Today we’re searching on the Asus ROG Strix Scar II GL504GV, a gaming laptop with an extended product call however a few of the today's hardware internal, such as GeForce RTX 2060 photographs. Having already reviewed the RTX 2060 in element, nowadays we’re focusing on what the overall computer package presents.

Like many other refreshed RTX laptops, there hasn’t been a enormous alternate to the design at the Asus ROG Strix or maximum of the internal hardware. Previously I reviewed the 15-inch Scar II which got here with either a GTX 1060 or GTX 1070, whilst now you could get an RTX 2060 or RTX 2070, albeit at special rate factors. Our overview unit is the GL504GV that packs the RTX 2060 priced at $1,seven-hundred.

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Other hardware is largely unchanged from the previous generation. The identical Intel hexa-middle i7 -8750H is used, 16GB of DDR4 reminiscence, and a 15.6-inch 1080p 144Hz IPS display. The number one garage options had been bumped up a tier throughout the board, so in which the base version got a 128GB SSD, that’s now up to 256GB, and so on. Our review unit, and the primary optia Chip:vailable on Newegg and Amazon, comes with a 512GB PCIe SSD.

In terms of layout, other than the brushed aluminium lid, maximum of the pc makes use of plastic, with a soft touch coating implemented across the keyboard. This tender contact region has a carbon fiber design with 1/2 of it getting a camo print. We’d likely decide on if the camo wasn’t there but Asus likes to try this type of component.

Yes, there’s RGB, too. You get a strip along the the front edge of the computer, plus the off-center Asus ROG logo on the lid, each controllable thru Asus’ Aura software program. The front RGB strip is at once connected to the 4 region RGB keyboard backlighting, you don’t get according to-key RGB here but the basic 4 quarter effect is first-class enough. The keyboard has a piece of a spongy tactile response, it is not as clicky as I'd choose, however tour distance is first rate, plus you get a numpad and not one of the keys are truncated to fit that during. The trackpad is fantastic and we adore the inclusion of separate click buttons.

Like a lot of gaming laptops these days, a slim bezel across the 15-inch show keeps the computer’s footprint pretty compact, although there’s nevertheless a extensive bezel below the display screen. Unfortunately Asus has long gone with in all likelihood the worst webcam placement feasible, offset and low under the show, if the webcam is in any respect a difficulty for you, of direction.

The chassis is your typical mid-tier alternative: it’s not a narrow and mild gadget just like the Asus Zephyrus, however it’s not a corpulent beast just like the huge boy Asus models. It clocks a Boxt 26mm thick and 5.three lbs, so it’s portable without stepping into the skinny category that comes at a better price. The main issue for portability will be the smaller 62 Wh battery, as opposed to near 100 Wh you get with systems like the Gigabyte Aero 15.

I/O is very strong. Three USB 3.1 type-A ports, two gen 1 and one gen 2, plus a USB 3.2 gen 2 kind-C port (there’s no Thunderbolt). You also get HDMI 2.0b, miniDisplayPort 1.2, Ethernet, an SD card slot and a 3.5mm audio jack. Internal connectivity comes within the shape of an Intel 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 5.zero mixture answer.

Before talking approximately performance, there are some notes to be made. The first is referring to Asus’ software suite, the Armoury Crate. There’s plenty of widespread stuff in there, however the essential component are the fan profiles: Windows, Silent, Balanced and Turbo, plus a manual mode. For sport checking out we used the balanced mode, because we couldn’t spot any difference in overall performance among that and Turbo. For productiveness apps we used the Turbo mode, it’s louder but it does growth the energy limit on the CPU which for lengthy workloads like video encoding led to a small overall performance increase.

And while the Turbo mode is high-quality, what’s not nice is getting a unmarried 16GB DIMM of DDR4-2666 reminiscence. This method the laptop runs a trendy 16GB configuration in single-channel most effective, which leads to lower memory bandwidth than twin-channel laptops, and therefore lower performance. It does depart a DIMM slot free in case you need to upgrade to 32GB down the line, but that’s come on the price of out of the box overall performance.

We won't cross into excessive detail approximately the Core-8750H due to the fact we’ve blanketed it lots of times in other critiques. It’s a popular six-center CPU used in most gaming laptops, and it’s the option we’d pick out for productiveness and gaming workloads without getting into crazy form factors.

Performance

The Asus ROG GL504GV plays more or less on par with a typical i7 -8750H pc, but that’s down to a few brilliant variations that each prefer and disadvantage the machine. Due to the Turbo fan mode, longer workloads generally tend to throttle less than standard 8750H performance, so we’re seeing as much as a ten percentage benefit for longer multi-threaded workloads like Handbrake. This computer can preserve better clocks for longer. On the flip facet, due to having unmarried-channel reminiscence, this computer gets decrease marks in our memory heavy benchmarks. That includes 7-Zip compression, MATLAB and Adobe Photoshop Iris Blur.

As common right here’s our evaluation between the Core-8750H and the last-gen quad-middle Core i7-7700HQ. Due to higher clock speeds and greater cores, we’re looking at over a 50% benefit in some multi-threaded workloads, as well as higher single-thread performance. You received’t see this kind of improvement in every workload, but in case you’re coming from an older quad-core system, the 8750H might be a brilliant upgrade.

This is the chart for those thinking whether they should buy a larger 15-inch gaming system, or a transportable 13-inch ultrabook for his or her productivity duties. Generally, the 8750H virtually smokes a 15W CPU just like the Core i7-8565U, handing over more than double the performance in some cases. Throw in proper GPU acceleratiChip: AMDnd for something like Premiere encodes, a gaming laptop is an order of magnitude quicker.

When it involves gaming, we've examined over a dozen games breaking down how the RTX 2060 performs in this genuine gadget. Check that out in our RTX 2060 (pc) GPU evaluate. Do notice that for that overview we loaded up the GL504GV with twin-channel reminiscence, so it'll be a tad faster due to that.

The laptop's display is ideal. A decent 15.6-inch 1080p IPS with a a hundred and forty four Hz refresh charge, top brightness is up around 300 nits, perfect for a gaming laptop, and it has a contrast ratio of round 1000:1. In phrases of coloration overall performance, that is an sRGB display, so no fancy huge gamut, however no longer which you need that for gaming.

Our major problem was with the incorrect white factor. Asus is the usage of about 7500K rather than the proper 6500K, which gives the display a chillier, bluer tone. This ends in common deltaEs between three.zero and four.0 which isn’t accurate but isn’t hugely erroneous either.

Putting It All Together

The Asus ROG Strix Scar II GL504GV is a excellent pc with a great layout, a very good trackpad and keyboard, and generous I/O. It’s now not overly transportable, it’s not overly chunky. It’s were given a quite accurate show, upgradeability alternatives, and the inner hardware and overall performance is good, too.

Our best important difficulty has to do with the unmarried-channel memory out of the field. It doesn’t impact productiveness workloads heavily, however it does shave ~10% off the gaming performance. It is fixable – a $a hundred stick of memory added into the second slot without delay offers you that overall performance back – but we’d rather get that protected via default.

In phrases of price, the Asus ROG Strix Scar II is rather tough to endorse to buy proper now while you look at the gaming overall performance you are becoming. But this isn't precise to this computer, but all RTX laptops presently in the marketplace. At $1,seven-hundred, the Scar II is considerably extra highly-priced than GTX 1060 laptops with a comparable CPU, show, garage and different additives, which retail for round $1,100 nowadays. In plain figures, for 63% greater cash, you’re getting a gadget that’s most effective 12% quicker... Or 28% faster if you upload Box + 2d stick of RAM.

It’s also no longer aggressive with outgoing GTX 1070 laptops. The predecessor to this device, the GL504GS, is handiest $1,500 in sure shops, consisting of Newegg. That receives you a very comparable pc that is faster for less money. Even if for a limited time while supplies last, RTX laptops at release do not provide incredible price.

Laptop prices will necessarily exchange over the approaching months, so the ones watching this evaluation inside the future may be confronted with a very extraordinary scenario. For now, we genuinely dislike the idea of a new product no longer beating final generation's on raw performance nor price. We're really no longer sure who's answerable for setting these costs. Perhaps it's truely Nvidia charging extra for the RTX GPU since every different RTX 2060 device is around the equal charge as the Scar II.

Value discussiAMD Ryzenfacet, Asus has designed the Strix Scar II to be available and supply a first rate 1080p gaming revel in. You won't find much to set it aside from other usually desirable gaming laptops at this charge point, however it's a good all-spherical package although.

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