Considering the GPU, this result is nothing short of surprising. In our Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark, the Scar managed 121 frames-per-second, around the middle of the pack for high-end gaming laptops. But there are two SODIMM slots and two M.2 slots for you to play with if you can manage it. If you’re so inclined, the memory and storage are user-serviceable, though it’s no easy task with 11 screws and an LED lighting cable to remove. All of that is backed up by 32GB of 4800Mhz DDR5 memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The GPU isn’t quite so screaming, but the RTX 3070 Ti is still more towards the front of the pack than the middle.
Our review unit came favoring the CPU with its near top-of-the-line Core i9 12900H, packing 14 total cores, 20 threads, and a maxed-out frequency of 5 GHz even. If you have the networking hardware to match, you might just be able to bid goodbye to Ethernet.
ASUS CPU LED FLASH RED BLUETOOTH
On the wireless side of things, Asus includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, impressively recent options. Plenty of users would trade the Keystone port for something a little more universally useful like another USB-C or an SD card reader. While it’s plenty serviceable, reaching around the back for USB-C is less than ideal. Everything else is ’round the back: a massive barrel charging port, two USB-C ports (3.2 Gen 2, one with Thunderbolt 4), and HDMI and gigabit Ethernet, both full-size.Įverything else on the side of the laptop is dedicated to either cooling (two exhaust sections on the rear, one on either side) or RGB lighting. In addition to the oddball Keystone port on the right, the Scar includes only two USB-A (3.2) ports and a headphone jack on the left side. This baffling design decision might be a deal-breaker for anyone who wants to use this big, powerful laptop for even the most occasional of video meetings.
ASUS CPU LED FLASH RED WINDOWS
Even a budget webcam is a must-have on a laptop design in the post-COVID era, to say nothing of this laptop’s lack of Windows Hello (there’s no fingerprint reader, either). But instead, Asus would like you to buy its separate ROG Eye camera for $90. There’s certainly room for one, either on the skinny top bezel (see Dell’s recent XPS designs) or on the thicker bottom. I’d tell you about the webcam here, except the Scar doesn’t have one. The trade-off is a bit of clarity in the treble and midrange, but for laptop speakers it’s an acceptable compromise. Though they favor the right side slightly due to placement, there’s a shocking amount of depth and bass to them, rattling the frame and anything else you might happen to have on the same desk or table. I would have liked to have seen a red option to match the distinctive accent of the Keystone.Īs previously mentioned, the Scar’s speakers are a standout. It’s a nice touch, but entirely decorative.
The Scar also includes two extra faceplates for the large “ROG” section of the hinge in the box, giving you a choice of matte black, silver, and translucent, the latter matching the right side of the keyboard deck. And what kind of gamer is likely to have two such machines in the same home? The Keystone is visually interesting, but its actual usefulness is limited to saving a few keystrokes unless you happen to have another Asus machine with a Keystone port. It’s even possible to tie access to a semi-secret file folder… though since this is bound to Asus’ proprietary Armoury Crate system, its utility is limited. You can launch specific apps when it’s inserted or automatically lock the laptop when it’s removed. This is a separate USB-based key with a proprietary connection that you can bind to a variety of functions. Another distinctive physical element is the Keystone.