ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) Review: Big and powerful

While ROG’s Zephyrus laptops are known for their versatility, thinness, and lightness they have another line focusing more on power — the Strix series. This year, the republic once again updates its roster of gaming machines including the heavyweight Strix Scar 17. This beast houses powerful internals in a much bigger chassis than most are used to. Is bigger better though? and can it contain the power of AMD and Nvidia’s latest better than its sexier cousins? Let’s find out in our ROG Strix Scar 17 Review.

Design and Build

Despite being a refresh the 2023 version of the Strix Scar 17 has some design differences from its predecessor. Noticeably absent is the keystone slot on the right side of the device. The inner chassis also forgoes the distinguishable two-tone design of the 2022 model, aiming for a more unified color scheme. However, you still see a line separating the lower left half of the chassis from the upper right. Last but not least, we no longer have a customizable armor cap, one of the gimmick selling points of the Scar series. Instead, we are left with what looks to be an armor cap on the left exhaust side that is no longer removable.

Apart from all those though, the overall design of the 2023 version is pretty much the same as last year’s. I also love how they retained the engraved ROG Eye on the display lid. The laptop is neither flashy nor dull as it still looks premium and screams gamer thanks to that ROG Eye up front. However, you will have to constantly clean it as it is one hell of a smudge magnet. Other than that it’s a simple yet elegant-looking gaming machine with some RGB springled all around the bottom chassis.

Display and Audio

Unlike its Zephyrus cousins, the ROG Strix Scar 17 2023 doesn’t make use of the Nebula Display System. Even so, it’s display isn’t something you should discount. We’re still getting a pretty amazing 240Hz QHD screen here with a lot of real estate thanks to its 17-inch size. Response time could be quicker though but 3ms ain’t bad on a built-in IPS panel. Complimenting all of those are Dolby’s Vision HDR and Adaptive-Sync.

All in all, the display on the Strix Scar 17 2023 is a thing of beauty rendering images with great color accuracy and reproduction. Viewing angles are crystal clear too thanks to the IPS Panel. In gaming, that 240Hz screen does its job of providing buttery smooth gameplay even in fast-paced games. However, you’d truly appreciate the crispness of the display in games with vivid environments and in media consumption such as movies.

As for Audio, even with Dolby Atmos the speakers on the device are average at best. You have good highs and mids but barely any lows. The volume to is a little underwhelming and easily gets drowned out by external noise. So, we highly recommend using your audio gear of choice both in gaming and media consumption.

Keyboard and Trackpad

There’s nothing much to say in this area save for having a full keyboard because of the bigger chassis. We’re still getting the standard chiclet laptop keyboard with good feedback and tactility as well as RGB goodness.

As for the trackpad, well we’ve got a large smooth clickpad that’s slightly shifted to the left. It’s big enough for wide gestures but small enough to avoid accidental palm touches.

Connectivity and I/O

Now this is where the ROG Strix Scar 17 surprised me a bit. Despite its larger frame, the laptop actually has quite a limited number of ports. Over to the left, you have two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and the 3.5mm combo audio port. Then to the back, you have your power connector, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort, power delivery, G-SYNC), USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort™ / G-SYNC), HDMI 2.1, and RJ45 LAN port.

That’s all we get as the right side is completely void of any ports. I’m a tad bit disappointed we got so few ports when we have a lot more space to work with. At least we have back ports to ease cable management. Anyway, for connections, we have Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) (Triple band) 2*2 and Bluetooth 5.3 Wireless Card. The standard setup in the market nowadays.

Performance

Handling the heavy lifting for the ROG Strix Scar 17 is a combination of AMD and Nvidia’s latest. The CPU is Ryzen 9 7945HX, while the GPU is the Nvidia RTX 4080. A combo that more than likely handles any and all that you throw at it, be it heavy gaming or content creation. For synthetic benchmarks, we run Cinebech R23 for the CPU and Unigine and 3DMark for the RTX 4080.

As expected both performed admirably in these tests. The AMD Ryzen 9 scored a high 30,247 in the Cinebench multi-core test and in real-world instances, everything felt buttery smooth, from minute tasks to heavy video editing. I actually used the laptop to render its unboxing video and it managed to complete a 20-minute recording in under 3 mins, an incredibly fast result. As for the GPU well take a look at its scores below.

Synthetic results are nothing if the device can’t perform in the real world right? Well, it just so happens that the RTX 4080 delivers on its promising results. Each and every game we threw at it in QHD resolution with everything maxed was way above 60fps. This means that the 240Hz display will put in the work to provide a smooth and fluid gaming experience.

Plus it’s safe to say that you’ll be able to play the most demanding games at the laptop’s default screen resolution. You won’t need to tweak much or even reduce your resolution to 1080p. Enjoy that eye candy.

Upgradability

Here’s the catch for the ROG Strix Scar 17, you don’t need to upgrade anything as it comes loaded out of the box. Unless you want to swap out those RAM sticks for a higher capacity or with the brand of your choice or a faster SSD. The laptop already comes with two 16GB sticks, it supports 64GB max, and 2TB of storage, the highest it can cater. So rest assured you’re already getting an almost complete package save for the RAM, though 32GB is plenty already.

Thermals and Acoustics

A bigger and bulkier body means more space for a cooling system and generally better airflow. Sadly, this is where the ROG Strix Scar 17 ran into some problems. The AMD Ryzen 9 reached maximum temperatures of 97.3° during our Prime95 stress testing. The RTX 4080 though remained at an acceptable 79° in Furmark. Gaming temps are a little close to these results too only dropping to about 5 to 10 degrees lower on both ends. So, you may have to do a little tweaking or external cooling to keep those temps down.

External temperatures are a bit better with only the exhaust areas getting relatively warm to the touch. We still don’t recommend placing it on your lap when doing any heavy work though as it’ll make you sweat. As for fan noise, well the laptop slightly roars when under heavy workloads but nothing too noisy. The speakers will be able to drown it out a bit despite its low volume output.

Verdict

The ROG Strix Scar 17 (2023) is an almost complete gaming package. It provides you with an amazing display with a lot of screen real estate and powerful internals that can handle QHD gaming. However, it’s not without a few shortcomings. Notably the smudge magnet chassis, the underwhelming audio, and the hot internal CPU temperatures. Not to mention, its heft and bulk being a full-sized 17-inch machine. Yet even with those shortcomings as a whole, the ROG Strix Scar 17 is still a solid gaming machine able to handle anything and everything you throw at it.

Despite not having the most powerful internals the market has to offer. The RTX 4080 paired with the AMD R9 7945HX proves to be more than enough to maintain high frames at QHD resolution. Yet, to taste this kind of performance you will have to shell out Php 219,995 (~$4,000), which is quite the damage. There are certainly more affordable alternatives out there that can come close to its performance. However, if you’re looking for a big and powerful gaming machine, then the ROG Strix Scar 17 is a great choice.

Reasons to Get

• Beautiful 17-inch display with a lot of screen real-estate
• Powerful internals enough to handle QHD gaming comfortably.

Reasons not to Get

• Bulky and hefty
• Underwhelming audio
• Smudge-magnet chassis

Specifications