Unleashing the Power: A Review of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024)

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a high-performance laptop with excellent CPU and GPU performance. It has a vibrant Mini-LED display and good connectivity, including Thunderbolt 4 and 2.5G Ethernet. The MSRP is attractive for the performance delivered. However, it has an unimpressive look and feel, a mediocre keyboard and small touchpad, and is thick, bulky, and heavy. It also has a simple webcam and microphone, with no biometric login. Despite its mundane appearance, the performance of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is extraordinary. It offers extreme CPU and GPU performance in a portable design powered by Intel and Nvidia’s most powerful hardware. The laptop features an 18-inch Mini-LED display, Intel Core i9 processor with 24 cores, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics with a maximum graphics power of 175 watts. With a price tag of nearly $3,900, it is a worthwhile investment considering its impressive performance compared to other rip-roaring performance laptops that are more expensive. Design and build quality its technically a laptop lacks a slim, light design. It is over one inch thick, nearly 16 inches wide, and almost a foot across. The simple charcoal chassis adorned by subtle ROG accents with LED accents around the display lid and the laptop’s perimeter provide an attractive look. However, it is disappointing that the laptop is made of plastic, and there is a noticeable amount of flex across both the display lid and the lower chassis. The keyboard has a reasonable layout but lacks full-size keys, and the numpad keys are not full-size. The numpad keys and some other keys lack space, and it does not provide mechanical key switches found on some other high-end gaming laptops. The small touchpad is smooth and responsive. The display is an outstanding feature of the laptop, with an 18-inch Mini-LED display with 2,304 dimming zones and a refresh rate of 240Hz. It also scores well in color gamut, color accuracy, and maximum brightness. However, blooming and a vignetting effect around the edges of the display are evident at higher levels of brightness and when HDR is turned on. The laptop’s audio offers reasonably crisp, rich audio but is not loud. The built-in webcam and microphone provide soft, blurry, grainy video and hollow audio. The laptop lacks support for biometric login. In terms of connectivity, it offers one Thunderbolt 4 port, one USB-C port, one HDMI 2.1 port with FRL, a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It also has a 2.5G wired Ethernet port. Overall, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers powerful performance and impressive display quality. However, it lacks in the build quality, keyboard, touchpad, and audio.