CUK ASUS ROG Strix III G GL531GW Gaming Laptop review
CUK ASUS ROG Strix III G GL531GW Gaming Laptop review
ASUS is focusing on more than just RGB lighting with the third incarnation of its ROG Strix Scar. The company has also included a nice security feature called Keystone along with a host of powerful hardware. The G531GW offers plenty on paper, but can it meet expectations?ASUS sells countless gaming laptops under its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand, which should suit just about any budget. The company caters for the premium market with the likes of the ROG G703GX right down to the sub- ROG Zephyrus G GA502DU. All models share a striking design language, and they should handle most triple-A titles comfortably in at least 1080p. Somewhere in between is the ROG Strix SCAR III, a 15.6-inch gaming laptop that comes with up to an Intel Core i9-9880H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and 32 GB of RAM. Our review unit is the G531GW, which comes with all those components along with a 1 TB Intel 660p SSD.
We have chosen to compare the G531GW against other comparably priced and equipped gaming laptops. Our comparison devices will include the Aorus 15 X9, Gigabyte Aero 15-X9, MSI GE75 Raider 8SF and Schenker XMG Neo 17. You can also add additional laptops into each of our comparison tables below, for reference.
Processor
Intel Core i9-9880H
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Mobile - 8192 MB, Core: 1215 MHz, Memory: 1750 MHz, GDDR6, TU106, FoceWare 419.71, Optimus
Memory
32768 MB
, 2 x 16 GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM, dual-channel, all slots occupied
Display
15.6 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 141 PPI, Sharp LQ156M1JW09 (SHP14D3), IPS, Full-HD, 240 Hz, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM370
Storage
Intel SSD 660p 1TB SSDPEKNW010T8, 1024 GB
, PCIe. 1 x M.2 2280 slot, 1 x 2.5-inch drive bay, 890 GB free
Weight
2.324 kg ( = 81.98 oz / 5.12 pounds), Power Supply: 844 g ( = 29.77 oz / 1.86 pounds
FOR
Strong performance and graphics
Good battery life
Smooth 240-Hz display
Comfortable keyboard
ROG Keystone is neat
Decent speakers
good maintenance and repair options
decent speakers
eye-catching RGB lighting
number pad integrated within the trackpad
Keystone security
AGAINST
No webcam
Thick chassis
weak battery life
no Thunderbolt 3
thunderous fans
underwhelming graphics performance for an RTX 2070 powered laptop
The Strix Scar III's gray hood has a faux-aluminum design brushed so that the lines meet near the center, with half of the hood brushed diagonally and the other half rocking a vertical gradient. The lid has an RGB-lit ROG logo, and below that there's an off-center cutout revealing the deck. Beyond that, the hinge protrudes outward with a pair of copper vents surrounding the additional ports.
Before I even opened the machine, I was greeted by an RGB light bar wrapped around the chassis. Popping open the lid reveals a carbon-fiber deck with a similarly futuristic style, but this time in black and gray.
The keyboard is a decent size, with dedicated media keys just above the keyboard, while the touchpad doubles as a numpad. The orange ROG Keystone is also visible on the right side. Its display has supernarrow bezels on the top and sides, although there is no webcam to be found.
At 4.3 pounds and 14.2 x 10.8 x 1 inches, the Strix Scar III is decently light for a 15-inch laptop, but it's a little thick. The Dell G7 15 (5.5 pounds, 14.4 x 10.8 x 0.8 inches) and the Asus ROG Zephyrus M GU502 (4.3 pounds, 14.2 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches) were much thinner.
Textures and Patterns and Lights, Oh My!
No matter from which direction you approach the Scar III, it's not subtle. A strip of RGB lighting illuminates the front and side edges of the machine, and a large ROG logo glows on the lid. The keyboard features per-key RGB lighting that can be customized for individual games.
Even with the lights off, the Strix Scar III gives off a gaming vibe with its various textured and patterned surfaces and angled cutouts. The thin metal lid has a brushed aluminum texture that moves in one direction over two-thirds of the surface and in a different direction over the remaining third.
Case
ASUS has built the ROG Strix SCAR III with a mostly plastic design, to which it incorporates several textures and finishes. The plastic is surprisingly sturdy, which gives our review unit a premium feel to it. The base unit is impressively robust too, with only the lid giving way slightly when we open or close it with one hand.
The G531GW not only has an RGB backlit keyboard, but also an RGB LED strip around the edge of its bottom case. There is an indent for the removable Keystone security chip, which also lights up when inserted.
The G531GW is comparably compact for a 15.6-inch gaming laptop thanks to its narrow display bezels. It is deeper than our comparison devices though at 275 mm (~10.8 in). However, only the Aero 15-X9 is lighter than our review unit.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III ports
While the Strix Scar III has a decent number of ports, it doesn't have a Mini DisplayPort, which makes setting up VR a little difficult. The left side of the system features three USB 3.1 Type-A ports and a headphone jack, while the backside holds room for the power jack, a USB Type-C DisplayPort 1.4 port, an HDMI 2.0B port and an RJ45 port.
The right side sports the ROG Keystone, which is a magnetic, encrypted key that carries information such as custom lighting effects for the laptop. It can also unlock a piece of storage that's locked on your hard drive. In order to activate this "Shadow Drive," you have to set up an Asus account.
Connectivity
The G531GW has a rock solid selection of ports that should prevent most people from resorting to using dongles or docks. You can connect the latter by USB Type-C should you need to though. The Type-C port also supports DisplayPort if you have the appropriate adapter. The G531GW has an HDMI 2.0b port too, which can output in 4K at 60 Hz. Sadly, ASUS has not included a card reader, which would have been useful.
Communication
ASUS has equipped our review unit with an Intel Wireless-AC 9560 module, which supports Bluetooth 5.0 and up to IEEE 802.11 ac Wi-Fi. Our review unit achieved excellent transfer speeds in our iperf3 Client Wi-Fi tests with our Linksys EA8500 reference router thanks to its 2x2 MIMO antenna. The G531GW finished top of our download test and third in our upload test, but our comparison tables are tightly packed with only a maximum spread of only 10% between devices.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III display
The Strix Scar III's 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 display is decently bright and colorful, but most importantly, it has a smooth 240-Hz refresh rate with a 3-millisecond response time.
In the Morbius trailer, the titular character summoned a ball that glowed a bright red on the Strix Scar III's display. In the cave where Morbius wrangled a bunch of bats, I could see the outline and most of the details of the dark walls. The panel was sharp enough to reveal the pores on Adria Arjona's face.
The brown feathers protruding from Eltariel's shoulder pads were bold and crisp as I walked the dirt roads of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. I stepped into a dimly lit cavern and found my prey, a rat; I followed it up some steps, nailed it with an arrow and took in the picturesque scene of its corpse on the steps (evil laugh). Despite the lack of light, I could see the details in the mossy stone steps.
The G531GW has a 15.6-inch IPS panel that operates natively at 1,920x1,080. The panel has a 240 Hz refresh rate and achieved an average maximum brightness of 252 cd/m² in X-Rite i1Pro 2 tests. This makes the G531GW, which also has an 88% evenly lit panel, the second dimmest device in our comparison table ahead of the Aero 15-X9.
Disappointingly, the display uses pulse-width modulation (PWM) to regulate its luminosity, which can cause eye strain and headaches for some people. The panel in our review unit flickers at 24,040 Hz when set to 29% brightness, which should be a high enough resolution not to cause too many people any health issues. We would still recommend testing the G531GW first before you buy it if you are PWM sensitive though.
ASUS currently offers four displays with the ROG Strix SCAR III including the 240 Hz panel in our review unit. The company gives you a choice between a 90 Hz, 120 Hz or a 144 Hz panel, although they are all 1080p panels.
According to our colorimeter, the Strix Scar III covered 110% of the sRGB color gamut, topping the 109% mainstream gaming laptop average. However, it didn't get past the Dell G7 15's 114% or the Zephyrus M's 152%.
At 275 nits, the Strix Scar III isn't superbright, but it's close to the category average (278 nits). However, it's still slightly dimmer than the Dell G7 15 (303 nits) and the Zephyrus M (280 nits).
Our tests also certify that the display in our review unit has a 0.27 cd/m² black value, which is lower than all but the XMG Neo 17 of our comparison devices. However, its meagre maximum brightness results in a disappointing 985:1 contrast ratio. Correspondingly, colours look rather washed out, while a slight grey tint covers blacks.
The G531GW still manages respectable 97% sRGB and 62% AdobeRGB colour space coverages. ASUS promises that the display will also cover 72% of NTSC, but we were unable to test this at the time of writing. Its AdobeRGB and sRGB coverages are better than all our comparison devices though.
Additionally, CalMAN analysis software and our photo spectrometer demonstrate that ASUS has done a decent job at calibrating the display in our review unit out of the box. The panel has comparably low DeltaE deviations upon delivery, but we managed to reduce these further with additional calibration. We have included the corresponding ICC file in the box above our comparison table should you wish to. It will only improve the colour reproduction of devices with a Sharp LQ156M1JW09 (SHP14D3) panel though and will probably reduce colour accuracy on other displays.
The G531GW is difficult to use outdoors because of its dim and contrast-weak display. Bright sunlight will overpower the panel, but its matte finish does a good job at diffusing reflections, so you should have no issues with using the G531GW outdoors in the shade.
CUK ASUS ROG Strix III G GL531GW Gaming Laptop review
Display Response Times
Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
↔ Response Time Black to White
11.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined ↗ 6.8 ms rise
↘ 4.4 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.8 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 11 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (24.9 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
17.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined ↗ 9.2 ms rise
↘ 8 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.9 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 12 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (39.6 ms).
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 24040 Hz ≤ 29 % brightness setting
The display backlight flickers at 24040 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 29 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.
The frequency of 24040 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.
In comparison: 51 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17183 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 2500000) Hz was measured.
The G531GW has stable viewing angles too, thanks to its IPS panel. Contrast levels drop off at acute viewing angles, but there are no brightness or image distortions. Hence, you should have no issues with reading the G531GW from practically any angle.
Security
ASUS has incorporated several security features within the G531GW. The company has included password protection at boot within the BIOS along with a removable Keystone chip. The latter not only stores your user profile with corresponding RGB settings, but it also decrypts an existing Shadow Drive when it is plugged into your machine. Keystone re-encrypts the data when removed to protect against unauthorised access.
Accessories
ASUS does not currently offer any ROG Strix SCAR III specific accessories other than those included with the device. The company does sell generic gaming and travel accessories such as keyboards, mice and bags though.
Maintenance
The G531GW is easy to maintain and repair. Only a few screws hold the bottom plate in place, the removal of which gives access to all internal components. The battery, RAM, SSD and Wi-Fi module are all easy to swap out, while you can maintain the cooling system too. Additionally, ASUS has included a spare 2.5-inch drive bay, to which you can connect a SATA drive should you need more storage. The company pre-installs the mounting cage and drive cable too.
Bleeding edge power with a premium design
Up to Intel Core i9-9880H
Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU
M.2 NVMe PCIE 3.0 SSD - up to 1TB
Up to 32GB DDR4 2666Mhz SDRAM
1 x Type C USB3.1 (DP capable), 3 x Type A USB3.1, 1 x HDMI 2.0b, 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack, 1 x RJ45 Ethernet port
At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the ROG Strix Scar III as being a bit over-the-top and, well, a little bit lairy. Turned off, it looks like just another high-end Asus laptop, with a brushed gunmetal grey finish, carbon-accented keyboard surround and fancy cooling fins peeking out from the edges. But turn it on and you're greeted by more RGB lighting than your heart could possibly desire.
There's an RGB LED strip wrapped around the underside rim of the frame on this laptop, which leaves your desk bathed in a glorious multi-colour glow that reminds us somewhat of the first Fast and the Furious films. Add to that an RGB logo on the lid and a backlit keyboard and you've certainly got something bright that catches the eye.
The Scar III is more than just a fancy looking slab of tech though. It's also a real powerhouse of a gaming machine. Under that shiny hood lies some serious potential. The top-spec machine boasts a high-end Intel Core i9-9880H, an Nvidia RTX 2070 GPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD. The result of which is some impressive gaming performance.
You'll need all that power if you want to get the most out of the setup, as the Scar III also sports a 240Hz refresh screen with a 3ms response time. You need some seriously high frame-rates to put that to good use.
Essentially, this is a laptop that's designed for serious PC gamers and eSports enthusiasts. But it's equally pleasing to anyone who just wants to run recent games on Ultra settings with ray tracing turned on.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III keyboard and touchpad
Each click of the Strix Scar III's keys felt smooth and offered enough bounce for a satisfying sensation. It was super comfortable to use while typing or gaming thanks to the carbon-fiber palm rest.
I nailed 81 words per minute on the 10FastFingers.com typing test, speeding past my 70-wpm average. The key travel seemed OK, but the amount of heft it took to depress the keys was what made typing on them feel great.The keys are individually RGB-lit, and you can customize the lighting in the Aura Sync tab of the Armoury Crate app. There are presets like Rainbow and Breathing, but if you want to go all out with the lighting, you have to download another app called Aura Creator from the Microsoft Store. Customizing the lighting through that app proved to be overly complicated, however, as Aura Creator functioned more like video-editing software.
The keyboard on the G531GW is likely to divide opinion. ASUS has included half-sized arrow keys, while the omission of a physical number pad will probably annoy some people. The company has printed the keys with pale lettering too that can be difficult to read in bright environments. The Function key numbers are also not backlit, which is an odd decision.
The keys have a soft touch finish and noticeable pressure points, which makes the G531GW suitable for prolonged typing sessions and for working in noise-sensitive environments. The surface of the keys is grippy too, so you should not find your fingers slipping from key to key when typing. The RGB keyboard backlighting is ubiquitous for gaming laptops, but it is a shame to see ASUS include zonal lighting rather than the individually backlit keys that other OEMs include on their gaming laptops.
The 4.1 x 2.8-inch touchpad is relatively soft, offers two discrete clickers and also doubles as a digital numpad, so it's kind of nice. This pad also responds well to Windows 10 gestures like two-finger scrolling and three-finger tabbing thanks to its Windows precision drivers.
Trackpad
The trackpad in our review unit has a smooth finish that works reliably and accurately even with wet fingers. ASUS has integrated a number pad too, which you can access by long pressing on the upper right-hand corner of the trackpad. You can only use the trackpad as a number pad with this mode enabled, but it works well enough.
ASUS has integrated two dedicated mouse buttons too, which emit a soft clicking sound when pressed. The buttons have pronounced pressure points and worked reliably during our tests.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III audio
There are speakers on either side of the Strix Scar III. This machine is not exactly top-firing, but thankfully, it's not bottom-firing either, and the audio was pretty solid.
The bassy instruments that open Low Roar's "I'll Keep Coming" were a bit low, but steady nonetheless. The lead vocals, as well as the backup vocals, sounded full and clear. Some of the percussion toward the middle of the song lacked impact, though. However, I could distinguish between each instrument I heard toward the end of the song as they all came together.
In Shadow of War, I shoved a sword straight into an orc's spine, and the sharp stabbing sound followed by the snap of his bones was pleasantly loud. The speakers provided enough bass to give Celebrimbor's magical abilities the amount of oomph they deserved when I pummeled orcs with my character’s pole arm or hammer. Eltariel's voice was crisp when she grunted or yelled as I rolled in circles around a pack of caragors.
Asus offers the Sonic Studio III audio app, which gives you presets for Music, Movie, Gaming and Communication. Music sounded best for both music and gaming. There are adjustable settings in the presets for Smart Volume, Voice Clarity, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Reverb and Upmix/Surround. You can also apply different presets to specific apps so that you don't have to adjust your audio when switching among music, gaming and movies.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III gaming, graphics and VR
Underneath the hood of the Strix Scar III lies an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM that barreled through Shadow of War at 77 frames per second on Ultra, 1080p as I beat an orc with Celebrimbor's hammer until the creature was cold on the ground.
On the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (Highest, 1080p), the Strix Scar III nailed 55 frames per second, beating the 47-fps mainstream gaming laptop average. The Zephyrus M undershot that mark, at 41 fps, while the Dell G7 15 got close, at 49 fps, with the same GPU.
The Strix Scar III averaged 86 fps on the Hitman benchmark (Ultra, 1080p), sliding past the category average (84 fps) as well as the Zephyrus M's score (73 fps). The Dell G7 15 burst into the triple digits, however, hitting 117 fps.
ASUS has equipped our review unit with a GeForce RTX 2070 GPU, a 12 nm chip based on NVIDIA’s Turing architecture. The GPU supports DLSS and raytracing, which can theoretically create more sophisticated lighting effects than GeForce GTX 10 series GPUs could achieve. The GeForce RTX 2070 is powerful enough to play modern triple-A games in 4K too.
The G531GW achieves decent 3DMark benchmark results in isolation, it is well beaten by many of our RTX 2070 powered comparison devices. Strikingly, our review unit only just edges out our RTX 2070 Max-Q powered comparison devices in 3DMark 11 and Fire Strike, despite theoretically having a 15% more powerful GPU.
On the Grand Theft Auto V test (Very High, 1080p), the Strix Scar III got 64 fps, beating the mainstream gaming laptop average (58 fps) but falling short of the 66-fps mark from the Dell G7 15 and Zephyrus M.
The Strix Scar III scored a 10.3 out of 11 on the SteamVR Performance Test, sailing past the 9.1 category average. However, the Asus couldn't match the perfect 11 from the Dell G7 15.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III performance
Stacked with an Intel Core i7-9750H processor and 16GB of RAM, the Strix Scar III juggled 40 Google Chrome tabs, five 1080p YouTube videos and Spotify without missing a beat while Shadow of War ran in the background.On the Geekbench 4.3 overall performance test, the Strix Scar III scored 23,196, sliding past the 20,284 mainstream gaming laptop average. Asus' machine slowed down against the Dell G7 15 (23,863), but it did beat the Zephyrus M (19,428), and they both have the same CPU as the Strix Scar III.
ASUS has equipped the G531GW with an Intel Core i9-9880H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU and 32 GB of RAM. The company also sells GeForce RTX 2060, GeForce GTX 1650 and GeForce GTX 1660 Ti variants along with Core i5-9300H and Core i7-9750H SKUs.
All variants are powerful to play modern triple-A games smoothly at 1080p. However, we would recommend the RTX 2070 model if you want to game in 4K on an external monitor or play in 1080p with DLSS and raytracing enabled.
The Strix Scar III transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 10 minutes and 34 seconds, surpassing the category average (10:51) as well as the Zephyrus M's showing (10:59). However, the Strix was once against outshone by the Dell G7 15, which nailed 8:05.
Asus' 1TB SSD copied 4.97GB of data in just 9.7 seconds, which translates to 525 megabytes per second and beats the mainstream gaming laptop average (467 MBps). The Strix's SSD even crushed the Dell G7 15's 256GB SSD (127 MBps) and the Zephyrus M's 1TB SSD (392 MBps).
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 with 6GB of VRAM
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB SSD
Display: 15.6 inches, 1080p
Battery: 5:09
Size: 14.2 x 10.8 x 1 inches
Weight: 4.3 pounds
The G531GW performed well in all our gaming tests too. Our review unit breezes through older titles such as "BioShock Infinite" and "Dota 2 Reborn" at maximum details in 1080p, while it averages an acceptable 67 FPS in more complex games such as "The Witcher 3". However, the G531GW achieves approximately 6% lower framerates than what we would have expected from an RTX 2070 powered laptop. Likewise, the Aorus 15 X9, GE75 Raider 8SF and XMG Neo 17 all averaged at least 70 FPS during the same test, underlining that the G531GW cannot get the best out of its GPU, for some reason.
We also subjected the G531GW to an hour-long "The Witcher 3" run-through to determine how the machine manages its performance under prolonged load. Our review unit averaged 66.4 FPS during this test, with it occasionally dipping to a minimum of 62 FPS. Overall, you should experience only a negligible loss in framerates during a prolonged gaming session.
Processor
The Core i9-9880H is an octa-core CPU based on Intel’s Coffee Lake architecture. The processor supports Intel Hyper-Threading, which means that it can execute up to 16 threads simultaneously. The Core i9-9880H also has a 2.3 GHz base clock speed that it can temporarily boost to 4.8 GHz using Intel Turbo Boost. The CPU can also use Thermal Velocity Boost to increase its clock speeds beyond what Turbo Boost would, but only when its core temperatures are 50 °C (~122 °F) or cooler. Hence, the use of Velocity Boost depends largely on the capabilities of a machine’s cooling system. One that kicks in early and keeps a CPU below the 50 °C (~122 °F) threshold should allow it to utilise Velocity Boost effectively.
We subjected our review unit to a looped Cinebench R15 Multi 64Bit benchmark to see how it performed under sustained load. Initially, the G531GW scored 1,310 points, which is well ahead of our Core i7-8750H powered comparison devices. Expectedly, the score for the second run through drops with the CPU having exhausted its turbo clock speeds. Surprisingly, the system peaked at 1,278 points by the fifth benchmark, before settling at between 1,260 and 1,270 points for the remainder of the loop, save for one instance where it dropped to 1,239 points.
Overall, these are impressively stable scores, which demonstrate that the G531GW should not throttle under sustained load, apart from early on when it exhausts its turbo. However, our review unit consistently scores around 10% worse than the P65 Creator 9SF, so the G531GW could be getting more from its CPU.
We should also point out that the system automatically switches to the Balanced power mode when we disconnect the power supply. This causes CB R15 Multi 64Bit scores to plummet to 363. Frustratingly, we were only able to select the more powerful Turbo power mode with our review unit connected to the mains.
System Performance
The G531GW also performs well in system performance benchmarks such as PCMark. Our review unit generally trades blows with the Aorus 15 X9 for first place in our comparison tables. These decent benchmark results reflect our experiences in daily use too. Our review unit always runs smoothly and loads programs quickly. Likewise, the OS boots promptly, and we noticed no micro-stutters or lags even during heavy multitasking.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III battery life
For a gaming laptop, the Strix Scar III has an awesome battery life. When the laptop continuously surfed the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Strix Scar III's battery lasted 5 hours and 9 minutes, outlasting the average mainstream gaming laptop (4:04). The Dell G7 15 (3:12) and the Zephyrus M (3:07) didn't even come close.
The G531GW has a 66 Wh battery, which is a larger capacity than all but the Aero 15-X9 of our comparison devices. Despite this, our review unit finished second bottom in our practical Wi-Fi battery life comparison table with a runtime of just under three hours. Likewise, the G531GW needs recharging over an hour sooner than the average of gaming laptops that we have already tested. Our review unit performs comparatively better in our sustained load battery life test, but it still runs out of battery after just 1:21 hours.
Power Consumption
We expected our review unit to have higher power consumption than our comparison devices because of its more powerful CPU, but the results are startling. The G531GW consumes a minimum of 29 W at idle, which is higher than the maximum idle consumption of all but the Aorus 15 X9 of our comparison devices. Our review unit averages 157 W under load, which is around 40% higher than what our comparison devices averaged under the same conditions. Power consumption peaked at 217 W during our stress test, which is 12% higher than the XMG Neo 17 and 23% higher than the Aero 15-X9 respectively. Surprisingly, the G531GW is slightly more efficient than the GE75 Raider 8SF and the Aero 15-X9 under load.
ASUS includes a 280-W charger in the box. The charger is powerful enough to keep the G531GW charging even under sustained load.
Fan Noise
The G531GW has two fans that work with several heatpipes to dissipate heat generated by the CPU and GPU. Our review unit runs silently during light tasks when set to the Balanced fan profile, but we measured the fan noise peaking at 39 dB(A) at idle.
The fans also reached a maximum of 54 dB(A) during our stress tests, which is loud enough to drown out the speakers even if they are playing at maximum volume. Worse still, they take a while to spin down after prolonged gaming, so you could be browsing the web or replying to emails with the fans running at full tilt.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III webcam
Guess what? No webcam, so I can't trash talk what would've been on the Strix Scar III's bottom bezel. So, if you need a camera, take a look at our page for the best external laptop webcams.
Speakers
Speaker characteristics
The G531GW has surprisingly good stereo speakers. They reached a maximum of 83.8 dB(A) during our tests and delivered a broad sound spectrum. Audio sounds detailed, and the speakers are a worthy replacement for external speakers.
You could still connect external audio equipment using Bluetooth or the 3.5 mm jack though. The latter is a combined headphone and microphone jack that gripped jack plugs tightly during our tests.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III heat
Thanks to the Strix Scar III's plastic chassis, the heat was pretty manageable.
After I played Shadow of War for 15 minutes, the underside hit 109 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just over our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and mouse hit 103 and 83 degrees, respectively. The hottest the machine got was 130 degrees on the underside near the vents, but even that didn't feel very hot — just warm.
The G531GW runs hot too. Surface temperatures peaked at 52 °C (~126 °F) while playing "The Witcher 3", although most of the device remained at between 41 °C (~106 °F) and 50 °C (~122 °F). The palm rest area remained below 35 °C (~95 °F) though, so you could game on the G531GW with it resting on your lap. We would not recommend it though as most of the chassis will feel hot to the touch.
You should have no problems when the system is idling though. Most of our review unit remained at around 30 °C (~86 °F), although the centre of the bottom case peaked at 35 °C (~95 °F). This should not feel uncomfortable against your lap in daily use, in our opinion.
We also subjected our review unit to a one-hour stress test, during which we ran FurMark and Prime95 to push both the CPU and GPU to their limits. Internal temperatures did not reach critical levels, but both components thermal throttled, nonetheless. CPU core temperatures peaked at 84 °C (~183 °F), which caused the clock speed to drop to around 2.3 GHz. GPU core temperatures reached 77 °C (~171 °F), which should not necessarily cause it to limit its performance to prevent it from overheating. However, the GPU downclocks to 1,065 MHz, which is 150 MHz below its base clock speed.
On our normal heat test, streaming a 15-minute, 1080p video, the underside reached 91 degrees, the keyboard hit 86 degrees and the touchpad got to 78 degrees.
Storage Devices
ASUS has equipped our review unit with a 1 TB Intel 660p SSD, which puts the G531GW in the midfield of our comparison devices. The 660p has decent transfer speeds, but it falls just short of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus and around 21% behind its sibling, the Intel 760p.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III software and warranty
Like with its Zephyrus laptops, Asus arms Strix notebooks with the Armoury Crate, which you can use to manage the performance of the CPU, GPU and fans. In the same app, you can also customize the key lighting, aggregate from other launchers, and create profiles for performance and lighting based on what you're playing or doing.
The GameVisual app adjusts the color of your display, and the GameFirst V app monitors and limits your network bandwidth for certain apps. There's also the MyAsus app, which can run system diagnostics and hardware checks on your system.
Windows 10 bloatware includes stuff like Candy Crush Saga, Gardenscapes and Asphalt Street Storm Racing.
Bottom line
The Asus ROG Strix Scar III is quite the impressive gaming laptop, offering strong performance, a 240-Hz panel, long battery life, a clicky keyboard and decent speakers. However, keep in mind that this machine lacks a webcam and the chassis is a bit thickThe ASUS ROG Strix SCAR III G531WG is a solid gaming laptop. Unsurprisingly, modern triple-A games run smoothly on its 240 Hz Full HD display, while its RTX 2070 GPU is powerful to handle games at 4K on external monitors too. The laptop is easy to repair and maintain too, and we are fans of the inclusion of Keystone security. The number pad integrated within the trackpad is also a nice touch and distinguishes the ROG Strix from its competitors.
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR III G531GW is a solid 15.6-inch gaming laptop. However, its loud fans and underwhelming RTX 2070 performance prevent it from attaining top marks.
Disappointingly, the ROG Strix did not perform as well as we would have expected in benchmarks and in our gaming tests. Other laptops simply get more performance out of similar hardware than our review unit can. Additionally, ASUS has equipped the device with punishingly loud fans, which drown its impressive speakers. Unfortunately, you will only be able to appreciate the speakers when you are not gaming. It is a shame that ASUS does not offer a 4K display option too, as the ROG Strix is powerful enough to play modern triple-A titles at that resolution. Overall, the ROG Strix SCAR III G531GW has a lot going for it, but it is let down by some significant deficiencies.
We also subjected the G531GW to an hour-long "The Witcher 3" run-through to determine how the machine manages its performance under prolonged load. Our review unit averaged 66.4 FPS during this test, with it occasionally dipping to a minimum of 62 FPS. Overall, you should experience only a negligible loss in framerates during a prolonged gaming session.
Processor
The Core i9-9880H is an octa-core CPU based on Intel’s Coffee Lake architecture. The processor supports Intel Hyper-Threading, which means that it can execute up to 16 threads simultaneously. The Core i9-9880H also has a 2.3 GHz base clock speed that it can temporarily boost to 4.8 GHz using Intel Turbo Boost. The CPU can also use Thermal Velocity Boost to increase its clock speeds beyond what Turbo Boost would, but only when its core temperatures are 50 °C (~122 °F) or cooler. Hence, the use of Velocity Boost depends largely on the capabilities of a machine’s cooling system. One that kicks in early and keeps a CPU below the 50 °C (~122 °F) threshold should allow it to utilise Velocity Boost effectively.
We subjected our review unit to a looped Cinebench R15 Multi 64Bit benchmark to see how it performed under sustained load. Initially, the G531GW scored 1,310 points, which is well ahead of our Core i7-8750H powered comparison devices. Expectedly, the score for the second run through drops with the CPU having exhausted its turbo clock speeds. Surprisingly, the system peaked at 1,278 points by the fifth benchmark, before settling at between 1,260 and 1,270 points for the remainder of the loop, save for one instance where it dropped to 1,239 points.
Overall, these are impressively stable scores, which demonstrate that the G531GW should not throttle under sustained load, apart from early on when it exhausts its turbo. However, our review unit consistently scores around 10% worse than the P65 Creator 9SF, so the G531GW could be getting more from its CPU.
We should also point out that the system automatically switches to the Balanced power mode when we disconnect the power supply. This causes CB R15 Multi 64Bit scores to plummet to 363. Frustratingly, we were only able to select the more powerful Turbo power mode with our review unit connected to the mains.
System Performance
The G531GW also performs well in system performance benchmarks such as PCMark. Our review unit generally trades blows with the Aorus 15 X9 for first place in our comparison tables. These decent benchmark results reflect our experiences in daily use too. Our review unit always runs smoothly and loads programs quickly. Likewise, the OS boots promptly, and we noticed no micro-stutters or lags even during heavy multitasking.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III battery life
For a gaming laptop, the Strix Scar III has an awesome battery life. When the laptop continuously surfed the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Strix Scar III's battery lasted 5 hours and 9 minutes, outlasting the average mainstream gaming laptop (4:04). The Dell G7 15 (3:12) and the Zephyrus M (3:07) didn't even come close.
The G531GW has a 66 Wh battery, which is a larger capacity than all but the Aero 15-X9 of our comparison devices. Despite this, our review unit finished second bottom in our practical Wi-Fi battery life comparison table with a runtime of just under three hours. Likewise, the G531GW needs recharging over an hour sooner than the average of gaming laptops that we have already tested. Our review unit performs comparatively better in our sustained load battery life test, but it still runs out of battery after just 1:21 hours.
Power Consumption
We expected our review unit to have higher power consumption than our comparison devices because of its more powerful CPU, but the results are startling. The G531GW consumes a minimum of 29 W at idle, which is higher than the maximum idle consumption of all but the Aorus 15 X9 of our comparison devices. Our review unit averages 157 W under load, which is around 40% higher than what our comparison devices averaged under the same conditions. Power consumption peaked at 217 W during our stress test, which is 12% higher than the XMG Neo 17 and 23% higher than the Aero 15-X9 respectively. Surprisingly, the G531GW is slightly more efficient than the GE75 Raider 8SF and the Aero 15-X9 under load.
ASUS includes a 280-W charger in the box. The charger is powerful enough to keep the G531GW charging even under sustained load.
Fan Noise
The G531GW has two fans that work with several heatpipes to dissipate heat generated by the CPU and GPU. Our review unit runs silently during light tasks when set to the Balanced fan profile, but we measured the fan noise peaking at 39 dB(A) at idle.
The fans also reached a maximum of 54 dB(A) during our stress tests, which is loud enough to drown out the speakers even if they are playing at maximum volume. Worse still, they take a while to spin down after prolonged gaming, so you could be browsing the web or replying to emails with the fans running at full tilt.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III webcam
Guess what? No webcam, so I can't trash talk what would've been on the Strix Scar III's bottom bezel. So, if you need a camera, take a look at our page for the best external laptop webcams.
Speakers
Speaker characteristics
The G531GW has surprisingly good stereo speakers. They reached a maximum of 83.8 dB(A) during our tests and delivered a broad sound spectrum. Audio sounds detailed, and the speakers are a worthy replacement for external speakers.
You could still connect external audio equipment using Bluetooth or the 3.5 mm jack though. The latter is a combined headphone and microphone jack that gripped jack plugs tightly during our tests.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III heat
Thanks to the Strix Scar III's plastic chassis, the heat was pretty manageable.
After I played Shadow of War for 15 minutes, the underside hit 109 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just over our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard and mouse hit 103 and 83 degrees, respectively. The hottest the machine got was 130 degrees on the underside near the vents, but even that didn't feel very hot — just warm.
The G531GW runs hot too. Surface temperatures peaked at 52 °C (~126 °F) while playing "The Witcher 3", although most of the device remained at between 41 °C (~106 °F) and 50 °C (~122 °F). The palm rest area remained below 35 °C (~95 °F) though, so you could game on the G531GW with it resting on your lap. We would not recommend it though as most of the chassis will feel hot to the touch.
You should have no problems when the system is idling though. Most of our review unit remained at around 30 °C (~86 °F), although the centre of the bottom case peaked at 35 °C (~95 °F). This should not feel uncomfortable against your lap in daily use, in our opinion.
We also subjected our review unit to a one-hour stress test, during which we ran FurMark and Prime95 to push both the CPU and GPU to their limits. Internal temperatures did not reach critical levels, but both components thermal throttled, nonetheless. CPU core temperatures peaked at 84 °C (~183 °F), which caused the clock speed to drop to around 2.3 GHz. GPU core temperatures reached 77 °C (~171 °F), which should not necessarily cause it to limit its performance to prevent it from overheating. However, the GPU downclocks to 1,065 MHz, which is 150 MHz below its base clock speed.
On our normal heat test, streaming a 15-minute, 1080p video, the underside reached 91 degrees, the keyboard hit 86 degrees and the touchpad got to 78 degrees.
Storage Devices
ASUS has equipped our review unit with a 1 TB Intel 660p SSD, which puts the G531GW in the midfield of our comparison devices. The 660p has decent transfer speeds, but it falls just short of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus and around 21% behind its sibling, the Intel 760p.
Asus ROG Strix Scar III software and warranty
Like with its Zephyrus laptops, Asus arms Strix notebooks with the Armoury Crate, which you can use to manage the performance of the CPU, GPU and fans. In the same app, you can also customize the key lighting, aggregate from other launchers, and create profiles for performance and lighting based on what you're playing or doing.
The GameVisual app adjusts the color of your display, and the GameFirst V app monitors and limits your network bandwidth for certain apps. There's also the MyAsus app, which can run system diagnostics and hardware checks on your system.
Windows 10 bloatware includes stuff like Candy Crush Saga, Gardenscapes and Asphalt Street Storm Racing.
Bottom line
The Asus ROG Strix Scar III is quite the impressive gaming laptop, offering strong performance, a 240-Hz panel, long battery life, a clicky keyboard and decent speakers. However, keep in mind that this machine lacks a webcam and the chassis is a bit thickThe ASUS ROG Strix SCAR III G531WG is a solid gaming laptop. Unsurprisingly, modern triple-A games run smoothly on its 240 Hz Full HD display, while its RTX 2070 GPU is powerful to handle games at 4K on external monitors too. The laptop is easy to repair and maintain too, and we are fans of the inclusion of Keystone security. The number pad integrated within the trackpad is also a nice touch and distinguishes the ROG Strix from its competitors.
The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR III G531GW is a solid 15.6-inch gaming laptop. However, its loud fans and underwhelming RTX 2070 performance prevent it from attaining top marks.
Disappointingly, the ROG Strix did not perform as well as we would have expected in benchmarks and in our gaming tests. Other laptops simply get more performance out of similar hardware than our review unit can. Additionally, ASUS has equipped the device with punishingly loud fans, which drown its impressive speakers. Unfortunately, you will only be able to appreciate the speakers when you are not gaming. It is a shame that ASUS does not offer a 4K display option too, as the ROG Strix is powerful enough to play modern triple-A titles at that resolution. Overall, the ROG Strix SCAR III G531GW has a lot going for it, but it is let down by some significant deficiencies.
CUK ASUS ROG Strix III G GL531GW Gaming Laptop review
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