ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 Gaming Performance Review: APUs are the future of gaming laptops

With the Ryzen 6000 series, AMD hopes to significantly improve the efficiency and performance of a variety of laptops. One such device is the ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17, it is comes powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 6000 series APU based on the 6nm process. Additionally, the laptop also features the latest RTX series GPU from Nvidia, a brand new 2k screen, and much more. 

The ROG Strix Scar G17 sits as a premium gaming laptop in the ASUS lineup. The main usage of this gaming laptop includes gaming, streaming, video editing, and other demanding workloads. The laptop also claims high-efficiency numbers as well therefore a comprehensive battery test is also a priority for this laptop. 

ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 Specs

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX 8-core 16-threads with 3.30GHz base clock and 4.9GHz boost clock

GPU: Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti (GA104M die) with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM and 150W TGP

RAM: 16GB DDR5 SDRAM running in quad-channel mode

Storage: 1TB SSD

Display: 1440p 2k display with 240Hz refresh rate, 300 nits brightness

Battery: 90Wh

Weight: 2.9kg

ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 Benchmark Performance Review

The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX is an 8-core 16-thread APU featuring a Radeon 680M GPU. The Zen 3 CPU uses a 6nm process and has a base clock of 3.3GHz and a boost clock of 4.9GHz. Meanwhile, the integrated GPU comes features 12 cores and a 2400MHz clock speed. Unlike previous gen, this integrated GPU is based on the RDNA 2 graphics architecture. For reference, the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X consoles also use the same RDNA 2 based GPU. 

The laptop also comes with DDR5 RAM and the Ryzen 9 6900HX also has support for LPDDR5 RAM type support as well. Meaning, there is a probability of thin and light devices making use of these AMD Ryzen based CPUs as well. It is difficult to find how much the DDR5 RAM impacted performance in gaming as the RAM slot does not support DDR4 memory. 

However, the memory is running in Quad-Channel mode, which is instantly better than a DDR4 memory running in double channel mode. However, the benchmark figures the laptop managed to achieve does leave most other laptops we tested last year in the dirt. In the PC Mark, 10 extended benchmark, which tests a PC’s overall performance the ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 achieved a score of 9198, which is one of the highest amongst all the laptops launched last year. 

Moving on to the CPU benchmarks, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX scored 14017 in multicore and 1576 in a single-core test. Making the Ryzen 9 6900HX probably the fastest AMD laptop processor in terms of single-core performance, as of right now. In terms of everyday usage, the laptop is pretty snappy. Even during the 10-minute long Cinebench R23 multi-core test, the CPU managed to chug in a maximum of 82W. It is way more than the default TDP (45W) of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX but that number is more for advertisement purposes as opposed to a real-world performance indicator. In real-world usage, a laptop will use as much TDP as possible and the Ryzen 9 6900HX delivered great results without using too much power.

Moving on to the GPU performance and the RTX 3070 Ti easily aces the FireStrike and TimeSpy benchmarks. In fact, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 scored as well as the same last year’s AMD-Advantage variant featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 5000 series CPU. Proving that an AMD Radeon 6000 series GPU can push the overall performance of the 2022 ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 even further. 

ASUS ROG Scar Strix G17 Battery Performance Review

The battery test is one area where the ASUS ROG Scar Strix G17 delivered a fantastic result. The laptop was tested using PC Mark 10’s inbuilt battery benchmark which stimulates Microsoft office, video calls, and other apps on a loop until the laptop shuts off. To get the best possible performance, the laptop was put in the lowest power consumption mode, its refresh rate was limited to 60Hz, and its brightness was at 70%. 

The laptop returned an astonishing battery life of upto 10 hours, which is insane for a gaming laptop. In a real-world scenario, users can trust the 2022 G17 laptop to last almost all day, provided they put this machine in efficiency mode first. However, most users won’t get 10 hours of battery life but more like 6-7 hours, which is equally great for a high-end gaming laptop of this calibre.

ASUS ROG Scar Strix G17 Display Performance Review

The 2022 G17 comes with a 2k IPS WQXGA display with support for up to a 240Hz refresh rate. However, the screen is only in a 16:9 format. It is objectively less appealing and functional compared to a 16:10 display. 

Furthermore, the screen has a maximum brightness of 300nits, which is decent enough but it should have at least 450-500 nits of brightness. The 2022 ROG Strix G17 also comes with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, which improves the experience of watching HDR content on this device as well. Bezels on the three sides of the laptop are pretty thin, but its chin is relatively thick. As a result, the laptop still lacks a webcam.

During the ColorChecked analysis, the laptop got an average Delta E of 3.5, which is not very colour accurate but still a good figure. The screen is not for professional colour grading but it is good enough for casual video, photo editing, content consumption, and of course gaming.

ASUS ROG Scar Strix G17 Gaming Performance Review

The ASUS ROG Scar Strix G17 gaming performance is split into two parts. The laptop comes with a powerful discrete GPU, the Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti, and also a capable integrated GPU, AMD Radeon 680M based on RNDA 2 architecture. 

The first set of tests includes multiple games running at 1080p resolution at high settings with the ASUS laptop in Turbo mode in Windows 11. These tests give us an idea of the maximum gaming potential of the 2022 ROG Scar Strix G17. And here are the results. The ASUS gaming laptop performs as expected. It delivers close to 100FPS in all the games. We can crank up the FPS even higher and take full advantage of the 240Hz display by turning down the graphical preset as well. 

The second gaming test is a bit unusual. The AMD Ryzen 6000 series could very well be an indication of the future of gaming laptops. It is totally possible in the near future that APUs, like the 6900HX, become powerful enough to run all the games without a discrete graphics card. Therefore, for the next test, the ASUS ROG Scar Strix is running games solely with the help of the Ryzen 9 6900HX APU featuring the Radeon 680M integrated graphics. The result is honestly pretty surprising. The games are running at 1080p resolution and low settings. 

The FPS mentioned are still quite low by discrete GPU standards. Even an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 can beat some of these numbers. However, it is a step in the right direction. 

ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17 Gaming Performance Review: Verdict

So the obvious question is, with so many laptops available in the market, why should one opt for the ASUS ROG Strix Scar G17? The simple answer is “Performance Per Watt.” With each CPU generation, chipmakers have the same goal, reduce the power consumption and increase performance.

With the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, we’re finally at a point, where we have an almost perfect balance between those two. Additionally, the 2022 Scar G17 also features equipment like DDR5 RAM, a gorgeous 2k display, liquid metal cooling, and a lot of other stuff which makes it a future-proof investment for your money.