Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D review - The world's fastest gaming laptop

Compared to the regular ROG Strix SCAR 17 with the Ryzen 9 7945HX, this version features an important change regarding the processor's cooling. Due to the new 7945HX3D processor's metal surface texture, no liquid metal can be used - instead, the device relies on regular thermal paste. In general, its TDP classification remains the same according to Asus, but it takes its toll on the laptop's performance.

Please note: D-Notify is an Nvidia-specific function. With the D-Notify function activated, the GPU will increase its power consumption based on the application/load until the GPU reaches a temperature of 75 °C. In this case, the TGP is limited to 55 watts.

The new AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D's basic technical specifications are identical to the regular Ryzen 9 7945HX: 16 Zen4 cores (32 threads) with a maximum clock of up to 5.4 GHz. However, on the new model, the 80-MB cache (16 MB L2 + 64 MB L3) is increased by an additional 64-MB L3 cache. All further technical information regarding this can be found in our analysis of the new Ryzen 9 7945HX3D. 

In contrast to the SCAR 17 with the normal Ryzen 9 7945HX, the benchmarks run using the new version showed lower total power consumption values. We noted a maximum of up to 115 watts which quickly balanced out at 100 watts. Here, the missing liquid metal already makes itself known. The benchmark results are still phenomenal in total - although, when it comes to pure CPU performance, the normal 7945HX models do have a slight advantage. Again, its total performance is comparable with the Intel HX CPUs, which only did better in certain single-core tests. At the same time, you shouldn't forget that the Intel chips use considerably more power - in single-core use and especially when all the cores are loaded. To compare: The Ryzen 9 7945HX3D with 100 watts was considerably faster in the multi-core tests compared to the Core i9-13980HX at 170 watts.

In battery use, the processor uses a maximum of 85 watts for a short space of time, after which it balances out quickly at 55 watts. In the Cinebench R23 Multi test, this was enough to secure itself 24,127 points, equivalent to a deficit of 26 %. Its single-core use was not limited. Further CPU benchmarks can be found in our tech section.

The new ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D also did better than the competition in the synthetic PCMark 10 test - although, the differences weren't big and in everyday use, all the comparison devices are extremely fast. The AMD test device only came just behind its fastest Intel competitors in the cross-platform CrossMark test.

A 1-TB SSD from SK Hynix (PC801) is installed into the ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D. The M.2 2280 SSD is connected via the fast PCIe 4.0 interface and delivers very good transfer rates. Moreover, its performance remains stable even under permanent load. After the first start-up, users have 868 GB available - but thanks to the second M.2 slot (also M.2 2280, PCIe 4.0), the storage space can be expanded if necessary. More SSD benchmarks are listed here.