I thought I was reviewing an ASUS gaming laptop, but this monster is more desktop than anything

One of the most ridiculous gaming laptops I've ever reviewed is the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D, and it seems ASUS can't resist one-upping itself. The move to a more modern 16:10 aspect ratio comes with more screen, more weight, and more power. The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) is an absolutely wild gaming laptop that I even hesitate to describe as a laptop rather than a desktop PC with a screen attached. It's big and heavy, with enough power that you're not likely to ever see it struggle.

Equipped with the highest-end components from Intel and NVIDIA, along with a massively improved MiniLED display, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is out to make a lasting impression. It's up against stiff competition from companies like Lenovo, though, which manage to compete on the performance front with thinner, lighter, and more refined laptops. Whether the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is the gaming laptop for you depends on your priorities.

As always, you can rely on me to set the record straight and tell you exactly what you need to know. Let's get started.

ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Pricing and specifications

Pricing highlights

• The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) retails from $2,999.99 with an Intel Core i9, RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage.
• You can upgrade to an RTX 4090 and double the SSD storage for $3,899.99, which is the configuration that I reviewed.
• This is undeniably a premium gaming laptop near the top of ASUS' lineup, although it achieves that mostly through its high price tag and sheer amount of power, not the quality of its design or features.
• Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

ASUS made no attempt at a value play with the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024), which very squarely aims to stuff the most powerful (and expensive) PC gaming components into its chassis, no matter how thick and heavy it may become in the process. It also means you don't get a lot of choice with this device, with two main configurations.

The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) starts at $2,999.99 at Best Buy, which nets you a 14th Gen Intel Core i9, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, 32GB of swappable DDR5 RAM, 1TB of swappable PCIe Gen 4x4 SSD storage, and that 18-inch, 240Hz QHD+ MiniLED display. This is pretty in line with the competition from companies like Acer and MSI, but you can drop more cash if you truly want ultimate power.

The top-of-the-line configuration for the ROG Strix SCAR 18 retails for $3,899.99 at Best Buy, and upgrades you to a beefier NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 and 2TB of PCIe 4x4 SSD storage. You're paying a hefty premium just to equip your PC with a more powerful GPU, but this pricing is still more or less in line with the similarly equipped competition, if you disregard premium outliers like the Razer Blade 18 (2024), which will run you significantly more.

In the box, you get the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024), a 330W DC power adapter, and 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Recommended configuration

ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) | Core i9 | RTX 4080 | 32GB RAM | 1TB SSD — $2,999.99 at Best Buy

Unless you're really pining for the unquestionable prowess of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, you can save yourself $900 and get almost the exact same PC, just with less storage. Even then, you can upgrade the SSD and RAM yourself down the line.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Design and build quality

Design highlights

• The ROG Strix SCAR 18 is supposed to represent the height of ASUS' gaming laptops, but this design didn't get the memo.
• It's big and heavy, sure, but more than that it's a confusing morass of metal, opaque and translucent plastic, and average RGB lighting.
• This is the kind of design we were used to seeing in gaming laptops 8 years ago, and it's no more refined in 2024.
• Design rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The ROG Strix SCAR 18 is not subtle in the slightest. It comes in at over an inch thick and nearly 7lbs, and while it may not be the thickest or heaviest gaming laptop on the market, it's certainly up there. This laptop is portable only in the technical sense of the word, a fact backed up by the abysmal battery life I'll cover later on. It has a battery and a display, but moving this laptop from one location to another is tantamount to physical exercise.

I can mostly forgive all of that, though. It's clear at whom ASUS is aiming the ROG Strix SCAR 18: those who want a portable desktop PC replacement without sacrificing desktop-grade performance. What's more difficult to look past is just how ugly this laptop is. Look, I'm a sucker for the resurgence of translucent and transparent technology we've seen in the past few years, but I'd be reticent to include this laptop in that company.

The matte black aluminum lid is the most refined part of this laptop. Elsewhere, ASUS has slapped cheap-looking translucent plastic in the most bizarre of places, such as wrapped around the entire chassis, even when there's nothing interesting to see below that plastic. Add in a bunch of random lines and hard edges, and you have a gaming laptop design that appears conjured out of the imagination of your most stereotypical "edgy gamer teenager."

All the RGB lighting doesn't help, either. There's a lot of it, and you can customize it to your liking, but Razer, Alienware, Lenovo, and even ASUS (in other devices) has shown that RGB lighting can look far cleaner and more premium than it does here, with uneven and splotchy brightness.

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The port selection doesn't help redeem the ROG Strix SCAR 18 in this department much, as it's among the modest side of the market. The 18-inch version has the same meager selection as its 16-inch sibling, seemingly restricted by the endless vents around the sides of this laptop. On the left side you have a USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port with DisplayPort 1.4, a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 port with DisplayPort 1.4 and 100W Power Delivery, an HDMI 2.1 port, an Ethernet jack, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right side you have two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports.

That's almost the same port selection as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024), except that the Ethernet jack is replaced with a microSD card slot, and that laptop is half the weight and thickness. The 16-inch Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9), on the other hand, has two additional USB Type-A ports on top of everything else.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Display quality

Display highlights

• The display is one of two areas where the ROG Strix SCAR 18 truly stands out, as ASUS opted for a quality MiniLED panel.
• This display is sharp, responsive, and beautifully bright, with actually great support for HDR content.
• It still lacks the punchiness of a premium OLED panel, but over 2,000 local dimming zones means contrast levels are almost on par.
• Display rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

ASUS didn't skimp when it came to the display on the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024), equipping this gaming behemoth with an expansive, 18-inch MiniLED display. It's the same kind of tech we've seen in laptops like the Lenovo Legion 9i (Gen 8) and some Razer laptops, and bridges the gap between IPS LCD and OLED displays. That means you get the durability and brightness of the former with the contrast ratios of the latter.

The result is an extremely good screen, although it's still not quite up to the level of the very best OLED panels in some areas. For example, it boasts a 3ms response time, which is respectable and fine for competitive gaming but still far longer than the sub-1ms response time we see in some OLED screens. The combination of a smooth 240Hz refresh rate and NVIDIA G-Sync support does mean this display feels very responsive when gaming, with no screen tearing or ghosting.

It's not a 4K screen, but the QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution is still sharp enough for the screen size, and the tradeoff is that lovely aforementioned refresh rate.

Turning to benchmarks, you can see that this is a very color accurate display with 100% of the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts. White balance is a little on the cool side, but it's also very consistent across brightness levels, preserving color accuracy and the displays natural feel in different environments. Speaking of brightness, this display is more than happy to blast your eyes, easily surpassing the advertised 500nits of max brightness.

Take advantage of Dolby Vision or VESA DisplayHDR 1000 for consuming HDR content, and the display can peak at 1,100nits of brightness in small areas. The result is a laptop screen that's actually useable for HDR and looks wonderful. A whopping 2,304 local dimming zones in the backlight mean the ROG Strix SCAR 18 boasts contrast levels and blacks almost indistinguishable from a quality OLED panel, and you get all of this without having to worry about potential burn-in or ghosting.

This is an extremely nice display, but it's not perfect. The ROG Strix SCAR 18's MiniLED panel lacks the punch of the best laptop displays I've seen, almost looking like there's a thin, hazy film across the entire screen. It toes perfection, but falls short.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Performance and thermals

Performance highlights

• It should come as no surprise, but the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is a monster performer with the best Intel and NVIDIA have to offer under the hood.
• This laptop tears through absolutely everything, including the most intense video games and benchmarks.
• The ROG Strix SCAR 18 is also a consistent performer thanks to massive vents and unapologetically loud fans keeping everything cool.
• Performance rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With an Intel Core i9-14900HX and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 under the hood, it's no wonder that the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) is one of the best performing Windows PCs that Windows Central has ever tested. ASUS didn't compromise in any department when it came to performance, creating a gaming machine capable of handling any task... As long as you don't need to do it quietly or without access to an outlet.

In general usage, this laptop is predictably smooth. It boots up fast, wakes up fast, opens apps up fast, and really does everything else, well, fast. Running Windows 11 on a 240Hz MiniLED display helps with that overall feeling of smoothness, too. ASUS thought of upgradeability, as well, with there being two accessible SODIMM RAM slots and two M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD slots if you want to replace the default parts.

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Turn to benchmarks, and the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) continues to impress. In every single test it's either at the very top of the laptops Windows Central has tested or at the very least competing favorably against its closest competitors in the space. The ROG Strix SCAR 18 seems to be able to eke out slightly more performance on average from its Intel Core i9 than the next closest laptops, but the results are close enough that any advantages are basically negligible.

All you need to know is that, performance wise, all of the best gaming laptops in this category (read: big and powerful) are almost interchangeable with each other, and the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is no different. No matter the game, app, or task, this laptop will get the job done and do it quickly.

It won't do it quietly, though. One of this laptop's biggest advantages is a massive cooling system that requires a lot of vents and fans, culminating in stellar thermal management. In the long run, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 can outperform its closest competitors with less throttling under load, but these fans are ridiculously loud and not shy in the slightest about spinning up whenever they feel like it.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Gaming performance

Gaming highlights

• The ROG Strix SCAR 18's phenomenal performance carries over into gaming, where it handles everything with aplomb.
• You can comfortably play all the latest and greatest PC games at high to max settings with little fuss, and can do so for hours at a time.
• However, this laptop is another reminder that you probably don't need to spend all that extra cash for the RTX 4090 configuration.

A responsive display, impeccable performance, and an awesome thermal management system are all ingredients for success when talking about a gaming laptop, and the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) has them all. This is a beast of a gaming machine, able to effortlessly play all the best PC games at max settings without throwing a fit or stumbling. Whether you care more about great visuals or high framerates, this laptop doesn't make you compromise much.

• Forza Horizon 5 — 137 FPS average on the Extreme preset with QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, display v-sync enabled, NVIDIA DLSS SR/DLAA/Reflex Low Latency disabled | 192 FPS average with all settings maxed, NVIDIA DLSS SR enabled and set to "Auto," NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation/Reflex Low Latency enabled, NVIDIA DLAA disabled
• Gears 5 — 131 FPS average on the Recommended/Ultra preset with QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution, uncapped framerate, v-sync enabled
• Cyberpunk 2077 — 81 FPS average on the Ray Tracing: Ultra preset with QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, display v-sync enabled, NVIDIA DLSS SR enabled and set to "Auto," NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency enabled, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation/Ray Reconstruction disabled | 118 FPS average on the Ultra preset
• Counter-Strike 2 — 180-217 FPS average on the Very High preset with QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, display v-sync enabled, NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency enabled, AMD FidelityFX SR disabled

If anything, this laptop serves as yet another reminder that you probably don't need that NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. This configuration cost hundreds more than the exact same laptop with less storage (which you can upgrade yourself) and an RTX 4080, and yet you're not gaining a massive increase in performance.

In Forza Horizon 5 with all the same settings, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 manages just 6 frames-per-second more than the RTX-4080 equipped Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9). In Cyberpunk 2077, it's a 4 frames-per-second advantage on the Ray: Tracing Ultra preset. Counter-Strike 2 is marginally more stable. Only Gears 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 on the Ultra preset see a more sizeable jump of 12 and 10 FPS, respectively. This laptop isn't underperforming, though — it's just that the leap from the laptop-grade RTX 4080 to the RTX 4090 isn't as huge as the price gap.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Battery experience

Battery highlights

• I never expected the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 to have even passable battery life, but it's just bad.
• Off the charger, you'll be lucky to see even an hour and a half of battery life, even when reducing the display refresh rate to 60Hz.
• The 330W charging adapter is certainly powerful enough, but the cable from the brick is far too short.
• Battery rating: ⭐⭐

No gaming laptop is expected to have good battery life, but there is a difference between "acceptably bad" and "just plain bad." The ROG Strix Scar 18 falls on the wrong side of that fence. I ran the laptop through Procyon, a benchmark suite, and its two hour-long Battery Consumption tests. In the first, which simulates a varied workload using Office applications, the ROG Strix Scar 18 burned through 63% of its 90Whr battery cell in just one hour. In the second, which loops an HD video with audio, the laptop dropped 44% of its charge in an hour.

This was with default settings, on the Balanced/Silent performance profiles with its RGB lighting left on, but the display refresh rate reduced from 240Hz to 60Hz. No matter what you do, though, you'd be lucky to see more than two hours of usage with the ROG Strix SCAR 18 on battery power, which was reflected by the results of the Windows Battery Report. Standby time is atrocious, too, draining by 37% on average over a 16-hour period, and dying completely in less than two days.

The final nail is that the massive 330W barrel-plug charging adapter is annoyingly designed. The detachable cable that plugs into your outlet is long enough, but the permanently attached cable that plugs into your laptop is barely three feet from the humungous brick, so it barely reaches even when the brick is sitting on the floor directly below the laptop. I'm also not sure why the 18-inch version of the ROG Strix SCAR shares the same 90Whr cell with the 16-inch version, although I'm not sure the extra 10% legally allowed on airplanes in the US would've made much of a difference.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Keyboard and touchpad

Keyboard highlights

• The ROG Strix SCAR 18 has a decent keyboard with a responsive feel and solid layout, but it's nothing special.
• The same can be said of its touchpad, which is glass and uses Microsoft Precision drivers, but is on the small side.
• Annoyingly, there's still no option to enable to function key row's special actions as default.
• Other features rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

For most laptops, you want a good balance between the keyboard and touchpad. With gaming laptops, favor is undeniably skewed toward the keyboard. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) isn't going to shake up the industry with its keyboard, but it is at least on the "good" side of things. The layout is solid, the key action is responsive and tactile, and you get a number pad on the side to help take advantage of the massive size.

Of course, there's also still no option in MyASUS or Armoury Crate (nor a keyboard shortcut) to toggle the function key row, so you're stuck holding down "Fn" every time you want to mute your speakers or take a quick screenshot. Great.

The touchpad is average, with a glass surface and Microsoft Precision drivers for gesture support. It's not massive compared to the laptop, but it does get the job done. I don't have too many complaints.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Other features

Other highlights

• Rounding out the experience, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 doesn't exceed expectations in any department, with a lack of focus on quality-of-life features.
• The webcam is poor quality with no Windows Hello facial recognition, nor is there any other biometric authentication.
• The speakers are loud but suffer in quality, especially at high volumes where you lose clarity and gain a lot of tinniness.

Rounding out the rest of the experience, and the ROG Strix SCAR 18 continues its awkward streak. The 720p, HD webcam is serviceable at best, and its mics compliment it perfectly. That is to say, this is not the laptop you want if you frequently video conference or stream. There's also no Windows Hello biometric authentication of any kind, which will never not be disappointing when you're spending $3,000.

You'd also expect such a massive gaming laptop to have a robust sound system, but that's not the case here. It's a standard quad-speaker setup with dual 2W woofers and Dolby Atmos support and ASUS' Smart Amp technology, with the end result being a lot of noise and not a lot of quality. The speakers get just loud enough to drown out the fans, but lose a lot of clarity and detail at those higher volumes. At any volume, it's not the most impressive audio experience.

Wireless performance is solid on paper with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, although I obviously would've preferred the more future-proofed Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Either way, everything works fine.

Software-wise, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) runs Windows 11 Home or Pro with the usual suite of ASUS, Intel, and NVIDIA apps. McAfee Antivirus is as annoying as always and ASUS' Virtual Pet is an oddity to have preinstalled, but otherwise the software experience is solid. Armoury Crate continues to be one of the better gaming hubs, its awkward and over-the-top interface aside.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Competition

I'll be blunt — if you're fine with a 16-inch display, there's no reason to get this over the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 9), which is significantly more refined across the board and has nearly identical performance, and it even costs less. If you do need, an 18-inch screen... You still don't need to get this laptop. The Alienware m18 R2 is immensely powerful and beautifully built, with its only major weakness being its dim IPS LCD display.

• Recommended headset: Razer BlackShark V2 Pro (2023) for $199.99 at Best Buy
• Recommended mouse: Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed for $99.99 at Best Buy

Those are the two gaming laptops I'd personally recommend if you desire an unreasonable amount of power, with both being more polished and more affordable than the ROG Strix SCAR 18. Those looking for the height of luxury can always consider the Razer Blade 18 (2024), which is gorgeous and future-proofed with Thunderbolt 5; you'll be paying a substantial premium for it, though, and the other laptops I mentioned will be the more consistent performers.

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Score card

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ROG Strix SCAR 18 review: Final thoughts

You should buy this if ...

✅Your biggest (and only) priority is performance

The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) sacrifices a lot to achieve peak gaming laptop performance, complete with a thermal management system that can really keep up with the absurd levels of power under the hood. This is the laptop for those that can't compromise on performance above all else.

✅You want a true portable desktop

If you're looking for a gaming laptop that can replace your desktop and easily move when you need it to, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 is an excellent choice. The large size and poor endurance don't matter when it'll spend most of its time on a desk, and the huge chassis and thermal headroom will help protect the components from heat over years of hard usage.

You should not buy this if ...

❌You want a balanced gaming laptop with good quality-of-life features

ASUS stuffed in the best CPU, GPU, and display it could find in the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024), but it suffers in design, I/O, camera and audio quality, and more. The performance is no joke, but overall this is an unrefined laptop that feels older than it is despite its raw power.

When it comes to playing games, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) does not hold back. Intel and NVIDIA come together to deliver performance that has few peers and demands top dollar, letting you play any game you want without having to compromise on framerate or visuals. That power and the beautiful, bright MiniLED display help get the ROG Strix SCAR 18 out the door, but the hardware features outside of the performance and display quality feel like afterthoughts.

It also flies in the face of all the design improvements ASUS has made in its Zephyrus and Zenbook laptop lines, with an over-the-top, garish design that mashes together metal, transparent plastic, and RPG lighting with a mesh of aggressive lines. The ROG Strix SCAR 18 feels pulled straight out of 2017, and all the power in the world and an excellent MiniLED display can't totally save it from the lack of refinement that comes with that.

At the end of the day, this monstrous device is simply big. It's physically imposing enough that there are legitimately desktop gaming PCs more compact (check out our ASUS ROG NUC 970 review for an example), and it justifies its enormous price tag by chucking equally enormous performance numbers at you. If that all sounds peachy to you, this laptop is good! Other gaming laptops can be much more than that, though, including if you look elsewhere in the ASUS family.

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