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Gaming is bigger than ever and is transitioning from what was a very niche market to a segment that’s in demand by more consumers. It’s no wonder then that legacy gaming line ups such as ASUS’ Republic of Gaming (ROG) line up is having its moment in the spotlight. I’ve been hooked on to its latest laptop is the ASUS Strix SCAR 16, and here’s how it fares as a flagship gaming machine.
Design
For Technofile : Asus ROG Strix 16. Photo : Bijoy Ghosh To go with Siddharth's report | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh
Gaming vibes are on, from the get-go! The RGB lighting touches all over the laptop look really edgy. The aluminium lid has a ROG staple slash motif and an RGB-backlit logo. The chassis is made from light, durable plastic and feels sturdy enough to handle the daily wear and tear of commuting. Weighing in at 2.65 kg, the laptop is by no stretch of imagination light or portable. Coupled with a hefty power brick, it fares better as a gaming workstation on my desk rather than a portable gaming laptop. I personally found it hard to find a backpack that was able to carry this laptop around with the other gadgets I carry: a wireless mouse, an SSD, plus chargers.
Display
For Technofile : Asus ROG Strix 16. Photo : Bijoy Ghosh To go with Siddharth's report | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh
The laptop features a 16-inch QHD+ 16:10 (2560 x 1600) anti-glare Mini LED display with a refresh rate of 240 Hz and a response time of 3 milli-seconds. Out of the box, colours look great with 100 percent SRGB coverage and a Pantone-certified display to boot. Watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix was the best multimedia experience I’ve seen on a gaming laptop with well-saturated, crisp contrasts on the screen.
Sound
For Technofile : Asus ROG Strix 16. Photo : Bijoy Ghosh To go with Siddharth's report | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh
The laptop features quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support. The two tweeters and two woofers onboard were great while gaming, giving a sense of immersive eeriness while playing in dark areas in Resident Evil 2 when it came to in-game vocals, background sounds were clear and audible making the Strix SCAR 16 ideal for gaming. However, the laptop does fall short when it comes to audio output when it comes to multimedia content. While listening to songs like Maroon 5’s Sugar and Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You on this setup, the acoustics felt a bit shallow with the low vocal volume on the built-in speakers. With gaming, it didn’t sound so shallow, and the overall experience was a mixed bag.
Performance
The Asus Strix SCAR 16 features the latest Intel Core i9 processor 14900HX 2.2 GHz (36M Cache, up to 5.8 GHz, 24 cores/ 32 threads) at up to 65W TDP along with a 16 GB RTX 4090 laptop GPU and 32 GB of RAM, and this is the best configuration one can get at this price range.
On CineBench R23, it scored 1,990 points topping the CPU(Single core), and 24,729 on CPU(Multi core) placing it second before AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX. This by no stretch is an underpowered machine.
The 16 GB 4090 laptop GPU represents the crème de la crème of gaming GPUs and delivers the best performance while gaming on Ultra settings. I was able to get a steady 50-60 FPS at 4K resolution on Halo Infinite, and 30 FPS on Sniper Elite.
Battery Ports
For Technofile : Asus ROG Strix 16. Photo : Bijoy Ghosh To go with Siddharth's report | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 has the right assortment of ports including a Thunderbolt 4, a DP1.4 for external displays, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, an HDMI 2.1, a 2.5G RJ-45 Lan jack, an audio combo jack on the left, and two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports on the right side of the laptop.
One good thing is that the USB-C ports support output from the dedicated GPU. so you would be able to make the best use of the dGPU to output to a 4k monitor and enjoy gaming in 4K. The keyboard with its RGB zones and key travel of 2mm was ideal for strafing runs while fighting the Covenant on Halo Infinite. The trackpad was just adequate in the time I used it and does feature a virtual number pad. The laptop was able to last about 3.5-4 hours when running basic tasks, and browsing YouTube videos and social media. On the other hand while gaming, it was just able to last about 1 hour unplugged. The device has a 330-watt power brick which can charge the laptop’s 90 Wh battery in two hours. There is also an instant charge feature that lets me quickly charge the laptop from 0-100 in an hour, once a day, which could be useful before a last-minute road trip.
Conclusion
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 offers the best when it comes to performance and specs. My review unit with its particular specs comes with a price tag of nearly ₹3,29,000, although the series begins at a lower price point mentioned below. However, with an average sound system, it also faces competition from the likes of the Dell Alienware m16R1 and the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i which offer similar specs in the same price range.
Price - ₹2,89,990 onwards
Pros - Ultimate performance, great display, and extensive port options.
Cons: Not lightweight, average sound
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