Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 Review: Best of Ryzen and Nvidia combined

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 is the company's most decked out gaming laptop, purpose made for those of you who are either into e-sports or looking to get into the genre. These machines usually carry the best hardware, and in our case, we get a machine that's powered by the the pariing of an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 17GB VRAM. Our testing concludes that gaming on this machine is in every way a total treat, but there are a few caveats. For starters, no game currently leverages the 16GB VRAM on the RTX 3080. Second, while the display is definitely great from a gaming perspective, it lacks colour accuracy and proper colour management. Given its wide-gamut nature, there is no way to lock it into sRGB mode, making colour treatment difficult.

Last year, Asus made big bets by committing their most unique form-factor to AMD’s Ryzen 4000 series processor, but it’s a bet that paid off real big. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 was received rather well world over, however, our own review was marred by a unit that got as hot as a toaster. Regardless, this year, Asus is doubling down on its bets, giving AMD a significant presence across its entire laptop portfolio. One laptop of particular note is the e-sports-centric Scar 15, which comes powered by the newest Ryzen 5000 series processors and finally, high-end Nvidia GPUs. Our unit is completely decked out, with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 32GB DDR4 memory, 2TB NVMe storage and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 16GB VRAM. There’s also a 1440p 15.6-inch IPS-Level panel, with a refresh rate of 165Hz. On paper, this machine is every bit a beast, but how does it translate to real-world performance? You could watch the video below or read our essential analysis.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 Performance Review

While the specs on the Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 are impressive, of particular note here is the GPU. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 we have here comes with 16GB of GDDR6 memory and a TGP of 115W with an addition 15W of boost. We put it against the MSI GS66 Stealth we have in our labs some months ago to give you a clear picture of where the Scar 15 stands.

What we find to be rather surprising is that the MSI GS66 Stealth, with its Intel Core i7-10875H processor takes the edge over the Scar 15 in come games, despite having a the same GPU, but with a lower TGP. We also noticed another interesting, but distressing occurrence. In all of our game testing, at both 1440p and 1080p resolutions, we never saw the GPU VRAM usage go over about 8GB. We reached out to Asus to figure out if this was a localized machine-based issue. They investigated our data logs and ran their own tests, concluding that our findings are indeed correct. At the time of testing, no game was able to leverage the massive VRAM pool, which honestly, feels like a waste of resource.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 Display Review

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 comes with an IPS-Level display with Asus claiming 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage. Our analysis of the panel right out of the camera reveals that the panel has 96.1 percent DCI-P3 coverage, which isn’t bad. The display showed a peak brightness of 333 nits, but a black luminance level of just 0.35 nits, yielding a contrast ratio of 935:1, which isn’t bad by any means for an IPS display. However, where the display falters really bad is the out-of-the-box calibration. It has a very strong blue-boas, with an average colour temperature of 7558K, and extremely poor Gamma tracking. Our ColourCheckr analysis also reveals an average DeltaE of 4.7 and a maximum error of 9.5. Pretty much all the colours on the gamut are shifted by a notable marging, except a few shades of light blue. We tried calibrating the display a number of times, but didn’t get a much different result, leading us to believe that this is not the right panel for content creators or anyone wanting to do colour-sensitive work. This is a real pity because the 16GB VRAM on the Nvidia RTX 3080 could have easily been leveraged by content creators, but due to the panel’s poor accuracy, its not something we recommend.

Calman Analysis for Colour Gamut

Calman Analysis for Colour Accuracy

Calman Analysis for greyscale and gamma tracking

 

Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 Thermals

It is no secret that the Scar series is some of the most robustly cooled machines in Asus’s portfolio. These have to be well cooled since they’re aimed at e-sports players, who cannot be bogged down by any kind of throttling. And this is where the Scar 15 gives mixed results. In all our testing, neither the Ryzen 9 5900HX nor the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 throttle, but the Ryzen 9 chip did hover around the 98-101 degree Celsius range for a large duration of our gaming sessions. Surface temperatures, however, were a little bit more of a concern. The area just above the keyboard registered 48 degrees while the center of the keyboard recorded a temperature of 46.4 degrees C. Perhaps the most concerning was the 41.8-degree on the WASD keys.

Conclusion

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 is an impressive spec’d laptop and the top-tier variant that we've reviewed here definitely sheds a light on the future of portable gaming. The proliferation of high-resolution high-refresh-rate displays is definitely commendable. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 packs the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, a beefy 8-core 16 thread processor that's bound to find favours with anyone who needs peak performance. However, what was sorely disappointing was no game being able to take full advantage of the 16GB VRAM on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080. Hopefully, this would change in the future, but for now, it is what it is. The display, while impressive for gaming, has very poor colour accuracy and no way to switch between the DCI-P3 and sRGB colour spaces, making colour management for colour sensitive tasks a no-go.

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Netflix announces fourth and final season of Castlevania, will premier on May 13

Netflix has really upped the ante on anime content on the platform, From Ultraman, Kengan Ashura, Godzilla and the might Castlevania, Netflix has acquired some excellent shows and movies. And, to that end, the company has now just announced that we will be getting a fourth and final season of Castlevania. Netflix released a new trailer for the fourth season of Castlevania and from what we can see, it looks to follow the violent and dark tale of the Belmonts. In our review of season 3, we stated that “Castlevania was always a show that really caught the attention of the hardcore geek and nerd. It appealed to the anime crowd as well as the gaming community as the series is based on one of the most celebrated gaming franchises of all time. Castlevania, with its violent action and adult, mature themes quickly rose in popularity to warrant 3 whole seasons.” You can check out the new trailer below. 

As you can see, the animation quality has really been taken up a notch. The action looks smoother, fast-paced and more visceral. We also get a look at a new kind of armour that as a Berserk fan, looks eerily similar to the Berserk armour from that acclaimed manga. Not taking anything away from the show, the fact that it’s been influenced by Berserk is a good thing. I mean, we wouldn’t have the Dark Souls franchise if it wasn’t for Berserk. We also get a brief look at Alucard and Issac and how their stories will intersect with the main characters. There’s also a brief tease of the return of Dracula for the final season. We can’t wait for May 13. 

This is what Netflix has to say about the fourth and final season of Castlevania, “Wallachia collapses into chaos as factions clash: some attempting to take control, others attempting to bring Dracula back from the dead. Nobody is who they seem, and nobody can be trusted. These are the end times.”. Other reports have also stated that Netflix could continue with the Castlevania anime with a different set of characters set in the same universe. When that will take place has not been announced yet. 

 

 

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Among Us Will Be Releasing on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Soon

Among Us developer InnerSloth and Sony confirmed that the game will be releasing on PlayStation consoles soon. However, there is no information regarding the release date. PlayStation players will get exclusive Ratchet and Clank-themed skins for their character sprites.

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Sonys State of Play event shows off tons of gameplay from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart for the PS5

Since the launch of the PS5, the one thing gamers had been asking for is more games. In fact, as we’ve reported earlier, the console has already sold 7.8 million units since it was launched in November last year. Sure, we’ve got the excellent Demon’s Souls remake, Spider-Man: Miles Morales (review), Returnal (review) and a few more. But it’s been six months since the console’s release and we have not seen any new games yet. But that’s about to change as Sony announced Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart for the PS5 at the latest State of Play event. The showcase was mostly centred around the exclusive PS5 title, showing off the world, graphics and a bit of gameplay. You can check out the presentation and gameplay below. 

And, right off the bat, you’ll notice that the way the game looks is absolutely stunning. The world-building and all the crazy detail everywhere is just astounding. We really have come such a long way in terms of visual fidelity in games, it’s crazy. The game still captures the feel and emotion of the earlier games but has had a shiny, slick coat of visual paint slapped over it. The combat also looked great with new mechanics combining with old ones, to create something visually and tactically new. One such feature being the Rift Tears, which you can use to teleport all over the battlefield. If the showcase is anything to go by, the game is going to be great. 

Sony also showed off a bit of Subnautica: Below Zero, an expansion of the original game as well as the announcement that Among US will be coming to PlayStation. There wasn't much else really as Sony decided to really show off Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. It looks like Sony is banking on the game to be a hit on the PlayStation 5. Stay tuned to Digit.in for more gaming news and reviews. 

 

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Redmi Smart TV X65 Review: Does size matter

Xiaomi has an interesting offering with the Redmi TV X65 for Rs 57,999. What it brings with it is support for eARC for home theatres, ALLM for gaming and support for a variety of HDR formats. While the overall picture quality is good for the price, HDR 10+ content still has some issues. SDR content playback is good. The HDMI 2.1 setting is switched off by default and getting to it involves jumping through some hoops when connecting the PS5. 

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Smart TV X Series back in March 2021. The Redmi Smart TVs are available in three screen sizes - 50-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch, priced at Rs Rs 32,999, Rs 38,999 and Rs 57,999, respectively. The TVs bring almost all the features found on the Mi QLED TV 55-inch (review) we saw launch back in December 2020. The most significant difference, of course, is the backlighting. While the Mi QLED TV has a Quantum Dot layer between the backlighting and the panel, the Redmi TV has the traditional direct LED backlighting. It also has three HDMI 2.1 ports with support for eARC and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) for gaming. 

The 65-inch variant of the TV brings with it a pretty large screen size of 58K. But the 58K price point is a decent budget to get a 50 or even 55-inch TV with different features. So, the question remains, should you consider the 65-inch Redmi TV or consider a 50-inch or 55-inch TV at the same price point with better features?

Redmi Smart TV X65 specs at a glance

Panel Size: 65-inch (available in 55 and 50-inches as well)  Panel Type: VA and IPS options available with D-LED backlighting Panel Resolution: 3840 x 2160 - 4K Panel Refresh Rate: 60Hz HDR 10 support: Yes HDR 10+ support: Yes Dolby Vision Support: Yes Weight: 18 kgs HDMI Ports: 3 USB Ports: 2 Bluetooth: Yes Wi-Fi: Yes Ethernet: Yes Speakers: 30W Built-in storage: 16GB Price: MRP: 57,999

Redmi Smart TV X65: Display Panel and Picture Quality

Kicking things off with the display, the Redmi Smart TV X65 comes with an IPS and VA panel option, but there is no way of choosing one over the other when purchasing the TV. You can check which panel you have by pressing the display with some content on it. If you see rainbow-like colours where you press the display, it is a VA panel. If you don't, then it's an IPS panel. 

The Redmi Smart TV X65 has D-LED backlighting, and Xiaomi has not disclosed the brightness of the TV in nits nor the contrast ratio. The TV does not have any dimming zones. The TV has a 4K resolution with support for all popular HDR formats, including HDR 10, HDR 10+, HLG and Dolby Vision. It also supports Dolby Atmos via the eARC port. 

The TV claims to cover over 85% of the NTSC colour space and 92% DCI-P3 colour space. In addition to traditional picture modes and picture controls like brightness, contrast, hue, colour temperature, gamma, etc., it also lets you choose colour space such as DCI-P3, BT 2020, BT709, etc. allowing you to customise your content consumption experience. Let's dive deep into the performance of the TV. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: 4K and HDR performance

We played our usual slew of Dolby Vision and HDR 10, 10+ content on the TV and found the overall experience good. In Dolby Vision content from Netflix, we have shows like Altered Carbon, Our Planet and more, and the colour reproduction in these scenes was good. The unit we received has an IPS panel with good viewing angles but compromises on the black levels. Consuming content in a room with biased lighting should help with the greyish blacks in some sequences. While the TV can get decently bright, it lacks the punchy brightness one would expect when we see an explosion on-screen or when Gandalf reveals himself in the Two Towers. You have two settings for Dolby Vision - Bright and Dark, and I recommend keeping the setting at Dolby Vision bright all the time. This may lead to blacks looking quite grey in some dark sequences, but the details are retained, making the content easier to consume. 

With HDR 10+ content, we played a bunch of shows from Amazon Prime Video. In a show like the Grand Tour, we have many cars whizzing in a bright desert. There are some sequences where the camera is looking at the driver, and from the driver's window, we can see other cars. Some of the cars here were merged with the background or looked burnt. This isn't something you’ll notice if you haven't seen the same sequence on another TV. You will see a bright desert thinking it's the sun, and that's ok, especially since these sequences are no more than a few seconds at a time. 

In a show like Jack Ryan, there is a slight green tint to the colour, and we’ve noticed this on other TVs like the Mi QLED TV and playing HDR 10+ content. Sadly, there is no different “picture mode” you can switch to when playing HDR 10+ content via the native apps on the TV. Changing the colour temperature to cool or 'user' removed the green tint. Still, it also loses the natural colour effect which comes with the “Warm” colour temperature when consuming HDR content. 

When playing HDR 10 content from YouTube, you have access to picture presets like HDR Standard, HDR Movie and HDR Vivid and in our experience, the HDR Standard preset was the best for consuming content. 

Overall, considering the price of the TV, the Dolby Vision and HDR 10 content looks good on this TV, with some room for improvement with HDR 10+ content. The brightness in some HDR scenes doesn’t have the same impact we saw on the Philips 50-inch (50PUT8215/94) (review), but considering the price point, the performance is good. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: SDR performance

The SDR playback from streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video is also good. We saw a bunch of content from Spider-Man Homecoming to Mission Impossible and even Young Sheldon. While the content looks crisp and good, the performance isn't at par with, say, the Philips 50-inch (50PUT8215/94). 

When switching between the Standard and Vivid mode on the Redmi TV, people's skin tones also get accentuated along with the other colours making them appear too yellow. When using the Vivid mode on the Philips TV, we saw that while the colours and the environments were highlighted, skin tones look natural. 

You should know that for the price of the 65-inch Redmi TV, you get the 50-inch Philips TV. So, while this isn't an apple-to-apple comparison, it should give you some idea of content reproduction. 

Overall, for SDR playback, the Standard and Movie presets gets the job done quite well. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: Gaming

This is where things get interesting. The Redmi Smart TV X65 supports HDMI 2.1, but it can only run games at 60Hz. The feature it offers is ALLM, and while we don't have any way of measuring the actual input lag, Xiaomi claims an impressive 5ms input lag on the TV. 

We played a bunch of games using a PS5 (review), and the results are interesting, to say the least. A game like Returnal (review) has a lot of fast-paced action where every millisecond counts, and from a gameplay perspective, the game was quite enjoyable. The first environment in the game is a dark forest with the enemies shooting many glowing projectiles at you. On an OLED TV, the contrast this brings is absolutely incredible. But on the Redmi TV, the dark black environments have a grey tint to them, and this is because the panel doesn't have local dimming and is trying to simulate the colour black. Nonetheless, considering the price, you can still get it by playing Returnal. At least it doesn't look dark and low lit. 

In a game like Spider-Man Miles Morales (review), Spider-Man's black outfit has a hint of grey in it, but the rest of the environments look good. The soft winter sun looks warm and inviting in the game, and once you get into the heat of the action, you will be hooked—the same for a game like Dirt 5 (review). 

If you are on a tight budget and want a TV for gaming, you could consider it. Most of the games we played on this TV worked well, and for the occasional game that felt dimmer, you can change the settings from HDMI 2.1 to 1.4 to play in SDR, which could work well for some games. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: Audio Performance

The Redmi TV comes with 30W of sound output, taken care of by two 15W drivers in the TV. It doesn't have the 6-driver setup we saw on the Mi QLED TV but then again, look at the price point. The TV has decent sound and surprisingly decent performance when watching movies with a lot of mixed audio. Ready Player One is a great example of this. The race at the 13-minute mark is filled with cars whizzing by each other, explosions and King Kong trying to destroy everything. While I have heard better sounding speakers on a budget TV, these get the job done. Sure, there is no bass, but the vocals are clear. Even when gaming, the sound of the guns in Returnal to the thuds of your punches in Spider-Man, it's all clear. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: UI

Like the Mi QLED TV, the Redmi Smart TV offers Android TV 10 and its own PatchWall UI. There are dedicated buttons on the remote control to bring up PatchWall and Android TV to make navigating between the two UIs quite easy.  

PatchWall aims to put content before the service. So, if you see content on the home page, be it The Boys, or the Mandalorian or even Tenet, you don't need to worry about which service provider has this content. As long as you are logged into the streaming service, you can jump straight into the content without navigating the particular streaming app.  

PatchWall also helps with discovering content with lists such as “Dolby Vision”, “HDR 10+”, “Recently added,” “India Top 10 Today”, and more. This UI is great if you are subscribed to many services and consume a lot of content without worrying about navigating the apps.

There are 2 problems I have with the UI. The first is with the Prime Video app. When you enter the picture settings when using Prime Video and press back to exit the settings, you exit the app completely. That can get quite annoying if you tinker with the settings. 

The second is when you connect the PS5. If you have enabled CEC on the TV and the console, pressing the centre OK button on the remote control doesn't bring up the input menu on the TV to change the HDMI format options. It would be best if you disabled CEC to bring up the menu to change the HDMI settings from 1.4 to 2.1. While this isn't a setting you'd change often, it’s still an annoying process to go through to get to the setting. 

The UI is what we’ve seen on previous Xiaomi TVs, and Xiaomi has done a lot to distinguish the UI from the crowd.

Redmi Smart TV X65: Remote control

The remote control you get with the Redmi TV is the same one we’ve seen on other MI TVs and even the Mi Box 4K (review). It's quite a minimalistic remote with a power button, Assistant button, hotkeys for Netflix and Prime Videos and dedicated buttons for Android and PatchWall UI. There is no dedicated mute button on the remote control, but you can double-tap the volume down button to mute the TV quickly. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: Build and design

The TV has a plastic frame and two plastic feet holding it in place. Unlike the Mi QLED TV, which had a premium build, this one has a budget build, and that’s ok, considering the price point. 

Despite having a budget build, the TV has an ingenious arrangement for the ports. Traditionally we’ve seen large screen budget TVs house the ports at the back, in the centre. That isn’t the case here. The ports on the Redmi Smart TV X65 are closer to the edge of the panel at the back, making it easier to reach. We also have the three HDMI ports, two USB ports and the headphones port facing outwards while the other ports face down. The ports facing outwards makes it easy to access. The ports facing down include the AV port, Optical port and ethernet port. There is also a small plastic clasp at the back of the TV to help with cable management, which is nice. 

Redmi Smart TV X65: Bottom Line

Xiaomi has an interesting offering with the Redmi TV X65 for Rs 57,999. It brings support for eARC for home theatres, ALLM for gaming and support for various HDR formats. While the overall picture quality is good for the price, HDR 10+ content still has some issues. SDR content playback is good. The HDMI 2.1 setting is switched off by default, and getting to it involves jumping through some hoops when connecting the PS5. At the end of the day, the question you need to ask yourself is - Does size matter? If you have a budget of 60K for a 65-inch TV, you have a bunch of options to choose from before making your purchase decision. These include the Nokia 65-inch Smart TV with Onkyo speakers and the TCL P615, and more (both of which we haven't reviewed). If your budget is 60K and you don't mind a smaller screen size (say 55-inch), you can check out Xiaomi’s own Mi QLED TV, the TCL P715 QLED (review) and the Philips 55PUT8215, to name a few.

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Microsoft to Take Smaller Cut From Video Game Developers: Report

Microsoft will cut its charges for video game developers who publish games in its online store, starting August, the New York Times reported.

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Ace the Search and Destroy mode in Call of Duty: Mobile with these handy tips

Call of Duty: Mobile isn’t lacking when it comes to different game modes. Besides standard deathmatch modes, the game also offers a host of other game modes designed to keep things fresh and interesting. These modes challenge players to think beyond simply running and gunning. One of the trickiest to master is Search and Destroy.

Counter-Strike veterans will be quite familiar with Search and Destroy as the mode is lifted straight out of the game. It sees up to 10 players divided into teams of attackers and defenders. Attackers are given a bomb that they need to plant and subsequently destroy at one of two sites. The defenders need to defend both sides till the clock runs out. The teams can also win by eliminating all of the opposing players as there is no respawn till the round ends. After three rounds, the roles will reverse.

As you can see, Search and Destroy is quite different from other modes. Here are five tips that you can use to achieve victory.

Stick together

The lack of a respawn system means that staying alive is more important than ever. Sticking together, especially as attackers’ is vital for victory. Defenders should also try and break off into teams so that they have one teammate covering them or vice versa. Attacks should also cover the bomb carrier as much as possible.

Play the objective

It’s easy to lose yourself and try to play this mode as you would in a team deathmatch or frontline. However, that’s just asking for trouble. Playing the objective means that more often than not, your opponent will come to you. This means securing bomb sites, planting the bomb, defending dropped bombs and so forth. 

Keep an eye on where your team is dying

Defenders can be on the back foot as they will most likely have to split up to cover the sites. However, they can use the game’s own mechanics to their advantage. The game marks the location where a teammate dies. This can give you a rough idea of where the enemy team is and give you the option to sneak up behind them or flank them. 

DA BOMB!

The bomb is the most important prop in search and destroy. If the defenders manage to kill the bomb carrier, they can camp around the bomb and wait for the remaining attackers to come to them. On the flipside, attackers can designate one player as the bomb carrier and the other players can move to protect that player. But whatever happens, attackers should never let a bot pick up the bomb. 

Don't rely on Scorestreaks or Operator Skills

Another thing to keep in mind is that Scorestreaks are pretty much non-existent in the same way as the Scorestreaks are refreshed with each round. So if you’re good, you might just unlock a low-level scorestreak during a round, but it will only be available for that round only. Operator Skills are also disabled in this game mode. So you can only rely on your weapon and skills to win.

You can also check out our loadout suggestions for Hardpoint and Headquarters modes here. 

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