Last time when we reviewed ROG Strix SCAR II, we really like its design but unfortunately the specifications aren’t powerful enough to run games at its best graphics quality and FPS settings. ASUS announced a new variant of Strix SCAR II featuring the latest GeForce RTX 20 series graphics recently, and we were lucky to get our hands on it. In this ROG Strix SCAR II GL704GW review, we will focus more on the performance since its design and features are basically the same as last year’s version (you can read on our previous review here).

The Specifications

The biggest differences between the old and new ROG Strix SCAR II are the graphics card and RAM. The new gaming laptop is powered by Intel Core i7-8750H processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, 16GB DDR4 2666 RAM and 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD. Although only the GPU and RAM got upgraded, the gaming performance improved by a lot.

For those who are new to NVIDIA GeForce RTX platform, it brings together real-time ray tracing and DLSS to improve the gaming experience at a great degree. Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) is the new RTX technology that uses the power of deep learning and AI to train the GPU to render crisp images while running up to 2x faster than previous generation GPUs using conventional anti-aliasing techniques. In short, your in-game graphics render faster and the game loading time decreases.

The ray tracing simulates the physical behaviour of light to bring real-time, cinematic-quality rendering to the visually intense games. For example in Battlefield V, the car body and puddle of water on the floor reflects the flare and sunlight. Here is a list of games that support the ray tracing technology:

• Assetto Corsa Competizione
• Atomic Heart
• Battlefield V
• Control
• Enlisted
• Justice
• MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
• Metro Exodus
• ProjectDH
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider

The Performance

Other than the usual testing on User Benchmark, 3D Mark and PC Mark 10, this time we will be doing a test on VR Mark as well. All the tests, including the rigorous 3D Mark give out a good score in overall.

User Benchmark

We are expecting a high score on User Benchmark test since the Strix SCAR II comes with very good specifications, and the result doesn’t disappoint us. On the Gaming section, User Benchmark gives out an extremely good score at 105%, which means the laptop can run most 3D games perfectly at the highest graphics settings. On the SSD score, Strix SCAR II got an exceptional result at 168% too.

PC Mark 10

5,243 is a pretty impressive score for PCMark 10 test. It got a high score of 9,266 on App Start-up Score, while for Photo Editing Score, Strix SCAR II comes out with an amazingly good result at 11,018.

3D Mark

To be honest, this was the first time we saw Time Spy running so smoothly on a laptop. The graphics score is 7,376, it manages to get over 42 FPS on both graphics test. We did the Time Spy Stress Test as well, Strix SCAR II manages to get a frame rate stability at 97.3% after 20 loops!

VR Mark

Lastly, we use the VR Mark Orange Room to test out the laptop’s capability. It got an outstanding result of 123 FPS at average, while the score is 5,675 which is higher than most of the VR Ready.

The Gaming Experience

Unfortunately we don’t have many ray tracing supported games in our library, so we will be testing the device with Battlefield V. We also test it with PUBG and Final Fantasy XV that supports the DLSS technology, along with the graphics-demanding Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Of course, we enabled all the in-game effects and are running the games at 1080p.

While playing Battlefield V, the graphics and visual effects come out really beautifully. The lights and flares reflected perfectly, especially when we passed by water puddle or metallic surfaces such as car body and guns.

Guess most of you knew Final Fantasy XV usually takes a long time to load, but the long loading time is not an issue if you are using the new Strix SCAR II. You don’t need to wait a few minutes just to fast travel to another place! Also, you could see that the PUBG map renders really quick while you are parachuting to land. Most gaming laptops couldn’t run Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (all effects enabled) at a stable frame rate, but Strix SCAR II surprisingly runs it at a stable FPS over 40.

Other than these, the previous Strix SCAR II heats up significantly after playing PC games in high resolutions. The issue gets better on the new Strix SCAR II, the left part of the device stays cool after a prolonged period of gaming, while the right part heats up a little bit but doesn’t affect the gaming experience.

The Verdict

As a conclusion, the GeForce RTX 2070 on ROG Strix SCAR II further enhanced its performance, making it more ideal for those who seek powerful performance and stylish design. It would not be a problem for this new Strix SCAR II to run the triple-A games in the coming few years too.

The model we reviewed is the 17-inch version of ROG Strix SCAR II GL704GW (with GeForce RTX 2070 graphics) that priced at RM9,299. It is now available in Malaysia, there are some other variants of Strix SCAR II comes in different pricing as well which you can check out the full list here. Visit the official ASUS website for more info!