The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS is a portable gaming device that also offers a lot on other workloads. It’s not the flagship just yet but boy does it do enough to compete as the top choice for gaming desktop replacements.

Tech upgrades continue to surge even under the “new normal”. As companies are shifting towards, various Work From Home arrangements many are also looking to either upgrade their tech choices or have their first workstation setup that’s ready for any workload. Now, of course, not everyone is required to get the latest and biggest or the most beastly of bad boys, but for those who are willing to spend a little extra would really consider something that, isn’t just made for running different tasks at the same time, but also for that great gaming experience. Mostly the latter.

Enter the latest updated addition to the ASUS ROG line, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS, one of the latest desktop replacement devices from the ASUS Republic of Gamers. A little smaller than its big brother, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17,  the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS runs with an  Intel Core i9 10980HK CPU paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super with a Terabyte of SSD storage. Blessed with the opportunity to play around with it, we tested out how the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS actually performs on stuff that we love to do, particularly, with the games that we love to play.

Tech Specs

Note: Listed below are the actual specifications of our review device.

Build and Aesthetic

The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS follows nearly all of the design notes from the Strix Scar line (duh). A solid, metal-like back panel finish, paired with the matte surface that covers most of the laptop’s body. Screen bezels are thin on the top and on the sides with a larger bezel surface area at the bottom with good enough spacing from the bottom of the screen to the top-most keyboard keys. On the left-hand side, you would find the 3.5mm audio jack and all of the 3 USB 3.1 Type ports, while on the right is the lone keystone port. The rest of the I/O ports, including the power jack, are located behind the unit. While having all of your USB ports at the side of the laptop is a common preference, given that it is the common design choice, ASUS approach would mean that you have to tangle with lesser cables should you opt to add extra inputs such as an additional keyboard and mouse, that is, of course, you’re using the mouse with your Right Hand which is the usual approach. Still having your USB type C and Ethernet cable at the back would mean that they are going to take in a lot of heat as they would sit right in front of the rear exhaust vents.  While it is not the thinnest of gaming laptops, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS  is still portable enough to fit most laptop backpacks, although if you’re looking into the thinner, lighter choices then you might wanna check out the Zephyrus line, still from ASUS ROG.

Also, yes, it has RGB lighting, not just on the keyboard, but also on the bottom for that extra gamer flair. The RGB lighting can be controlled using the ASUS Aura Sync settings accessible using the Armory Crate Software which comes standard with the package.

Talking about the package, aside from the Laptop and its power brick and cords, the  ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS  package also includes the Keystone, an ASUS ROG Backpack, and the ASUS ROG Eye webcam. One other thing to note though is that

Benchmarks – Core Performance and Memory

We ran the usual array of benchmarking tools on the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS  to get a good grasp of how it performs with simulated workloads. Using Cinebench R20 and Blender mainly for core performance, and Aida64 for Memory, plus a few single-core and multi-core performance benchmarks using Geekbench and CPU-Z. Higher net scores mean better performance for the most part, with the exception of Blender and Aida64’s Memory Latency tests, which uses time as a basis of measurement in which case, the shorter the time, the better.

Gaming Performance

We tested the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LWS to see how it performs with our choice of AAA titles. Needless to say, the Intel Core i9-10980HK and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super combo did not disappoint as it maintains a pleasurable gaming experience all throughout our choice of games. Completely surpassing the 60 FPS barrier is still no easy feat however the 300mhz screen refresh rate helps smoothen out any minor dip in frames making the overall experience still very pleasurable. One minor gripe though is that the fan noise is nowhere near the ideal range especially when gaming using speakers, they are, however, very tolerable and can hardly be heard as long as you’re using decent headphones. This is, however, to be expected from a notebook that’s utilizing high-specs.

Wait, hol’ up o.o
Writer’s note:
Due to an unexpected error, the files containing numbers for GTA V and Metro Exodus were corrupted and we are still trying to recover the data to ensure consistency with how we, or at least I, do our gaming benchmarks. This article will be updated as soon as we are able to recover the corrupted files.

The Verdict

The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 – G532LW easily covers most if not all of our essential bases in terms of overall performance. While it may not be at the very top of the Strix Scar Line since that title belongs to its bigger sibling the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, this 15-inch notebook is ready to compete for the title of best desktop replacement for 2020. Compact yet beefy, the ASUS ROG Strix Scat 15 – GT32LW is definitely a top choice for those who wish to upgrade their gaming experience, and get beef up for the next wave of AAA PC titles.