ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D
Powered by the new AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D is currently ASUS’ most powerful gaming laptop and arguably one of the best-performing gaming laptops in the market right now. The additional 3D V-cache on the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D allows it to offer huge gains in gaming performance on certain titles at 1080p/QHD resolutions. When compared to flagship Intel processors like the Intel Core i9-13980HX the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D not only manages to offer competitive scores but better overall power efficiency as well. Unfortunately, the laptop doesn’t sell in India, but if you’re planning on going abroad and want a laptop that features the best of NVIDIA and AMD, then this is the one to go for.
We recently got our hands on the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D featuring AMD’s powerful Zen4 Ryzen 9 7945HX3D processor. While the X3D variant of the ROG Strix SCAR 17 isn’t officially available in India, we couldn’t pass up the chance to test what is currently AMD’s most powerful processor. The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D is the first laptop to feature the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, and we wanted to see if the additional 3D V-Cache helped improve the already fantastic performance on the Strix SCAR 17. First, let’s get the specs out of the way.
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D ( 16 C / 32 T) 5.4 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU
VRAM: 16 GB
Memory: 32 GB DDR5-4800
Display: 17.3-inch, WQHD (2560×1440), 240 Hz
Weight: 2.98 Kg
Price: $3,600
The AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is AMD’s first mobile processor with a 3D V-Cache and the Strix SCAR 17 is the first to feature it. All previous X3D CPUs have been desktop only.
In terms of specifications, the AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D is identical to the Ryzen 9 7945HX. So you still have 16 cores and 32 threads with a max clock of 5.4 GHz. The only difference is the additional 64 MB of 3D V-Cache to the normal 80 MB of L2/L3 cache. If we had to compare the processor, Intel’s 13th gen Core i9-13980HX would come closest, so we’ll be comparing the ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D to the Lenovo Legion 9i we recently tested which features a 13980HX processor.
*Note that all tests were run in an AC environment, with the energy profile set to performance on the pre-installed Armory Crate software.
As you can see, the scores between the two processors are very similar. The higher boost clock of 5.6 GHz on the Intel Core i9-13980HX compared to the 5.4 GHz on the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D means it does better in the single-core performance. The Intel Core i9 also does better in multi-core performance on the Geekbench 6 benchmark, but the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D has a massive leap in multi-core performance in the Cinebench R23 benchmark.
It’s also worth noting that the 7945HX3D is more power-efficient, with a maximum TDP of 75 W. Meanwhile, the Intel Core i9-13980HX has a max boost TDP of 157 W under heavy load. Either way, the scores are fantastic, and those are the highest multi-core performance scores we’ve tested to date on Cinebench R23.
Next, we come to gaming performance. The ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D comes with NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU at a maximum TGP of 175 W; essentially making this laptop a combination of AMD and NVIDIA’s best. Once again, we’re comparing scores with the Lenovo Legion 9i which also features a 175 W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. This will give us a good idea of how the processor impacts gaming and benchmark performance. We’ll start with synthetic benchmarks, for which we use the 3DMark benchmark.
As you can see, scores are great across the board. The SCAR 17 scores better than the Legion 9i in the Fire Strike DirectX 11 benchmarks. However, it scores slightly lower in the Time Spy DirectX 12 benchmarks. Strangely, it does better than the Legion 9i in the Speed Way benchmark, which is also a DirectX 12 benchmark for high-end laptops.
Next, we come to real-world gaming performance.
Again, like with the synthetic benchmarks, the scores are fantastic across the board. CPU-intensive titles like Valorant, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and F123 show a sizeable difference in FPS scores. Civilisation VI scoring lower did come as a surprise though. Both laptops are tied here, with both having higher scores in 4 out of the 8 games that we tested.
We can conclude that the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D does indeed offer improved gaming performance. In the games where it scores lower, it isn’t by much. However, the games where it does perform better are by a large margin.
The SCAR 17 X3D comes with 32 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, which is slower than the 32 GB of DDR5-6400 RAM on the Legion 9i. This is confirmed by the AIDA64 benchmark as well. It also features a slower SSD with read and write speeds of around 7400 MB/s and 6400 MB/s respectively. This is compared to the 12000+ MB/s read and write speeds on the Lenovo Legion 9i. Speaking in general terms the scores on the SCAR 17 are still good; the Legion 9i just has better specs.
Like with any bulky gaming laptop, fan sounds are expected to be loud. The Strix SCAR 17 is no different. The fans will ramp up the moment you run anything intensive. However, if you aren’t doing any intensive tasks, you can switch to the silent profile via the Armory Crate software which kills the fans entirely. This is useful if you’re just watching videos or browsing the internet, and there’s a big difference in terms of sound levels. You should switch profiles before launching any games though.
Coming to thermals, in terms of surface temps, the ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 had the lowest surface temperatures we’ve recorded to date. Even lower than the SCAR 16 we tested recently. The highest temps we recorded were around the centre of the laptop, and it hovered around the ~33 degree Celsius mark even after an hour of constant gaming. Average surface temperatures were only around 27 degrees. Peak CPU temperatures, when put under stress with the AIDA stability test, were 88 degrees. Meanwhile, we recorded peak GPU temperatures of 84 degrees in the Unigine Valley benchmark.
Powered by the new AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D, the ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D is currently ASUS’ most powerful gaming laptop and arguably one of the best-performing gaming laptops in the market right now. The additional 3D V-cache on the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D allows it to offer huge gains in gaming performance on certain titles at 1080p/QHD resolutions. When compared to flagship Intel processors like the Intel Core i9-13980HX the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D not only manages to offer competitive scores but better overall power efficiency as well. Unfortunately, the laptop doesn’t sell in India, but if you’re planning on going abroad and want a laptop that features the best of NVIDIA and AMD, then this is the one to go for.
