In my life, I have changed more than a dozen desktop builds and laptops. Perhaps someday I’ll write a nostalgic post about the technology of the 90s and early noughties — my first Search, the next desktop based on the first «stump», and my first personal build in the 10th grade — a Celeron 500. But this will be the topic of another article, now I want to return to an old but relevant topic — what to play on, a laptop or a desktop?
I described my experience of replacing a desktop with a gaming laptop more than a year ago. Since then, I haven’t bought a desktop — I use the laptop as a workstation with an external monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and when traveling, I disconnect it from the hub, put it in my backpack, and take it with me. The advantages of a gaming laptop are mobility and no need to buy two devices if you move between home and office with one device and travel a lot. Cons — high noise level under load, lower maintainability compared to a desktop, laborious disassembly process even for simple cleaning of coolers, and often heavy weight.
At CES 2025, I got to know a laptop from ASUS that theoretically does not have these problems – the new 16/18-inch ROG Strix SCAR. And I really want to tell you about it. This device really stands out from the crowd, which is not common. Laptops are the category of devices where 99% of all manufacturers have the same hardware, and brands try to stand out exclusively through marketing, which has nothing to do with the real needs of the user.
I had to visit the ASUS booth twice to get to know the device fully. The first time, journalists were shown the laptop only in a demonstration format, and were allowed to spin it in their hands only after the official presentation, which took place a day later.
So what is this device? The ROG Strix SCAR 16/18 is based on Intel’s top-of-the-line Core Ultra 9 275HX processor solution. Fortunately, unlike failed desktop processors, it’s not a problem.
On board — top NVIDIA GeForce laptop graphics cards — RTX 5090, 5080, or 5070 Ti. Memory — up to 64 GB of 5600 MHz RAM and up to 4 GB of PCIe Gen4 in RAID 0. If desired, the SSD can be upgraded to PCIe Gen5, and the memory to one that operates at up to 6400 MHz.
At this point, I wanted to quibble with the fact that the laptop does not have PCIe Gen5 drives installed. But then I thought that the first relatively energy-efficient drive would be the Crucial T510, and it will be released only in the spring. So far, cooling systems on PCIe Gen5 drives look bulky and comical. And Direct Storage games and software that require such speeds are a dime a dozen by early 2025. Unless you need to endlessly transfer tens of gigabytes of files back and forth, but then you don’t need a gaming laptop for this task.
The screen is a trendy Mini-LED with a «office» 16:10 aspect ratio, 2.5K resolution, and 240Hz refresh rate. I didn’t have a chance to evaluate the screen’s capabilities during the short demo, but at first glance, the colors are bright and juicy. With a peak brightness of 1200 cd/m theoretically, you can play even in bright sunlight.2
In an unusual solution, five macro keys with additional commands are located above the keyboard.
The device weighs 2.8 kg without the adapter. I managed to persuade ASUS representatives to show me the adapter hidden in the locker, and it weighed a few hundred grams more. For a device with a top-of-the-line graphics card, this is an excellent figure, and while I’m not sure about the 18-inch version, the 16-inch version of the device can definitely be comfortably taken on the road and carried in a backpack. To check the weight, I lifted and lowered the device several times with the fingertips of one hand and did not feel any noticeable tension.
The traditional illumination for gaming laptops is also present. Around the perimeter of the case, the laptop glows like a Christmas tree with Aura RGB backlighting, and the back cover has a pixelated pattern and the ROG logo. All this happiness can be customized through the pre-installed software from the manufacturer. I’m not a big fan of flickering backlights and consider them the domain of schoolchildren, but the monochromatic backlighting of all devices on the table in one color looks really stylish.
The Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand has launched a program for its fans – ROG Elite. This program, which allows you to get games, gift cards, ROG accessories and much more as a gift, is now available in Ukraine. In ROG Elite, participants accumulate points by completing various tasks: from registering ROG products to completing surveys, watching online broadcasts, and other quests.
The overall build quality of the device is probably the best I’ve seen from ASUS to date — high-quality aluminum, parts are tightly fitted to each other, nothing squeaks, nothing wobbles, the lid does not bend when pressed lightly to medium. The manufacturer calls this line the top of the line among all gaming devices shown at CES. The only thing I would like to improve in terms of appearance is to get a less smudgy body in terms of fingerprint collection.
But this is all give or take the standard features that you will see in many top laptops in 2025. The interesting thing here is different.
The first feature is that the back cover is held in place with clips instead of traditional screws. Goodbye to unscrewing one and a half to two dozen screws, prying the lid with a pry bar in an attempt not to break the fragile plastic, and other dances with a tambourine. The lid can be removed after unlocking just one clip, and just as easily replaced.
If you need to replace the drive, memory, or simply clean the device from the inside, it can be done in a matter of minutes. Yes, the first two procedures are likely to be performed by most users once or twice during the life of the device, but regular cleaning has never harmed a single laptop.
The second is a new cooling system. And this is a much more practical thing than a lid without screws. Noise from gaming laptops is a story that many people suffer from every day and would like to get rid of once and for all.
The cooling system in the case of ROG Strix SCAR is a combo of a custom evaporative chamber with a «sandwich» radiator, Tri-Fan technology, and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal thermal paste for both the CPU and GPU.
If we try to explain it in human terms, it turns out that a custom evaporative chamber — is a thing that distributes heat over the entire area so that it dissipates faster. It’s custom-made to fit the laptop perfectly.
«Sandwich» heatsink — ASUS stacked the heatsinks in layers like a sandwich to increase the heat dissipation area and make the system more efficient.
Tri-Fan Technology – three fans instead of the standard one or two. This helps to push more air through the system and cool components better.
As for Conductonaut Extreme, it is an alternative to liquid metal-based thermal paste that transfers heat from the CPU and graphics card to the cooling system much better than conventional pastes.
In short, all these features work together to keep the laptop cool even under load, and the hardware works at its maximum capacity. In addition, the radiator grille is located almost around the entire perimeter of the laptop, which should contribute to efficient heat dissipation. The press materials claim a noise level of 45 dB at full load. Now we don’t have any tests of the device and I’m quoting the manufacturer, but on paper and at first glance, everything sounds good.
This is how the new gaming monster from ASUS turned out. Powerful, compact, and hopefully cold. The devices will go on sale in Ukraine starting in March, and the exact prices are not yet known, as they are tied to the dollar. But to get a sense of the price level, the version with RTX 5080 graphics card and 16-inch screen will cost $3,199 in the US market, excluding taxes. In Ukraine, the price tags will be as follows: ROG Strix SCAR 16 (G635) will cost UAH 199,999, and for ROG Strix SCAR 18 G835 will have to pay UAH 210,999.
Would you buy one, or do you vote for a desktop?
| Model name | ROG Strix SCAR 16 (G635) | ROG Strix SCAR 18 G835 |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Pro |
| Display | 16 inches, 2.5K (2560×1600 WQXGA), Mini LED, over 2000 brightness adjustment zones, 240 Hz/3 ms, ACR technology, DCI-P3 100%, Pantone Validated, with G-SYNC and Dolby Vision | 18 inches, 2.5K (2560×1600 WQXGA), Mini LED, over 2000 brightness adjustment zones, 240 Hz/3 ms, ACR technology, DCI-P3 100%, Pantone Validated, with G-SYNC and Dolby Vision |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 2.7 GHz (36 MB cache, up to 5.4 GHz, 24 cores, 24 threads); Intel® AI Boost NPU up to 13 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 2.7 GHz (36 MB cache, up to 5.4 GHz, 24 cores, 24 threads); Intel® AI Boost NPU up to 13 |
| Graphics processor | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 5080, 5090 Laptop GPU GDDR7 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 5080, 5090 Laptop GPU GDDR7 |
| Memory | Up to 64 GB DDR5 5600 MHz (2 SO-DIMM slots) | Up to 64 GB DDR5 5600 MHz (2 SO-DIMM slots) |
| Drive | Up to 4 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Performance SSD (RAID 0) | Up to 4 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Performance SSD (RAID 0) |
| I/O ports | 2 x Thunderbolt™5 Type-C/DisplayPort™ 2.1/Power Delivery 3.1/G-sync, 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x DC connector, 1 x 2.5G LAN port, 1 x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1 x Audio combo jack: microphone and headphones | 2 x Thunderbolt™5 Type-C/DisplayPort™ 2.1/Power Delivery 3.1/G-sync, 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x DC connector, 1 x 2.5G LAN port, 1 x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1 x Audio combo jack: microphone and headphones |
| Keyboard and touchpad | Backlit chiclet keyboard, Copilot Key | Backlit chiclet keyboard, Copilot Key |
| RGB | Yes, for each key with Aura Sync function | Yes, for each key with Aura Sync function |
| Communications and communications | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2+Bluetooth 5.4 Wireless Card | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2+Bluetooth 5.4 Wireless Card |
| LAN | 2.5G LAN | 2.5G LAN |
| Battery | 90 Wh, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion | 90 Wh, 4S1P, 4-cell Li-ion |
| AC power adapter | 380 W | 380 W |
| Additionally | Full-angle RGB backlight and ROG RGB logo with Aura Sync | Full-angle RGB backlight and ROG RGB logo with Aura Sync |
| Dimensions | 35.4 x 26.8 x 2.28 ~ 3.08 cm | 39.9 x 29.8 x 2.35 ~ 3.20 cm |
| Weight | 2.85 kg | 3.48 kg |
| Price | UAH 199,999 | UAH 210,999 |