ASUS has always been at the forefront of delivering the best available hardware to its laptop range. That trend continues with the release of the ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025), powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs. This beast of a gaming laptop brings the ultimate in performance to your fingertips, ready to go wherever you do.
A Move Towards Replacing Gaming Desktops
The ROG Strix SCAR series has led the way as the flagship gaming laptop for ASUS. Since its initial release a few years ago, it has become more powerful with each iteration. The 2025 variant of this gaming beast has taken a big leap forward, diminishing the gap between gaming laptops and gaming rigs.
The benefit of not needing additional equipment, such as a monitor, gives the gaming laptop some advantage over traditional gaming desktops. However, with its continually improving hardware, gamers can still pair the ROG laptops with the best peripherals, thanks to their connectivity capabilities, which allow for the addition of larger monitors and gaming gear to their setups.
As a result of these improvements, with better hardware and improved chassis, the gaming laptop market has grown threefold over recent years. A mix of casual and professional gamers now prefer high-end laptop, for which it brings performance and versatility.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025) brings with it the ultimate in gaming performance, powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090. The new GPU brings next-generation gaming to the ROG range, delivering the ultimate gaming experience for gamers.
A New and Improved Chassis
The 2025 iteration of the ROG Strix SCAR 18 features an innovative tool-less upgrade system, enabling users to easily swap out the laptop’s hardware. Simply slide a button to open the casing below. This allows users to easily replace the RAM and SSD effortlessly. The SCAR 18 is the only gaming laptop available with this feature.
The Strix SCAR offers a complete experience with its well-balanced chassis and top-tier hardware. Since its initial release in 2019, the SCAR has featured an essentially unchanged chassis. Although it has seen improvements in its manufacturing, including reduced weight and the premium use of materials, the original design was intended to support the RTX 2080. In the six years since, its design ethos remains intact, incorporating the latest hardware, including the RTX 5090.
One of the standout features of the upgraded chassis is the use of ASUS’s AniMe Matrix LED display on the lid. The AniMe LED display made its debut with the ASUS Zephyrus range, featuring a fully customisable array that allows users to add text and animations to enhance overall personalisation. Users can also download custom animations from the market using Amoury Crate.
As is always the case with each iteration, ASUS brings improved materials to its already premium ROG chassis. The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025) features a smooth-textured finish with a premium feel, complemented by its elegant rounded corners.
With the inclusion of the AniMe Matrix LED, improved RGB lighting around the chassis and its new tool-less upgrade design, the Strix SCAR 18 sets the benchmark for flagship gaming laptops. Delivering power is one thing, but doing it with innovation and style is class.
Let’s Keep Things Chilled
With the improved hardware under the hood, it’s imperative to keep things cool. ASUS has featured some of the most innovative cooling systems over the years, pioneering new designs and making considerable strides in mobile computing with each release.
Beyond its improved looks and premium materials, the ROG Strix SCAR chassis has been optimised to deliver the best cooling to ensure peak performance throughout your experience. In addition to the chassis design, there are also three key factors to delivering its superior cooling system:
- Liquid-Metal Cooling: The use of liquid-metal cooling agents, which are applied to both the CPU and GPU, reduces overall temperatures by up to 15°C compared to traditional thermal paste.
- Vapour Chamber Cooling: The liquid-metal cooling is paired with a three-fan heatsink to cover key components.
- Large Rear Exhaust Vents: These exhaust vents span almost the entire rear of the laptop for efficient airflow.
Whatever you throw at it, the laptop was designed to ensure optimal cooling. With its dedicated venting near the keyboard, the laptop also keeps key temperatures below 30°C. This provides better comfort for gamers, especially during those long gaming sessions.
The Next-Generation Gaming Laptop Today
The ROG Strix SCAR is available in 16″ and 18″ screen sizes. Bigger screens have become increasingly popular in recent years, and ASUS offers these variations to meet customer demand, catering to both the more conventional gamer and those looking to go big.
Despite the larger screen sizes, the chassis remains as light as possible, challenging the conventions of compact design. As a result, users can experience the ultimate in gaming performance, with next-level hardware capabilities and breathtaking visuals. Delivering the best results where performance and portability are key.
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 (2025) is an investment in leading hardware, advanced cooling and a premium design. It is available online at ASUS.com, as well as selected retailers. It carries a recommended retail price of R99,999.
