Powerful Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE – specs & review

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE, is by far the most powerful gaming laptop you can get this year. Packed with the latest Intel’s Core i9-12950HX CPU, Nvidia’s top of the line RTX 3080Ti with a max TGP of 175W and 32 GB DDR5 RAM in a 17.3″ frame, suffice to say, anything you throw at in terms of video gaming or productivity, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE will solve very easily. The semi-translucent palm rest gives you a sneak peek at the internals, and redesigned rubber feet help to eliminate vibrations for smooth, quiet gaming sessions. Coupled with colorful accents, the sporty feel of the Strix Scar 17 SE resonates across the entire chassis that weighs just about 3 kilograms.Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE

To add on more, the wraparound light bar has a higher LED density to evenly illuminate the three front edges of the chassis, while additional LEDs beneath the display add a diffused glow on deck. There’s also Per-key RGB lighting allows for unlimited flexibility via Aura Sync, including game specific lighting layouts. The function keys are spaced for fewer misses, and enlarged directional arrows are isolated for precise finger control. Five dedicated gaming hotkeys give quick access to features like volume, mic mute, and Armoury Crate. They are also fully customizable, and can be programmed to launch apps, set as a function key, or used as a macro.  Photo: rog.asus.com

Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE
12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9 CPU
Power through any game or project with an Intel® Core™ i9-12950HX processor with up to 65W TDP and a hybrid architecture built from the ground up for Windows 11. With up to 8 Performance cores and 8 Efficiency cores, AAA gaming and streaming is effortless.

With top tier specs including an overclockable Intel Core i9-12950HX CPU, Nvidia’s top of the line RTX 3080Ti with a max TGP of 175W, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2TB M.2 PCIe Gen. 4 NVme SSD in RAID 0, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE‘s performance is the best you’ll get for your money. As of 2022, all the ROG models now feature a MUX Switch. The MUX Switch significantly reduces in-game latencies and boosts performance by up to 10%.

Fast DDR5 Memory – Leveraging the brand new DDR5 standard, enjoy a huge generational performance jump to 4800Mhz, with write times 50% faster than DDR4 equipped machines. This ultra fast memory makes all aspects of the laptop feel snappy, from intense gaming to light web browsing.

Fast DDR5 Memory

The MUX or Multiplexer Switch allows users to manually engage or disengage the integrated graphics. Modern gaming laptops route frames from the GPU through the CPU’s integrated graphics before reaching the display to prioritize battery life. The MUX switch can physically alter the connection between the GPU and Screen. Letting frames be routed directly from the discrete GPU to the display translates in increased performance and an overall better gaming experience.

The 17″ display comes with a WQHD 240Hz. With refresh rates that fast and response times of just 3ms, expect to get top tier gaming performance to match. IPS panel also offers fantastic color, Dolby Vision HDR, and Adaptive Sync for a stellar gaming and viewing experience.

Featuring a 90Wh battery, the laptop can last for about 10.5 hours of video playback before needing a recharge. For flexibility on the go, USB Type-C charging up to 100W is supported. When charging using the supplied 240W power adapter, the Strix Scar 17 SE can recharge from zero to 50% in just 30 minutes but as always to get the best performance on the laptop its best to plug it in to the charger.Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE has a dedicated RJ45 port supporting 2.5G LAN, as well as the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard. The dedicated GPU hosts an HDMI 2.1 port for external displays, and two USB Type-C ports allow for plenty of connectivity-one for DisplayPort and power delivery, and a second with Thunderbolt 4.

Despite having a huge 90WHr battery, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 SE can zap through it in a hard PC game in less than an hour. Nonetheless, depending on the power settings, you can anticipate up to five hours for regular use, including watching media.

A robust cooling solution is essential for powering up high-performance components. The 2022 ROG SCAR 17 SE takes it up a notch by integrating Thermal Grizzly’s Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal for both the CPU and GPU. This cutting-edge thermal interface material ensures that these vital parts remain up to 15°C cooler compared to conventional thermal pastes. Complemented by a custom vapor chamber and four dedicated exhaust vents, this thermal setup efficiently dissipates heat from the system. With ROG’s Intelligent Cooling™ technology, key components such as the CPU and GPU can sustain higher boost frequencies for extended periods, ensuring a consistently smooth framerate even during marathon gaming sessions. Moreover, noise levels are kept in check: in Performance mode, the Strix SCAR doesn’t exceed 40 dB.

Armoury Crate helps you tweak settings to your preference. Real time monitoring allows you to see what your GPU, CPU and memory are doing. RGB can be adjusted down to a game-by-game basis with Aura Sync. Fan and power profiles allow you to change the acoustics and thermal characteristics of the laptop on the fly. All ROG gaming notebooks offer multiple Operating Modes to fit different scenarios and user requirements.Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE gets everything on a high level (outstanding gaming!). From extreme performance, a solid display and a beautiful design, it’s an ideal machine to get if you want a desktop PC level of performance in a portable package. It remains cool and quiet under pressure and is ideal for high end gaming and productivity without question. Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 SE current price: $3,723.02 (Amazon).

 

ROG Strix Scar 17

It’s amazing how much raw power this laptop has. Anyone would always smile if they had an Intel Core i9 and RTX 3080 Ti combination in their laptop bag, especially when setting up shop with buddies at LAN gatherings. Anybody wanting to buy a new gaming PC will find this to be a very attractive purchase due to the abundance of connectors (including RJ45).

How powerful the internals are disappoints for gaming on the fly. When playing games, the GPU and CPU will happily use up the 90WHr battery in about an hour. With approximately five hours of typical use before charging, the situation is a little bit better. When performance modes are turned on and the machine is connected to a power source, it truly comes to life. Most games will allow you to turn up the visual settings while maintaining a steady frame rate on the gorgeous 1440p IPS display. This is about as good as it gets for a gaming laptop in 2022/2023, despite the price and the fact that the money would be better spent on more reasonable choices.

ROG Strix Scar 17 SE Specs:

  • Brand  Asus
    Color   Black
    Model Number   G733CX-LL006W
  • General   OS  Windows 11 Home
    Laptop Type   Gaming
  • Display   Screen Size  17.3 Inches
    Resolution   WQHD (2560 x 1440 pixels)
    Aspect Ratio   16:9
  • Processor
    Processor   Intel Core i9
    Speed    3.60 GHz
    Model   12950HX
    Generation   12th Generation
    Number of CPUs    16
  • Memory
    RAM   32 GB
    RAM Type   DDR5
    RAM Speed    4800 MHz
  • Storage    Storage Size  2 TB
    Storage Type   SSD
  • Graphics
    Graphics Card   NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Series
    Graphics Card Type   NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
    Graphics Memory   16 GB
  • Power & Battery
    Battery Type  Li-ion
    Battery Capacity  90 Wh
    No. of Cell   4
    Power Supply    100-240 Volts
    Power Adapter   330W AC Adapter
    Output Power   330 Watts
  • Audio
    Audio Inputs  1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
    Speakers    4 Speakers
    Microphone     Built-in Array Microphone
  • Dimensions & Weight
    Dimensions   39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.83 cm
  • Input
    Keyboard    English/Arabic Keyboard
    Pointing Device   Touchpad
    Backlit Keyboard   Yes
  • Weight
    Weight   3 KILOGRAM
  • Connectivity
    WiFi Type    802.11ax
    Bluetooth   Bluetooth 5.2
    HDMI     1 x HDMI 2.1
    USB   2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x Thunderbolt 4 support DisplayPort, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C support DisplayPort / power delivery / G-SYNC
    LAN   1 x RJ45 LAN Port
  • Camera
    Additional Features  Multiple RGB lighting zones with per-key customization are easily synchronized with Aura Sync