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There's a lot to like about the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15. It's the first gaming laptop I've tested with a 1440p display – the perfect in-between resolution that's sharper than 1080p, but not as GPU-intensive as 4K. It's a top quality panel too, as we measured 100% DCI-P3 coverage and a terrific average deltaE of just 1.15.
The combination of the eight-core Ryzen 9 5900HX and RTX 3080 Laptop 16GB GPU also delivers the good when it comes to gaming. If you play at 1080p, you're guaranteed excellent frame rates in anything you can chuck at this machine. Stepping up to 1440p will mean certain games – the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 – won't quite manage a locked 60FPS, but there's still plenty of headroom to game at that resolution.
I've loved using the optical-mechanical keyboard too, as it simply delivers a far better typing and gaming experience than a traditional chiclet or scissor-switch laptop keyboard. The large trackpad is also of good quality, while the 90Wh battery is more than enough to let you use the Scar 15 on the go, provided you're not trying to play AAA games.
It doesn't do much wrong either. Admittedly, seeing the same selection of ports as the TUF Gaming A15 is a bit disappointing considering the significant price differences – there's no SD card reader or Thunderbolt hear – while the lack of webcam is somewhat mystifying in this day and age.
For most gamers though, I'd suggest the biggest problem with the Strix Scar 15 is ASUS' own Strix G15 Advantage. We've shown in this review that the G15 and Scar 15 perform almost identically in game, yet the G15 retails at £1699 currently, while the Scar 15 (in its configuration as reviewed here) is listed at £2699.99. Admittedly, there are a few quality of life differences between the two, with the Scar offering a better keyboard, double the RAM and a 1440p display… but it's hard to escape the fact that for £1000 less you can get essentially the same gaming performance in what is still a very good all-round package.
That would be my main recommendation for those looking for a laptop in this performance class. Unless you absolutely must have the higher-resolution display or need that 32GB of DDR4 memory, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 is a very capable machine, it's just hard to argue with the sheer bang-for-buck offered by the G15 Advantage.
The Scar 15 is listed on ASUS' own retail store HERE, though it is currently out of stock.
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Pros
- High quality 1440p display.
- Great optical-mechanical keyboard.
- Large and smooth trackpad.
- Solid build quality.
- More than capable of 1080p and most 1440p gaming.
- RAID 0 array is very fast.
Cons
- ASUS' own G15 Advantage offers very similar gaming performance for significantly less cash.
- Would've expected an SD card reader and even Thunderbolt at this price point.
- Half-height enter key is not ideal for the UK model.
- No webcam is a definite mis-step.
KitGuru says: It's a very impressive laptop, but if I had this much to spend on a portable gaming machine, the Strix G15 Advantage would be my first port of call.
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