorant
- Grand Theft Auto V – Palomino Highlands
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Kuwaq Yaqu
- Destiny 2 – The Tower
- Forza Horizon 5
- Elden Ring – Custom scene, FPS cap removed, offline
- Cyberpunk 2077 – Little China, noontime
- Marvel’s Spider-Man – Empire State area, daytime
- F1 2022 – Bahrain
- Microsoft Flight Simulator – Landing mission, YSSY
See our Youtube playlist for benchmark sequences.
Note: Some proprietary technologies of NVIDIA like PCSS, HBAO+, and HairWorks work on AMD GPU’s BUT to maintain uniformity amongst GPUs, these have been turned OFF.
You can click on any of the benchmark charts enlarge. You can also move forward and backwards to quickly navigate through our charts via gallery view. For this test, only the out-of-box normal mode will be tested.
Kindly let me know if you spot an errors in the charts. I do my best to keep them error free but while test results are reliable and accurate, bringing them over to Excel and relying on formulas to generate the reports sometimes can cause mix-ups.
Notes:
- All data are gathered from exactly the same system, with exactly the configuration we list here. No data is reused from another system or from any variations of. We gather data from only one system as indicated here.
- Graphics cards are allowed to heat up prior to benchmarking. Cooler graphics cards may boost higher than normal.
- Following up on the above, we try to enjoy the game and play a bit before proceeding to the actual benchmark scenario. This allows us to detect any other problems like stuttering, frame skipping, or any other problems.
- Games that receive graphical updates that affect performance e.g. (DOTA2 moving from DX9 to DX11) will be retested completely.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, popularly known as CSGO, competes for Steam’s most popular game. It has found a resurgence in its popularity and has recently peaked in 2020 in the number of players that play the game. Based on Valve’s Source Engine, the game received major asset overhauls during the years since its inception nearly 10 years ago. Still, it’s a light game and can be played on fairly lighter systems but the competitive scene for CSGO has seen average players demand high FPS from their systems thus gaining favorable standing with GPU vendors just from the demand for higher FPS alone. CSGO is a game that can easily go past 500FPS on enthusiast systems on maximum settings. We’re including CSGO as requested by our community.
API: DirectX9 (default)
Maximum In-Game Settings
Texture Streaming Disabled
Vsync OFF
DOTA 2
Note: JUNE 2020 – DOTA2 has recently implemented a transition from DirectX9 to DirectX11 and new install of the game will prompt users to switch from DX9 to DX11. With that said, we are testing DOTA2 in DX11 from now on.
In contention for the most popular game on Steam and the biggest competition in eSports: DOTA 2 is powered by the Source 2 engine. The game is fairly light on low to medium settings but maxed out, with heavy action on screen especially during clashes, can really stress most systems. This is a game where frame times matter as responsiveness is very important in high-stakes competition. We’re looking at consistently low frametimes in this game for the best experience
Our test uses actual game replay, using the segment from game 2 of PSG.LGD versus T1 during Day 6 of the Main Stage. The clash during the 48:00 where we see a drawn-out fight which sees both team expending all of their buybacks to secure this clash.
You can watch the replay of the actual game used in the benchmark in your Dota2 client. You can browse the TI10 replay files to see the actual match. You can download it for your own reference. (save it to your DOTA2 replays folder)
API: DirectX11 (default)
Best-Looking slider setting (Ultra)
FPS_MAX 0
Vsync OFF
Rainbow Six: Siege
Nearly 4 years later and Rainbow Six: Siege has become a phenomenon after a lukewarm beginning. The massive shift in focus of the game sees it stepping into eSports territory and the excellent mix of gameplay mechanics, good design and a dedicated dev team has put R6: Siege in a position it couldn’t even picture during launch. Rainbow Six: Siege focuses heavily on tactical and creative gameplay and its vertical levels and highly destructible maps encourage players to be quick on their feet so the action is always going. Powered by Ubisoft’s own AnvilNext 2.0 engine which powers some of Ubi’s recent visual masterpieces, R6:Siege also feature excellent graphics and can get very taxing at high detail settings. The game also features an Ultra HD texture pack download for those that want higher resolution textures but will of course demand more from the system.
API: DirectX 11
Ultra Settings
Anti Aliasing: TAA
Ultra HD Texture pack not installed
Ambient Occlusion: SSBC
Vsync OFF
The game automatically drops to 50% render resolution when Ultra preset is selected
Apex Legends
The battle royale genre sees multiple titles emerge and Respawn Entertainment’s most successful title to date, Apex Legends differentiates itself from main rival PUBG as it presents itself in true, fast-paced FPS. Existing in the same universe as Titanfall, Apex Legends sees contenders in traditional battle royale elimination format but gameplay heavily gears towards more familiar FPS mechanics. As a Respawn Ent. game, its closer to COD versus PUBG’s more sluggish and heavier gameplay.
API: DirectX 11
Settings: High
Texture Streaming Budget: 6GB VRAM
FSP Cap Disabled
Vsync: OFF
PUBG Battlegrounds
Developed and published by PUBG Corporation, PlayerUknnown’s Battlegrounds now officially PUBG Battlegrounds, was an ARMA3 mod which has gained a massive global playerbase after being released as a stand-alone game. The game is now available for almost all platforms from PC to mobile but PC has been the definitive edition of the game. The game has evolved much since its release, receiving multiple polish to arrive at its current state.
API: DirectX 11
Settings: Ultra
Vsync: OFF
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (2022)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) is the latest addition to the COD franchise and once again puts the main game back into the hands of Infinity Ward. With Black Ops Cold War and Vanguard both failing to continue the success of 2019’s COD Modern Warfare which has in-turn changed to Warzone, Activision is set on resetting the slate once again with COD Modern Warfare 2. Built alongside Warzone 2.0 on the IW 9.0 engine, CODMW2 ditches some partner technologies like ray tracing to keep it friendlier to all systems but still pushes more detailed models and environments for a modern look.
API: DirectX 12
Render Resolution: 100%
Ultra Preset
Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 runs on an upgraded version of the original Overwtch engine but implements changes to support larger maps and allows the development team to better utilize the maps for story-based missions.
API: DirectX 11
Ultra Preset
Frame Cap: 600
Valorant
Developed by League of Legends developer, Riot Games, Valorant is a first-person shooter featuring multiple heroes or agents which have unique skills to assist them within the games traditional team-based FPS combat. The game is gaining incredible success and has taken a large chunk of the now-incredibly massive CSGO playerbase as well, presenting a more refreshed take on classic TDM FPS but spices it up with skills, etc. Like CSGO and League, this game is light as a feather for the largest adoption possible. With 360hz monitors and input lag/system latency a major focus for these games, we’re now including it as reference for players.
API: DirectX 11
Max Detail settings
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
CD Projekt Red’s latest installment in the Witcher saga features one of the most graphically intense offering the company has to date. As Geralt of Rivia, slay monsters, beasts and men as you unravel the mysteries of your past. Vast worlds and lush sceneries make this game a visual feast and promises to make any system crawl at its highest settings. This game has found great resurgence in its playerbase thanks to the release of Netflix’ Witcher series. On December 2022, The Witcher 3 received a next-gen patch which bring ray tracing as well as many other changes to the game.
API: DirectX 12
Ultra Preset
Grand Theft Auto V
The fifth and most successful installment to date in the highly controversial Grand Theft Auto series brings a graphical overhaul to the PC version of GTA V which many have lauded as a superior approach in porting a console game to PC. Featuring large areas and detailing, GTA V is a highly challenging application in terms of scene complexity.
Our benchmark uses a run from Palomina Highlands running through a lush area to a remote road all the way to a neighborhood in our car to simulate multiple scene changes.
API: DirectX 11
FXAA Off
MSAA 4x
TXAA Off
Very High settings
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
Motion Blur disabled
Advanced Graphics enabled
Vsync OFF
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the latest installment in the reboot run of the classic Tomb Raider franchise. The game follows the story set forth by the previous game which Shadow of the Tomb Raider short follows after. Technology-wise, the game uses the Foundation engine updated to meet the demand of developer Eidos Montreal to push the engine to its limits. The game supports DirectX 12 and is one of the launch titles to support RTX technology namely DLSS which launched a couple of months post-launch.
API: DirectX 12
Graphics Settings Preset: Highest
Texture Quality: Ultra
Texture Filtering: 8x Anisotropic
Anti-Aliasing: TAA
DLSS: OFF
Raytraced Shadow: OFF
Vsync OFF
Forza Horizon 5
Developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, Forza Horizon 5 is the latest installment in the Forza series, picking up straight after the British escapades of Horizon 4, Horizon 5 takes us now to Mexico for another open-world racing spectacle, that is Horizon. Built on proprietary ForzaTech engine, the game harnesses its power to provide an excellent experience on both PC and Xbox.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: High
Raytracing: Off
Vsync: Off
Destiny 2
Destiny 2: New Light is an MMOFPS which sees a persistently sizable playerbase. The game features traditional MMO elements but played in an FPS approach which allows a more skill-dependent game versus traditional MMORPG formats. The game features a futuristic sci-fi universe with lush and detailed in-game locations that puts respectable workload on a gaming system.
API: DirectX 11
Settings: Highest
Vsync: OFF
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is developed by Japanese studio From Software, known for the Soulsborne sub-genre of games as well as Armored Core from the older console days. Elden Ring cemented its name by releasing closely with Horizon Forbidden West and easily took the gaming world by storm thanks to its rich, in-depth lore and challenging gameplay. Elden Ring by default is frame capped. We’ve disabled this via driver settings.
API: DirectX 12
Maximum detail preset
Cyberpunk 2077
The most anticipated game of 2020 has just received its sort of “launch patch” this 2022 with version 1.5 changing many things in terms of performance as well as few things in the graphics department. Perhaps the most anticipated game of the last decade, Cyberpunk 2077’s launch has been a rollercoaster gamers on PC are largely in agreement that it was definitely worth the wait bar the bugs. Made by CD Projekt Red and based on the REDengine4, Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most modern games introducing full utilization of raytracing amongst others. We do not enable raytracing in this test segment, that will be for the latest section of this review..
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Raytracing Off
DLSS Off
Vsync: OFF
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
Sony’s streak of PlayStation exclusives going to PC continues with Spider-Man. Originally releleased for PS4 in 2019, the game sees a PS5 upgrade and 2022 PC remastered release. The PC version of Spider-Man features a ton of modern PC graphical enhancements including all modern upscaling techniques along with ray tracing. The game natively supports ultrawide monitor resolution and is actively updated with with technologies from NVIDIA, AMD and Intel.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Very High Preset
F1 2022
F1 22 updates the F1 title with the newer technical specifications set by FIA as well as the new Sprint race to serve as the sports’ video game counterpart used primarily for their F1 esports and also used by their racers for practice on occassion. F1 22 uses modern graphical techniques and takes advantage of raytracing as well as newer technologies to further improve visual realism.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) is the much awaited release since Flight Simulator X from 2006. Harnessing the power of Microsoft Azure, Bing Maps and AI functionalities, Microsoft Flight Simulator brings the definition of realism to a new level with maps that are alive and real, rendered directly from their real-world counterpart and populated ingame with details. The game is constantly update to maintain real world relevance particularly for large events or other recent occurences.
API: DirectX 12
Settings: Ultra Preset
Ray Tracing and DLSS Performance
In this page we see how our test cards perform when Ray Tracing is enabled in game. Games will have varying degrees of how they utilze raytracing. We enable everything to their highest setting although for Cyberpunk 2077, we did not go with Psycho setting and used Ultra. The numbers show the amount of reduction in FPS with ray tracing enabled versus regular raster performance or we I term as raytracing performance penalty.
DLSS Performance
The NVIDIA RTX 40-series cards feature support for DLSS which also has Frame Generation. This technology allows near-doubling of frame rate as Frame Generation insert frames for every 2 actual frames. Its still in its infancy but results have been largely decent, with artifacts and blurring noticeable in simulated scenarios.
Average FPS, Relative FPS and Game Performance Summary
To give you a quick idea of how good the gaming performance of the system we’re testing, we’ve averaged the results for your reference presented in overll average and esports average (CSGO, DOTA2, Siege, Apex, PUBG, OW2, Valorant).
Relative Performance
In the chart below you’ll see the gaming performance of the gaming laptop (no raytracing or upscaling.)
Conclusion
This review coincides with the Philippine launch of the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G834J-N6014WS) which also lifts the local price embargo so we can form a proper conclusion for local readers in terms of values. For our international readers, we will discuss performance and relative value in detail as we go on. To open up, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 has just launched in the Philippines for PHP294,995, this displaces the last-gen flagships particularly the ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE which has a PHP 250K price tag.
As this is our first review of a laptop powered by the new 13th-gen Intel Core processor, we’re only comparing from last-gen models. In terms of gaming, our relative performance charts should shows us a good comparison of performance versus the older models:
In high-framerate esports titles, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 with its RTX 4090 easily dominates resolutions with the native 1600p reso averaging at 300FPS+, a ~15% performance uplift from last-generation’s RTX 3080 Ti laptop graphics. Our total average across 18 games sees ~211FPS, also a 15% uplift from last generation, most specifically the the nearly priced Legion 7 from 2022. Focusing applications, if you care primarily for photo and video, then the more important thing to focus on first is the screen. I already went on length regarding the screen and while it is good for personal and non-stringent production, print houses may want to rely on a studio display more for their uses.
Regardless, the capabilities of the actual laptop is more than enough than for Photoshop use. For Premiere Pro though, it stomps last gen by 30% which translates to the ROG Strix SCAR 18 outperforming a desktop Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core system also by 30%.
Thanks to the increase in core count with more E-cores on the 13th-gen Intel Core i9 CPU, this is one of the largest leaps in performance we’ve seen in the past 4 years in workstation testing and rendering also sees massive increase in performance thanks to the increase in core count.
So gaming definitely checks out and in terms of pure raster alone, the unit already decimates all previous models. Adding Frame Generation and DLSS3 into the mix bumps it up to a new stratosphere and other quality-of-life improvements like NVIDIA’s Broadcast solutions for streaming and webcam eye-contact corrent really adds value to this configuration. On the CPU on the hand, Intel’s large E-core configuration for the 13th-gen Core i9-13980HX offers a decent uplift although I am personally not a fan of increasing core count for the sake of numbers alone, in this case due to the relatively very low power increase requirements over last-gen, its certainly not a bad choice.
Focusing more on ROG’s own choices in this matter, we’ll start off with the size. We’ll be seeing multiple 18″ laptop models of ASUS ROG with the SCAR 18 being the poster boy for the line. It shares the same panel with the ROG Strix G18 (take note of the lack of the SCAR naming) which sports a lighter price tag but swaps out the secondary SSD and is configured with an RTX 4070. Its the only other 18″ model in this release wave but other regions may have different configurations which should extend or decrease their options but for the most part, the difference is mostly cosmetic and in component choices but speaking of component choices, ASUS does have a pricier model and it is a 16″ model in the form the Zephyrus M16 2023 which has a miniLED display. As miniLED is a very expensive technology, much of the pricing goes to that feature alone and while that model drops that more performance CPU, it still retains an RTX 4090.
Thermals have always been a sore point for flagship models and people have resulted in undervolting their CPUs to cool their CPUs, but for those that want higher performance in exchange for power, Intel HX CPUs are overclokable and allows some flexibility in your core configuration in how you want push your CPU. It may not be a big deal for most users, especially those that prefer to maintain temperatures below the 90s. Speaking of temperatures, the intelligent trifan cooling is tuned to run at acceptable noise levels and in Turbo and Performance mode the fans do rev up and is audible but its not jet engine takeoff noise levels like we’ve seen on from other manufacturers. But again, the point here is it is still audible, and my personal threshold is just within acceptable. You can set the unit to Silent operation which should improve noise performance from the fans altogether but a performance penalty may be experienced by using this setting.
Lastly we have battery life and at 5 hours and 40 minutes in office use, its quite impressive given the spec sheet and that 90Whr battery is doing good mileage with the amount of horesepower the CPU and GPU juggles at casual use. Gaming use is a no-brainer and would suck the battery dry in an hour or less . If you need more battery on the go, the 100W PD charger provides a more portable option if don’t need to game at max-speed on the go but do know you can take advantage of battery mode to get some gaming without going full blast on the power use.
All of this comes at the cost of portability and at 18″, it is a wide laptop. At just a hair above 3 kilograms, it is tolerably just above the normal 2.2-2.7kg that normal gaming laptops would fall under but the 330W power brick is a 1KG behemoth and carrying it around certainly adds a sizable chunk of weight. Still, at 4KG, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is far from the 6KG monstrosity that is the GX800 or the 5KG of the ROG Mothership, both of which are just for the unit alone. Its nice that ASUS included a backpack with the bundle as its going to be hard to find a compatible backpack for the width of this unit.
Its going to be nice seeing how the competition would go forward as we have our first glimpse of what the next generation of mobile components can offer. NVIDIA’s RTX 40-series delivers impressive uplift and Frame Generation acts as a performance multiplier already on top of that uplift allowing laptops with 240hz like our Nebula Display on the ROG Strix SCAR 18 to utilize its 240Hz refresh rate. Powered by a 13th-generation Intel Core i9 CPU gives us great performance uplift as well for no thermal penalty from last-generation despite the massive increase in core count which results in very impressive performance.
Ultimately, the argument is always going to boil down to price and if you’re the kind of person that needs to justify this purchase by making it work for you as a professional workstation, then it is by no means a slouch when it comes 3D, video or graphics use. Video professionals, architects, engineers, 3D artists can all benefit from the RAW CPU and GPU horsepower that the ROG Strix SCAR 18 offers and you can go home knowing full well that 3kg slab of plastic and metal can fire up any game and run it at excellent frame rates at native resolution.
If you’re a rockstar gamer that can’t be bothered building your own gaming PC but just want the best performing unit out now, if you want the large screen the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is up for consideration. For comparison, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 runs Valorant 600+FPS on native resolution. A desktop Core i9-13900K and an RTX 4090 will run Valorant at 1440P at 600+FPS. For Cyberpunk 2077, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 will give you 72FPS while our 13th-gen Intel test bench setup gives you 85FPS. Definitely the gap increases with that one. enabling Frame Generation on the ROG Strix SCAR 18 on supported games like Cyberpunk 2077 boosts performance to 108FPS on the ROG Strix SCAR 18 on native resolution with the desktop running at 110FPS. It will vary in games, but in certain applications and games, this is the closest we have in parity from a desktop versus laptop
So to settle the value context, our Intel 13th-gen MSDT setup costs around Php260,000 without the exotic cooling and display not to mention I can’t carry it around in backpack. Putting that in context, this is literally the closest we’ve come to settling that laptop versus desktop debate. We’ve all thrown around the term “desktop replacement” and functionally, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 in many ways fits that description but unlike models like the GT77 Titan which is fits better on a desktop, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 avoids this by being, well… a laptop. A large one at that but it doesn’t break any form factor conventions that has not already been set by those before it and it still fits in a regular backpack.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 is now availability in the Philippines for PHP294,995. I give it my B2G Performance Award!