The 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 holds onto its crown with confident performance upgrades and an ultra-customizable display

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 has always been a tricky one to pin down. This line consistently sees some of the more impressive benchmark numbers when I test at the top of the GPU food chain, but last year's model was more of an aesthetic refresh while 2026's iteration is a solid refinement further.

What's new? In a nutshell, a 4K resolution on that fantastic Mini LED display and brand new thermals under the hood. Combine that screen with rising component costs, however, and you've got a rig that pushes well past $4,000 in its RTX 5090 form. The best gaming laptops are all far more expensive this year, but is it worth investing quite so much cash when prices are up? I spent three weeks with the 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 to find out.

Configurations

This is Asus's speedster, so it's keeping its configurations fairly close to the top of the price range. Like last year's, the 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is strictly an RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 affair, but this time it's paired with a slightly upgraded Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor. That's not going to give you too much in the way of real world gaming performance, but is geared towards heavier AI workloads better. All that's paired up with a predictably high amount of RAM, either 32GB or 64GB.

The configuration I've been testing doesn't have a specific street price. It's a pretty standard RTX 5090 / Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus pairing but that 4TB RAID storage isn't listed in too many locations. Still, the extra space isn't going to inform too much from a performance standpoint - expect to pay around $5,000 for an RTX 5090 model with a more modest SSD setup.

Design

Last year's Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 made leaps in the machine's aesthetics. Previous iterations were lumped with a translucent chassis design. Hey, I'm a big fan of transparent tech throwing it all the way back to the '90s, but not when I'm spending a small fortune on a high-end gaming laptop.

Thankfully, 2026's iteration continues the newer matte black finish, with a far more premium look overall. Inside, we've got an understated soft touch plastic with a little more flex than I'd expect for this price but an ultimately solid feel to it. Display hinges also operate with a little wobble but feel secure and smooth. One-handed operation is still very much on the cards here.

The back lid still carries one of my personal gripes. I've never been a fan of Asus's dot matrix display panel on the back. It's pretty redundant, adds to the final price, and creates this scratch of dots across the back of an otherwise sleek looking machine. It doesn't look like Asus is binning this showpiece any time soon, but it can be turned off in Armoury Crate.

We're also looking a little heavier than last year. The RTX 5090 model I've been testing weighs in at 3.7kg compared to 2025's 3.3kg. It's not a massive deal - these aren't gaming laptops designed to be carted around with you, but it's worth noting if you're concerned about the odd road trip.

At the end of the day this is a larger, chunkier gaming laptop than many will typically be hunting for. That's because it's designed as a desktop replacement rather than a truly portable play machine. That extra heft is going a long way in terms of cooling and performance, but there are alternatives if you want to ease transport a little more.

The Razer Blade 18 manages to squeeze top-shelf performance into a 3.1kg package, trimming the thickness down from Asus's 1.38-inches to 1.1-inches. It doesn't sound a lot in the grand scheme of things, but considering that's 3.1kg of CNC milled aluminum on Razer's side, the Blade looks and feels more like a premium purchase overall. In fact, the 2026 Strix Scar is also chunkier than the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W - its second closest competitor. That ones measures in at 1.26-inches thickness and only 3.6kg.

Display

This year's Scar 18 is the first to feature a full UHD+ 4K display, something the previous generation seemed to miss out on. This screen is where Asus makes up some serious ground lost to Razer in its design.

That Mini LED panel packs a serious punch, it's every bit as vibrant as the previous generation with a massive range of colors supplying well-toned, uniform images at enough brightness to combat sunny environments. 2,000 dimming zones also make for an almost-OLED like black response, while still holding that peak brightness.

You'll need to configure the display to get this response, though, with three settings to choose from; one-zone, multi-zone balanced, and multi-zone strong. The former goes straight for high contrast, while the 'balanced' option seems to hit the mid-point between darker details and full-screen brightness. The 'strong' preset goes full force on both brightness and impact.

There's a lot to fiddle with here, but here's my cheat sheet. I got the best results with True Color HDR switched on. That means you won't have access to the additional visual settings in Armoury Crate, but there are so many it's difficult to quickly and easily fine-tune your screen before diving into actually playing on the thing. Flip the switch to enable the Ultimate performance mode and you've unlocked the full 240Hz refresh rate as well. Of course, you'll likely want to switch to different SDR zoning options for different titles, but there's plenty of room to tweak here if you don't like the out-of-the-box visual experience.

The fact that the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 manages to pair that 4K resolution with a full 240Hz refresh rate (under the system's Ultimate mode) is a rare feat. When pushed into UHD settings, the Blade 18 will cap you at 120Hz on its IPS panel no matter how much you fiddle with the controls. For comparison, the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W keeps that sharp Mini LED but also drops you down to 120Hz. In Razer's defence, its FHD+ resolution setting can take you all the way to 440Hz, but there's no QHD middle ground on Sneki's option - here there is.

Ports

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 falls inline with its competition on its ports, with one design caveat. You're still getting three USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections with two Thunderbolt 5s in there, as well as Ethernet, 3.5mm audio and an HDMI 2.1, but these outlets are all positioned on the sides of the device.

Larger 18-inch desk-hoggers typically keep more permanent connections to the rear of the chassis. It's tidier, keeps your right hand free for movement, and ensures vital cables aren't knocked or pulled about too much. With everything relegated to the sides, an accessory-heavy setup is going to get messy real fast. Thankfully your Thunderbolt 5s and HDMI are still kept on the left.

Keyboard and trackpad

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 doesn't do anything particularly fancy with its keyboard, but it's still comfortable and satisfying for both work and play. Its actuation is nice and light for gaming, with a tactile bump and return on the debounce. Everyday typing can feel a little soft, though. There's a nice snap to each keypress, but a surprising amount of flex remains under the main deck area.

You'll still find a full suite of controls here, though. A half-sized number pad sits neatly on the right, with full-sized arrow buttons providing relief after months of testing squished clackers. Additional volume, mic, fan and Armoury Crate controls also line the top right corner of the deck.

The trackpad runs beautifully, with a smooth glide and no unnecessary travel on a harder press. Tap and swipe gestures are picked up perfectly and the entire pad sits solidly in place.

Performance

In FHD, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 manages to out-perform the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W in two in-game benchmark runs, Total War: Three Kingdoms and Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered, while falling just shy of MSI's numbers in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Cyberpunk 2077. It also, however, stays in front of the Razer Blade 18 that only just lost out to the 'most powerful' moniker to the aforementioned Raider.

QHD benchmarks let the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 take a much stronger lead. Here this machine is performing better than the Blade 18 and Raider A18 HX A9W in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Cyberpunk 2077, only taking a slight dip down in Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered.

4K is where things get a little more heated. The Razer Blade 18 still leads in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, though the Scar is hot on its heels with pretty much identical results. The MSI Raider takes a larger backseat in this run.

Both the Scar 18 and Raider get identical benchmark results in Total War: Three Kingdoms at 4K - something I don't think I've seen before, anecdotally. Still these are incredibly impressive scores to be matching.

The story remains similar in Horizon Zero Dawn: Remastered, the Raider is ever-so-slightly ahead here, but the Blade 18 and Scar are performing pretty much identically.

Asus reclaims its lead in Cyberpunk, technically. All three machines are just tip-toeing over that 60fps threshold here, and the Blade 18 drops at RT: Ultra, but the Scar has just nipped to pole position.

We perform synthetic benchmark tests using 3D Mark's Steel Nomad run, as well as Time Spy and Fire Strike. The former is our main indicator of real-world performance, though, with its score offering a greater insight into how each machine will handle more demanding modern releases.

Here, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is pretty evenly matched with its main competitors, but sits towards the middle of my 18-inch pack. We're still comfortably ahead of last year's release, though.

Fire Strike is an easier run, allowing for a finer level of comparison. That MSI Raider score is yet unchallenged, but the Scar 18 is the machine coming closest with 41,777 points putting it comfortably above the Razer Blade 18.

The rig also claims the crown in Time Spy tests, with its 24,194 score putting it well ahead of both MSI and Razer.

It would be inconceivable that a $5,000 gaming laptop with the latest Intel processor, 64GB RAM and an RTX 5090 GPU wouldn't give us full 4K performance no matter what challenged it. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 carries its components well, with the cooling to support a push into the upper echelons of gaming laptop performance. Whether it can beat MSI for sheer power can be determined in a few ways.

Taking things as simply as possible, the Scar beats the Raider in more runs but still trails slightly where sheer power is required. In my tests, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 came out on top against the MSI Raider A18 HX A9W and Razer Blade 18 in 7 tests across 1080p, 1600p, 2400p, and 3D Mark benchmark runs. MSI claimed the throne in 6 instances. That's still pretty squeaky.

The Raider managed to hold its own a lot better in the more demanding categories, scoring higher across two 4K benchmarks compared to the Scar's one, and holding onto the crown in 3D Mark Steel Nomad.

Single-core Geekbench 7 performance goes to MSI as well, with the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D pulling an average of 3,186 across user tests and the Intel inside the Scar 18 only mustering 2,874.

Should you buy the 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18?

At $5,000, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is primarily competing against the Razer Blade 18 and MSI Raider A18 HX. Put simply, each one has their use.

The Razer Blade 18 isn't going to perform as well as these beastly rigs, but it looks, feels, and carries itself a lot better overall. That's your alternative if you still want some semblance of portability in your roster.

The MSI Raider performs better than the Scar when the heat is on, but ultimately these two are pretty evenly matched from a sheer power perspective. Pair the Asus up with that incredibly powerful display and it still makes for the better 18-inch buy overall.

You'll need to be ready to invest, but if you're going for high-end 4K performance with an endlessly tweakable screen the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is still the best 18-inch gaming laptop I've tested so far.

How I tested the 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18

I used the 2026 Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 as my daily driver for a period of two weeks, with an additional week spent testing alongside other PC alternatives. During that time I was primarily playing Farming Simulator 25, High on Life 2, and Doom: The Dark Ages for myself, while performing specific benchmark tests in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and Cyberpunk 2077. Each test was run at 1080p, 1600p, and 2400p three times in both High and Highest settings with the final result here representative of an average.

I also tested the Scar 18 in 3D Mark Time Spy, Steel Nomad, and Fire Strike - again, performing each benchmark three times and taking a final average result. The machine was tested in the system's 'Turbo' performance preset.

For more information on how we test gaming laptops, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

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