This year, we tested many devices with the most powerful Intel CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs. Most of them are really good, like the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G834, 2023) or the MSI Vector GP78 HX (13V). In the last few months, devices with the mighty AMD Zen 4 Dragon Range-HX CPUs have started to appear. These chips offer great productivity and gaming performance and they are a real threat to Intel's Raptor Lake HX processor series. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) is a laptop with high-end hardware under the hood. There, you'll find the 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX, which is the only CPU variant. This fella is a true monstrosity with its 64MB of L3 cache and 55W default limit. Thanks to the huge vapor chamber cooling system inside this machine, the CPU can boost way over the base limit. GPU-wise, there are two options with 175W TGPs - GeForce RTX 4080 and RTX 4090. They are complemented by a 17.3" 240Hz IPS display with a 1440p resolution. The device brings to the table goodies such as a MUX switch, G-Sync, and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus. Expectedly for such a high price, the I/O includes Type-C ports with DisplayPort support and you get Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity. As you can see, this is a hardcore gaming notebook for wealthy gamers or enthusiasts. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-rog-strix-scar-17-g733-2023/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-strix/rog-strix-scar-17-2023-series/helpdesk_download/ What's in the box? The machine is well-secured in a big sturdy box. Inside, you'll find a huge 330W adapter and some paperwork. Design and construction The laptop looks like a typical ASUS gaming device with a back that is higher than the front. We can see the illuminated ROG logo on the lid that has a protrusion in the center for easier opening. The matte finish doesn't attract a lot of smudges while we saw a lot of fingerprints on the glossy base after an hour of usage. The notebook is made of a combination of aluminum and plastic. The noticeable non-metal parts are the bottom panel and the hinge cover. The dimensions seem standard for a 17-incher with powerful internals - 3.00 kilos of weight and 23.4 ~ 28.3 mm profile thickness. The lower front part of the base houses a big RGB stripe. The lid can be opened with one hand and this happens smoothly. You can flex it averagely, while the base is solid for the most part if you don't count the zones beneath the Arrow keys and the top area of the left palm rest zone. There, we saw some slight bends. The "chin" below the panel is thicker than the other three bezels which are very thin. The "hump" of the top one is a home of a 720p Web camera. The backlit chiclet keyboard has a Per-Key RGB backlight that can be tuned via the ASUS software. There is a row of five keys (for sound control, switching between the power modes, and a shortcut to the Armoury Crate) that is separated from the board. The latter is comfortable for gaming or typing thanks to the long key travel and the clicky feedback (by the way, the keycaps are quiet). It's also nice to see a NumPad section. The touchpad could be bigger considering the form factor of the laptop. The pad is very smooth, fast, and accurate. Unfortunately, the clicks sound loud and we can hear a slight rattling sound when we tap on the surface. Maybe that's an isolated case with our unit. On the bottom of the device, there are many rubber feet, two speaker cutouts, and two big ventilation grills. The hot air is pushed through four vents - two on the back and two on the sides. Ports On the left, we can see two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. ) ports and an Audio combo jack. The majority of the ports are placed on the back - a power connector, a 2.5G LAN, an HDMI 2.1 FRL, and two USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) ports with DisplayPort 1.4 and G-sync support. The latter offers Power Delivery 3.0 capabilities. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) is equipped with a WQHD (Wide Quad High Definition) IPS panel, model number BOE NE173QHM-NZ2 (BOE0B69). It comes with a 240Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 17.3" (43.9 cm), and the resolution - 2560 x 1440p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 170 ppi, and their pitch – 0.15 x 0.15 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 51 cm, which isn't bad at all for a 17-incher (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The maximum measured brightness is 342 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 338 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 6%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6700K („GameVisual – Default“ in the Armoury Crate app). In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 61% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.13 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1070:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023)'s color gamut coverage. Its display covers 100% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, and 99% of DCI-P3, ensuring a super vibrant and attractive picture. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. Below you can compare the scores of the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) with the default settings („GameVisual – Default“ in the Armoury Crate app, HDR off), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right) compared to DCI-P3 color space. The default settings are very good. Also, you can see the default accuracy results in Armoury Crate“ – „GameVisual – Racing. The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. The measurement for the first part of the graph was done in "Default" mode from the "Armoury Crate - GameVisual" application. In this case, the factory settings are good, (in "Racing" mode the image in the dark sections is even brighter). The first five levels of Grey (1%-5% White) are demonstrated by the five squares in the bottom part of the chart. Whether you can see it or not, depends on the display on which you’re reading this article right now, its calibration, your vision, the ambient light, and the viewing angle. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 10 ms. The short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a clear picture in dynamic scenes. Gamers should be happy. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude. Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the display is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) display doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Health Impact: Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Health Impact: Gloss-level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 51.4 GU). Sound ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023)'s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) configuration with 17.3" BOE NE173QHM-NZ2 (BOE0B69) (2560x1440) IPS panel. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the "Turbo" profile activated in the Armoury Crate app. Also, the "Ultime" mode (dGPU-only) is turned on and the AC fan mode is set to "Turbo". CPU options At the time of writing this review, ASUS is offering this device with just one CPU - AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX. GPU options You can choose between two high-end video cards - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 (Laptop, 175W) or GeForce RTX 4090 (Laptop, 175W). We bought a laptop with the latter because we want to torture the vapor chamber cooling. Gaming tests Assassin's Creed Valhalla Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 249 fps 227 fps 193 fps 171 fps Borderlands 3 Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Badass (Check settings) Average FPS 240 fps 207 fps 180 fps 158 fps Far Cry 6 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 162 fps 132 fps 122 fps Gears 5 Full HD, Low (Check settings) Full HD, Medium (Check settings) Full HD, High (Check settings) Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) Average FPS 288 fps 214 fps 204 fps 193 fps Yep, the Geforce RTX 4080 (175W) is a powerhouse. It can show 171 FPS on average in Assassin's Creed Valhalla on Ultra details which is a bit scary, in a good way. For full gaming power when the adapter is plugged in, you have to select the Ultimate mode in the Armoury crate app in order to use the MUX switch (and to eliminate completely the iGPU). [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp. AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX (55W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) 4.35 GHz @ 69°C @ 125W 4.31 GHz @ 77°C @ 124W 4.10 GHz @ 80°C @ 117W ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023) 4.32 GHz @ 75°C @ 120W 4.35 GHz @ 87°C @ 122W 4.21 GHz @ 98°C @ 118W The Ryzen 9 7945HX inside the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) can maintain almost the same clock in short and medium loads as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (GX650, 2023). In longer stress, the G733 sibling can sustain a bit lower frequency but the CPU temperature is way lower which is very good. Considering the 2.50 GHz base clock of the processor, the results are great. Real-life gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) 1871 MHz @ 70°C @ 172W 1881 MHz @ 74°C @ 172W The mobile GeForce RTX 4090 can maintain 1881 MHz and 172W TGP which is super close to the official value of 175W (150W+25W Dynamic Boost). The GPU core temperature is also under control. Comfort during full load The two fans are loud in "Turbo mode". If you want to decrease the noise under heavy loads, you can use the "Performance" preset. On the outside, the hotspot is in the middle of the keyboard, but it doesn't feel hot to the touch. Let's check the fan speed in different scenarios. In idle, the fans aren't spinning during light usage in "Silent" mode. You can hear a very slight noise in "Performance", while in "Turbo", the noise is clearly audible. When the CPU is stressed at 100%, the rotation speed of the fans is 4600-4800 RPM in "Turbo" mode and yes, that's loud. If you want to hear less noise, you can select the "Performance" preset if you don't mind a bit lower processor clock. Interestingly, the CPU frequency isn't bad either in "Silent", while the fans are much quieter. Curiously, while gaming in "Silent" mode, the GPU TGP is around 56W, and the core clock is close to 2000 MHz (more than 100 MHz higher compared to "Turbo"). Because of that, the GPU voltage is raised to 0.825V (and we got 0.775V for the other two modes) while the memory clock is set as low as 202 MHz! That's a clever idea because the core clock matters the most for gaming. The "Performance" mode is the perfect combination of acceptable noise levels and power since the TGP here is ~162W. In "Turbo", you can rely on the full GPU might (ergo, 175W) but the fans are rotating with 4600-4800 RPM (that's noisy). You can also set different fan modes for DC and AC usage. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This notebook's 90Wh battery lasts for 7 hours and 42 minutes of Web browsing, or 4 hours of video playback. To achieve this, you have to select "Optimus" mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel and apply the "Eco" mode (iGPU-only) in the Armoury Crate app. Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance To gain access to the internals, you need to undo 11 Philips-head screws. The bottom right one is captive and it'll slightly lift the plate up so you can begin poping the panel from there. You can start from the front, then, work your way around the sides and on the back. When that is done, raise the panel a little bit from the front side, and detach the battery connector from the mainboard. The next step is to carefully pull out two thin flat ribbon connectors that are powering the front RGB stripe. Here, we have a 90Wh battery. If the connector is already unplugged from the batterboard, you just have to unscrew the 4 Philips head screws that are fixing the unit to the chassis. The capacity is enough for 7 hours and 42 minutes of Web browsing, or 4 hours of video playback. The two SODIMMs can handle up to 64GB of DDR5-4800MHz in dual-channel mode. For storage, there are two M.2 slots compatible with Gen 4 SSDs. The NVMe has a pre-applied thermal pad from below. Now, we can have a look at the massive vapor chamber cooling solution. Some of its components are visible. Like the Arc Flow fans, the two heat pipes, and the four heat sinks. ASUS has applied liquid metal on both CPU and GPU chips. Storage performance Our notebook is equipped with a 2TB SAMSUNG MZVL22T0HBLB-00B00 SSD. The temperature under load of this Gen 4 NVMe reaches 61°C which isn't optimal. On the other hand, we didn't observe thermal throttling. Verdict The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) is a true gaming device that offers one of the most capable CPU and GPU options in 2023. The powerful hardware here is the main event. You get a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX that is showing some mindblowing scores in Cinebench R23 / R24. No matter if you choose to settle for the "base" GeForce RTX 4080 (Laptop, 175W) or opt for the optional 175W RTX 4090 (like we did), you can expect great gaming performance. This is possible thanks to the big vapor chamber cooling system. The CPU can maintain more than 4.00 GHz no matter the task while the temperatures are in check. The video card has no problem keeping its max possible TGP value during gaming alongside normal thermals. On the outside, you can feel a bit of warmness in the middle of the keyboard but that's all - the board is comfortable for usage even when the internals are seriously stressed. The gaming performance is great. Our configuration can show 171 FPS in Assassin's Creed Valhalla and 193 FPS in Gears 5 with maxed-out visuals. The fast display (BOE NE173QHM-NZ2 (BOE0B69)) is a nice addition to the high FPS values. The panel has a 1440p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It covers fully the sRGB gamut and the DCI-P3 coverage is 99%. In addition, thanks to our "Design and Gaming" profile, the color accuracy is enhanced from a 1.5 score (which is respectable for out-of-the-box settings) to an average dE value of 0.8! This means that the panel is suitable for professional color-sensitive work. The lack of PWM usage is good news for the ones who will use the device for long hours. G-Sync and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus are on board too. The upgradability is good - two SODIMMs for up to 64GB of DDR5-4800MHz and two M.2 slots compatible with Gen 4 SSDs. We just wanted to see faster memory here (at least the device has 1Rx8 sticks, which is fine) because the performance of the AMD CPUs can be seriously boosted with snappy RAM. Aside from that, even with not-so-fast memory, the CPU is still a beast. Interestingly, the NVMe gets hot (61°C) while benchmarking but there is no sign of throttling. However, the SSD thermals are normal in standard usage. The keyboard is great - it has a per-key RGB backlight and it's comfortable for both typing and gaming (and it's quiet). The touchpad is fast and smooth but it's a bit noisy for work. The build quality is good with few exceptions here and there. The I/O didn't offer even a single Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 connector but still, the selection is good with two USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) ports and a 2.5G LAN. With that out of the way, we can conclude that the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 G733 (2023) is a gaming powerhouse. The laptop impresses with top-of-the-line hardware, superior vapor chamber cooling, a fast and color-accurate display, and a comfortable keyboard. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-rog-strix-scar-17-g733-2023/