The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 now looks like a dazzler of a gaming laptop, even if it's still a bit of a paving slab

I reviewed the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) almost a year ago, and I came away fairly impressed. It was a big ol' slab of a gaming laptop, though, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bit old-fashioned.

Having spent some time handling the new model, that looks to have changed. Not the size and weight part, however—to any noticeable degree, at least. 18-inch mega-spec laptops continue to be hefty slices of hardware, so don't go thinking that the new Strix Scar 18 is light enough to carry around with you all day—unless you're built like Schwarzenegger, of course.

And internally it's still got a mighty array of components, this time refreshed for the new generation. That means an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX 24-core CPU and up to an RTX 5090 GPU—with a 175 W max TGP.

Phew. I'll put it on record now that I'm prepared to eat my hat if this thing isn't stonkingly loud at full whack. Just like the old model, although to be fair to it, it was still much quieter than the MSI Titan 18 HX A14V.

Anyway, the insides may have had a refresh, but it's the outer shell that really impressed me when I saw it for myself.

The Strix Scar 18 now feels sleek, and that makes all the difference. The keyboard sits flat to the top of the inner deck, with no dent in the chassis to accommodate it. The finish looks and feels somewhat satin, and seems remarkably resistant to fingerprints—a bug bear of mine on almost all gaming laptops.

Gone is the gaudy underside front light bar, replaced with an all-round RGB strip that looks much more nightclub than county fair. The outer lid now features an AniMe Vision (yep, that's correct) display making use of 810 LEDs to play animations on the outside. Why you'd want to is a bit beyond me, but it's quite the effect in person.

Overall, this laptop now looks and feels special, although I suppose given that Asus has this beast down for a $3,300 MSRP, it darn well better be.

Still, as our Jacob Ridley pointed out, it's even got a tool-less upgrade system that makes a whole lot of sense, too. It looks like Asus has really spent some time giving the Strix Scar 18 a thorough going over, and I can't wait to test one for myself.

Big, bruising laptops might not be the most practical of machines, but if you ask me, this one's now got a desirability factor that simply cannot be ignored.