The 2025 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a beast.
Its big, heavy, and the most powerful gaming laptop Ive had my hands on so far.
The sauce hasnt always been this sweet for Asuss flagship 18-incher.
Last years model struggled to keep up with its predecessor in performance while still offering the same gaudy design.
I like me a see-through gadget, but not when Ive dropped thousands of dollars on it.
Asus gives with one hand and takes with the other, though.
There are a few downsides to this redesign, and one new Marmite feature.
Its tacky and I hate it.
Thankfully, Asus has toned down its internal branding.
Instead, we have a sleek aesthetic that marries a very subtle Est.
2006 icon in light gray along the top of the rear shelf with an all-black, quiet design.
I used the display at full whack for most of my testing, though, and its remarkably punchy.
Of course, youre getting the standard QHD+ resolution and 240Hz refresh rate here as well.
I personally prefer rear ports in a larger machine thats designed to stay on a desktop.
I can, but Im nervous about it.
On the right, we have two more USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 connections.
Instead, weve got a classic membrane deck, but one that feels nice and snappy under the fingertips.
Key spacing is nicely balanced and each actuation jumps with an energetic clack that feels crisp and satisfying.
The layout is as youd expect from an 18-incher, with a number pad and full-sized arrow buttons.
Still, Ill take that over half-sized clickers any day.
Above the main area, youll find that classic array of Asus media controls and macro buttons.
RGB, obviously, runs throughout and is fully configurable in Armory Crate itself.
Razer avoids this issue by adding an extra light to its caps that require two sets of inputs.
The 2025 iteration blows it out the water and generally keeps its head above MSIs numbers as well.
Thats a strong baseline to work from, but things get a lot more interesting in-game.
Considering the Scar wins every other benchmark run, this is an easy lead.
Thats in line with the rest of the releases Ive seen from this generation so far.
The RTX 50-Series doesnt want to turbo-charge your native framerates, instead its concentrating on efficiency.
Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong are the heaviest runs in this test group.
Were able to stay well ahead of 60fps in both prefs, making for smooth, responsive gameplay.
But, taking the RTX 50-Series focus on DLSS prefs into account, those numbers can skyrocket.
If you want the juiciest prefs possible, though, its an extra tool in your arsenal.
The RTX 50-Series mobile scene requires a little re-framing of many players references.
That efficiency isnt quite so important in this larger 18-inch form factor.
Should you buy the 2025 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18?
That is, of course, assuming you want the latest components.
Theres a tricky problem with the RTX 50-Series at the moment.
Further down the price range, theAlienwareM18 R2 is around $3,800 with an RTX 4090 and Intel i9-14900HX.
However, the jump from RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 gaming laptops isnt as rewarding this time around.
Taken in isolation, though, the 2025 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is an excellent piece of kit.
All of my gameplay was completed without this separate display.
These tests were run three times each, with the final score taken as an average across each run.
For more information onhow we test gaming laptops, check out the fullGamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.
