One of the challenges when it comes to designing gaming laptops is how to strike the balance between power and portability. But if you’re leaning towards the former, you’ll have to compromise on the size. ASUS ROG didn’t shy away from that idea when they released gaming laptops with 18-inch screens. For 2024, they released the latest iteration of the Strix SCAR 18, equipped with an 18-inch WQXGA display, Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, and RTX 4090 GPU.
If you’re coming from laptops with screens of 15.6 inches and below, you’ll find the ROG Strix SCAR 18 to be huge. It wouldn’t even fit our standard gadget backpack designed for 15.6-inchers but the good thing is ROG included a free ROG Backpack to accommodate it.
It’s thick, measuring 1.21-inch at its thickest point, and hefty at 3.10 kg, but that’s given. I’d call it a portable desktop rather than a laptop, in my opinion. It also takes a lot of space so think twice before taking it to your favorite coffee shop.
The SCAR 18 comes in Off-Black color. It’s a typical color for a laptop but ROG didn’t skimp on the LED. There are RBG lights on the front and at the vents at the back. The ROG emblem also lights up, as well as, per-key RGB illumination on the keyboard. And if you’re looking for gaming accents, it has a sharp chassis design with laser-etched styling outside and inside, even the vents underneath are styled.
It also has what ROG calls the “Armor Cap” at the back which is a magnetically-attached plastic accessory to help you personalize your SCAR 18. You can swap it with what’s included in the package or you can 3D print your own.
Lift the lid and you’ll be greeted by the 18-inch ROG Nebula HDR, Mini LED, anti-glare, Panton Validated display with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio, 240Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time. It also supports G-Sync and Dolby Vision HDR. In other words, it’s an immersive and beautiful screen with thin bezels. ROG even managed to fit a 720p webcam in there.
It also has a backlit chiclet keyboard with per-key RGB, mounted on a semi-translucent keyboard deck. The keys are quiet with a 2.0mm travel and soft landing. It also boasts ROG’s Overstroke technology that registers keypresses earlier in the stroke and customizable M1-M5 hotkeys. Down below it is the large and smooth touchpad with a glass coating.
Powering the SCAR 18 (2024) is an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4090 16GB GDDR6 GPU, 16GB x2 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4 SSD x2, and a 90Wh battery with a 330W power adapter. Given the configuration, the SCAR 18 can easily run all the games we have in our library in full resolution and their highest graphics settings. In Helldivers 2 we can get consistent frame rates of around 90 fps, Starfield at around 100fps, while Forza Horizon 5 got us around 150fps. We also played Palworld and Ready or Not without any issues.
The fans can get really loud when you activate Turbo mode. Most of the heat can be felt on the upper left side of the keyboard area at around 50C. The WASD area is around 40C while the palmrest is at a cool 35C. In combination with WiFi 6E and quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, the overall gaming experience is great. Should you wish to tinker more, you can easily do so via the Armoury Crate app.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) is a powerful machine capable of satisfying demanding gamers out there. It has a fantastic screen, looks cool, and is capable of delivering amazing performance. It comes with freebies, too, like the ROG Backpack, ROG Gladius 3 mouse, and ASUS’ 4A Warranty Services. It’s expensive, though, at PHP 299,995, but it’s understandable considering the hardware you’re getting for what can be considered a great desktop replacement or alternative.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2024) is available at ASUS Concept Stores.
