ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 15 G533QS review (Ryzen 9 5900HX, RTX 3080 Laptop)

46 Comments

  1. AJ

    February 4, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    Great review. Would you reccomend this laptop over the Strix 15 given the price?

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 4, 2021 at 7:44 pm

      I haven't touched the 2021 Strix G15 yet, so can't tell for now. It's in the works, but I won't have a final review for about two weeks or so. I'd reckon that's cheaper, though, right? Not sure if it gets the same thermal module as the ROG in this 2021 model, perhaps you can look into this matter in other reviews.

  2. Geoff

    February 4, 2021 at 9:38 pm

    Great review as always!

    Any idea when you'll be receiving some of the new Razer laptops to review? Particularly the 17.3" one

  3. Grant

    February 4, 2021 at 11:11 pm

    Thank you. The model you tested with the 2TB RAID, 32 GB RAM, QHD, and 3080 is the exact model I have had on pre order for a couple of weeks now. Delighted to read your review and now even more excited to receive it. Current ETA is mid March, but I guess patience is a virtue!

  4. Aj

    February 5, 2021 at 12:59 am

    From what I've seen through images of the STRIX G17 and 15… it looks like the exact same cooling module. Which is great! But also surprising given the premium the scar commands.

  5. Dan

    February 7, 2021 at 12:29 am

    Great review… I think at the end you mean RTX 3070 here though…

    "Not sure if I’d go with the RTX 3080 model at this point though, I feel there’s probably better value in the mid-range Ryzen 7 model with RTX ***3080*** graphics and the QHD screen.

  6. Teekay

    February 7, 2021 at 6:39 am

    Any idea if there’s a TPM chip?

    Weird request I know but a deal breaker for me.

    I’m sad about the lack of fingerprint reader.

    Great review though thanks.

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 15, 2021 at 11:05 am

      I don't think there is, but not 100% sure

  7. andrei

    February 10, 2021 at 3:00 pm

    hey , i have this model with FHD 300 hz instead , and today just received a bios update to 311. maybe if you get a chance and have it on both the scar 17 and 15 and compare thermals again or performance. Thanks and great review as always

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 15, 2021 at 11:17 am

      Might retest the Scar 17 with the new BIOS, not sure about the Scar 15 though

  8. Tonghi

    February 10, 2021 at 6:57 pm

    My Asus Strix Scar 17 scored 13296 Timespy GPU and 10316 Timespy CPU. Total score 12743. Manual mode with Max fans and overclocking, external monitor to bypass Optimus. The scores posted here are extremely low even after accounting for Optimus. I think the laptop has not been optimised for Max performance.

  9. Bart

    February 10, 2021 at 9:02 pm

    I am having the version of ryzen 7 with rtx 3070. Unfortunately I couldnt find a version with the qhd panel. I was hopi g to find some in midle europe

  10. Ben Crayfourd

    February 11, 2021 at 9:33 pm

    I’ve stuck a pre order down for the G533QR-HQ005T version which is the 3070/R7 QHD 165Hz model. Seems to be the sweet spot between spending and performance. Can’t wait!

  11. JP

    February 12, 2021 at 2:33 am

    Wao what a great review. I was looking for the model of the RTX 3080 with the Ryzen 7 on the asus official website and unfortunately I found that it is only available in FHD. I'm still interested in the RTX 3070 QHD version. The only downside I have is that no one has done a review of Call of Duty, which is my favorite game. Do you think you can help me with this? It would be very helpful to me.

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 15, 2021 at 11:21 am

      Sry, I don't have that game and no longer have the Scar 15 around at this point.

  12. Joshua

    February 12, 2021 at 6:47 am

    Were you referencing the AMD 5800H with an RTX 3070 at the end of your review? I don't see an AMD 5800H paired with an RTX 3080. Also do you think this model might have a slightly better thermal design without too much power loss in comparison to the AMD 5900HX and RTX 3080 that you reviewed? I purchased this version, but would like this laptop to last a bit, so I am contemplating cancelling and ordering the AMD 5900HX with a 3080. Thank you in advance!

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 15, 2021 at 11:23 am

      Yep, I meant 5800H + 3070 at the end. Updated.

      I wouldn't expect different thermals though, the CPU and GPU are running at roughly the same power on both configurations, so I don't think this aspect should matter in your decision. Value per money should be slightly higher with the mid-range model, though, you're always paying a premium for the 3080 with marginal gains.

  13. Priyan Kakati

    February 17, 2021 at 9:32 pm

    Thanks for the most detailed and comprehensive laptop review on the Scar 15 anywhere on the Internet/youtube etc. Here in the UK we have the Scar 15 with either FHD 300Hz monitor + 3080 (£2000) or QHD + 3070 for £1900. So for a £100 difference now I am torn between 3080 + FHD or 3070 + QHD (I consider the CPU to be immaterial in this comparison). Do you suggest going for the 3080 over 3070 as I dont mind spending the extra £100 or is it better to go for QHD + 3070 ? Many thanks if you decide to help me out with your thoughts!!

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 18, 2021 at 10:48 am

      Tough call. I lean towards the 3070 + QHD screen, that panel is so versatile and I appreciate the richer colors. Plus, the 3070 should be more than adequate for most games, with the 3080 winning in RTX and perhaps some workloads that could benefit from the increased amount of vRAM.

      I'm working on a review of a G713 with a Ryzen 7 + 3070, so pretty much what you're interested in. Should be up next week and might be worth waiting for in order to better compare the performance between the two chips

  14. Priyan Kakati

    February 18, 2021 at 11:16 am

    That's great, thanks for your thoughts, its appreciated. Probably the QHD with the better colour range will seal the deal!

  15. Ben Crayfourd

    February 18, 2021 at 12:16 pm

    It depends on what type of gamer you are – if you are into your competitive games like Overwatch, COD, CS:GO etc then the FHD 300Hz option would probably be a better choice
    If you were more a casual gamer such as myself or a content creator, the QHD 165Hz version is the one to go for

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 18, 2021 at 12:28 pm

      Fair point, I agree. I'd also consider something else though, and that's the impact of having the display hooked up through the iGPU, which takes a toll on the high fps gaming performance. I'd argue that if you're into that sort of games, perhaps this series might not be the ideal choice to go with, and perhaps something with a MUX switch would be a better pick.

  16. Priyan Kakati

    February 18, 2021 at 12:39 pm

    That's a good point that you raise – from my own investigations I found that in the current generation of RTX 30 series laptops very few have the MUX feature. Only the Aorus 15P (not 15G or 17G) has Advanced Optimus which I believe is the MUX option. Also the Aorus 15P 3070 is a 130 Watt edition, therefore it looks a good option even though it has a FHD screen with less color accuracy. I have now the Aorus 15P and Asus both on order, I will check which one works better for me. I have a 27 inch LG QHD external monitor that I will use to bypass Optimus.

  17. PRIYANGSHU KAKATI

    February 18, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Sorry, both Aorus 15G and 17G have the Advanced Optimus enabled RTX cards, but even the 3080 in these 2 laptops are capped at 105 Watts compared to the 15P which has at best a 3070 but is capped at 130 Watts. So probably this is something you could test in one of the future reviews how a 3080 at 105 Watts behaves compared to a 3070 at 130 Watts.

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 18, 2021 at 12:57 pm

      Yep, as long as I can get my hands on a 105W sample. I'd expect a slight advantage for the 3080 105W, as well as a variation between the different games based on whether they support Dynamic Boost 2.0 or not.

  18. Cherry

    February 20, 2021 at 9:03 am

    Hey, thanks for the great Review. Could you please Tell me the manufactor of the Motherboard and what Kind of Motherboard It is? The Specs would be really Nice and helpful.
    Thank you really much

  19. Jermaine

    February 23, 2021 at 6:48 pm

    I wanted a 3080 laptop but at the time they were all sold out. I ended up getting the ROG Zep with R9 5900H and 3070 with 16GB Ram for $1.799. Which I feel is a great value. Yet, I still really want a 3080. Is it worth trading it in for the 3080?

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 24, 2021 at 9:02 am

      Not really, you'd be looking at a 10-15% improvement in FPS, even less at FHD resolution. The 3080 wins in some workloads that benefit from the extra vRAM, though

  20. Neil

    February 27, 2021 at 8:32 am

    How long is the while charger/AC adapter of the Scar 15?

    It looks too short

  21. Radu-Sebastian Amarie

    March 5, 2021 at 12:57 pm

    Hi there, I just got myself the G533QS as well, unfortunately mine came just with 1 x 1TB NVME, but I bough another one so that now I have 2 x 1 TB NVME.

    Any ideas on how to enable RAID0 on them? Can't find anything in the BIOS (and I've also updated to the latest BIOS – v309).

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 5, 2021 at 4:20 pm

      Hi Radu. I've reached out to Asus about this and the process seems to be a bit more complex. I'll get in touch via email once I get a reply.
      Update: I was told you're already in contact with Asus Romania about this, so I suggest following their instructions on the matter.

  22. Ben Crayfourd

    March 6, 2021 at 11:21 am

    I’ve just got mine (15.6” 3070 QHD version) and regarding the white status leds just at the bottom of the screen – mine has these. A bit strange how they are not present in the higher end version… Are you sure you didn’t have a faulty one haha
    You are certainly correct about the smudgy interior!
    Other than that I am so happy with my purchase, thanks for the in depth review, it definitely swayed me to get this one

  23. Lakshay Kakkar

    March 14, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    Those Cinebench temps in turbo mode seem a bit high to me. Can you please let us know if temps improve in Cinebench if fans are maxed out?

  24. Lakshay Kakkar

    March 16, 2021 at 8:14 pm

    Do they drop below 90C with max fans on? Pls let me know :) As otherwise I don't think 5900HX would offer any overclocking gains over the 5800H variant.

  25. Chris Proost

    April 20, 2021 at 4:50 pm

    Hi Andrei.

    You answered a couple of my replies over on the Asus ROG Strix G713 review but that option is now limited for me (bought on Argos but they took the order then failed to inform me of cancellation because they had no stock…)

    Anyway, this one might be a decent alternative but the one I've seen is lower specced (and so within my budget) Instead of £2699 for the one reviewed here, it's £1999 for a Ryzen 5800H instead of the 59OOHX, the 3080 is 8Gb, RAM is 16Gb and screen is 300Hz FHD instead (the last being fine as I don't see QHD on a 15 inch screen being worthwhile tbh) Other than that would there be any other differences I should take note of? Is it still worth the price/review score then in your opinion, especially against the G713 as you reviewed or the one I found? (to recap, the difference was 144Hz FHD and 32Gb RAM instead of the 16 I've seen in all other cases)

    • Andrei Girbea

      April 20, 2021 at 5:00 pm

      Also consider that this Scar gets the mechanical keyboard with clicky keys. Not sure how you feel about that, but you should be fine as long as you don't mind a noisier typer (you or especially the others around you).

      Other than that, the 5800H with 3080 is a good combo, and 5800H with 3070 is even better value for your money if available for even less. The 3080 is ~10% faster in games over the 3070 in this chassis.

      That QHD screen is very nice imo, both in terms of resolution and colors (richer gamut than on the FHD). From what you're saying, though, the FHD should be just as good. As far as I remember, we've tested that on the previous-gen Scar laptop from 2020.

  26. Chris Proost

    April 20, 2021 at 6:30 pm

    Ah yes, very good point. Tbh I'm not actually too sure how clicky a clicky mechanical kb can be as I've used mainly rubber dome/laptop types for many years with one brief exception of a mechanical that was a 'quiet' one (but was still awkward to actually type with as I'm used to the former I guess)
    I share a hobby room with my gf, her doing arts/crafts and studying and me mostly just gaming. Out of politeness etc I use headset/phones most of the time, and I don't mind, nor do I type much but when I do it can be quite a storm lol.

    At the end of the day, I'm just looking for a laptop (preferably Asus and under £2000) that games better than my Asus GL703 and can make decent use of the 4K TV I bought in part for it's gaming credentials (seeing as a full desktop upgrade worth the time and money is a no go for the foreseeable future)

    Thanks again, Andrei.

  27. Somraj Paul

    April 25, 2021 at 9:57 am

    Hi Andrei,

    In the manual mode on the CPU section what values did you set for SPL and SPPT while maxing out the fan speed?

    I was tweaking around and seemed to have messed up those values resulting in high cpu utilisation.

    Thanks in advance.

    • Andrei Girbea

      April 25, 2021 at 10:15 am

      I've left those on default as changing them didn't seem to have any noticeable impact on my unit.

  28. Mike Waggoner

    January 26, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    I have the G533QS Strix Scar and trying to set up VR! C port and can’t get a signal to my quest headset. Is there a setting I need find? If you could help me I would be most appreciative.

    Thank you

    • Andrei Girbea

      January 26, 2022 at 8:10 pm

      maybe others can contribute, I don't own a Quest and never tried it

    • Welsley Lui

      May 10, 2022 at 6:06 am

      Try disabling the amd graphics card in device manager and restarting the computer.

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