The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L) is one of the first gaming laptops released to feature NVIDIA's RTX 50-series mobile GPUs, and it arrived at my doorstep over the weekend.
It's a massive 18-inch desktop replacement made for PC gamers who like to move around, and as one of ASUS's flagship releases, it's dripping in high-end features to match the extreme performance potential.
While I plan on taking this laptop through an extensive set of synthetic benchmarks and real-world tests for a comprehensive review, I wanted to document the unboxing experience as well as my first impressions after unwrapping and turning it on.
Disclaimer
This hands-on was made possible by a review sample provided by ASUS. The company had no input on the content of this article, nor did it see the article before it was published.
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.
Opening the box, you're treated to a pop-up function that pushes the laptop towards you while also highlighting some standout features on the inside of the lid.
The laptop comes wrapped in plastic that must be removed, and there are some feature advertisement stickers that should also be removed before going any further.
Removing the laptop from the box reveals some documentation and the rather massive 380W AC adapter tucked away below.
ASUS uses a proprietary power connector for the laptop that resembles USB-C, only a bit chunkier.
The adapter has plenty of reach with the stock cabling, something that's not always considered by laptop makers.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L): First impressions
With the laptop unboxed, unwrapped, and juiced up, it's time to get some first impressions regarding the design, display, keyboard, and performance.
Design
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 is no small laptop, but its proportions are in check. It has clean lines, a slight wedge shape, and about as much thermal venting as possible.
Automotive racing is claimed to be the main inspiration for the redesign, and I think that's an apt comparison due to the laptop's streamlining. It's huge, but it doesn't look huge — if that makes sense.
ASUS has gone with a smooth-touch finish that reminds me of modern ThinkPads. My limited time with the laptop suggests it's very prone to fingerprint smudges, hence the gloves in some of my photos. It feels great, but that's the tradeoff.
Rather than install ports along the rear edge for easier cable management (which I love), ASUS has reserved the back of the laptop for exhaust venting.
It's joined by an array of cutouts on the bottom panel, and the ROG STRIX name is hidden in there, depending on the angle you view it at, for air intake.
That leaves the side edges free for ports (and some smaller venting). Dual Thunderbolt 5 ports provide cutting-edge physical connectivity, and they're joined by 2.5GbE, HDMI 2.1, three USB-A, and 3.5mm audio.
On the outside of the lid, ASUS has installed its AniMe Vision display. With 810 LEDS and more than 9,000 machine-drilled cutouts, it can be customized to show images or words.
Further expanding the laptop's style is an unbroken RGB halo light bar that runs along the outside edge of the system's lower half.
Display
ASUS did not skimp on the display in the ROG Strix SCAR 18, and I can tell already it's going to be a stunner for PC gaming.
It's an 18-inch mini-LED display with more than 2,000 individual dimming zones, and the ROG Nebula HDR engine is on board to produce the best local dimming possible.
Usually, one of the biggest struggles when shooting laptop photos is screen glare, but even with mid-morning sunlight streaming in, I was able to get clear shots.
That's thanks to the 1,200 nits peak brightness and ASUS' Ambient Contrast Ratio (ACR). ACR now has two layers on the display.
ASUS says the first layer cuts reflections by up to 55% and boosts contrast by up to 45%, while the other adds clear viewing angles up to 180 degrees. It seems to be working.
The mini-LED display boasts extras like Dolby Vision, NVIDIA G-Sync, VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, 100% DCI-P3 color reproduction (which I'll test firsthand), Pantone validation, and TÜV Rheinland certification.
Keyboard and touchpad
The laptop's base is so big that there's plenty of room left over even after adding a full keyboard with number pad, dedicated media controls, and some extra macro buttons.
ASUS says this "eSports-grade" keyboard has switches rated for 20-million key presses, with quicker activation than usual.
First impression? There's plenty of travel, and key spacing feels right. Each key has customizable RGB lighting.
The touchpad is still mechanical with moving parts, unlike a haptic touchpad, but it is 36% larger than the previous generation.
I don't know any gamers who use a touchpad when gaming, but creators and designers using this laptop for other duties will appreciate the extra pointing space.
Performance hardware
ASUS is the first laptop maker that I've seen offer toolless entry on the bottom panel. You just slide a catch, shift the entire bottom panel forward, and pull it away to reveal the hardware inside.
I hope this becomes the industry norm, at least for high-end gaming laptops.
Inside, you have quick access to system memory (stacked SODIMM modules), solid-state drive, and the system's three fans.
ASUS has included dust filters here, and it looks like they're easy to clean. As someone who lives with two cats, this is greatly appreciated.
Beyond the immediate access to RAM and SSD, you can remove the next panel's fasteners with a screwdriver to reveal the full motherboard and the new vapor chamber that ASUS cooked up to accommodate NVIDIA's RTX 50-series Laptop GPUs.
The vapor chamber now stretches from end to end, and it's sandwiched between two heatsinks. There are three fans in total; two handle the usual airflow across the CPU and system components, while the third is made specifically to cool the GPU and its VRAM.
The air intake extends across the keyboard deck, and ASUS sees this change as a way to reduce heat buildup on the keys while gaming. I'll be sure to test that in my review.
How much space the mobile RTX 5090 and the revamped cooling system from ASUS take up inside the laptop is evident as soon as you see the size of the battery.
At 90Wh, it's not at the maximum amount allowable on commercial flights (99.9Wh), but I don't think ASUS is even pretending like this laptop can comfortably run for more than tens of minutes without AC power.
I was shocked at how little space the battery takes up inside. It's tucked away along the bottom edge of the PC, well away from the heat generated by the major system components.
ASUS says the system can handle up to 255W of power for the CPU and GPU combination. The mobile RTX 5090, in this case, can hit its maximum 175W, although the Core Ultra 9 CPU looks to top out at 80W.
That's below the 160W maximum the chip can hit in Turbo boost, but well above the 55W base TDP. I will be sure to perform the right tests to analyze power balancing.
It's also worth noting that the ROG Strix SCAR 18 supports NVIDIA Advanced Optimus, which can boost battery life and performance by allowing the discrete GPU to directly control the display rather than routing it through the integrated GPU.
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G835L): Where can I buy it?
I will return as soon as possible with a full review of the Strix SCAR 18 (G835L), but if you can't wait any longer, you can find it for sale.
The new gaming laptop is, at the time of writing this hands-on preview, available in three different configurations.
The baseline model starts at $2,699.99 and can be purchased from ASUS. It has a Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.
👉 NVIDIA's RTX 5090 laptops are a terrible value
Next up is the ROG Strix SCAR 18 with the same CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. It costs about $3,400 at Newegg or B&H. It looks to be sold out everywhere at the time of writing.
Finally, there's the flagship model, complete with Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD. It's hard to find right now, but there's a third-party seller offering it for $5,449 at Amazon, well above the $4,500 MSRP that's listed at Best Buy.
These numbers will hopefully fall as more retailers receive stock from ASUS, although the landscape of tariffs and regulations on tech won't make it any easier to get a decent deal.
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