Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 review (Core i9, RTX 4080)

23 Comments

  1. cridgit001

    March 8, 2023 at 10:57 pm

    How does this compare to the Blade 16? I've seen others be able to undervolt and overlock both the blade's cpu and gpu to trade blows with Scar 16s.

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 9, 2023 at 11:03 am

      you'll find both reviews on the site, but I reviewed the Scar and Derek reviewed the Blade, so I can't give you first hand impressions of both. The two should be fairly close, with a slight advantage in performance for the Scar, due to its better cooling and what looks like higher PCU power settings.

  2. bert

    March 9, 2023 at 4:31 am

    Hi. thanks for the review. there might be some issues here. i think the laptop 4080 doesn't have 16gb vram. i think it should be just 12gb.

    Also, and that is for me the most confusing part, there seem to be 2 different models out there. the g634jz and the g634jz-xs96. I was wondering if you heard anything about the different version as the xs96 just comes with 16gb ram and 1tb harddisk but literally selling everywhere for about the same price. in fact i can just find the xs96 version in every store.

    asus did the same thing with the 2021 model by limiting the vram for the gpu and sometimes it was very hard to figure out which version is being sold.

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 9, 2023 at 11:10 am

      Yeah, the 4o80 is 12 Gb, updated the specs.

      I can't comment on the exact available models. As far as I understnad, each local reps configure their lineup based on their preferences, so perhaps the 16 Gb 1 TB is the most widespread model at this point. Perhaps others will be available later on? I'd get in touch with your local reps and ask about it, if possible.

  3. Steve

    March 9, 2023 at 10:08 pm

    Good review.

    In some regions such as the UK,there is in fact a 1600P 500 nits 240 Hz LCD screen option!

    Example:

    https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus-rog-strix-16-nvidia-rtx-4080-32gb-16.0-wqxga-240hz-intel-i9-13980hx-gaming-laptop-lt-2kn-as.html

    £100 less than the miniLED screen version with the same specs.

    Otherwise, great review!

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 10, 2023 at 10:21 am

      Thanks. Updating the article with this info!

  4. Murad

    March 10, 2023 at 12:53 am

    Hi, how is the mini LED panel? İs there visible blooming effects? İs there pixel grids on the blue background?

  5. Lynton

    March 10, 2023 at 12:17 pm

    Yeah too many sacrifices just to keep hot mess inefficient Intel chips cool. I'm disappointed there are so few AMD 5nm choices so far; dragon range looks like a beast and Zen4 Phoenix is incredible power for its efficiency and rdna3 onboard

  6. Umar

    March 11, 2023 at 8:48 am

    Hi, did you notice any coil whine on this laptop?

  7. Alberto

    March 12, 2023 at 12:43 am

    I have the Strix Scar 16 with RTX 4090 and I can hear coil whine when start using the GPU, it is clearly noticeable at a distance just before the fans kick in. It is a pitty considering how much this costs. I am considering returning it.

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 12, 2023 at 5:14 pm

      well, this thing is random. It happened just the same on my 4090 Scar 18 , but not on this 4080 Scar 16

  8. alex

    March 13, 2023 at 3:19 pm

    Magnificent. This the first review that i Saw on the internet that very completely cover everything. thanks in advance andre.

    Would u mind to review the reguler strix G16 aslo in the future? Looking forward to see that.

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 13, 2023 at 4:04 pm

      The Strix G16 review should be up most likely this week. Strix G18 as well

  9. Andrey

    August 4, 2023 at 9:03 am

    Great review! Can you help me pls? I'm trying to choose an laptop, for now I'm looking between this Asus, Razer Blade 17 3070ti or Razer Blade 18 4070. Everywhere a lot of information but I'm trying to find something that can be powerfull, with good display and with avarage built quality.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 8, 2023 at 11:30 am

      they're all good laptops, with they own share of pros and cons. Up to you to decide between them, based on your needs and budget (since the Blades are more expensive)

  10. Joshua

    August 4, 2023 at 5:54 pm

    This great review is what ultimately pushed me to pull the trigger on this one, so thank you, Andrei. I'm really liking it so far with just one exception: the light bleed as you observed in the single-zone mode. Given that you evaluate laptops professionally, would you accept the amount you had on your review unit on one of your own personal machines? My screen shows about the same amount of bleed in the roughly the same spots and it does bother me (flares up my OCD, lol), but I don't know if trying to get a replacement is worth the bother as this seems common and just about impossible to fully avoid on this panel type.

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 8, 2023 at 11:32 am

      it's kind of normal for this panel, so there's no gurantee you'll end up with better uniformity on a new model. If the return is simple and doesn't cost you, you could go through a few replacements until you can find one that's better. Not sure if it's worth it, though…

  11. Andrew Gillham

    March 17, 2024 at 2:01 am

    I just bought a ROG strix 2024 16" with the 4060. I've bypassed the 4060 and am using on board video from the i9 and it will only run netflix for about 2.5 hours on full charge with the monitor at 50% and in silent mode. Any ideas? Shouldn't it run longer than this?

    • Andrei Girbea

      March 17, 2024 at 2:12 pm

      it should run for way longer. I'd use the ECO mode in Armoury Crate and select the Best Power Efficiency mode from the windows power settings. Also, make sure there's no rogue software running in the background.

      And when you said you bypassed the dGPU, what do you mean exactly?

  12. Bill

    April 27, 2024 at 12:46 pm

    Hi, thanks for the (as always) great review. In the ports section, you mention that one of the USB-C ports will connect a display through the iGPU. My G16 scar (with 4080 gfx) always switches to the dGPU, whatever I do and try. The behaviour is the same on HDMI and both USB-C ports. Any better luck on your unit(s)? Or are there any settings I have to change? The Nvidia Panel will grey out all options except Optimus as soon as I connect an external monitor.

    • Andrei Girbea

      April 29, 2024 at 9:51 am

      That was a mistake in the article, sry about it. I double checked on my Scar 18 and both USB-C slots seem to be connected to the dGPU. Do you have to connect to an external monitor while running the laptop on battery power?

      • Bill

        April 29, 2024 at 12:59 pm

        Thanks for the clarification. No, was just about saving some power when not needing the dGPU for browsing, writing etc. but is no big issue. Thanks!

        Overall, my new SCAR 16 is a great companion so far, the Nvidia 4080 and the i9-14900HX are running great / stable and below 90 degrees under load so far.

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