ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025), Review

We are in the midst of a change of season, and for ROG's Strix Scar 16 series, it's time for a makeover. Over the last couple of weeks, we've been able to incorporate a model kindly provided by Asus for testing, specifically a ROG Strix Scar 16 G635LW_G635LW, into our work routine, and what you'll find in the following paragraphs are our impressions. 

ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025), design and build 

It may seem strange, especially looking at the photos scattered across the page where the bright tones of the neon lights shining all around its chassis stand out, but the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) is, all in all, a gaming laptop with rather understated and refined lines. With the lights off, or perhaps it would be better to say with the neon lights off, it can easily pass for an excellent business computer, without any particular embellishments of questionable taste: only the translucent logo on the top of the chassis betrays its nature as a gaming machine to the expert eye. Although made of plastic, the frame has a very smooth texture that gives a nice feeling to the part of the arm and hand that come into contact with it, while rounded corners and reduced seams convey an elegant and compact appearance. 

However, other novelties are hidden under the chassis. The bottom part is designed to allow quick access to the SSD and RAM for autonomous replacement, almost like an F1 pit stop, facilitated by Q-Latch technology which uses only a plastic hinge for fastening. For more tech-savvy users, however, the rest of the motherboard is just a few screws away. This is a different approach from how notebooks are usually assembled and highlights another quality of the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025), namely flexibility with a futuristic slant, which allows you to keep your configuration updated over time, starting with top-tier CPU and GPU technology that will perform their task for a long time before obsolescence, while around them the memories update to new standards. A philosophy focused on efficiency that is also reflected in the dimensions, 35.4 x 26.8 cm for a thickness between 2 and 3 cm, and in the weight, 2.65 kg, which allow the machine to be transported and operated on the go: certainly its presence in the backpack will be noticeable, but it's manageable. 

Then, when the going gets tough, you can unleash its more aggressive side, starting with the LEDs placed on the entire base of the notebook that can be animated as desired or connected to the rhythm of what we are doing through the relevant item in the Armoury Crate menu, the ROG device support app. That's not all; in the same menu, in addition to the aforementioned Aura Sync, there's also Aura Wallpaper (which we already discussed in our review of ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14) and AniMe Vision, which manages 810 LEDs that shine through 8,353 precisely milled holes on the front chassis through which still or moving images can be displayed and customized. We took a few minutes to experiment with a personal creation, and within a few clicks, the Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger was proudly waving on our ROG Strix Scar 16.

ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025), performance and specifications

Despite dimensions that are, all in all, standard for a notebook, under the hood of the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) model we had for review are many of the best components currently available for a gaming laptop. The processor is Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 275HX at 2.7 GHz, the graphics card NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Laptop ROG Boost (a wattage increase under certain conditions to unleash the GPU's full power), plus 32GB of DDR5 RAM at 5600MHz (expandable to 64) and a 1TB SSD. All of this is supported by NVIDIA's Optimus Advance technology, which ensures faster data transmission to the video without intermediate steps, and above all by the additional power that Turbo Mode distributes to the system, 240W in its most extreme form. 

And indeed, this power is felt while gaming: we launched GTA V Enhanced, Japanese Drift Master, Hearts of Iron IV, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Shadows of Doubt, as well as DOOM: The Dark Ages, and in all cases, we played with settings on Ultra (or equivalent) well above 60FPS. With the latest Bethesda shooter, we tried an extreme experiment: we started the game with the same settings, but without battery power, achieving the surprising result of a playable level still on Ultra, albeit with some (understandable) framerate drops. 

However, while gaming is certainly the main activity for which the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) was conceived, all this abundance of power can also be diverted to other daily or productivity-related activities, without loss of comfort. The notebook's design allows for long and comfortable work thanks to the ample space left below the keyboard where wrists can rest (on a very smooth surface!) next to a trackpad significantly larger than standard. Despite its compactness, the keyboard has good travel and the key sensitivity is almost perfect; the numeric keypad is missing, but this is compensated by compactness, and the control keys are placed at the top, in line with the power button. In addition, a light breeze rises from the cooling system, filtering between the keys and keeping hands cool and dry during typing. 

The display of ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025)

The display of the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) is also an upgrade from the past. The series now features a ROG Nebula HD display, a mini-LED with 1200 nits of peak brightness and 100% color space coverage: we're not quite at the jaw-dropping levels of the ROG Zephyrus G14, but we're not far off. The display itself is excellent, vibrant, with very good color reproduction, aided by a double ACR layer that reduces reflections, while under the chassis, the Nebula HDR engine works to further improve performance. Vivid colors and deep blacks are therefore guaranteed, and the minimal bezel framing the display complements the notebook's refined design, making for a monitor that stands out among the best in this range. 

ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025), battery life and portability.

If you've grasped what was said above about the machine's impressive wattage, you can imagine how demanding it is in terms of power. Even disconnected from the mains, the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) can hold its own thanks to its 90 Wh battery. Obviously, it depends on what you intend to do: gaming is measured in a few hours, but when used for productivity, the ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) can be used for roughly an entire workday depending on intensity. In this sense, we found the system's ability to self-manage by switching between different consumption configurations depending on the task being performed and the battery charge status to be very interesting, but it's the support for normal chargers (up to 100W) with USB-C that is truly compelling. In practice, you can use your phone charger to give your ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) a boost in a moment of difficulty, even without its power adapter at hand. 

On the go, the main limitation is the weight, which makes not so much carrying it in a backpack uncomfortable, but rather small repositioning movements in the room during use. In any case, external light and noise ( within normal limits) do not pose a problem thanks to the screen, which we discussed above, and the 4 speakers. If desired, you can even record outdoors using the integrated noise cancellation technology managed by the AI processor (but don't expect miracles in traffic; the best results are still obtained in a home environment). 

ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025): the final verdict

The ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) offers a solid, expandable system for the future, built to achieve maximum speed especially in gaming, but with a design that (with the neon lights off) stands out for its soft and understated lines. The 2025 redesign has also improved the distribution of the elaborate internal cooling system, with a lesser impact on noise, which is obviously still perceptible when the GPU's power is fully utilized. In its price range, it is a very, very interesting product, also and especially for the ease of hardware upgrades that can potentially extend its life cycle considerably, and for its extreme reliability and versatility in current use.