The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733 is the business’s highest powerful gaming laptop, with an AMD processor and an Nvidia RTX 30 GPU. However, the beast’s high price puts it out of reach for most gamers.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G733 is the nearest embodiment of my crazy, gamer-centric fantasy if I were to design the ideal gaming laptop. That’s precisely what I’d imagine: a 17.3-inch panel with a 360Hz refresh rate that showcases the capabilities of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU boosted by an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU. Asus’ new 17-inch beast brings these fantasies to life, as well as a slew of other intriguing and unexpected features.
The Strix Scar 17 costs money that gives it a fictional buy in most, thanks to its fairytale qualities such as the laptop’s spectacular RGB light display and excellent optical-mechanical keyboard switches. Those willing to part with their cash will be rewarded with one of the greatest gaming laptops available. However, it lacks a camera and has short battery life.
Asus goes to great lengths to create a laptop that any serious gamer would really want to buy, but is it worth the price of admission? Let’s have a look.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 price and configurations
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 I being reviewed here costs around $3,000 / £2,499, which isn’t surprising given its capabilities. This laptop has a 3.3GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU featuring 16GB of VRAM, 32GB of RAM dual 16GB DDR4 RAM. Twin 1TB PCI m.2 SSDs in RAID 0 configuration, and a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080-pixel display with a 360Hz refresh rate.
Other options for the ROG Strix Scar 17 G733 are available on Asus’ listing page, including a nearly identical version of the laptop I got, but with a 2560 x 1440-pixel display and a 165Hz refresh rate. Two additional WQHD display panels are shown, one with an RTX 3070 and the other with an RTX 3060. These computers, on the other hand, are not for sale. In terms of availability, it appears that the 1080p model is the only one available.
Although when comparing to the $2,500 Alienware m17 R4 with equal hardware, the $3,000 price tag is expensive. Fortunately, it doesn’t cost as much as the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR, which costs $3,600. (2021). In any event, it’s an investment that’ll have potential customers questioning the ROG Strix Scar 17’s worth, particularly since an Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 is available for almost half the price.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 design
Including its shiny black aluminum cover that really is to my delight, fingerprint-proof, it appears like a premium gaming setup from top to bottom. A shiny ROG logo (that lights up in RGB) and a dot matrix pattern partially obscuring the lid are also two of Asus’ distinctive design elements. I like the latter since it exactly matches the laptop’s adjustable armor caps on the hinge. It’s the little things that count.
The interchangeable covers exist in 3 design elements: Spangle Silver, Rubber Grey, and Translucent Black, all of which are included in the package. This is a lovely touch, and that each adds a subtle touch to the laptop’s sleek appearance. To add an element of color, I kept silver.
When you open the lid, you’ll see a large display with minimal bezels and a stunning RGB-lit keyboard that covers the whole deck. Along the top of the deck, there is also a series of media keys. The laptop’s chassis is mostly covered in a smooth soft-touch black paint, although Asus added a clear plastic that covers half of the keyboard deck. The shift from dark to see-through is smooth, and I appreciate Asus’s industrial aesthetic. If you like the Nothing ear (1) earphones or the ancient transparent Super Nintendo Boy, the ROG Strix Scar 17 is for you.
The transparent design continues on the laptop’s base, right above the RGB LED light bar that runs around the front side. The adjustable lighting effects (due to Asus’ Aura Sync software) let the laptop beam with various colors or “beep” and “boop” like a UFO, making me feel like the laptop may take off.
