The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 gaming laptop (2023 model G634JZ-XS96) is my current laptop as at the time of this writing. I purchased it from XoticPC in early June 2023, basically the day it became available there. Although ASUS generally have very good products at the high-end level, I was a little dubious buying it because ASUS are well known for bad warranty service in the event something goes wrong. Fortunately this machine turned out to be flawless. If you’re wondering why I didn’t go with a Sager machine again; well I did, but it had some serious overheating issues which you can read about here, so in the end I had to return it and decided to wait a month or two for this ASUS machine to launch since the specs and early reviews were so good. It was definitely worth the short wait.

The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 introduced a 16-inch screen to the SCAR lineup for the first time. The screen is an incredible Mini LED Nebula HDR anti-glare display panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and a staggering 1100 nits of peak brightness for stunning HDR gameplay. Response time is 3ms and the display is G-Sync compatible. The 16:10 aspect ratio panel (2560 x 1600 resolution) has a 90% screen-to-body ratio, perfect for fast moving arena shooters. The display is Pantone validated and supports Dolby Vision HDR. Nebula is actually an entire certification for laptop gaming displays, and this model is nothing short of excellent. Definitely the best laptop display I’ve used by far. There is also a 720P HD camera located at the top center above the display. Display specs:

ROG Nebula HDR Display
16-inch
QHD+ 16:10 (2560 x 1600, WQXGA)
Mini LED
Anti-glare display
DCI-P3: 100%
Refresh Rate: 240Hz
Response Time: 3ms
G-Sync
Pantone Validated
MUX Switch + NVIDIA® Advanced Optimus
Support Dolby Vision HDR : Yes
VESA DisplayHDR 600
500 nits sustained brightness with up to 1,100 nits peak brightness
100,000:1 contrast ratio

The CPU is a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.60GHz, a huge 24 cores (8 P-cores and 16 E-cores), 36MB smart cache, and up to 175W power limit – and that’s all at default specs. This CPU also has integrated Intel UHD graphics for 13th Gen Intel processors, which runs at 1.65GHz apparently.

The GPU is a NVidia GeForce RTX 4080 laptop GPU with a custom ROG Boost at 2330MHz at 175W (2280MHz boost clock + 50MHz overclock, 150W + 25W dynamic boost) with 12GB of GDDR6 memory – and again, those are the default specs for this machine. This laptop also comes with a dedicated MUX Switch with support for NVIDIA Advanced Optimus, which means the laptop can automatically route frames from the discrete GPU directly to the display using the MUX switch, bypassing the integrated graphics. This pathing improves performance 5-10% compared to machines without a MUX switch, making sure you get the absolute best gaming experience.

Both the CPU and GPU use Conductonaut Extreme ultra-high performance liquid metal compound on the heatsinks, allowing for maximum heat transfer. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 chassis and motherboard were both redesigned to accommodate a new full-width heatsink, while the copper fins were moved closer to the exhaust vents for more efficient cooling. This unique heatsink is built from three different sections, surrounding the motherboard with densely packed fins for a total surface area of 174,183mm², a nearly 63% increase from the 2022 Strix SCAR 15. The design maximizes the available pathing for hot air to escape the machine and drastically increases overall cooling. Most gaming laptops have a dual fan cooling system, but the SCAR 16 was able to push the performance envelope even further with the introduction of a third fan that helps keep the GPU and VRAM cool. Paired with seven heatpipes and, as mentioned, Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU, the SCAR 16’s cooling system is a marvel of engineering, running up to 15°C cooler than similarly-specced laptops.

I replaced the default memory with a couple of sticks of G.Skill Ripjaws 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 at 4800MHz CL34. The default ram had significantly higher latency (I think CL40 or 42). The ram I used worked as plug and play with no issues, so I didn’t need to make any adjustments for it in the BIOS.

The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 has a full-size backlit chiclet professional esports grade keyboard with per-key RGB and full Aura Sync customization. The switches are rated to last over 20 million presses, and the keyboard includes dedicated gaming hotkeys sitting just above the left side of the keyboard for quick access to the volume and mic mute controls, operating modes, and Armoury Crate – they are also fully customizable, and can be programmed to launch apps, set as a function key, or used as macro keys.

The number pad is a little unique (at least to me), and is actually integrated into the touch pad. I was not sure what to think about this at first, but it’s turned out great, and allows for a much roomier main keyboard. The touchpad is 10% larger than previous models, and also comes with a glass coating for a more premium feel and supposedly greater precision. I use a wireless mouse most of the time, so it really isn’t a major for me.

The 2023 Strix SCAR 16 chassis continues to embody the distinct style of ROG with sharp chassis designs, unique RGB accents, and a distinct gaming vibe. This chassis is mostly plastic with a unique semi-transparent keyboard I’ve never seen before. The chassis also features a rear glow RGB panel, which paired together with per-key RGB illumination on the keyboard and the light bar at the front make the laptop a ‘beacon of gaming power’ from any angle (aka bling-fest). The chassis dimensions are 13.94″ x 10.39″ x 0.89″ to 1.20″, and considering the high-end specs and advanced cooling, weighs in at a reasonably light 5.5lbs.

I use headphones pretty much always and I rarely if ever use the integrated speakers, however for the record the laptop audio runs from Dolby Atmos-powered speakers which include two tweeters and two downward firing woofers they claim creates “an authentic sound stage for your games”. A nice feature is 2-way AI noise cancellation processes for both incoming and outgoing audio to filter any errant background noises, and can be customized per program.

The laptop features a good sized 90Wh battery, with USB Type-C charging supported up to 100W. When charging using the supplied 330W power adapter (yes, 330W), the SCAR 16 can recharge from zero to 50% in just 30 minutes. With such high-end components, this machine sucks up a lot of power, so if you’re gaming on ultra, expect maybe an hour or two of battery life tops. For media playback, tests by PCMag.com had the battery lasting a little over 7 hours playing video at 720p at 50% brightness, which is quite decent for a laptop running this level of hardware. The Strix SCAR 16 has a dedicated 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 port, as well as the latest Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) triple band wireless standard, along with 5.2 Bluetooth combo.

I went with a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro m.2 NVMe Gen 4 drive as primary, and also installed a smaller 500GB 980 Pro m.2 drive for other data/media. The laptop came with Microsoft Windows 11 Pro installed. There is a decent amount of I/O ports as follows:
1x Thunderbolt 4 (supports DisplayPort / G-SYNC)
1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (supports DisplayPort / power delivery / G-SYNC)
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
1x HDMI 2.1 FRL
1x 2.5G LAN port
1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
2x m.2 SSD slots (NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4)

So that pretty much covers it. Game play (mostly Battlefield 2042 for me at present) is blazing fast and buttery smooth. More core-intensive programs such as rendering and Photoshop are handled easily by the 24 core CPU, giving excellent all-round performance. There’s really nothing about this laptop I don’t like. It’s awesome. Here’s some photos sourced from XoticPC.