CES 2021: Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 Gaming Laptop Has World’s Fastest Laptop Screen

This story is part of THESE, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the hottest gadgets from fully virtual CES 2021.

Although more gaming laptops are designed with understated designs to appeal to a wider range of users, Asus’ new ROG Strix Scar is unmistakably designed for gamers. Announced for CES 2021, the new Scar flagship – available in 15.6 and 17.3-inch sizes – is aimed at esports gamers looking for peak performance and the aggressive design aesthetic gaming PCs are known for.

Before we dive into the design, let’s talk about screens. On the 17-inch model, the Scar will be available with a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS-level panel with a 360Hz refresh rate, 3 millisecond response time and sRGB color gamut coverage. 100%. It’s the fastest screen on any laptop, says Asus. If you prefer to have a higher resolution panel, a 2560 x 1440 pixel panel with up to 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time and DCI-P3 to 100 color gamut coverage % will also be available. This screen will be available for the 15-inch version as well as a 1080p 300Hz option.

The configurations will include:

• AMD Ryzen 7 5800H or Ryzen 9 5900HX processor
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 with 8 GB of VRAM or 3080 with 16 GB of VRAM graphics
• Up to 64GB Dual Channel DDR4 3200MHz SDRAM
• 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe (RAID 0) SSD storage

As for the design, the unique look was inspired by sportswear, says Asus. The cases are smaller and thinner than last year’s models, with increased screen-to-body ratios in part thanks to thinner bezels around the screens. The aluminum cover has a slash and a dot matrix design that continues on the back edge of the laptop. RGB lights surround the front of the laptop and illuminate the large logo on the cover.

The keyboard deck is also cut off, and most of the deck has a soft touch texture which is fantastic. The rest is covered with a smoky translucent plastic so you can see some of the underlying components. The keyboard has per-key RGB lighting, but more importantly, Asus used an optical-mechanical keyboard for a 0.2ms response time. The keys are tactile and clickable with 1.9mm of travel, giving you both a good typing and playing experience, assuming the extra noise doesn’t bother you.

The 17-inch Scar’s keyboard has room for a full number pad. For the 15-inch model, Asus used one of its NumberPad touchpads, where if you press the Num Lock key, the glass-covered touchpad turns into an LED-lit numeric keypad. Press again and it disappears. Asus has also included ROG’s Keystone II technology: insert a key into a notch on the right side of the keyboard and you can instruct the system to automatically launch games, change performance modes, or unlock a hidden drive partition and encrypted.

To keep things cool, Asus uses liquid metal on AMD processors, an extended heat sink, and up to six heat pipes. New 84-blade fans push air out of the laptop’s four rear vents. Asus even improved the way the system removes dust from heat sinks and fans while increasing airflow.

Asus has gone above and beyond with the design and features of these new Strix Scar models, but I can’t tell you what the performance looks like yet. Although I spent some time using one, it was a pre-production model so it wasn’t 100% the same as what you will get when they start shipping over the course of the first trimester. In addition, no price has been announced for the two sizes.