We saw a lot of interesting trends at CES 2025, and on the gaming side, no trend was more obvious than a continued commitment to putting more and more RGB lights on gaming laptops.
But we're hoping we might see a different trend take off, thanks to the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18.
The Strix Scar 18 was our winner for Best Gaming Laptop at CES 2025, in part because of the Scar's upgradeability and easy repairs. But we also loved the AnimeVision LED lights on the top cover panel and the full 360-degree light bar on the bottom side of the Scar 18.
But the Strix Scar 18 offers more than just customizable LED lights, a ton of RGB, and an easy-open latch for the bottom panel.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Specs
| Price: | $2,599 starting |
| CPU: | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| GPU: | Up to Nvidia RTX 5090 with 24GB VRAM |
| RAM: | Up to 64GB |
| Storage: | Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD |
| Display: | 18-inch, 240Hz (2560 x 1600) Mini-LED |
| Battery: | 90Whr (watt-hour) |
| Size: | 15.71 x 11.73 x 0.93~1.26 inches |
| Weight: | 7.67 pounds |
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Pricing and availability
Asus's updated line of ROG gaming laptops are set to launch in Q1 2025, though exact dates and prices are still unclear.
Based on what we know from Nvidia, the RTX 50-series laptops will launch in March 2025, and Nvidia expects laptops with the RTX 5090 to start at $2,899. The starting price for the Strix Scar 16 (G635L) and 18 (G835L) is $2,599 though we don't know the exact configuration of the starting model. It does appear that all models of the Strix Scar 16 and 18 will feature ROG Nebula HDR Mini-LED displays.
We can expect a higher price tag for models with the RTX 5090 and upgraded memory and storage, but the exact price isn't finalized yet. Asus will likely provide further information on pricing and specs as we get closer to the expected March launch date.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Design
The ROG Strix Scar series has always been the flagship for Asus's gaming options, which means the designs are often pretty wild. The 2025 Strix Scar 18 (G835L) is a perfect example. The laptop features customizable AniMeVision LEDs on the top cover, RGB lighting on the keyboard, and an LED light strip that wraps around the entire bottom panel. Plus, the ROG Logo on the top cover also gets some additional RGB lighting.
But the design choices go deeper than just lighting. The Strix Scar 16 and 18 both feature an easy-release latch on the bottom of the laptop to pull off the back cover and upgrade your RAM and SSD options, clean your fans, or replace your battery. And that bottom panel itself has "ROG STRIX" embossed into the heat exhaust vents, for an added flourish.
As for portability, the Strix Scar 18 is a desktop replacement laptop. So it won't be the easiest laptop to carry around. Measuring 15.71 x 11.73 x 0.93~1.26 inches and weighing 7.67 pounds, the Strix Scar 18 is a beast of a laptop. It isn't at Alienware 18 Area-51 levels of weight and size, but it is up there when we consider massive gaming machines.
Then again, you're not likely to commute with the Strix Scar 18 (835L), so it can get away with being a thicker, heavier laptop than we'd expect from something like the Razer Blade 14 (2024).
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Ports
Asus has published the full port array for the Strix Scar 16 and 18 laptops, confirming a massive number of ports on the desktop replacement class flagships:
- 1x HDMI 2.1
- 2x Thunderbolt 5 (with Power Delivery, DisplayPort, and G-Sync support)
- 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1x RJ45 2.5G ethernet
- 1x Audio combo jack
That should be more than enough ports for most gamers, so you're unlikely to need a docking station or USB hub.
However, streamers and content creators may want to invest in a laptop docking station since both Strix Scar models lack an SDCard reader.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Display
The Strix Scar 18 (G835L) has an 18-inch 240Hz (2560x1600) ROG Nebula HDR Mini-LED display with a matte finish.
Asus rates the Strix Scar 18's ROG Nebula HDR Mini-LED displays at 500 nits of SDR brightness and up to 1200 nits of HDR brightness. Asus also rates the display to 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut with Pantone Validation.
Like many of the gaming laptops at CES 2025, the Strix Scar 18 was locked to a series of game trailers repeating over and over. However, the Indiana Jones and Doom: The Dark Ages trailers looked fantastic on the mini-LED panels on the Strix Scar series laptops. With high color vibrance and deep blacks, the contrast on these displays is worth the hype based on what we could see at the Asus suite.
Of course, we'll have to wait and see how the Nebula HDR Mini-LED panel handles in our lab testing, but from our first look, we're looking forward to gaming on this display.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Performance and heat
The Strix Scar 18 features an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor with up to 64GB of memory and up to 2TB of SSD storage. So we're expecting a pretty powerful general performance from the Strix.
Because the laptop was locked to an Nvidia game trailer showcase, we didn't get a chance to get hands-on with the performance but we do have an idea of what to expect based on Intel's benchmark claims.
Intel rates the Core Ultra 200HX as "up to 20%" better for multithreaded performance over the 14th generation. The 200HX will also over more than 5% increases to single-thread performance.
Asus has paired the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and Nvidia RTX 50-series GPU with a new end-to-end vapor chamber and sandwiched heatsink that features tri-fan technology, and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal in the newly revamped cooling solution for the 2025 Strix Scar lineup. This new cooling system should get your CPU and GPU running at up to 15 degrees Celcius cooler than the older model.
So if you plan to use the Strix Scar 18 to replace a desktop as your main home computer, you should get more than enough power for photo and video editing, 3D workloads, spreadsheet surfing, and email management.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Gaming and graphics
We don't know what the starting GPU configuration is for the Strix Scar 18, but do know it will feature RTX 50-series GPUs. Asus may restrict the Strix Scar 18 to just the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 since it is the gaming flagship.
While we did get some time to poke around at a few gaming laptops in the Nvidia Press Suite, they opted for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 instead of the Strix Scar 16 or 18 for the Asus brand representation. Based on what we know of the RTX 50-series GPUs so far, we can expect a 10-30% increase in framerates without DLSS 4, and some incredible gains in 4K gaming at ultra settings with DLSS 4 frame generation enabled.
And if Intel's claims can be believed about the Core Ultra 9 275HX, you shouldn't run into too much CPU bottlenecking with these powerful new GPUs. Particularly when gaming at higher resolutions like the Strix's native 1600p.
Plus with Asus's revamped vapor chamber, the Strix Scar should get some serious performance out of the RTX 50-series GPUs without risk of thermal throttling.
Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (G835L): Outlook
While we still need to do our own internal testing to see how well Asus has leveraged the new Intel and Nvidia CPUs for the Strix Scar 18, we're already anticipating the pure gaming power promised by the Strix Scar laptops.
But we're also enthusiastic that the Scar's upgradeability might hint at a new trend for laptops. While there are plenty of challenges to making laptops as upgradeable as desktop PCs, just having an easy-open latch with user-replaceable batteries, and easy to access RAM and SSD slots is a step in the right direction.
We'll have to wait until we get to spend some quality time with the Strix Scar 18 to determine if you should just recycle your old desktop in favor of this gaming powerhouse, but for now, it might be worth setting aside a budget.
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