The ROG team are back with a revamp of their popular gaming laptop, the Strix SCAR II. This time, we have the powerful NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU within. Is this one of the better mid-range laptops available?
Product on Review: ROG Strix SCAR II GL504GV
Manufacturer: ASUS
Street Price: £2000 GBP / $2000 USD / $2000 AUD
The last 6 months have been the most active in the GPU market with a number of prominent hardware launches which saw NVIDIA unveil their RTX 20-series graphics cards. While the desktop variants have come thick and fast, the mobile versions have trickled through well into 2019.
It’s no secret that the RTX 20-series graphics cards are capable of delivering some astounding performance figures but beyond this, we’re also able to utilise exclusive RTX features like real-time ray tracing and DLSS too.
Today we have in our hands the newly released ASUS ROG Strix SCAR II (GL504GV). This gaming laptop is designed to satisfy those wanting a slice of mid-range action via Intel’s Core i7-8750H, 16GB DDR4 and the RTX 2060. ROG has also stepped away from the typical TN panel in favour of the superior 144Hz IPS display.
ASUS on their SCAR II
Strix SCAR II is more powerful than ever before. In addition to an 8th Generation Intel Core processor with up to 32GB of DDR4 memory, it now includes all-new NVIDIA GeForce RTX™ 20-Series GPUs with up to 8GB of VRAM and support for incredibly photorealistic graphics thanks to real-time ray tracing technology and AI-enhanced image processing. Storage is fast and plentiful with up to a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe® 3.0 SSD and a 1TB Seagate® FireCuda™ SSHD. No matter how you equip your Strix SCAR II, you’re guaranteed combat-proven firepower.
Technical Specifications
Below are the technical details surrounding SCAR II from ASUS:
OS
Windows 10 Pro
Display
15.6″ (1920×1080) IPS 144Hz
CPU
Intel Core i7-8750H
Chipset
Intel® HM370
Graphics
NVIDIA RTX 2060
Memory
16GB DDR4 (2666MHz)
SSD
1x 512GB M.2 SSD (PCIe Gen3)
HDD
None (Upgradable)
Webcam
720p / 30fps
Communication
LAN – Gigabit Ethernet
WiFi – 802.11ac
Audio Jack
1x Mic-in 1x Headphone-out (HiFi / SPDIF) 1x Line-in 1x Line-out
USB 3.1 Gen2
2x
USB 3.1 Gen1
2x
Card Reader
1x SD (XC/HC) Card Reader
Video Out
1 x HDMI 2.0 (4K @ 60Hz)
1x MiniDP
Battery (Cell)
4-Cell
Battery (Type)
Li-Ion
AC Adapter
180W adapter
Dimension (WxDxH) mm
361 x 265 x 28
Weight (kg w/ Battery)
2.4 KG
Battery (Whr)
41
Windows 10 Pro
Display
15.6″ (1920×1080) IPS 144Hz
CPU
Intel Core i7-8750H
Chipset
Intel® HM370
Graphics
NVIDIA RTX 2060
Memory
16GB DDR4 (2666MHz)
SSD
1x 512GB M.2 SSD (PCIe Gen3)
HDD
None (Upgradable)
Webcam
720p / 30fps
Communication
LAN – Gigabit Ethernet
WiFi – 802.11ac
Audio Jack
1x Mic-in 1x Headphone-out (HiFi / SPDIF) 1x Line-in 1x Line-out
USB 3.1 Gen2
2x
USB 3.1 Gen1
2x
Card Reader
1x SD (XC/HC) Card Reader
Video Out
1 x HDMI 2.0 (4K @ 60Hz)
1x MiniDP
Battery (Cell)
4-Cell
Battery (Type)
Li-Ion
AC Adapter
180W adapter
Dimension (WxDxH) mm
361 x 265 x 28
Weight (kg w/ Battery)
2.4 KG
Battery (Whr)
41
Closer Look Video Review
For this review we’ve produced a video which reveals a close, detailed overview of SCAR II. Please check out the video below for a comprehensive look at this new product:
Benchmarks: Temperatures
For our first benchmark test we observe the max. CPU/GPU temperatures of the system while allowing Unigine Heaven 4.0 to run on a 30 minute loop. To report back on the temperatures we use CoreTemp and GPU-Z which provide the peak figures.
Benchmarks: Boot Time & Battery Uptime
In this test we observe how fast the boot into Windows 10 is by using a digital stopwatch. Battery uptime is another important observation, for this we charge the notebook up to 100% and then disconnect the charging unit and leave Heaven 4.0 running on a continuous loop until the notebook loses all power.
Benchmarks: Cinebench R20 & 7-Zip
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user. Best of all: It’s free.
Benchmarks: PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is the latest version in our series of industry standard PC benchmarks. Updated for Windows 10 with new and improved workloads, PCMark 10 is also faster and easier to use.
PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With express, extended, and custom run options to suit your needs, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office.
PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With express, extended, and custom run options to suit your needs, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office.
Benchmarks: 3DMark TimeSpy & Port Royal
Time Spy is a DirectX 12 benchmark test for gaming PCs running Windows 10. With its pure DirectX 12 engine, built from the ground up to support new API features like asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading, Time Spy is the ideal benchmark for testing the DirectX 12 performance of the latest graphics cards.
Benchmarks: Metro Exodus, Apex Legends, AC: Odyssey, Fortnite
The SCAR II uses the RTX 2060 for graphics delivery, in this section we test the latest gaming titles to see how effective the 3D capabilities are. We report on the average framerate using FRAPS or in-game benchmark tool.
Conclusion
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR II is a fine example of a good gaming laptop. It may have some minor flaws but for the most part, we’ve been impressed by what the ROG team has presented in this unit.
Beginning with the design, SCAR II adopts a stylish livery which boats a gunmetal texture. Those wanting a good smattering of RGB will not be disappointed as there is designated lighting on the lid, keyboard and front edge – all of which uses Aura Sync and can be synchronised with other devices.
Within there is plenty of good hardware included, the basis for this configuration is Intel’s 8th Generation of Core i7-processors, the 8750H. This six-core, twelve thread CPU offers a great foundation for any mobile system and when its paired up with 16GB DDR4 and the beloved RTX 2060 we have the ideal combo for a powerful machine.
SCAR II will have no problems in delivering competent 3D performance thanks to the hardware and we found it handled games very well – capable of serving up in excess of 60fps when each game is maxed out at 1080p.
It isn’t often you get a 144Hz IPS panel on a gaming laptop but it completely transforms the mobile gaming experience in a rather significant way. Motion is fluid, smooth and satisfying.
There are a few niggles, which can probably be overlooked – CPU temperatures climb up to the 90s and when they do, the cooling fans inside SCAR II ramp up considerably, emitting quite a bit of noise. We also found the placement of the webcam rather odd and something which ASUS should work to adjust next time round.
SCAR II is a delightful gaming laptop which is capable of offering solid gaming performance.
Pros
+ Exquisite design
+ Accurate keyboard/touchpad
+ LED backlit keyboard
+ Great overall performance
+ Features IPS 144Hz display
+ Offers plenty of USB ports
Cons
– CPU temperatures get rather high
– Lacks secondary storage drive
– Only single channel 16GB DDR4
– Webcam placed in strange spot
+ Exquisite design
+ Accurate keyboard/touchpad
+ LED backlit keyboard
+ Great overall performance
+ Features IPS 144Hz display
+ Offers plenty of USB ports
Cons
– CPU temperatures get rather high
– Lacks secondary storage drive
– Only single channel 16GB DDR4
– Webcam placed in strange spot
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