The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L) was among the initial gaming laptops to sport NVIDIA’s RTX 50-series mobile graphics processors, and I received this high-performance machine at my home during the weekend.
This is a top-tier, 18-inch gaming desktop, specifically designed for gamers who value portability. As one of ASUS’s premium offerings, it boasts an array of advanced features that complement its exceptional performance capabilities.
During my testing process, which includes both synthetic benchmarks and real-life scenarios for a thorough review, I also thought it would be interesting to share my initial unboxing experience and immediate thoughts upon opening and powering up the laptop.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L): Unboxing
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 arrived in an oversized box that could only be made to fit one PC.
Upon opening the box, I was greeted by an intuitive pop-up feature, subtly guiding the laptop towards me, while simultaneously illuminating some striking aspects of its design on the underside of the lid.
Upon opening the box, you’ll find the laptop encased in plastic wrapping which needs to be taken off. Additionally, there are promotional stickers on the device that you should peel off before proceeding.
Upon opening the box, you’ll find some paperwork and a substantial 380W power adapter hidden beneath it.
ASUS uses a proprietary power connector for the laptop that resembles USB-C, only a bit chunkier.
The adapter boasts an extended range with its standard cables, a feature often overlooked by manufacturers when designing laptops.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L): First impressions
After taking the laptop out of its packaging, charging it, and giving it a once-over, let’s share our initial thoughts about its appearance, screen quality, keyboard feel, and overall performance.
Design
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 isn’t compact by any means, yet it maintains a balanced size. Its design features sleek lines, a subtle wedge form, and ample cooling vents for optimal heat dissipation.
The primary influence behind the redesign is said to be automotive racing, which I believe is a fitting analogy given the laptop’s sleek design. Despite its size, it doesn’t appear large – if you catch my drift.
The ASUS laptop sports a sleek texture similar to contemporary ThinkPad models. While initial usage indicates it could easily accumulate fingerprints, as seen in certain images where gloves were used, this smooth feel comes at the cost of being prone to smudges.
Instead of placing ports on the back edge for more convenient cable organization (a feature I appreciate), ASUS has dedicated the laptop’s backside for cooling ventilation purposes.
The lower part features a collection of openings, and the ROG STRIX label can be found within these, only visible from certain viewing angles, serving as an air intake.
This design allows the sides to be open for connecting ports, including some smaller vents for ventilation. It boasts two advanced Thunderbolt 5 ports for superior physical connectivity, supplemented by a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI 2.1, three standard USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The exterior of the lid features the ASUS AniMe Vision display, which boasts 810 LEDs and over 9,000 precisely drilled openings. This allows for personalization by displaying various images or text.
The lower half of this laptop features a continuous, uninterrupted light bar glowing with RGB colors, encircling its entire perimeter.
Display
In the ROG Strix SCAR 18, ASUS has certainly not compromised on the quality of the screen, and I suspect it will prove to be a breathtaking choice for PC gaming.
This device features a compact, 18-inch mini-LED screen that can be divided into over 2,000 separate dimming areas for superior contrast, backed by the ROG Nebula High Dynamic Range (HDR) engine for optimal local dimming performance.
Typically, reducing screen glare is a common challenge when taking photographs of laptops. However, against all odds, with midday light pouring in, I managed to capture crisp and clear images instead.
1,200 nits peak brightness and the dual-layered Ambient Contrast Ratio (ACR) by ASUS contribute to this remarkable clarity and vibrancy of the display.
I’ve noticed that the first layer on this device appears to significantly reduce reflections by as much as 55%, noticeably enhancing the contrast by around 45%. Additionally, it appears that the second layer is providing viewing angles of up to 180 degrees, making the view crystal clear from almost every angle. It seems to be functioning effectively.
This mini-LED screen offers additional features such as Dolby Vision, NVIDIA G-Sync, VESA DisplayHDR 1000 accreditation, full DCI-P3 color representation (which I plan to personally verify), Pantone verification, and TÜV Rheinland approval.
Keyboard and touchpad
The laptop’s bottom is expansive enough to comfortably accommodate a complete keyboard featuring a number pad, separate media control keys, and additional macro buttons, without running out of space.
According to ASUS, this “eSports-level” keyboard boasts switches designed for approximately 20 million keystrokes, offering a faster response time compared to standard keyboards.
Initial Impression: It appears there’s a lot of traveling involved, and the key spacing seems well-adjusted. Every key can be personalized with RGB illumination.
The touchpad remains mechanically operated, unlike its haptic counterpart, yet it’s significantly bigger – approximately 36% larger compared to the last model.
It seems that I haven’t encountered any avid gamers utilizing a touchpad while playing games, however, professionals such as creators and designers would find the additional pointing space provided by this laptop quite beneficial during their non-gaming tasks.
Performance hardware
In my experience, ASUS is unique among laptop manufacturers in providing tool-free access through the bottom panel. To gain entry, you simply press a catch, move the entire bottom panel forward, and then gently remove it to expose the internal hardware.
I hope this becomes the industry norm, at least for high-end gaming laptops.
Here within, I’ve got swift access to my system’s memory (neatly stacked SODIMM modules), a blazing fast solid-state drive, and a trinity of cooling fans keeping everything running smoothly.
In this model, ASUS has thoughtfully incorporated dust filters that seem straightforward to maintain. Given my experience of sharing a home with two cats, I truly value such considerations.
To gain more access than just the RAM and SSD, you can use a screwdriver to unfasten the following panel, revealing the entire motherboard as well as the innovative vapor chamber developed by ASUS, specifically designed for the integration of NVIDIA’s RTX 50-series Laptop GPUs.
The entire length of the vapor chamber is now enclosed, positioned between two cooling fins (heatsinks). In all, there are three fans installed: two primarily manage the air circulation over the CPU and other system elements, whereas the third fan has been designed expressly to dissipate heat from the GPU and its video memory (VRAM).
The vent for fresh air spans the entire keyboard surface, and ASUS believes this modification will help minimize heating of the keys during gaming. I’ll verify this point in my assessment.
As an analyst, I find that the ample room occupied by the mobile RTX 5090 and the enhanced cooling system from ASUS within the laptop becomes immediately apparent upon observing the battery’s size.
The 90 Wh capacity falls short of the 99.9 Wh limit for commercial flights, and it seems unlikely that this ASUS laptop could operate for more than a few minutes without being connected to an electrical outlet.
I found it astonishingly small the amount of room the battery occupies within the device. It’s strategically positioned along the lower edge of the computer, keeping it far from the heat produced by the primary system parts.
According to ASUS, the system has a capacity to deliver up to 255 watts of power for both the CPU and GPU combined. Specifically for this setup, the mobile RTX 5090 can reach its maximum 175 watts, while the Core Ultra 9 processor seems to cap out at around 80 watts.
The chip’s performance in Turbo Boost doesn’t reach the maximum of 160W, but it exceeds its base TDP of 55W. I’ll make certain to conduct appropriate tests for power management assessment.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that the ROG Strix SCAR 18 comes with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus technology. This feature helps extend battery life and improve performance by enabling the dedicated GPU to manage the screen directly, instead of passing the output via the integrated GPU.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L): Where can I buy it?
As swiftly as I can manage, I’ll be back with an in-depth analysis of the Strix SCAR 18 (G835L). However, should your eagerness outpace your patience, feel free to explore where this gaming laptop is currently available for purchase.
Currently, as I pen this in-depth review, the latest gaming laptop comes in three distinct setup options.
This starting model is priced at $2,699.99 and can be bought directly from ASUS. It boasts a Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for swift storage.
👉 NVIDIA’s RTX 5090 laptops are a terrible value
Following is the ROG Strix SCAR 18, featuring the same CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop Graphics Card, 32GB of memory, and a 2TB Solid State Drive. You can find it priced at approximately $3,400 on Newegg or B&H however, it appears to be out of stock at the current moment.
Lastly, the premium model boasts the Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, NVIDIA RTX 5090 laptop graphics card, 32GB of memory, and a 2TB solid-state drive. However, it’s somewhat scarce at the moment, but a third-party vendor on Amazon is selling it for $5,449 – significantly higher than its original $4,500 price tag at Best Buy.
Hopefully, these numbers (prices) will decrease as more retailers start receiving stock from ASUS. However, the constantly shifting terrain of tariffs and technology-related rules won’t make finding a good deal a walk in the park.
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2025-04-08 15:10