While the ASUS ROG Phone undoubtedly stole the spotlight at Computex 2018, that wasn’t the only big announcement from the Taiwanese company. ASUS ROG updates its gaming laptops with the new Strix Scar II and Strix Hero II. The former is built with first-person shooter gamers in mind, while the latter is for multiplayer online battle arena players. The Strix Scar II even has this Kevlar-like, camo look to emphasize this point.
Both are 2.33cm narrower and lighter (at 2.4kg) than the previous generation and come with IPS-level narrow bezel 144Hz displays, which also have 3ms gray-to-gray response time and 100% sRGB. ASUS ROG takes the approach of having three skinny sides and a thicker bottom chin that has the unfortunately placed webcam. A rubber frame surrounds the display to make sure the display is protected when the lid is closed.
These new machines are powered by up to latest 8th-gen Intel Core processor with up to 32GB of DDR4 2666MHz memory and either NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or GTX 1070 graphics, and up to 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 and 1TB Seagate FireCuda solid-state hybrid drive.
To handle the demands your gaming asks for, the Strix Scar II and Hero II come with HyperCool Pro technology. These laptops have an extended cooling plate that soaks up heat and spreads it evenly to avoid thermal throttling and keep chipset power components below 90° Celsius. These also have two high-performance 12V fans that deliver stronger airflow and increased air pressure to cool the CPU and GPU and drive hot air out of the chassis. The new laptops also have Anti-Dust Cooling system, which uses centrifugal force to expel dust particles and dirt out of the chassis and prevents any build-up of the dirt on the heatsink fins. These are less noisy too with the special cooper cooling fins at just 0.1mm thin or half the thickness of regular fins. One other way thermal efficiency is improved is with the trapezoid-cut lid design, which boosts efficiency by up to 27 percent over traditional designs.
You do get varied fan settings for the Strix Scar II and Hero II. These are accessible via the Overboost app (either through pressing FN + F5 or the Gaming Center hotkey). There are three different settings: Fan Overboost, which lets you fully exploit the power of the laptops when playing demanding games; Silent mode, which curbs fan speed and power consumption for less demanding tasks; and Balanced mode, which delivers stable fan performance at a moderate noise level.
For better control, ASUS ROG equips these machines with HyperStrike Pro gaming keyboards. These have desktop-inspired layout with four hotkeys, customizable Auro Sync-compatible RGB backlighting across four zones. The keys are ergonomically-designed with 0.25mm-deep keycap curves and with ROG Overstrokes technology these machines offer earlier key actuation and longer overstroke distance for fast, accurate, and effortless keystrokes. There are even specially highlighted key groups (WASD for Scar II and QWER for the Hero II) with transparent key caps.
The Strix Scar II and Hero II are the first to come with ROG RangeBoost technology. It makes use of four antennas (located at the front and back of the laptop) and a unique algorithm to cover dead spots. It promises 30 percent wider Wi-Fi range than dual-antenna configurations.
When it comes to audio, you get side-firing speakers with smart-amplifier technology that monitors audio output and makes real-time adjustment. Audio output is up to 200 percent louder than before with better dynamic range and bass.
Here’s the full spec sheet for the two variants coming to the Philippines within the second quarter of this year:
| ROG Strix SCAR II (GL504GS) | ROG Strix Hero II (GL504GM) | |
| Display | 15.6″ IPS-level FHD panel (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) w/ 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms GTG response time, 100% sRGB color gamut, and non-glare coating | 15.6″ IPS-level FHD panel (1,920 x 1,080 resolution) w/ 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms GTG response time, 100% sRGB color gamut, and non-glare coating |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows 10 Home | Microsoft Windows 10 Home |
| Processor | 8th-Gen Intel Core i7-8750H | 8th-Gen Intel Core i7-8750H |
| Graphics | For GL504GS: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 VRAM | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM |
| Memory | Up to 32GB DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM (dual-channel) | Up to 32GB DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM (dual-channel) |
| Storage | 256GB M.2 NVMe PCIe, 2.5” 1TB FIRECUDA SSHD | 128GB M.2 NVMe PCIe, 2.5” 1TB FIRECUDA SSHD |
| Connectivity & I/O ports | Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 Wave 2; Bluetooth 5.0; USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2; mini DisplayPort 1.2; HDMI 2.0; RJ-45 jack; SD card reader; 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack; Kensington lock | Wi-Fi 802.11ac 2×2 Wave 2; Bluetooth 5.0; USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB 3.1 Gen 2; mini DisplayPort 1.2; HDMI 2.0; RJ-45 jack; SD card reader; 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack; Kensington lock |
| Audio | 2x 3.5W speakers with smart-amplifier technology; Array microphone | 2 x 3.5W speakers with smart-amplifier technology; Array microphone |
| Software | ROG Gaming Center 2.5, ROG GameFirst V, ASUS Splendid, ASUS Sonic Studio & Sonic Radar III, ASUS Aura Core 2.5, XSplit Gamecaster | ROG Gaming Center 2.5, ROG GameFirst V, ASUS Splendid, ASUS Sonic Studio & Sonic Radar III, ASUS Aura Core 2.5, XSplit Gamecaster |
| VR Ready | Yes | Yes |
| Windows Mixed Reality | Basic (minimum 8GB RAM required) | Basic (minimum 8GB RAM required) |
| Power | 230W power adapter | 180W power adapter |
| Dimensions & weight | 36.1 x 26.2 x 2.61cm; 2.4kg | 36.1 x 26.2 x 2.61cm; 2.4kg |
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar II and Strix Hero II will be available in all ROG Stores nationwide with the Strix Scar II priced at P129,995 and the Strix Hero II priced at P104,995.
