Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review

Asus dropped its refreshed ROG Strix Scar 18 in India earlier this year, and it’s a monstrous gaming laptop that pairs the best laptop CPU with the best laptop GPU in the market. These are Intel’s top-tier Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and Nvidia’s beastly GeForce RTX 5090 mobile GPU.

Compared to last year, this machine isn’t just an incremental update with an updated CPU and GPU. It also gets a redesign that sheds the chunkier vibe of its predecessor for a sleeker look. Having spent some time pushing to its limits, here’s our Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 review.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 design

The new Scar 18 2025 model comes with a bit of a makeover. The whole design feels tidier, for one. The front light bar has also been replaced by a much cooler all-round RGB strip. The star of the show, however, is the new AniMe Vision display on the lid.

This dot-matrix array of mini-LEDs lets you plaster looping animations or your gamertag across the back of your screen. It’s a gloriously over-the-top gimmick that’s guaranteed to turn heads. We lugged it to a cafe for some work, and those custom animations definitely got some attention.

At 3.3 kilograms, plus another kilo for its hefty power brick, this isn’t a laptop you’ll casually toss in a regular backpack. You’ll need a plus-size backpack, like Asus’ own ROG BP4701 Gaming Backpack.

The build quality feels rock-solid, with an aluminium lid and a sturdy plastic base that exhibits very little flex. The only downside is that the black is very susceptible to fingerprints, so you’ll still want to give it a wipe down every now and then to keep it looking sharp.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 display

The display is yet another killer feature. We’re talking about an 18-inch Mini-LED panel that is simply breathtaking. The sheer size makes gaming incredibly immersive. It’s effectively a small television. But more than the size, it’s the quality that truly seals the deal. It may not be 4K, but the 2.5K (2560 x 1600 pixels) resolution is plenty sharp.

It’s also the sweet spot for gaming, offering crisp visuals without overtaxing the GPU. Everything moves with a liquid-like smoothness thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate and rapid 3ms response time.

Colours are excellent, too. The Mini-LED technology delivers incredible brightness, deep, inky blacks, and a level of contrast that makes standard laptop screens look washed out. It’s fully DisplayHDR 1000 certified, so HDR content looks spectacular with highlights that pop right off the screen.

Asus has also included super-accurate factory-calibrated profiles for both sRGB and P3 colour spaces, making it a fantastic canvas for creative work when you’re not busy gaming.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 performance

Under the hood, the Scar 18 is an absolute titan. It’s rocking Intel’s brand-new Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, a 24-core chip that chews through any task you throw at it. The real powerhouse, though, is the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU. This is the fastest mobile graphics card on the planet, configured here with its full 175-watt TGP and a massive 24GB of GDDR7 VRAM.

We cranked everything to the max in Cyberpunk 2077, including the punishing Psycho Ray Tracing and Path Tracing settings, and the Scar 18 still delivered a smooth average of 70 FPS at its native 2.5K resolution. Older games are even more fun. For instance, a properly maxed-out Battlefield V and Doom Eternal generated over 200 FPS, better utilising that 240Hz panel.

The thermal system does an incredible job, too, keeping the components from throttling, too. And crucially, the keyboard and palm rest area remain comfortably cool during intense gaming. The only catch is the noise. In Turbo mode, the fans sound like a jet taking off, so you’ll need to use a headset, preferably one with ANC.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 connectivity

Asus has also nailed the user experience fundamentals with the Scar 18. The chiclet keyboard feels great for both typing and gaming. It’s a nearly full-size layout with a number pad and satisfying, precise keystrokes. Key travel is great too.

There’s zero flex in the keyboard deck, and of course, it’s decked out with per-key RGB lighting and five programmable macro keys for custom commands. Below it sits a massive glass touchpad that’s smooth and responsive for when you’re not using an external mouse.

Connectivity is top-notch. The inclusion of two Thunderbolt 5 ports makes the laptop wonderfully future-proof, while a host of other ports, including three USB-A 3.2 ports, HDMI 2.1, and a 2.5G LAN port, means you’ll never be short on connections.

Most of the I/O is clustered on the left side, which keeps cables out of your mouse hand’s way. Best of all is the easy upgrade path. A clever sliding latch on the bottom allows you to remove the entire base panel without a single screwdriver.

Miscellaneous

When it comes to the extras, the Scar 18 is a bit of a mixed bag. The four-speaker sound system is decent, producing relatively loud audio, but it lacks depth. You’d expect a TV-sized laptop to produce TV-like audio but that’s somewhat tinny here. In any case, the roaring fans will drown out the speakers during any serious gaming, which would push you towards headphones every time.

The 1080p webcam is perfectly serviceable for video calls and includes an IR camera for snappy Windows Hello facial recognition, though it lacks a physical privacy shutter.

The real Achilles’ heel, as expected, is battery life. The 90WHr battery just can’t keep up with the power-hungry hardware. You’ll be lucky to get an hour and a half of gaming away from the wall. For lighter tasks like web browsing with the screen dimmed and on the “Silent” power mode (from the Armoury Crate app), you can stretch that to just over four hours. But this still is fundamentally a machine that lives tethered to its enormous 380W power adapter.

Unboxed Take: Who should buy the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18?

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is a breathtakingly powerful machine that blurs the line between a gaming laptop and a high-end desktop. It delivers phenomenal performance that can handle any game at max settings, all displayed on one of the most beautiful screens you’ll find on a gaming laptop.

The trade-offs are expected, as is the Rs 4,49,990 price. But then again, this is supposed to be a top-of-the-line battle station, designed for the pro gamer who prefers just enough mobility to not be tethered to a single desk at home.

For all the above reasons, we’re rating this powerhouse a 4.5/5. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for more such in-depth reviews, and everything tech.