ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 features AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 with 32 GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 90Wh Battery, It comes at a price of $1,999 – $2,499.
The Benefit of the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733
Where does the advantage lie then? Today’s hero, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733, now boasts a completely fresh, brutally powerful, yet also reasonably cool AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor. The label on the laptop indicates that this 8-core, 16-thread processor is factory overclocked, but this doesn’t seem to adversely affect the temperature to the point of causing any problems. Even in the most demanding synthetic performance tests, the Ryzen 9 5900HX processor did not exceed temperatures of 90 degrees, while Intel would have long surpassed 100 degrees and started noticeably reducing performance. And this is not to mention the active cooling, which doesn’t have to work as aggressively.
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On paper, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 is very similarly equipped when compared to the TUF Dash F15, but the performance is almost incomparably superior on the ROG Strix SCAR 17. Could it be that AMD has pulled significantly ahead of Intel?
Technical Specifications of ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17
| Details | Specification |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 3.3 GHz up to 4.6 GHz, 8 cores, 16 MB Cache |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, 8 GB GDDR6, ROG Boost up to 1660 MHz at 115 W (130 W with Dynamic Boost) |
| RAM | 32 GB SO-DIMM 3200 MHz LPDDR4 |
| Screen | IPS-level 17.3 inches, 1920 x 1080, 16:9, 300 Hz, sRGB: 100%, Adobe: 75.35%, Adaptive-Sync, 3 ms |
| SSD | 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD |
| Ports | 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x HDMI 2.0b, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C with DisplayPort / Power Delivery / G-SYNC, 1x LAN |
| Wireless Connections | Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax + Bluetooth v5.1 |
| Dimensions | 39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.75 cm |
| Weight | 2.70 kg |
| Battery | 90 Wh, 240 W charging device |
| Additional Features | Optical Mech Keyboard, Per-Key RGB, 2x 4W speakers with Smart Amp Technology + 2x 2W tweeter, ROG Keystone, replaceable decorative panels under the screen |
| Software | ASUS, Armoury Crate |
| Price | $1,999 to $2,499 |
Appearance and Build
When it comes to the appearance and various details introduced by the manufacturer of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733, we could spend half a day discussing them, as there are plenty. Let’s try to tackle the most prominent features of the laptop this time. I must say, finding any construction drawbacks in this laptop is very difficult, if not nearly impossible.
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As is fitting for laptops in the ROG series, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 comes with abundant RGB LED lighting – the lid features an illuminated logo, the keyboard has sleek backlighting, and even lights shine beneath the laptop. I know, I already know what everyone thinks about them, but this time everything is kept reasonably bright and not too distracting. Of course, you can always turn off the RGB LEDs or set them to a more subdued pastel tone.
As seen, the lid of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 does not fully cover the bottom part of the laptop, which, of course, increases the dimensions of the computer. However, this approach also has a couple of benefits – the laptop gets better ventilation, and more speakers can be built in. The ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 has a total of four speakers, providing a pleasant sound. Don’t expect earth-shattering bass, but the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 could be one of the best-sounding laptops we’ve encountered.
Keyboard and Touchpad
In this small protrusion, most of the ports reside, thus not cluttering the user with cables on both sides of the keyboard. On the left side, there are two USB ports and a headphone jack, while everything else is placed at the back. On the right side, there is only space for the ASUS Keystone device, which effectively serves as an external memory. The Keystone allows you to store data about RGB LED lighting, sound settings, and also houses the access data for the Shadow Drive. The Shadow Drive is a hidden disk partition accessible only when the Keystone is attached.
Part of the keyboard area around the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 is made of semi-transparent plastic, giving the laptop a distinctive look compared to competitors. I have to say, this semi-transparency is visually quite impressive. It looks really nice – not too much, not too little. It must be noted that this semi-transparent plastic tends to attract oily fingerprints, and they are then hard to clean.
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 comes with two additional panels that replace the gunmetal-colored plastic strip next to the left hinge. I don’t quite understand the necessity for this, as the laptop could do perfectly well without it, since there’s already something visually interesting attached on all ends.
What could be considered as downsides of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733? The laptop lacks a webcam, and it’s definitely not what one would call a lightweight machine. However, it’s important to note that we’re talking about a very powerful 17.3-inch gaming laptop.
Display
The laptop sent for testing boasts a 17.3-inch 1080p resolution 300 Hz screen, which is a very powerful feature in the laptop segment. ASUS has dubbed the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733’s screen as IPS-level, which previously meant something between TN and IPS color reproduction and viewing angles. However, this time everything is in top order with colors, viewing angles, and even backlight bleed. I was pleasantly surprised to find no trace of backlight bleed during the test.
It must be said that gaming on the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733’s screen is more than sufficient, with plenty to spare. For everyday use, however, I would have liked to see slightly more vibrant colors. It’s important to note that the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 has a thoroughly matte screen to reduce reflections.
Mechanical Keyboard on a Laptop? ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17
ASUS equips the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 with a cleverly designed optical-mechanical keyboard, which is a welcome change from all the other horrors that gaming laptop manufacturers try to force on us. The keyboard provides tactile, albeit fairly quiet clicks. I would say it falls somewhere between the clicky blue switch keyboard and the tactile feel of brown switches. It’s worth noting that a long key travel cannot be integrated into a laptop, but the optical part comes into play here, registering the keystroke.
For my habits, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733’s keyboard is slightly too large, making it not very conducive to rapid typing. But is that what you’d want for a laptop of this class? Perhaps you might have wished for ASUS to make this keyboard a bit more gamer-oriented with a larger left Ctrl key, but I can also appreciate a good standard layout and size for a laptop keyboard.
Of course, the keyboard has RGB LED backlighting, and you can even set an individual color for each key.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 Software
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 comes with ASUS software designed for setting the laptop’s battery charge levels, as well as managing BIOS and other updates.
ASUS Armoury Crate
Performance settings are handled by ASUS Armoury Crate, allowing you to choose between Silent, Performance, and Turbo modes. Additionally, there’s a manual mode for tweaking performance-to-fan noise ratio. You can also set individual preferences for each installed game, which load automatically when the game starts. While Armoury Crate allows some customization of keyboard backlighting, it’s not RGB, so don’t expect extravagant effects.
The laptop also includes McAfee LiveSafe, which may be useful but can be quite intrusive as an antivirus program. Nowadays, at least in my view, there’s no reason to add any additional antivirus to Windows 10.
Performance
Forget about Intel, because with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX laptop processor, AMD has come a long way, offering not only a substantial leap in power but also maintaining low temperatures even under heavy loads. As mentioned earlier, the Ryzen 9 5900HX did not exceed 90 degrees Celsius in any performance test or game, which is almost unimaginable for a beast like this.
It’s worth noting that ASUS has used an improved thermal paste called Liquid Metal. From what I’ve read, the use of liquid metal permanently fuses the processor and cooling system, but I don’t think it’s crucial for a laptop.
Previously, with the ASUS TUF Dash F15, we had some doubts about whether the laptop could perform optimally with the existing drivers, but with the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733, there are almost no doubts – this laptop performs exceptionally well in almost all performance tests among the laptops we’ve tested.
The laptop is equipped with SK hynix Co. HFM001TD3JX013N NVMe SSD, which is advertised to have high speed and demonstrated an impressive 3591 MB/s read and a very high 3104 MB/s write speed in the CrystalDiskMark performance test, while AS SSD showed slightly lower results with 2964 MB/s read and 1764 MB/s write respectively.
In the Passmark PerformanceTest 9.0, this laptop achieved a very respectable score of over 6324 points, easily surpassing MSI GS65 Stealth Thin (5369.2 points), ASUS ROG Strix G (4653.7 points), ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (5056), ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS S GX701 (5646.2 points), and even the recently reviewed ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (5720 points). In this test, the best result among the computers we’ve seen is from the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme with 7809.2 points, but that’s a device from a completely different category.
In the LatencyMon test, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 shows that it’s not only capable of running games but also tasks that require low latency.
Other performance test data:
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra: 7029
PCMark 10: 7052
3DMark Time Spy: 10,593
Cinebench R20: 5332
3DMark Port Royal: 6407
In the built-in performance tests for games (Ultra settings), the laptop showed the following results:
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: (1080p Ultra) 72 frames per second
Far Cry New Dawn: (1080p Ultra) 91 frames per second
Division 2: (1080p Ultra) 91 frames per second
Overall, in gaming benchmarks, we see an improvement of about 20 frames per second when comparing the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 to the ASUS TUF Dash F15, which also had an RTX 3070 graphics card, but with early drivers and an Intel processor. However, it’s worth noting that my favorite from last year, the MSI GE66 Raider with an RTX 2070 SUPER, shows a very similar, though slightly lower, frame rate in gaming benchmarks. I assume that in a couple of months, Nvidia will sort out its chaos with the new RTX 30xx graphics card drivers, and then we’ll see a larger leap in performance.
Battery of ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 boasts a sizable 90 Wh battery and comes with a 240 W charging device. The manufacturer states that the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 can also be charged with a 100 W USB Type-C Power Delivery charger, but don’t expect any heroic feats from the RTX 3070 graphics card in this case.
With one charge, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 will run for approximately four and a half hours in office mode, which is a good result for this type of laptop. In gaming mode, the RTX 3070 graphics card doesn’t operate at full power from the battery, but even so, in games, you can expect about 45 minutes of play on one charge.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 Review Conclusion
ASUS has created a very interesting, high-quality, and visually appealing gaming laptop. However, it’s important to note that the price of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 reflects the manufacturer’s efforts. At this price, along with the size and weight of the laptop, I would be inclined to delve into a desktop configurator. Clicking in the same components as the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733, the price came out to around $1,999; $2,499 without a monitor.
The choice fell on an approximately $100 computer case, ASUS B550 motherboard, 850 W 80+ Gold power supply, Ryzen 5 5600X with an air cooler worth about $60, 2x 16 GB RAM (DDR4, 32 GB, 3200 MHz, CL16), ASUS GeForce RTX 3070 (8 GB GDDR6, Dual OC) graphics card, and a 1 TB SSD (PCIe 3.0 x4, 3500 MB/s read, 3000 MB/s write). The monitor would probably cost an additional $300 to $500 (depending on the manufacturer, hertz, and resolution).
Desktop and Laptop Performance of RTX 30xx and RTX 2070
Of course, a desktop computer is not comparable to a laptop, but there’s a feeling that the performance of RTX 30xx graphics cards in laptops isn’t significantly superior when compared to RTX 2070 SUPER graphics cards in laptops. It should be noted, however, that desktop RTX 30xx series graphics cards also consume 350 W up to a peak of 420 W. It’s not possible to fit such power into a laptop graphics card and then cool it down.
Looking at the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 in the laptop category, I haven’t seen anything noticeably better. It features a cool but very powerful AMD processor, a fresh RTX 3070 graphics card, the option to configure SSD storage in RAID0 mode, and a bunch of visual and functional extras. I’m absolutely delighted with the mechanical keys, although they’re not for everyone and are relatively loud (clicky). Additionally, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 boasts a great 300 Hz screen, which will impress any gaming enthusiast.
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 is one of the few laptops that I would be ready to keep as both my everyday work machine and my gaming computer.
Pros and Cons of ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17
Pros
Finally, we see a significant jump in RTX 30xx performance, although it’s not gigantic (+20 fps).
Various visually and functionally pleasant details.
Doesn’t overheat.
Mechanical keyboard on a laptop.
Cons
RTX 30xx laptops lag behind desktop graphics cards in terms of power.
Difficult to clean from fingerprints.
Heavy and large, even for a 17.3-inch (additional size is forgiven for the rear elevation with ports).
Price is hard to justify.