Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV Gaming Laptop Review

Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV Gaming Laptop Review
With all of the gaming laptops that I’ve reviewed, a few themes have at all times stood out to me, and anybody who has learn any of the opposite gaming laptop computer critiques that I’ve written would know, that I love Asus for constructing gaming laptops that don’t appear like large, unwieldy behemoths that I can’t carry on my desk with out attracting an excessive amount of consideration. However, when the Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV arrived at our workplaces, I discovered myself at a loss for the best way to actually describe this laptop computer. It’s not as spaceship-like as gaming laptops just like the Alienware Area 51m, and it’s not as understated as, say, the Zephyrus M that I reviewed some time again. Anyway, I’ve been utilizing this laptop computer as my day by day driver for nearly every week now, and in the event you’re questioning whether or not the ROG Strix Scar III is well worth the Rs. 1,54,990 price ticket, right here’s my overview of the laptop computer.

Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV: Specs

Before we soar into the overview, let’s do what we at all times do and try the {hardware} this laptop computer brings to the desk:

Display 15.6-inch FullHD;
144Hz;
3ms
Processor Intel Core i7-9750H;
2.6GHz, as much as 4.5GHz;
6 Cores/12 Threads
RAM 16GB DDR4 2666MHz
GPU Nvidia RTX 2060;
6GB GDDR6 VRAM
Storage 1TB NVMe SSD
I/O and Ports 1 x Type C USB 3.2 (GEN2) help DP operate;
3 x Type A USB 3.2 (GEN1);
1 x HDMI 2.0b;
1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack/ 1 x Audio Jack Mic-in (Combo Jack);
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack
Connectivity Intel® 802.11ac (2×2) Gigabit Wi-Fi;
Bluetooth 5.0

With that out of the way in which, let’s check out the ROG Strix Scar III.

Design and Build

Like I stated earlier, the second I checked out this laptop computer, I used to be confused about the best way to describe it. The Asus ROG Strix Scar III lands someplace in the course of understated designs and intensely spaceship-like designs. However, as I continued utilizing the laptop computer, I spotted that that’s not a nasty factor in any respect. If something, it makes the laptop computer stand out a bit, with out standing out a lot that it seems to be misplaced; not simply in an workplace area, however at house, in a espresso store, or wherever else you would possibly end up utilizing the laptop computer.

Design clever, Asus has completed what it does so nicely, and nailed the design on the Strix Scar III. I don’t actually have any complaints right here. The lid options the standard Asus brushed-metal end, together with the large, glowing ROG brand, which, by the way in which, isn’t simply crimson right here, it’s really RGB.

Inside, the laptop computer comes with the beautiful FullHD show with minimal bezels on all sides, apart from the underside bezel. However, whereas I’ve stopped calling out laptop computer makers for giant backside bezels on gaming laptops, I wish to give a shoutout to Asus for making this backside bezel look cool. It’s not simply your regular-looking bezel. Instead, Asus has minimize it out on the proper two-thirds and that little design selection offers the entrance of the laptop computer much more character and I dig it.

The keyboard additionally options RGB lighting, and a bunch of keys on the highest for fast and easy accessibility to essential capabilities, which is one thing I’ve began appreciating as I exploit this laptop computer extra day by day. The sides of the keyboard have a pleasant, carbon-fiber-like design sample which seems to be cool, positive, but additionally prevents oily or sweaty palms from leaving prints everywhere in the palm-rest.

On the perimeters you’ll discover the ports, with a really bizarre port on the suitable, and a bunch of ports, together with the charging enter, and the USB-C port on the again.

Of course, since this can be a gaming laptop computer, there’s RGB in locations. The keyboard, like I stated, has RGB lighting. So does the ROG brand on the lid. However, with the Strix Scar III G531GV, Asus has added RGB lighting strips on the bottom of the laptop computer, and whereas these aren’t actually seen whenever you’re really utilizing the laptop computer, the sunshine glows out from the perimeters of the laptop computer and appears unimaginable at night time, or in darker areas.

The laptop computer additionally feels actually sturdy to the contact (and to the flex), and I at all times offers off a sense of being a premium machine, because it ought to.

Display

The ROG Strix Scar III G531GV comes with a giant, beautiful wanting 15.6-inch Full HD show. That in itself is fairly good, with sharp textual content rendering, fairly strong brightness, and nice shade accuracy. However, Asus didn’t cease there. Since this can be a gaming laptop computer, the show additionally presents gaming-oriented options.

This here’s a 144Hz show, which implies that you get diminished movement blur, and simply an total smoother expertise with Windows animations, scrolling, and all the things else. The response time can also be a fairly strong 3ms, which isn’t one thing an everyday person would care a lot about, however as a gamer, that clearly issues to you.

However, regardless that this can be a gaming laptop computer, it’s nice for normal workloads as nicely, and the show displays the identical. It’s a extremely good show, with good colours, nice brightness, and good viewing angles. Everyday duties on this show are a deal with, whether or not it’s writing articles or studying them, or watching films and TV reveals on Netflix (which, by the way in which, is extra reasonably priced now, so yay!)

So yeah, the show on this laptop computer is nice, and I actually don’t have something to complain about right here. Unlike the Zephyrus M GU502GU that I reviewed earlier, this show will get fairly shiny so daylight visibility shouldn’t be an issue.

Performance

Now let’s discuss one of the essential points of a gaming laptop computer – efficiency. The Strix Scar III doesn’t draw back on efficiency in any respect. The laptop computer comes packing an Intel Core i7-9750H processor clocked at a base frequency of 2.6GHz, and a max frequency of 4.50GHz which is nice. There’s 16GB DDR4 2666MHz RAM on board, together with a 1TB NVMe SSD for quick storage, and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

That’s loads of energy, and it reveals in each actual world utilization and benchmarks. I began off my testing with some benchmarks on the laptop computer, and issues look effective right here. In 3DMark Time Spy, the Strix Scar III scores 5,160 factors, whereas in PCMark 10, the laptop computer scores 4,191 factors. I additionally ran Cinebench R20’s CPU check on the laptop computer and obtained a rating of 2377 factors there, which is sweet sufficient.

In actual world utilization too, the laptop computer doesn’t disappoint. I did various office-related work on this laptop computer, with over 15-20 tabs in Chrome open always with an occasion of Photoshop within the background for modifying photographs, and the laptop computer dealt with all of it completely. However, with specs like that, I wasn’t actually anticipating the laptop computer to have bother with some Chrome tabs and Photoshop. I used to be actually excited to examine the gaming efficiency on this factor, and it didn’t disappoint.

In Far Cry 5, which is rapidly changing into one among my favourite video games to check gaming laptops with due to its inbuilt benchmark, I examined the laptop computer in each High and Ultra graphics settings. With graphics set to High (which is the default that Far Cry picked out), I obtained a mean body fee of 88FPS, going as excessive as 102FPS. Switching the graphics settings to Ultra obtained a mean body fee of 83FPS, going as excessive as 99FPS and as little as 70FPS.

That’s fairly spectacular for Far Cry 5, and personally, I performed the sport in Ultra as a substitute of High, as a result of I believe a mean body fee of 83FPS is fairly strong for a recreation like Far Cry 5 in Ultra settings.

I additionally tried enjoying Apex Legends and PUBG, and each these video games additionally work nice on this laptop computer, not that I used to be shocked. In Apex Legends, the laptop computer simply pushed wherever from 75-90FPS in-game, with the decrease FPS values coming in throughout intense gunfights, and explosions. I actually suck on the recreation, however it’s not the laptop computer’s fault. In PUBG, the laptop computer simply obtained round 130FPS in High settings. Changing that to Ultra resulted in a serious drop in body charges, however I used to be nonetheless getting nicely over 90FPS, which is simply superior.

Overall, the efficiency right here is superb, and fairly strong for a laptop computer on this worth bracket. I actually don’t assume the ROG Strix Scar III leaves rather a lot to be desired by way of efficiency; however then once more, that’s true for nearly all the things this laptop computer does, and it does fairly a bit.

Keystone

Normally I’d comply with the efficiency part with the keyboard and trackpad, however the ROG Strix Scar III G531GV comes with what Asus calls a “Keystone.” This is fairly spectacular. This amber coloured NFC key principally unlocks the Shadow Drive contained in the laptop computer. Sounds attention-grabbing? It actually is.

When you first plug within the Keystone within the laptop computer, it routinely launches the Armory Crate utility, the place you may pair the Keystone to your PC, and set it to unlock the Shadow Drive. This is an additional 800GB of storage inbuilt to your system which you can preserve locked and hidden till you plug in your Keystone.

One of the very best use circumstances that I might provide you with for this could be to make use of this laptop computer as a piece/play machine, with the Shadow Drive holding all my video games, so whereas I’m at work, there’s nothing to distract me from working, however once I’m at house I can simply plug within the Keystone and rework the ROG Strix Scar III right into a machine loaded with my favourite video games.

Keyboard and Trackpad

Anyway, coming again to the common circulation of a laptop computer overview, let’s discuss in regards to the keyboard and trackpad. There’s not likely rather a lot to speak about right here, however there are some things I wish to level out.

First, the keyboard feels ridiculously nice to sort on. I’ve used a bunch of Asus laptops previously, and whereas these keyboards had been nice, this one simply feels extraordinarily responsive, straightforward to sort on, and doesn’t trigger fatigue – all of that are positives that I’d need on each laptop computer ever. The keycaps are very barely curved which provides to the consolation and ease of typing on the ROG Strix Scar III.

It’s additionally nice for gaming, due to the correctly spaced arrow keys right here, as a substitute of the silly compact arrow key format you’ll discover on lots of laptops nowadays. Asus clearly doesn’t care about making the keyboard match into an ideal rectangle on its gaming laptops, and that’s effective by me. I’d moderately have a keyboard I get pleasure from utilizing than one thing that appears symmetrical however is totally poor by way of usability.

I’ve spent lots of hours typing on this keyboard; heck I’m typing this overview on the ROG Strix Scar III and never solely is it not tiring to sort on this, it’s downright enjoyable. I really like utilizing this keyboard.

The trackpad too is fairly nice. In typical Asus trend, it’s not among the many largest trackpads I’ve used on Windows laptops, however it’s not small both. It’s fairly well-sized, and it’s a precision touchpad so that you get entry to gestures and higher monitoring, which is superior.

I do have one concern right here – the palm rejection on this trackpad is common at greatest. It errors my palm for precise touchpad enter fairly often, which might rapidly get annoying when gaming as a result of it retains screwing up the crosshair, however can also be annoying whereas typing as a result of the cursor generally strikes away to a random place.

Oh additionally, in the event you appeared on the image above and puzzled what the “Num LK” key’s all about, nicely, merely lengthy press on it, and watch what occurs.

Yeah, there’s a numpad constructed into the trackpad, much like what we noticed with the ROG Zephyrus S GX531GW, besides the trackpad is positioned in its correct place right here.

So yeah, the ROG Strix Scar III G531GV is superb relating to the keyboard and trackpad as nicely.

I/O and Ports

So far, the Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV has nailed virtually all the things, and there’s actually not rather a lot left to examine. Coming to the ports and I/O choices you get with the laptop computer, there’s an honest quantity right here as nicely.

You get three USB 3.0 Type A ports, you get a USB-C port, an RJ-45 ethernet port, a headphone and mic combo jack, an HDMI port, and, in fact, a charging port. Plus there’s additionally the Keystone port.

That’s undoubtedly not a lot of ports so far as gaming laptops are involved, however it’s additionally undoubtedly not a shortage of choices. 

Audio

When I used the Zephyrus M earlier this month, I used to be fairly unimpressed by the audio high quality on the laptop computer. However, the ROG Strix Scar III didn’t let me down by way of audio – the laptop computer’s side-firing stereo audio system get loud sufficient and don’t crackle or distort.

I’ve watched a substantial quantity of flicks and TV reveals on this laptop computer, and I by no means felt the necessity to join an exterior speaker right here, the audio was loud, clear, and balanced. That’s fairly fantastic.

It’s clearly nowhere close to the standard you’d get with headphones, and it goes with out saying that you simply’ll want headphones for gaming, except it’s a extremely informal gaming session. However, for normal utilization like watching films and TV reveals, or listening to the occasional tune, these audio system are undoubtedly greater than sufficient.

Battery

As far as battery life is anxious, the ROG Strix Scar III G531GV doesn’t actually do something nice right here. In my utilization of the laptop computer, which is usually Google Chrome and Photoshop, with the occasional YouTube video, or a TV present on Netflix or Prime Video, the laptop computer lasted round 2.5 to 3 hours on a cost – now that’s effective, however it’s not the very best and it may rapidly get annoying, having to cost the laptop computer each few hours particularly in the event you’re at work.

For players although, that’s not an excessive amount of of a problem, because you’ll most definitely have it plugged in whereas gaming for the very best efficiency. However, in the event you’re planning on utilizing this laptop computer as your gaming beast at house, and workhorse in school or workplace, don’t overlook to deliver the charger alongside.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Great efficiency
  • Comfortable keyboard
  • Good design
  • Display is shiny and sharp
  • Shadow Drive and Keystone are insanely cool

Cons:

  • Battery life is common at greatest
  • Palm rejection on touchpad just isn’t good

Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV Review: Should You Buy It?

So, now that we’ve seen all the things there’s to see about this laptop computer, let’s reply crucial query – do you have to purchase the ROG Strix Scar III G531GV at its Rs. 1,54,990 price ticket. To put it merely, yeah, by all means. This laptop computer presents lots of superb options within the worth. Pair that with the nice design, wonderful efficiency, good audio high quality, and a 144Hz/3ms Full HD show, and that is undoubtedly an important laptop computer to go for.

However, if you wish to avoid wasting money, you can too try the MSI GL63 9SEK which comes with a Ninth-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD and 256GB SSD, and RTX 2060 graphics for Rs. 1,47,389. However, you’ll should compromise on the storage, because the MSI laptop computer comes with a 1TB HDD, whereas the Asus ROG Strix Scar III comes with a 1TB SSD.

Buy the Asus ROG Strix Scar III G531GV from Amazon (Rs. 1,54,990)

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