The latest evolution of the ROG Strix Scar line adds a serious performance boost by blending Nvidia’s RTX 3070 Ti graphics with Intel’s Core i9 12900H processor. This combination makes a seriously pleasurable multitasking and gaming machine, but takes a lot of battery to power it.
The computer is a gamer’s dream: RGB lighting, translucent segments, and a matte black finish. The top left section adds further configuration options with swappable faceplates. The RGB lighting is, of course, configurable, to make it suitable for both professional and gaming situations.
The keyboard has good travel and is full-sized with a numpad. Below that is the multi-touch trackpad, which is left positioned to be more aligned with the space bar. The trackpad is a good size and is suitable for office work and light gaming.
It has a great selection of ports: a 3.5mm headset jack, full-sized HDMI, and a 2.5 Gigabit LAN port. Accessory ports include 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port and a Thunderbolt 4 connector. Built-in connectivity comprises Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E. What is missing, however, is a webcam – but this shouldn’t be much of an issue for gamers who usually have dedicated video streaming setups. In a pinch, the built-in microphone array will do for online meetings.
The graphics and processor aren’t the only strong components. The laptop combines two 16GB 4800MHz DDR5 RAM cards to create 32GB of memory (in dual channel mode!). The 2TB Samsung NVMe SSD provides plenty of storage and speedy performance.
The Strix Scar units are known for their high-end panels, and the 2022 model makes no exception. It’s a quad-HD (2560×1440), 240Hz, 17.3-inch panel with support for Nvidia G-Sync. This combination creates sharp, vibrant, and smooth graphics.
Even though there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, we didn’t use it often because the speakers were a pleasure to listen to. The laptop has four stereo speakers, which are powered by a Smart Amplifier. The sound system also supports Dolby Atmos, so supported content sounds rich and engaging.
For online multiplayer games, this laptop will serve most gamers well at the highest settings. The laptop scored an average fps (frames per second) of 99 on Far Cry: New Dawn’s benchmark at 1920 x 1080, Ultra. This drops to 83 average fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which puts it in the best of its class.
Overall, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 is one of the best gaming laptops on the market right now, but it fetches an understandable retail price of R69559.