ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 (2023) Review

Checking in for review is the much awaited 2023 update to the ROG Strix SCAR 17 gaming laptop, featuring the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. It retails for $3,499 USD which is about ₱195,000 PHP – converted directly to Peso.

There’s a lot going on with this unit but perhaps what strikes me the most are its 17.3-inch QHD 240 Hz panel, the vapor chamber cooling solution and of course, the unapologetic CPU and GPU combination.

Disclosure: AMD in conjunction with ASUS, sent the ROG Strix SCAR 17 2023 for the purpose of this review. They did not ask me to say anything particular about it. Note that this is the G733PY-LL023X which is currently not available in the Philippines.

• Product Page: ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 (2023)
• Price: $3,499 USD / ₱195,000 PHP
• Release Date: Q2 2023

Technical Specifications

Processor
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX
Chipset	N/A
Memory
Slot	2x SO-DIMM
SDRAM	DDR5-4800 (Installed), DDR5-5200 (Max)
Speed	4800 MT/s (Installed)
Capacity	32 GB (Installed), 64 GB (Max)
Graphics
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 (Discrete), AMD Radeon 610M (Integrated)
Display
Size	17.3 inches
Resolution	2560 x 1440 (16:9)
Refresh Rate	240 Hz
Response Time	3 ms (GtG)
Storage
Slot	2x M.2 2280 (1x 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Installed)
RAID	NA
Networking
LAN	2.5 GbE LAN
WLAN	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3
Audio
DAC	N/A
ADC	N/A
Speaker	Stereo
Connectivity
USB	USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, 6x USB 3.2 Gen 1
LAN	RJ-45
Audio	3.5 mm TRRS (In/Out)
Display	DisplayPort, HDMI
Dimensions
Length	395 mm
Width	282 mm
Height	28.3 mm
Weight	3000 grams

Packaging and Accessories

Our ROG Strix SCAR 17 is a seeding unit so I cannot share my thoughts about its retail packaging.

Scope of delivery (for retail) are as follows:

• ROG Backpack
• ROG Fusion II 300 Gaming Headset
• ROG Gladius III Gaming Mouse
• 330W Power Adapter

Though I don’t have the bundled accessories at hand, the headset, mouse and the ROG Bag should be enough to get any gamers started. I expected a bit more though at its price point so check your dealers for promos and bundles.

Design, Build and Connectivity

The ROG Strix SCAR 17 2023 is not that much different compared to the last year’s model except for the added webcam and some design omissions. That includes the now non-removable ROG logo/badge, non-RGB LED lit logo and the removal of the ROG keystone. These are the most apparent of them all along with a more streamlined chassis.

The back panel has an ample amount of perforations (and gap via the rubber padding) to keep the device from choking itself. There are also a lot of custom molded parts here down to the asymmetrical rubber padding.

The left side of the laptop is devoid of any connectivity options but we have a few here from the right. There are two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports on this area along with a 3.5 mm TRRS combo jack for your gaming headset.

The bulk of I/O options are situated at the back. This includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, an HDMI port, 2.5 GbE LAN and the power adapter port.

Opening the ROG Strix SCAR 17 reveals the massive vapor chamber enhanced cooling solution – shrouding the mainboard’s PCB. Our unit comes with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 memory (kit of two 16 GB) and a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD. Both SO-DIMM are removable and ASUS is generous enough to add an extra slot for yet another M.2 device. It could be installed right next to the 90 wH battery.

Maintenance and upgrades are easy, provided that you have the heart or means to pry it open. The only thing I was hoping here to see are captive screws so I think everything is still on point. Nothing major to complain I must say.

Ergonomics

The SCAR 17 is bulky, but it doesn’t mean it is no good on a desk. The first thing you’ll notice here is the pixel density, which is great due to its 2560 x 1440 resolution on a 17.3-inch panel.

The laptop also comes with a chiclet keyboard. It felt decent enough, but its compacted numpad baffles me the most. The touchpad on the other hand is just okay. Display panel also maxes out at a shallow angle but that’s acceptable for its intended use.

Test Setup and Methodology

Our test setup relies on the measurements taken from industry standard tools and applications. It is important to note that we are testing the review sample after burn-in, with at least 24-hours of uptime. This is done so to negate the FOTB (fresh out the box) state of the DUT (device under test), yielding better benchmarking consistency.

Note: Due to time constraints, I only tested the SCAR 17 2023 at its performance mode. I also added the benchmarks from the MSI Cubi 5 12M and my AMD test system because we don’t have other gaming notebooks here to compare.

Essentials

App start-up score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the essentials performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in App Start-up Benchmark.

Video conferencing score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the essentials performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Video Conferencing Benchmark.

Web browsing score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the essentials performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Web Browsing Benchmark.

Basic benchmarks suggests that the Strix SCAR 17 2023 is generally faster compared to the other systems present on these results.

Productivity

Spreadsheets score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the productivity performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Spreadsheets Benchmark.

Writing score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the productivity performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Writing Benchmark.

Productivity benchmarks also checks out. This thing is really fast.

Digital Content Creation

Photo editing score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the digital content creation performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Photo Editing Benchmark.

Rendering and visualization score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the digital content creation performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Rendering and Visualization Benchmark.

Video editing score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the digital content creation performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Video Editing Benchmark.

Now digital content creation is a mixed bag of results. For an instance, everything checks out fine here with the exclusion of the photo editing benchmark (GIMP). This is attributed to the Radeon 610M which is not exactly the GPU I want to run on this exact test. I could say the same for the video editing benchmark based on HandBrake.

Gaming

Graphics score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the gaming performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Graphics Benchmark.

Physics score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the gaming performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Physics Benchmark.

Combined score is measured in points (p). The test aims to evaluate the gaming performance with PCMark 10 and its built-in Combined Benchmark.

Synthetic gaming benchmark results are excellent. The RTX 4090 equipped SCAR 17 is twice as fast (graphics benchmark) compared to my AMD test system. This should reflect to an excellent 1440P gaming performance.

Storage

Storage throughput is measured in megabytes per second (MB/s). The test aims to evaluate the storage performance with CrystalDiskMark.

Nothing seems out of place here.

Network

Network throughput is measured in megabits per second (Mbps). The test aims to evaluate the network performance with LAN Speed Test and LST Server.

The wired 2.5 GbE network performance is actually pretty good but wireless performance is a bit middling.

Temperature

Temperature is measured in degree celcius (ºC). The test aims to evaluate the thermal output with OCCT and its built-in Power Test.

Now while CPU temperature at idle could be lower, the maximum sustained temperature we got is 92.8 ºC. GPU ran a bit cooler at 81.9 ºC though.

Power

Power is measured in watts (W). The test aims to evaluate the power consumption with OCCT and its built-in Power Test.

Power consumption is pretty high for a gaming laptop which is something I actually expected with its flagship components inside.

Noise

Sound pressure level is measured in decibels (dBA). The test aims to evaluate the noise output with OCCT and its built-in Power Test.

While noise levels at the profiles tested are not deafening, the SCAR 17 is definitely loud. Under normal circumstances, it is best to keep it at Silent.

Battery Life

Runtime is measured in minutes (min). The test aims to evaluate the battery life with PCMark 10 and its built-in Battery Life benchmark.

Pretty middling results here but what else would you expect from a flagship gaming laptop? Better plug this in if you are going to play games all day long.

Display

Gamut, tone response, brightness, contrast and color accuracy are measured in their respective units (SI/non-SI). The test aims to evaluate the display performance with DataColor Spyder5 Elite.

DataColor Spyder5 Elite
Gamut (%)	100% sRGB, 91% AdobeRGB, 99% DCI-P3
Tone Response (γ)	2.2
Brightness (cd/m²)	284
Contrast (:)	790:1
Color Accuracy (∆E)	1.44
White Point (K)	6400

Overall pretty good results we got here for the 240 Hz BOE panel. Contrast ratio and the brightness level (actually acceptable) are the weakest points here but everything else is mighty fine.

Response Time

Perceived response time, RGB overshoot and visual response rating are measured in their respective units (SI/non-SI). The test aims to evaluate the response time with OSRTT Pro.

Now response time is pretty decent with an average visual response rating of 80.3. This nets an even better rating over the  27-incher Philips Gaming Monitor that we reviewed just last month.

Input Lag

Input latency is measured in milliseconds (ms). The test aims to evaluate the input lag with OSRTT Pro.

Average total input lag is just over 4 ms. Not bad!

Audio

Noise level, dynamic range, THD, THD + Noise, IMD + Noise, stereo crosstalk and IMD at 10 kHz are measured in their respective units (SI/non-SI). The test aims to evaluate the audio performance with Right Mark Audio Analyzer.

Right Mark Audio Analyzer
	Headphone Out	Microphone In
Noise Level (dBA)	-79.9	-67.0
Dynamic Range (dBA)	80.0	67.0
THD (%)	0.043	0.067
THD + Noise (dBA)	-63.0	-58.4
IMD + Noise (%)	0.056	0.143
Stereo crosstalk (dB)	-75.6	-63.4
IMD at 10 kHz (%)	0.040	0.143

Alas, audio performance is somewhat middling. I don’t find these results particularly good, especially if we are looking at the THD + Noise output for both input and output. The bottom firing speakers are also nothing to write home about. It maxes out at a generous 72 dBA yet its frequency response and distortion levels are just telling that everything audio related is just a checklist for ASUS. Oh you listen to music at 60 dBA? Thats cute, let me distort and resonate with the chassis at that level too.

Features

There is a lot going on with the SCAR 17 2023 but perhaps what surprised me during my time with this laptop is the glow-up of the ASUS Armoury Crate itself. It comes with tons of features that should be more than enough to keep you busy tweaking the laptop to its fullest potential.

The SCAR 17 2023 marks the return of a web cam. The performance of its sensor is not that great though so curb your expectations.

Final Thoughts

The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 2023 is a beast when it comes to sheer gaming performance output that has been made possible by the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. I have nothing to complain with regards to this section. It is also worthy to note that its comes with a capable 240 Hz panel that could give full size gaming monitors a run for their money.

Now like many stuff, the SCAR 17 2023 is not a perfect machine. It runs hot which is acceptable for what it needs to tame inside, it is also pretty noisy at its performance and turbo profiles (again, acceptable) and it has little to no regard to its own battery life. These are somewhat fixable on your own by using a more silent profile but you will end up loosing some numbers by doing so. Audio performance though is where it really crumbled so I want ASUS to make some strides here.

In closing, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 2023 is one, if not the apex of mobile powerhouses this side of the year.