Asus ROG Strix (Scar) 18 2023 Discussion Thread

[electrosoft]

Asus has brought a full on 18" Ada powered, Raptor Lake drive laptop this time around for 2023.

 

They are available in all Nvidia flavors from the 4050 up to the 4090 allowing users to determine their price range based on GPU/Mem/SSD with all models using Intel's top of the line i9-13980HX Raptor Lake based CPU with all other stats staying the same.

 

Information, drivers and support

 

How it looks:

 

First impressions were poor as the stock install kept freezing and wouldn't allow any updates (Nvidia drivers) or changes. The real culprit is Armory Crate as always. After picking through the registry and services I just decided to give it a clean install. Make sure you're running BIOS G306 or later. Do yourself a service and enable BIOS control vs Amory Crate control  in the BIOS and make your adjustments there. The only downside of not running Armory Crate is you get the default rainbow keyboard pattern but it is more than worth the trade off as you can undervolt and more right in the BIOS if needed.

 

Fan noise under load is some of the best I've encountered. Definitely not quiet, but compared to my old MSI and Clevo's it is more than acceptable.

 

There have been numerous reports of GPU coil whine and I can confirm it is there but nothing like a desktop GPU can produce (or my model happens to have a very low amount).

 

Display is very nice but there is a lot of glow and bloom along the bottom. No bad/dead pixels so that's always nice.

 

Keyboard is great and well spaced.

 

I'm so used to Clevo X170SM/KM models that the G18 feels very light.

 

Performance of the 4080 is great along with the 13980HX. It basically performs on par if not slightly better than my Desktop Strix 3080 + 12900k.

 

Temps were good especially for multi as 11th, 12th and 13th still love to push single core to the sky at the cost of bouncing off of 100. I'll end up slowly working an undervolt in to see where I can adjust that while keeping Multi high as the unit topped out at 86c all stock running CB multi and sustained 120w no problem the entire run.

 

Memory timings are as atrocious as expected with DDR5-4800 memory. It will be interesting to see how far it can go with 5600+ memory as they enter the market.

 

Stock runs.....

 

CB23 (not pictured, but single run = 2105).

 

 

Timespy:

 

 

AIDA64:

 

[Clamibot]

Wait so we can now finally pair a high end CPU with a mid range GPU in a BGA laptop? Could I configure this thing with a 13980HX + RTX 4060?

 

This laptop is impressive, especially considering the price and despite it being a BGA machine. The 13980HX + RTX 4080 model is on Best Buy's website for $2500 and is significantly more powerful than my X170. It also costs less than what I've spent on my X170 in total.

 

Must... resist... urge... to... buy...

[electrosoft]

2 hours ago, Clamibot said:

Wait so we can now finally pair a high end CPU with a mid range GPU in a BGA laptop? Could I configure this thing with a 13980HX + RTX 4060?

 

This laptop is impressive, especially considering the price and despite it being a BGA machine. The 13980HX + RTX 4080 model is on Best Buy's website for $2500 and is significantly more powerful than my X170. It also costs less than what I've spent on my X170 in total.

 

Must... resist... urge... to... buy...

 

I see the 4070 version is $1999.99 direct from Asus available now.

 

4050 and 4060 models here but no pricing/availability specs yet but if the 4070 is $2k maybe $1800 for the 4060 and 1700 for the 4050?

 

Wonderful time in the market atm since AMD is bringing the heat with their 7000 series of mobile processors Intel is going full tilt at better pricing this time around.

 

The fact Asus is going to offer all the perks of their 18" Strix with consumer choice of GPU all the way down to the 4050 is pretty righteous.

 

 

[1610ftw]

If they had a workstation version with more memory and storage slots and a less hideous look I would be very interested.

Even the keyboard with its extra keys is quite nice - always liked that.

 

The screen / resolution combo is the best one for me right now and so are noise levels according to people who have used it.

 

There is a 13980HX / 4060 and a 13650HX / 4050 option which makes the 4060 option interesting for people who just want the top of the line CPU.

 

Edit: Looks like the 13980HX is also paired with the 4050 in the US - wow!

[electrosoft]

1 hour ago, 1610ftw said:

If they had a workstation version with more memory and storage slots and a less hideous look I would be very interested.

Even the keyboard with its extra keys is quite nice - always liked that.

 

The screen / resolution combo is the best one for me right now and so are noise levels according to people who have used it.

 

There is a 13980HX / 4060 and a 13650HX / 4050 option which makes the 4060 option interesting for people who just want the top of the line CPU.

 

Edit: Looks like the 13980HX is also paired with the 4050 in the US - wow!

 

I'm glad to see at least Asus breaking away from the forced pairing of top tier CPUs with top tier GPUs. There are many who want the best CPU and only need a mid to lower range GPU for their needs.

 

Overall though the 4070 is disappointing compared to last gen 3070ti. If you want good GPU performance this time around (relatively speaking) it is the 4080 or 4090. They both greatly distance themselves from last gen GPUs. 4080 beats the 3080ti by 25-30% and the 4090 beats it by >50% but is expensive.

 

 

[1610ftw]

9 hours ago, electrosoft said:

 

I'm glad to see at least Asus breaking away from the forced pairing of top tier CPUs with top tier GPUs. There are many who want the best CPU and only need a mid to lower range GPU for their needs.

 

Overall though the 4070 is disappointing compared to last gen 3070ti. If you want good GPU performance this time around (relatively speaking) it is the 4080 or 4090. They both greatly distance themselves from last gen GPUs. 4080 beats the 3080ti by 25-30% and the 4090 beats it by >50% but is expensive.

 

 

Yep, the 4070 is a meh upgrade over the 3070Ti but if the price is right it still is better than the 4060 and 4050.

 

I would not be surprised if Intel and certain companies struck a deal where those companies have to buy a certain minimum number of 13980HX to be able to use them. I think that XMG has alluded to that somewhere. This would also mean that they have to go into a higher number of laptops which for a change is good for the end user.

[tps3443]

Were you able to tune faster memory speeds? 

[electrosoft]

23 hours ago, tps3443 said:

Were you able to tune faster memory speeds? 

 

Nope, frequencies are locked down with the most recent BIOS to 4800. Even if you pop in some 5600 sticks, it will default to 4800. Asus says a BIOS update in the future MAY allow faster speeds.

 

 

[Rengsey R. H. Jr.]

Here is a nice benchmark for the G18 with RTX 4080, OC'ed 

[ryan]

I noticed alot of people are buying 32gb ram configs. Im thinking of upgrading my ram from ddr4 16gb to 64gb because I do alot of gaming at 4k and it seems to chew through the system ram, is 32gb or 64gb worth it for the extra 80?

 

and thanks for the review, I think alot of people were wondering about the 4080 config. Im tempted to save up for a 4080 or 4090 laptop just think that by the time I have 4000 saved the 5000 series will be right around the corner.