Asus ROG Strix 3 Review: Asus Signs an Excellent Gaming Laptop
Asus is back with a new version of its flagship gaming laptop: the ROG Strix Scar 3, a gaming laptop whose promise is to offer both finesse and power. In view of its price, is the Strix Scar 3 a successful gaming laptop?
Here is the outline for our review:
The ROG Strix Scar 2 was one of the best gaming laptops of the year 2018. So in late 2019 early 2020, Asus returns with a new model, logically named "ROG Strix Scar 3", which does not shake up the established formula, but which refreshes it with a few novelties.
The ROG Strix Scar 3 aims to combine finesse and power. Finesse, first of all, with its 26 mm thick chassis, which is relatively thin for a gaming laptop, delivering the promised gaming power with the help of Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 graphics card. The ROG Strix Scar 3 wants to offer everything for the sum of over $2000. At this price, it must be faultless. So, is Asus repeating its feat by offering the ultimate gaming laptop? Let's find out.
For our review, we chose the Core I7 9'th generation configuration mostly because of its price point and we believe that it has all you can ask from a gaming laptop at this time. Asus offers configurations featuring the Intel's 10 series CPUs but since there is not much difference in performance between the 9'th series and the 10'th series we think the price difference is not justified. Here are the full specs of our review model:
Screen: 15.6 inch diagonal
Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 @240Hz
Dimensions (width, length, thickness): 360 x 275 x 26 mm
Weight: 2.3 kg
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H processor
RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070
Video memory: 6GB
Storage: 1 TB SSD
Operating System: Windows 10
Panel: IPS
Connectivity: 1 x USB-C, 3 x USB-A, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x Headphone output
Asus does not shake up its formula by using the same design logic as on the Scar 2. The laptop chassis, therefore, retains the alliance between aluminum and plastic. The display cover is brushed aluminum and features the ROG Series logo (backlit in operation). The rear of the screen conceals the vents in ridges with an angular and successful design.
The keyboard part is made of good quality hard plastic marked by microgrooves. Unlike the previous model, Asus has abandoned the military pattern on this part for a more efficient and discreet gray pattern. Note the presence of an unusual recess on the right edge. This is not a USB port, but a slot for the Keystone, the manufacturer's recent innovation.
The Keystone is presented as a small NFC dongle (which can be attached to a keychain supplied with the laptop) which allows the user to take their settings with them on the Armory Crate onboard software; like macros, RGB settings or even applications dedicated to gaming (the software offers an on-board game library).
For now, only the Asus Scar 3 and Hero 3 are equipped with it, but the manufacturer's goal is to allow all gamers to find their marks on all their laptops in the future. An innovation dedicated above all to the followers of the brand, therefore.
It should also be noted the presence of RGB LEDs on the laptop base, customizable using the software mentioned above. Some games, like Overwatch, also sync these LEDs to match what is happening on the screen. On top of that, Asus offers an extremely solid chassis that doesn't crack under your fingers.
The connectivity of the Strix Scar 3 is very complete and is located on the left edge and at the back of the laptop. Enough to leave room for the hand that holds the mouse ... for right-handed people. The laptop thus offers a USB Type-C 3.1 port, three USB Type-A 3.1 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, an RJ45 port and a headphone jack. A very complete connection for this type of laptop, even if an SD card reader, always useful, would not have been too much to ask.
The typing of the keyboard is irreproachable, combining controlled stroke length and pleasant resistance under the fingers. The keypad is backlit on three levels, and the lights can be customized through the internal Armory Crate software. A series of special keys dedicated to direct access to the said software, to the adjustment of the fans (balanced, silent or turbo) or to the volume are present above the keyboard.
No numeric keypad on the Scar 3, since it is included in the trackpad. An innovation that Asus uses on more and more laptops and which consists of highlighting a numeric keypad on the trackpad (mediocre and reacting badly to user requests, which is not a surprise for a gamer ) at the push of a button. However, unlike the Zenbook, it is not possible to switch from one to the other intuitively, since you will have to press the dedicated control to juggle between the two modes. For example, it is not possible to use mouse mode when the numeric keypad is in active mode.
Using a precision screwdriver, it is very easy to disassemble the Strix Scar 3. In addition to discovering a well-thought-out cooling system, opening it allows you to add a 2.5-inch SSD in case if necessary, a location being provided for this purpose.
Likewise, it is possible to replace the main M.2 SSD (1TB on this model) and modify the RAM. The Strix Scar 3 has two slots, each occupied by an 8 GB stick. As an added bonus, the battery is also easily removable, which is not the case for all laptops.
The heating of the Strix Scar 3 is extremely well managed, as we could see during our usual test protocol (Metro Last Light benchmark for one hour). The air is evacuated through the rear vents, but also through the grilles placed under the laptop. An air vent is also positioned on the right side, where the user's hand is.
However, the air is forced back and does not exceed 33 ° C. The chassis climbs to 44 ° C on its rear grille, which is not much considering the power of the laptop. This relative freshness comes at a cost, however, in the noise level since it gives off noise of 47 dB, which is starting to be noisy. The user will not hear it with headphones on, however it may disturb people around.
The power consumption of the laptop is not even close to what you would expect from this type of product, since it consumes 55 W when browsing the web, 156 W while gaming and nothing while in standby.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 3 has a 15.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080px with a refresh rate of 240Hz. Asus has bet on thin edges of 6 mm on the upper part and the sides of its panel. On the other hand, the lower part remains large, which leads to a front/screen ratio of 80%, that is to say in the current high average (located between 75% and 80%).
Also, note that Asus does not offer a webcam around the edges of its screen. The manufacturer assumes that a camera is not useful on this kind of PC and that users wishing to "stream" will prefer to get more suitable equipment.
The Strix Scar 3's screen looks good, however, it has a few small flaws. For example, the contrast of 1100:1 is good but should have been a little higher. Likewise, blacks are slightly lacking in depth. The color temperature was measured by us at 7,745 K, far from the 6,500 K of the video standard.
The screen is slightly bluish, but it's hard to tell without comparing it directly with a perfectly calibrated screen. On the other hand, the quality of the colors is excellent. With an average delta E of 2.8, the screen of the Scar 3 brings colors extremely faithful to the original ones. Only the dark blues sin on this aspect.
The screen brightness is 322 cd / m², which is excellent for a gaming laptop, which also has the advantage of offering a matte panel that does not reflect light.
The afterglow, very important for gaming, is also excellent. Measured at 5 ms (the average being 15 ms), it will not give the impression of fuzzy streaks in motion; and the 240Hz refresh rate will give the impression of extreme fluidity during gaming sessions.
Our test sample of the Asus Strix Scar 3 is equipped with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor (6 cores, 12 threads, base frequency 2.6 GHz, turbo frequency 4.5 GHz), 16 GB of dual-channel RAM (which is ideal for gaming) as well as a 1TB M.2 SSD.
During our usual test protocol (photo editing, 3D computation, video editing, and file compression), the Strix Scar 3 did not falter, reaching far better scores than other competitors. This places it among the most powerful PCs on the market, alongside the Aero 15 Classic which has the same processor. With such power, the user will run the most computationally intensive software without any problems.
The Asus Strix Scar 3 features a new generation RTX 2070 graphics card (6 GB of memory). One of the most powerful cards on the market which, in addition to running all the big games of the moment without any difficulty, in theory, brings acceleration on ray-tracing, at least for compatible games (Metro Exodus, Battlefield 5).
In our usual testing protocol (1920 x 1080px resolution, graphics set to ultra, vertical sync off, and Nvidia Hairworks off on The Witcher 3), the Scar 3 held its way, delivering excellent in-game results:
Metro: Last Light: 127 fps
Rise of the Tomb Raider: 79 fps
Assassin's Creed Origins: 66 fps
Far Cry 5: 85 fps
The Witcher 3: 88 fps
Star Wars Battlefront 2: 97 fps
Civilization VI: 98 fps
Unsurprisingly, the results in gaming are very good; not a game in our panel goes below 60 fps. The screen with a 240Hz refresh rate finds its place here, providing great comfort during nervous gaming sessions.
None of the games tested here go up to 240 fps, but it can be the case in competitive games where fluidity is necessary, like Overwatch, for example. With such a card, the user will be quiet for a while and will make everything work with the graphics set to maximum.
The Strix Scar 3 is not a laptop that relies on its mobility, despite its relative thinness (for a gaming laptop) of 26 mm and its 15-inch format. It remains nevertheless relatively transportable for a gaming laptop with its 2.3 kg. The laptop that can fit into a bag on vacation, for example, but isn't supposed to be carried around every day.
Regarding autonomy, the Scar 3 is not surprising and remains average for gaming PCs today. During our usual test protocol (Netflix in Chrome, backlighting off, headphones plugged in and screen brightness set to 200 cd / m²), the laptop shut down after 4 h 50 min. This time should be divided by two at stake, and doubled during normal office use. Low autonomy, but not surprising on this type of product.
It is in audio that the Strix Scar 3 reveals its first major weaknesses. The speakers, located at the front of the chassis, are better than average for today's gaming PCs, delivering full sound that isn't stingy in the low-midrange. However, this aspect has the consequence of making its defects more audible. We will thus note a very present box effect, as well as a certain imprecision in the treble. But they are no less good for this type of product.
It's the headphone jack that disappoints. If our measurements show correct results in terms of signal cleanliness and stereophonic separation, it is the lack of power that is of concern. We must therefore forget about hi-fi or monitoring headphones that are greedy in power; even some "gamer" headsets might be too low in sensitivity to achieve sufficient volume with such low amplification. In order to avoid any inconvenience, we, therefore, recommend the use of a USB headset.
In conclusion, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 3 is powerful, with an impeccable chassis and a very good (if not perfect) screen. The Strix Scar 3 has everything a good gaming PC should have. Asus has once again succeeded with this model, which has risen to the pantheon of the best gaming products for the moment. A safe bet for those who are not afraid to put the price in a product and which makes it our favorite in the category of best laptops of 2020 under $2600.