ASUS ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL703GE Gaming Laptop, 17.3” 120Hz Full HD 3ms, 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8750H Processor, GTX 1050 Ti 4GB, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Windows 10 Home, GL703GE-AS74

I waited a while before writing this review because I wanted to be absolutely sure about this laptop before opening my mouth.Full disclosure: I'm not what you'd call a 'typical gamer'. I don't run out and buy games the moment they come out, I don't play online games because I dislike playing with people. I like the tried and true titles that I can play for months on end and never get tired of them or distracted by updates and other people. Games like Skyrim, Minecraft, Fallout, and Grand Theft Auto. Problem is, I'd modded those games out to the point that they couldn't play on my old machine anymore. This laptop, runs all of them, heavily modded, without even breaking a sweat. I've even been able to run mods I knew I couldn't run on my old machine. I also use a lot of photo and video editing software. Photoshop took several minutes to load on my old machine due to the thousands of brushes and fonts I've created and downloaded. This machine opens Photoshop in just a few seconds.The graphics are breathtaking. Crisp, clear, and brilliant! First time I opened Minecraft, I audibly gasped at how amazing it looked. With Skyrim, I just sat staring at the how stunning the environment looks now. GTA, the cars look almost real. It's like seeing these virtual worlds with new eyes.I know in my title, I referred to this as an entry-level gaming laptop, but honestly, I think this machine is better than entry-level. I've seen gaming desktops that don't have or can do near what this laptop is capable of. It really is an amazing machine.I've praised it enough, now let's discuss the negatives. It's heavy. Granted it's a lot bigger than any laptop I've owned before, but I think it's half again as heavy as my old laptop. The battery-life is comical. But let's be honest here, battery technology isn't keeping up with processing and graphic technology. The battery in my old Nokia and Motorola flip-phones lasted a dozen times longer than my smart phone I have today, but my smart phone can do a thousand times more than both of those old phones combined. This laptop is no different. My old machines lived a lot longer on the battery, but none of them can touch what this machine can do, so I don't really fault this laptop for that. Just be prepared to be near an outlet if you plan to be on your laptop for more than an hour. Less if you're doing any gaming or running graphic and processing intensive programs.Oh, and the laptop came with a sheet of really cool stickers, and a super nice belt-clip keychain, neither of which I was expecting to see when I opened the box, but was pleasantly surprised upon seeing them.I was hesitant to drop this kind of money on a laptop, but now I don't regret it one bit. This is light-years beyond anything I have ever owned before. Just being able to play heavily modded games again was worth the investment, and I can't wait to see what else this thing can do.

This computer has exceeded my expectations in almost every area. The display is amazing. I'm not a big gamer but my Grandson says this is the only laptop he has ever used that will run some of his high-end games at full resolution. Wifi is much faster than either my iPhone or tablet in the same location. I am slightly disappointed that you can't choose a variety of single colors on the RGB keyboard. It's either red or multi-color. Maybe ASUS will come out with a software update to add that feature.I never really considered doing video editing on a laptop but this one handles 4k editing with ease. I wish my TV would display them as well as this laptop!I have always been an ASUS fan and this computer has done nothing but reinforce that opinion.

After 5 months I am still pretty happy with this. The laptop overall is pretty nice. Runs fast, plays games pretty well without getting too hot, and the 1TB hdd is nice for some extra storage although I’m not sure why they wouldn’t just put in another 256gb ssd in place of the 1tb hdd and allow the user to upgrade to their preferences.Recently I started toying with the Adobe suite and it runs all of those applications pretty well. Rendering is god awful but that’s not what this laptop is made for so I won’t take points off for that.A couple issues I’m having:1. The sound is quieter than other laptops I’ve had. I have to turn the volume all the way up to hear some YouTube videos I’d normally be able to hear at 50% volume on other machines.2. The trackpad gets dirty and won’t respond at times which is annoyingI’d recommend this to anyone looking for a starter gaming laptop.

I have had this computer for only 2 days so far and I am very impressed. This is my first upgrade since I purchased my old laptop 9 years ago, and I probably would have waited even longer to upgrade if my old laptop hadn't started needing repairs and upgrades. I have started getting into more gaming that I used to be, so I figured it was time to buy new, instead of trying to force my old slug to keep up. So far I am just in aw over the speed, screen clarity and overall feel of this machine. It loaded all my games in almost no time at all and is running them with no issues so far. I will hopefully be able to update this review after putting more miles on this awesome laptop, but for now I am suitably impressed.

I love love love love love this computer. The speed, style, sound... pretty much everything. The only reason I’m leaving four stars are for Asus’ infamous driver issues. It wasn’t until a large windows 10 update did my F6-F9 buttons actually work. Everything seems to be running just fine now. Overall, awesome machine.