Whereas some gaming laptops have refined aesthetics, others laptops make it totally clear what they had been designed for. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G73ZZ ($2,499.99 as configured) is sort of clearly for avid gamers and has a design coated with RGB lighting, heavy branding, and RGB inside the branding simply to ensure of us get all of the flashing lights they’ll. Nonetheless, the Strix Scar laptop computer is greater than only a gentle present with the newest twelfth Gen Intel Core CPUs and an Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card. There’s precise performance behind its design that not many different producers contemplate, like using soft-touch materials that makes the pores and skin really feel cooler or rubber grips to make it simpler to carry, which helps the Asus ROG Strix Scar stand out.
Nonetheless, loads of equally specced gaming laptops can carry out higher than the Strix Scar. There are even a few opponents that each outperform the laptop computer and are cheaper as well.
Design of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G73ZZ
The Asus ROG Strix Scar is thick and hefty with a black end, a number of silver accents, and a mix of soft-touch plastic supplies on the encompassing surfaces. The ROG emblem emits RGB lighting on the highest of the chassis. And subsequent to the brand is a refined strip with the identical image all through.
The ROG sports activities customizable “armor caps” — plastic decorations on the again of the laptop computer close to the port. Ours got here with the silver one connected by default. They slide out and in with a small magnetic pressure, are used to cowl the laptop computer hinges and double as some added aptitude. Asus has the armor caps accessible in two totally different shades of black and permits of us with 3D printers to print their very own with a 3D printing template you could find on its web site.
Subsequent to the armor cap is a dox matrix design beneath the vents, close to the again ports. There’s additionally a rubberized grip on the underside of the Strix Scar to assist hold the laptop computer in place whereas typing and make it simpler to hold round. After all, the pocket book additionally has wraparound RGB lighting on the front-underside, which appears implausible. Nonetheless, there’s additionally a tiny strip of RGB lighting beneath a niche within the show. This illuminates the entrance of the laptop computer when it’s open and bounces off the floor in tandem with the keyboard keys to nice impact.
There’s a small notch to elevate the laptop computer’s lid however no webcam beneath it. Despite the fact that Asus hasn’t had webcams on a few of its gaming laptops for a number of years, the shortage of a digital camera shocked me. There’s little to no cause an enormous, costly laptop computer shouldn’t have one.
The hardly-visible strip of ROG logos follows itself to the laptop computer’s floor and strikes by the keyboard. It’s a lighter grey and extra outstanding right here. I seen a few of the right-half of the floor makes use of semi-translucent plastic to showcase the internals. The remainder of the Strix Scar makes use of a soft-touch materials across the palm rests to maintain the floor cool when the machine runs sizzling.
Quite a lot of thought clearly went into the design selections for the Strix Scar, just like the rubbery grips beneath and the matte black soft-touch materials that’s extra sensible and fewer premium. Static blacks, different-looking floor supplies, and thick plastic grips on the underside aren’t stuff you’d discover on extra lavish, premiere laptops.
There’s performance behind the Asus ROG Strix Scar, and I respect the thought behind the design.
On the left aspect of the Asus ROG Strix Scar are two USB-A ports and a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and on the fitting is an area for an Asus keystone, a proprietary accent for many who need to import lighting and sound settings from totally different machines (or have totally different settings for various customers). A lot of the ports are relegated to the again of the system. There’s a Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB-C 3.2 port, HDMI 2.1 port, an Ethernet jack, and a port for the facility.
The Strix Scar is available in at 15.55 x 11.10 x 0.92 inches and 6.1 kilos, which is both larger or heavier than something we in contrast it to. Proper behind it’s the Razer Blade 17 at 15.55 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches and 6.1 kilos, the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional at 14.17 x 10.4 x 1.05 inches and 5.49 kilos (albeit with a 16-inch display), and the Gigabyte Aorus 17 XE4 at 16. 7 x 10 x 1.1 0 inches and 5.95 kilos.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i7-12900H |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop computer (GPU 8GB GDDR6) 1,410 MHz Increase Clock, 150W Max Graphics Energy |
| Reminiscence | 32GB DDR5-4800 |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD |
| Show | 17.3-inch 2560 x 1440, 240Hz QHD IPS |
| Networking | MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wi-fi Lan Card, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5 mm headphone jack, 2.5 GB Ethernet port, Keystone |
| Digital camera | None |
| Battery | 90 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 280 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Professional |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 15.55 x 11.10 x 0.92 inches (394.97 x 281.94 x 23.36 mm) |
| Weight | 6.39 lbs (2.9 Kg) |
| Worth (as configured) | $2,499.99 |
Gaming and Graphics on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
Our configuration of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 got here with an Intel Core i7-12900H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. Rivals just like the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional and Gigabyte Aorus 17 XE4 have the very same graphics card, whereas the Razor Blade 17 we examined ran on a 3080 Ti. This explains why the Razer Blade 17 barely outperformed the remainder of the bunch throughout our benchmarking.
Once I performed Borderlands 2 for the primary time (highest setting), the sport seemed beautiful and felt snappy due to the QHD 240 Hz show, which allowed the sport to run at nicely over 120 frames per second. Nonetheless, frames fluctuated between 100 and 120 fps because the motion ramped up. Once I went from boots-on-the-ground firefights to driving, the frames stayed round 95 fps.
On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (highest settings), the Asus ROG Strix Scar reached 95 fps at 1080p. It was the third-best, behind the Razer Blade 17’s 116 fps and the Legion 5i Professional’s 110 fps, nevertheless it beat the Aorus’ 89 fps. In its native 1440p decision, the Strix Scar hit 60 fps. On the Legion 5i Professional’s native 1600p, it reached 69 fps.
In the course of the Far Cry 6 (extremely settings) benchmark, the Strix Scar was the slowest, outputting 68 fps at 1080p. In the meantime, the Aorus reached 76 fps, behind the Legion 5i’s 81 fps and the Razer Blade’s 84 fps. When benchmarking of their native decision, the Strix Scar hit 49 fps at 1440p, and the Legion 5i Professional obtained 53 fps.
On the benchmark for Grand Theft Auto V (very excessive settings), the Strix Scar reached 76 fps, the second slowest earlier than the Aorus’ 69 fps. The Legion 5i Professional was forward at 88 fps, and the Razer Blade 17 was on high at 92 fps. When benchmarking of their native resolutions, the Strix Scar hit 62 fps at 1440p, and the Legion 5i Professional obtained 70 fps at 1600p.
In the course of the Borderlands 3 (FHD) benchmark at 1080p, the Strix Scar obtained 85 fps. The Aorus at 81 fps was proper behind it, whereas the Legion 5i Professional (99 fps) and the Razer Blade (100 fps) topped the charts once more. In its native 1440 decision, the Strix Scar hit 60 fps. On the Legion 5i Professional’s native 1600p, it reached 67 fps.
On the Crimson Useless Redemption 2 benchmark (medium settings), the Strix Scar was the slowest of the bunch at 68 fps. The Aorus was forward with 76 fps, and the Legion 5i Professional and Razer Blade 17 led at 81 fps and 84 fps. When benchmarking of their native decision, the Strix Scar reached 49 fps at 1440p, and the Legion 5i Professional hit 53 fps.
On gaming laptops, we check the system by working the Metro Exodus benchmark on RTX settings 15 occasions, simulating about half an hour of gameplay. The sport ran at 61.94 frames per second and stayed fairly constant all through.
In the course of the stress check, CPU speeds got here in at a mean of three.9 GHz on the efficiency cores and three.2 GHz on the effectivity cores. The temperature of the CPU averaged 77.3 levels Celsius (171.14 levels Fahrenheit). The GPU ran at a mean of 1,168 MHz and a temperature of 77.4 levels Celsius (171.32 levels Fahrenheit).
Productiveness Efficiency on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
We examined the Asus ROG Strix Scar Version with an Intel Core i7-12900H with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. Whereas it wasn’t on high throughout our gaming checks,, it fared higher in opposition to the competitors in productiveness efficiency.
On Geekbench 5.4, the Asus ROG Strix earned a single-core rating of 1,858 and a multi-core rating of 13,209. In the meantime, the Razer Blade 17 (Intel Core i7-12800H) reached a 1,741 single-core efficiency and a 9,875 multi-core efficiency. The Lenovo Legion 5i Professional (Intel Core i7-12700H) hit a 1,595 single-core rating and a 13,008 multi-core rating. Lastly, the Aorus 17 XE4 earned a 1,781 single-core rating and an 11,979 multi-core rating.
After we examined video transcoding with our Handbrake check, the Asus ROG Strix Scar Version was the quickest to transform a 4K video to 1080p at 4 minutes and 42 seconds. The Legion 5i Professional was proper behind it was the Legion 5i Professional at 4:29, whereas the Gigabyte Aorus 17 XE4 at 5:36, and the Razer Blade 17 at 7:19.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar Version copied 25GB of check recordsdata at a mean pace of 1,522.55 MBps. The Aorus 17 XE4 adopted with 1,475.15 MBps, whereas the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional was the slowest at 925.46 MBps.
Show on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
Our configuration of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 featured a 17.3-inch show with a 240 Hz refresh charge, 2560 x 1440 decision, and it helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient. The very first thing I did was take a look at some Netflix. I placed on Ozark, one of the crucial visually darkish reveals I can consider, to check Dolby Imaginative and prescient. A Dolby Imaginative and prescient notification comes up on display everytime you begin any Imaginative and prescient-enabled content material, which is sweet and improves the visuals on display.
The blacks don’t veil individuals’s faces as a lot when Imaginative and prescient is activated, as I skilled with Ozark. This was in distinction to after I watched Captain America: Civil Warfare on Disney Plus. That service did not work with the Dolby software program, so the underground bunker the place Bucky is turns the image right into a darkish, pixelated mess.
People watching reveals on apps that may’t make the most of Dolby Imaginative and prescient could also be in for a really visually darkish streaming expertise. Both method you’re watching content material, the show would profit from extra nits, because the maxed-out brightness leaves a bit to be desired, and it’d make reveals like Ozark look even higher. It’s additionally value noting that the anti-glare impact of the show works nicely.
Video games, then again, seemed nice on show. The visuals had been crisp, vibrant, and vibrant when enjoying Borderlands 2 on the very best setting. However since that sport’s magnificence is especially carried by its artwork type, I downloaded Steel Gear Strong V: The Phantom Ache for additional testing. I then realized the shortage of brightness I used to be getting from video games. The Mom Base hub space seemed duller than I would really like. Whereas it wasn’t troublesome to see issues, it explains the Strix Scar’s leads to our show testing.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar’s panel covers 82.5% of the DCI-P3 shade gamut and 116% of the sRGB gamut. Rivals just like the Razer Blade 17 coated 84% of the DCI-P3 shade gamut and 119% of the sRGB gamut.
The Strix Scar reached 263 nits of brightness, the dimmest of the group. The Aorus reached 275 nits, the Razer Blade hit 276 nits, and the Legion 5i Professional was the brightest at 474 nits.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
The keyboard for the Asus ROG Strix Scar feels snappy sufficient throughout use, nevertheless it has some ugly lettering on it. Once I examined my typing expertise on 10fastfingers, I scored 65 phrases per minute with a 96.13% accuracy ranking. That is proper across the ballpark of my earlier 66 WPM rating on the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE.
Nonetheless, my expertise with Strix Scar’s touchpad wasn’t one of the best. It is giant sufficient, and fundamental navigation was superb. However whereas I used to be skimming by spreadsheets, the touchpad captured gestures to zoom out and in after I wasn’t making an attempt to carry out them. The clicking operate of the touchpad additionally feels unfastened, low-cost, and never as responsive as I would really like. I like to recommend utilizing a mouse as quickly as you may seize maintain of 1 (which most avid gamers will do.).
Audio on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
The audio system on the Asus ROG Strix Scar Version don’t get as loud as I would really like, however regardless of this, they ship spectacular bass. Once I listened to “Lay Up” by Future, I heard each kick, they usually had been punchy, in contrast to most laptop computer audio system. Sadly, I’ve gotten far more quantity from different laptop computer audio system, and the sound amplification right here was unsatisfactory.
I attempted to tweak the quantity on the Home windows speaker settings and once more on the Dolby Entry app, with little to no distinction in how loud the audio system obtained. I recommend utilizing headphones to expertise the audio the Dolby Atmos function gives. Even watching Ozark on Netflix, an argument on the Byrd dinner desk was rendered to hushed whispers due to the audio system.
Upgradeability of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
I used a Phillips head screwdriver to take out eleven screws from the underside cowl of the laptop computer. I additionally wanted a pry software to completely unlatch the underside panel. As soon as I obtained it open, two cables connected to the left and proper of the lid indifferent, so take precautions and be light. After that, I eliminated the thermal pads from the parts and noticed two slotted 16GB RAM sticks that may be upgraded to retailer a max of 64GB, a 1TB M.2 SSD stick, and an open slot for an additional SSD that you could possibly use to broaden storage afterward.
Battery Life on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733Z
On our battery check, which entails streaming video, looking the net, and working OpenGL checks over Wi-Fi with the show at 150 nits of brightness, the Strix Scar ran 6 hours and 20 minutes. That is not dangerous for a gaming laptop computer, although it’s about an hour lower than the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional, which ran for 7 hours and half-hour. In the meantime, the Razer Blade 17 ran for six:05 whereas the Gigabyte Aorus lagged at 4:06.
Warmth on the Asus ROG Strix Scar G733Z
I checked to see how sizzling to the contact the Asus ROG Strix Scar is whereas working our Metro Exodus stress check. On the heart of the keyboard, the laptop computer hit 38.1 levels Celsius (100.58 levels Fahrenheit), and it felt prefer it was barely working. It was shockingly cool due to the inclusion of the soft-touch materials on the hand rests. The touchpad remained cool at 25 levels Celsius (77 levels Fahrenheit.)
The underside of the laptop computer was the most popular spot at 54.3 levels Celsius (129.74 levels Fahrenheit), nevertheless it felt cool to the contact. This can be as a result of machine’s liquid steel thermal and 4 followers.
Software program and Guarantee on the Asus ROG Strix Scar G733Z
There are three preinstalled apps from Asus, however the Scar G733Z is surprisingly gentle on the same old Home windows 11 bloatware.
Armoury Crate shows real-time stats of your CPU/GPU, how a lot reminiscence and storage is getting used, the fan pace and the temperature of your system. Aura Creator means that you can change the RGB lighting over the Strix Scar and the keyboard’s backlighting.
MyAsus is a hub that can allow customers to run diagnostics, customise the keyboard backlight, select energy & efficiency settings, entry AI-noise cancellation options, and extra. Nonetheless, it is doubling up some options already present in Home windows.
Dolby Entry means that you can arrange Dolby Imaginative and prescient and Atmos for pristine visible/audio and select sound presets finest in your setup
Asus sells the Asus ROG Strix Scar G733Z with a one-year restricted guarantee.
Asus ROG Strix Scar17 G733Z Configurations
We examined a $2,499.99 Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 configured with an Intel Core i7-12900H, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a QHD (2560 x 1440) show with a 240 Hz refresh charge. Nonetheless, this laptop computer has three different configurations on Asus’ web site.
There’s a configuration for $2,299 with the identical CPU and GPU however with an FHD (1920 x 1080) show and solely 8GB of RAM. There’s one other $2,699 configuration with the identical specs because the earlier one, however with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and the QHD show from our overview unit. Then lastly, there’s a $2,999 configuration with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and the QHD show.
Backside Line
There’s loads to love concerning the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17. It handles productiveness nicely, has a bevy of ports, and you may respect the performance behind its design, even when it’s too flashy for some. I am very pleased with a laptop computer with an look clearly meant for gaming if it means I get some added performance. However in case you have a 17-inch gaming laptop computer, my guess is you’re not lugging it with you daily so nobody will choose you on the native espresso store.
Despite the fact that the ROG Strix Scar 17 excels at productiveness, that’s not why most individuals purchase gaming laptops. Plus, the touchpad is so unreliable that it will be counterproductive to make use of in any capability. It’s disappointing that the Strix Scar couldn’t maintain its personal in gaming productiveness in opposition to equally specced machines. It’s much more disheartening to know you will get the Lenovo Legion 5i Professional and Gigabyte Aorus 17 XE4 for a number of hundred bucks much less.
If you need a gaming laptop computer with implausible specs and phenomenal RGB lighting, you might contemplate the AMD-based Lenovo Legion 7 we reviewed, which is out there now for $2,539.99. The Legion 7 has extra highly effective specs than the Strix Scar, however you sacrifice a machine that handles warmth nicely for one which runs fiery sizzling.
If a purposeful, port-heavy design smothered in RGB is vital to you, and also you’re keen to pay up for that regardless of not getting one of the best gaming efficiency within the sport, the Strix is one to take a look at, so long as you are conscious of the tradeoffs.
