Generations after generation, we have reviewed almost every single ROG Strix Scar laptops – and the thing about that is, we notice the immediate changes and improvements in the laptop that makes the new Scar series of laptops, what they are.

This year, we reviewed two different Scar Laptops from ROG. They may look the same, but are they really the same? In this article, well, a guide really, we are going to compare both the ROG Strix Scar 17 and ROG Strix Scar 17 SE to show what’s identical and what’s different.

Aesthetically Speaking…

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Strix Scar
Strix Scar
Strix Scar
Strix Scar
Strix Scar SE
Strix Scar SE
Strix Scar SE
Strix Scar SE

 

Let’s start with the looks of the laptop – now for the most part, ROG has improved the design with little tweaks here and there to make it a lot more refined for every generation. These ROG Strix Scar 17 and ROG Strix Scar 17 SE look pretty much the same as their predecessors with the same angular, more chiselled design which I am a fan of.

In ROG’s style, you can see a lot of scriptures all around the laptop, including one of my favourite design elements – the keyboard area where they have used a translucent finish to give a see-through look.

Obviously, you have the ROG Keystone and they have gone as far as helping you make your laptop, yours – with the Customizable Armor Cap which they have a 3D file of which you can use or customize to print with a 3D printer to print whatever you want.

L: Strix Scar R: Strix Scar SE

These are all the same – including the RGB galore that can really make the Strix Scar be a Christmas lighting ornament. But there is a unique design choice with the ROG Strix Scar 17 SE which no other Scar has ever seen before. Inside the box, you will see a little torch like device that shines Black, also known as UV-A light. Remember those days when we had invisible pens, and only we could see them with a light?

Strix Scar SE

ASUS developed a special ink that sticks to metal and is durable enough to last a little longer – and with the help of that, they have printed a cool cryptic cyber-stylized printing that make it look like it came straight out of Cyberpunk 2077.

Internally: What’s Identical?

There are many identical major improvements under the hood with both the ROG Strix Scar 17 and ROG Strix Scar 17 SE. Let’s go one at a time.

ROG has gone as far as equipping the ROG Strix Scar 17 and ROG Strix Scar 17 SE with WQHD Display which hits a good 100% of the DCI-P3 colour coverage. As for the refresh rate, these displays can go up to 240Hz with 3ms response time. That means, games on these are going to be buttery smooth with Adaptive-Sync. If you happen to consume content a lot, the laptops support Dolby Vision HDR, a feature that works natively on Microsoft Edge.

Powering these laptops are the latest, next-generation hardware with 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, providing a fast AF performance we have never seen before. The Strix Scar and SE we have here today comes default with 2x 16GB DDR5 4800MHz SO-DIMM RAM installed and if you do want to upgrade them to a higher capacity, you can do it by simply swapping in 32GB SO-DIMM sticks for up to 64GB of RAM. Storage on the other hand is no joke either, thanks to the blazing fast PCIe Gen 4 SSD powering these laptops which is crazy good really. What’s different in terms of specification then? Glad you asked…

What’s Different?

At the time of launch for the ROG Strix SCAR, it was one of the few laptops to run the latest 12th Generation Intel® Core™ Processor, specifically the H Series and this time around, all the laptops come equipped with Intel® Core™ i9-12900H Processor 2.5 GHz which puts up an amazing show for users to have all that computing power from their CPU department whenever they need. For such a powerful process, the cooling system should be up to par as well – and ROG did not skimp on this.

The ROG Intelligent Cooling combines the 4 dedicated fan outlets to move the heat out of the system and the processor is cooled with Liquid Metal Conductonaut Extreme. This helps the laptop to keep the temperature at a good range with up to 15-degree Celsius cooler. As for the GPU selection, the ROG Strix SCAR comes in 5 different choices – with two GPU options – NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti or 3080 Ti. As for storage, you get a good 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD.

The ROG Strix SCAR SE on the other hand comes in two configurations and elevates the experience to a whole another level. Powering the SCAR SE is the 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-12950HX Processor – squeezing out every bit of performance from the P and E cores of the processor – with the power limit boosted up to a whopping 65W. To put it simply, this is what an ultimate gaming machine looks like. ROG didn’t stop there, in fact, while it still uses the same Liquid Metal Conductonaut Extreme as the non-SE, it now gets a Vapor Chamber Cooling – to dissipate the heat faster than ever.

Strix Scar SE Benchmarks

Strix Scar Benchmarks

In the GPU department, you get the NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 Ti, with the power limit jacked up to 175W. This too gets the Liquid Metal Extreme treatment. It goes without saying that they put up a good show in any games you throw at this beast. Regardless of whichever Scar you get, be it the normal or the SE, all the laptop comes equipped with MUX Switch to connect your NVIDIA GPU directly to your screen, for higher FPS and lower latency. In short, all the good stuff.

You can also switch to the Integrated Graphics when you need to, allowing you to get more longevity in the battery life department. The Gen4 SSDs – yes, it’s plural – that comes equipped with the Scar SE is nuts – 2x 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 SSD in RAID 0 configuration. With around 14GB/s, you are getting PCIe 5.0 storage speeds, today.

So which ROG Strix Scar to get?

Despite the difference, both the ROG Strix Scar and ROG Strix Scar SE has unique proposition for every user that’s looking for something specific to cater their tastebuds. But whichever you go with, the experience will be worthwhile. You can read our review for the Strix Scar (2022) here and Strix Scar SE (2022) here.


Get your latest 2022 ROG Strix Scar Gaming laptop series from:

ASUS: https://www.asus.com/my/store/Laptops/For-Gaming/
Lazada: https://www.lazada.com.my/shop/asus-laptop-store/
Shopee: https://shopee.com.my/asus_laptop.os