Introduction
The ROG Strix SCAR is the remnant of a generation where ASUS ROG wanted to cater to either an FPS crowd or an MMORPG crowd. Borne out of that effort is the SCAR, the FPS variant of the RAW-vs-Smackdown-esque brand split which ultimately saw the MMORPG variant being pulled and the SCAR becoming a star player for ROG’s mainstream gaming laptop offering. Sitting as the ROG STRIX name-carrier, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 sees its 2021 rendition being made available in AMD variants with various NVIDIA GPUs.
ROG has made an effort to spread many of their high-end upgrades present in all their line past 2020 and the ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021 continues that and infuses many of the new stylings that the ROG Strix lineup offers. In this review, we’ll take a closer at the ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733QS featuring a 300hz 1080p panel backed with a high-end spec sheet on a Ryzen 9 5900HX and an RTX 3080 for laptop. Read on!
Available Configurations (Philippines)
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 is available in the following variants in the Philippines with pricing also indicated. Other regions may have similar configurations, check with your local ASUS ROG site or dealer for actual configurations available.
Specifications – ROG STRIX SCAR 17 G733QS
| ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733QS 2021 | |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX |
| Memory | 32GB DDR4-3200 (2x16GB) |
| Graphics | NVIDIA RTX 3080 for Laptop 16GB |
| Storage | 2x 1TB NVMe SSD |
| I/O Connectivity | USB 3.2 Gen1, USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C, HDMI, LAN, 3.5mm audio |
| Display | 1080p IPS 300Hz (3ms response), 100% sRGB |
| Dimensions | 39.5 x 28.2 x 2.34 ~ 2.83 cm (15.55″ x 11.10″ x 0.92″ ~ 1.11″) |
| Others | Opto-mechanical keyboard, AURA Sync |
Closer Look
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021 package comes with this extensive line-up with the laptop itself containing replacement accent pieces (Armor Cap) for the case edge, a Chakram Core gaming mouse, a 100W PD charger, a 240w power brick, an ROG Eye webcam, an ROG Delta headset. And some more…
… the package also includes and rolltop ROG backpack and then…
… an ROG Keystone with carabiner strap. Pretty hefty package as the rough estimate would peg the mouse+webcam+headset+backpack at just under $400 or Php20,000.
If you’ve held some of ASUS’s newer ROG products, you’ll know they have this new design language of fusing differing materials to create certain looks. The ROG STRIX SCAR 17 is a good example of ROG mixing rubber coating, molded plastic and machined metal along with translucent plastic and glass to really pull excellent design subtleties, noticeably only at closer look.
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021 feature a metal top cover with the IO hinge area featuring a removable accent piece called an Armor Cap. The case feels nice to the touch and has significant sturdiness to it, even on the transclearant parts.
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 is a 29mm thick, 2.7kg unit and is not ultraportable in today’s modern standard but can still fit a regular size backpack with the charger brick. IO options are relegated to the back as there is enough space with the side ports only placed on the left-edge which sees USB3.2 Type-A ports and a combo audio jack.
The rear I/O isn’t as rich as some other models we’ve looked at from competing brands but another Type-A, a Type-C port a full-sized HDMI and LAN port at the back. The barrel DC-in connector is at the back as well and is flanked by venting holes.
Mechanical keyboards have not made its way over to laptops due to the way on how the experience of actual switches is like. A compromise is achieve thru optical-mechanical switches and that is what’s on the ROG STRIX SCAR 17 2021.
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 is currently offered in 2 variants for display: a 1920×1080 300hz panel or a 2560×1440 165hz panel. Our sample is the 1080p 300hz panel and would primarily be the best option for pure-gaming usage, particularly FPS.
The screen, bolstered by its specs is fast enough and checks out in our latency testing. The screen is fairly bright as well with 300 nits average. ASUS factory calibrates this monitor for color and is individually tuned off the line so those who desire color-matching would find that quite useful for work use.
Performance Testing
We’re revising our test setup to resonate with our combined CPU and GPU benchmarks so this will be an initial setup and would only show a portion of our complete test suite.
System Performance
Gaming Performance
Battery Life
User Experience & Conclusion
Just to put context to our testing, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021’s GPU is a 130W TGP card. This is outclassed by the 165W TGP of the Lenovo in our comparison. Still, these are very high numbers for a laptop not running a jet engine cooler. In some games, particularly CSGO, the GPU actually relaxes a bit and can dip to around 300FPS but this allows the GPU to operate at a lower clock speed as well and not tax the CPU as much as the maximum draw.
That said, this is evident in our battery test where general use sees the ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021 last almost 30 minutes longer versus the Legion. Gaming does match them but that’s a moot point as the best gaming experience would be when plugged in.
The ROG Strix SCAR 17 2021 is a good direction for the line going forward but knowing ASUS they can do a complete dump and work another design. Regardless, while the ROG STRIX SCAR 17 is a great laptop in both looks and performance, our testing shows it can do so much more and that a full vapor chamber can outdo their liquid metal solution for cooling. This is a nitpick of course, as in itself, the laptop performs great but anyone would want better thermals and less noise so a better cooling solution is definitely an improvement they should pursue going forward especially if GPUs will maintain their current TGPs.
This does mean though that if you are going after the ROG STRIX SCAR 17 2021 with a lower configuration, you may be able to really maximize the performance of the setup. At Php199,995, the maximum configuration is better left for professional, looking for maximum spec but still game on the side. This could be rockstar graphics artist or video editors that may be running a separate HDMI 2.0 screen but need a desktop replacement. On the upside, the RTX 3070 configuration would be the sweet spot for the ROG STRIX SCAR 17 2021 and presents the best option especially the 1440p panel with 165hz refresh. It matches well with current standards and the RTX 3070 for laptops should play well on both resolution for most games, especially when DLSS is available.
I can easily recommend this laptop for looks alone but as I mentioned, some configurations are a better value than others and would prove an excellent gaming platform regardless.
