ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 Review: More display and more fun

I recently got to take the gaming powerhouse that is the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 for a spin, loving every minute of gaming on that monster. But ASUS have more, and if you want something even bigger, the Strix Scar 18 is for you. 

Bumping up to an 18-inch ROG Nebula Mini LED Display display, the prices for the ROG Strix Scar 18 start at $6,999 for an Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 275HX with either 16GB or 32GB of RAM and an 16GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 laptop GPU. 

If however you’re absolutely serious about gaming, you can go up to their $8,999 monster, which includes a 24GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and 4TB of storage – and that’s the model that ASUS have sent over for review.  

While it’s the same spec as the Strix Scar 16, a bigger displayis always more fun, so I spent three weeks with the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 and here’s how it went. 

Hardware

Design

If you’re into the gamer design of the ROG Strix Scar line, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025) G835 will not disappoint. From the keyboard with Per-Key RGB, to the Aura Sync Light Bar and Logo, and AniMe Vision display on the back, this is a gamers laptop.

The laptop is of course absolutely dominated by the huge 18-inch Mini LED display, which shares the same 2560×1600 WQXGA resolution as the 16-inch version. 

There’s 1080P FHD IR Camera is also above the display, offering fast logins as you sit down or approach through Windows Hello. 

The lower deck includes a gorgeous – and extremely comfortable to type on backlit chiclet keyboard with keypad that fits quite well without making it feel cramped. The aforementioned per-key RGB lighting lights up the keyboard in an array of programmable options, and there’s a massive touchpad you could possibly play a game of football on if needed. 

There’s plenty of connectivity options with dual USB-A ports on the right, and another on the left alongside a HDMI 2.1 FRL port, 2.5GB RJ45 LAN port and two Thunderbolt 5 USB Type-C ports – and while it’s got a little bit of a booty behind the hinge, it’s pretty compact all up.

Display and Audio

Of course the big change between the Strix Scar 16 and Strix Scar 18 is the larger 18-inch ROG Nebula HDR Display. The Mini LED panel is the same aspect ratio (16:10) and has the same 2.5K resolution, so it’s simply a matter of 188 pixels per inch vs 167 on the 18” display. 

The panel has an anti-glare coating, and supports Dolby Vision HDR and 100% DCI-P3, it’s also Pantone validated so you know the colours look great. 

Again there’s NVIDIA G-Sync support to go along with the super-fast 240Hz refresh rate, so screen tearing isn’t a problem, it’s just super smooth gaming. 

Let’s also not forget this is an 18” display! It’s massive and makes gaming so much more roomier, and productivity wise you can have side-by-side documents setup quite easily.

I loved the audio on the Strix Scar 16, and the larger version is no different with a 4-speaker system with Smart Amplifier Technology tuned with Dolby Atmos. The audio is rich, full and pumps when gaming or just watching movies. 

Anime

The neat Anime display is back on the rear to really enhance personalisation. There’s a range of pre-made animations you can use, or personalise it. 

The display offers a decent resolution if you want to upload your own graphics, with the AniMe display using a series of 810 LEDs shining through 8,353 precision-milled holes in the aluminium lid. 

You can set anything from plain text to your own GIF, editing it all in the Armoury Crate software. 

Performance

As we saw with its smaller twin, the ROG Strix Scar 18 packs a punch with the Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 275HX paired with 32GB DDR5 RAM and 2x 2TB M.2 SSDs in RAID0. When you add in the 24GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU this thing is a killer. 

If all those specs don’t impress you, the Strix Scar 18 features multiple internal slots to upgrade the RAM and storage to your liking. It’s also easy to upgrade those components down the track with a tool-less, removable bottom panel.

In terms of performance, the Strix Scar 18 eats up anything you throw at it.

As with the Scar 16, there’s no concern for performance here. You can run all your favourite apps, and games including AAA titles like Sons of the Forest, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Cyberpunk 2077 and more in Ultra-High settings and nailing 70-80fps. Even your average games like Fortnite, Grounded 2 and Minecraft were just smooth all round.

Crysis remastered even hit impressive numbers in ‘Can it run Crysis’ mode. 

Like the smaller version, the ROG Strix Scar 18 includes an ‘end-to-end vapor chamber paired with a sandwiched heatsink, Tri-Fan Technology, and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal on CPU and GPU’. It’s a good cooling system, however it can get loud under load when gaming. 

In benchmarks, the Strix Scar 18 handles much the same as the Strix Scar 16 with the same Processor, RAM and GPU combo so there’s no surprises here.

Battery and Charging

The Strix Scar 18 includes the same 90WHr, 4-cell Li-ion battery, despite the larger chassis size, and it’s charged by a massive 380W AC adapter included in the box. 

Battery life is decent, though with the larger 18-inch panel sipping from the same sized battery as the Strix Scar 16, it’s a little less than its smaller sibling. I got a smidge over 3 hours at 50% display brightness on their balanced system mode doing office and video work.

While you can game on the Strix Scar 18, that GPU saps the battery, while also stepping down performance, so you get a pretty rough game experience which lasts about an hour before the laptop simply runs out of battery.

That 380W AC Adapter is astonishingly fast, getting you to over 50% charge in 30 minutes before hitting 100% at just over an hour and a half.

Software

Windows

The Strix Scar comes out of the box with Windows 11 24H2, which has support through to October 2026.

Apps

The review unit came out of the box clean, however I found on the Strix Scar 16, that it also had McAfee and other utilities pre-installed. 

I installed the NVIDA App,and the ASUS Armoury Crate app myself, because that’s how useful they are. The NVIDIA app keeps you up to date with the latest drivers, while the Armoury Crate app lets you really control the whole hardware experience. 

There’s no sign of any real bloatware, so relax and enjoy your new laptop, though remember to spend a few minutes checking out the software on your laptop when it arrives. 

Final Thoughts

After a solid few weeks with the ROG Strix Scar 18, this is an extravagance that if you can afford it, you should definitely take advantage. 

While there’s not a huge amount of difference between the Strix Scar 16 and 18, the additional couple of inches in display works amazingly well for gaming, as well as any office work you have. 

The power available for gaming is undeniable, with the Intel Core 9 Ultra and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 absolutely perfect for relaxing with your favourite games, while the massive 18” display and great audio immerses further. 

It also can be put away quite nicely when you’re not using it, so your gaming battlestation doesn’t need to dominate your living space. 

If you’re in the market for a massive gaming rig, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 is definitely what you’re after. You can check it out on the ASUS website.