ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025) Reviews

Had the same hot-CPU problem from ASUS liquid metal on their Scar; after a PTM repaste the benchmark score rose from 31k to 39k and temps dropped to about 78-80C in games.

Five months with the 5080 model and still loves it: gorgeous mini LED display, strong performance with little heat or noise, tool-free upgrades; Armoury Crate is clunky.

Just received a new unit and noticed a tiny gap where the display panel meets the hinge cover, feeling not fully flush and slightly flexing under pressure.

Loves the 2025 model bought at Microcenter after coming from a headache-prone 4090 MSI; swapped the liquid metal for PTM7590 and it is rock steady.

Owns the 2025 Scar 18, returned a G18 after seeing the mini LED screen, and is very happy with its HDR gaming brightness.

Bought the 2025 model and returned it after a week because of grey screen crashes.

The 5090 unit crashed after two weeks and could no longer complete a Windows 11 install; it was returned for a refund.

Their Scar 18 works fine, but they are unhappy that it lacks good speakers.

Has used the 5090 model since October 2025 with no problems apart from USB devices disconnecting during games when many ports are in use; an externally powered hub fixes it.

Their unit runs fine for about an hour of gaming, then USB peripherals freeze and the keyboard stops responding, forcing a reboot, with or without a cooling pad.

Their unit also ran very hot, and they were told the liquid metal was applied wrongly.

Has played Battlefield 6 daily on the 5080 version since release and says it has gone well.

Bought an open-box unit and upgraded the RAM with no instability; likes the screen, keyboard and lighting, finds the speakers poor, and is very happy overall.

After a month with their 275HX and RTX 5080 SCAR 18 they are selling it to keep an MSI Titan with a better screen and keyboard, though they find the ASUS keyboard lighting brighter and more accurate.

First 5080 unit had a poor factory liquid metal application, throttling at about 50-60 W, so they returned it; the replacement 5090 unit has been great.

Bought the 5090 model at launch. Reports that the heavy screen wobbles and closes slowly by itself, so the hinges feel loose.

Owns the 5080 model; early BIOS and driver bugs are now stable, it hits 100 C in benchmarks, and early startup throttling appeared for a few days.

Loves the laptop; the speakers were weak at first but Dolby settings and a BIOS update made them sound as good as the 2024 models.

Bought the 5080 model, fixed a tweeter wiring problem themselves, and then loved it: strong performance, excellent screen and build, and an outstanding trackpad.

Just got the laptop and loves it on the April 30 GPU driver, believing earlier crashes and keyboard problems were caused by drivers.