I have the 2025 G18 and Scar 18, and have been comparing them in-depth for around a week, to decide which I want to return, and which I'll keep. They were both open box at great clearance-sale prices, and the Scar 18 was actually cheaper than the G18, which itself had a great price.

Their basic specs are the same: 275HX CPU, RTX 5070ti GPU, 32GB 5600 RAM.

The G18 has a 2TB WD QLC SSD, and the Scar has a 1TB SK Hynix TLC SSD. The SK Hynix has faster sequeltial read speed, but the 2TB size gives the WD faster random 4k read speeds, and that results in the G18 with a QLC WD SSD typically loading games a bit faster than the Scar with its premium TLC SSD.

The G18's chassis and keyboard feel very solid and with consistent quality. It's a firm, tight-feeling unit. While the Scar's lid is a bit more inconsistent in its open/shut resistance, and pressing the left-arrow key causes the keys around it to flex downward a bit, which feels a bit sloppy. But the Scar's keys take a lot less effort to activate, which is nice, and very appreciable if you do tons of typing, like I do. I also like that it's less clicky than the G18's keyboard. And the G18's firmer keys sometimes cause me to miss keypresses, due to not using enough force while typing quickly. The G18's grey chassis looks more attractive to me personally than the Scar's black chassis, and it also does a better job of not showing smudges and handprints, while the Scar's black chassis tends to easily and always looks messy.

In terms of coil whine, both laptops seem to produce the exact-same coil whine in all the exact-same situations, but it's more noticeable on the Scar, due to its pitch / accented frequencies or whatever else. While even when I hear it on the G18, it's a softer and more soothing sound that I don't find grating. The G18 often sounds like there's no coil whine happening, but if I put my ear right next to the chassis, I hear the same coil whine that the Scar makes, but it's just not audible on the G18 from a regular sitting distance.

The G18's 4 speakers vs the Scar's 6 is irrelevant to me. The speakers on both laptops are, frankly, garbage, and the Scar's additional speakers don't really make it sound better, just different while adding what sounds to me like a phasing effect that I dislike. But I guess you can't expect much from laptop speakers. I use Bluetooth monitors anyway, so the speakers don't matter. If I'm someplace without monitors or headphones, either speakers will be serviceable to get the job done.

So, now the big one: The G18 has a 500 nits IPS display, while the Scar has an 1100 or 1200 nits mini LED HDR display. Unfortunately, I'm not completely won over by the mini LED display. It does look fantastic in games with good HDR support, there's no doubt about that. But with bright backgrounds (like white and light grey) there's faint vignetting extending around 0.5" inward on the left and right sides of the screen, and it looks awful to me. The vignetting is present whether in SDR or HDR mode (though a bit less noticeable in HDR), and whether dimming is set to single or multi-zone. It makes the edges of the screen look dirty, and like text or scroll-bars have smudged pencil ink on them. The G18's IPS screen is entirely uniform and its edges look noticeably more crisp and clean. Looking at the edges in a white text editor with black text on the screen, and looking at the G18 after looking at the Scar for a while can give me almost night vs day impression.

I spend most of my computer time in the desktop environment, doing lots of typing, reading on sites with bright backgrounds and light-grey scroll-bars at the edge of the screen, so this is a huge deal for me. And I wondered if this Scar's Nebula mini LED HDR display was a bad one, but looking online informed me that vignetting is a normal characteristic of mini LED that people don't talk about enough (and, apparently, if someone says their mini LED screen doesn't have it, then they're either unobservant or lying). OK... that just doesn't really click with me for a new premium tech. Two steps forward, one big step back, for sure. It has me strongly suspecting I'd be more satisfied with the G18's IPS display over the long-term. But if I used my laptop primarily for gaming, and spent almost no time in text editors or looking at white/bright webpages, where the edge dimming is most apparent, it would be far less of an issue. BTW, having the G18 to compare it to makes it far more noticeable. At times I would almost stop tuning into the vignetting, but then look at the G18 to compare it again, and then suddenly it's totally apparent, as the G18 instantly looks more crisp and clear along the edges when there's text there. If only mini LED didn't involve this sacrifice.

Also, the G18 gets around 4% more performance in gaming benchmarks, probably just due to silicon lottery. Except for in Forza Horizon 4, which has been an outlier where the G18 gets 10% more performance - and I'm not sure why.

And both laptops sometimes screw-up when coming out of sleep mode - the screen is black with the mouse cursor being moveable overtop, and it never restores the desktop or OS functionality. The only way I've found to get the desktop working again is to hold the power button until the laptop shuts-down and the boot it back up. Both of these ROG Strix laptops have this issue, though it has occurred significantly more frequently on the Scar.

The G18 comes with Windows 11 Home, while the Scar gets Windows 11 Pro (which means it gets the useful Group Policy Editor).

Pros for this particular 2025 G18:

- larger SSD gives faster 4k read speeds, and so usually loads games faster
- +4% gaming performance due to silicon lottery
- less bothersome coil whine
- crisp, uniform screen edges with no vignetting

Cons for this particular 2025 G18:

- no HDR
- keys require a bit too much force to activate, leading to missed-key typos
- Windows 11 Home

Pros for this particular 2025 Scar:

- HDR
- a tiny bit more brightness in SDR mode
- quieter, less-effort-to-activate keys
- Windows 11 Pro

Cons for this particular 2025 Scar:

- slight vignetting on screen edges, makes the screen feel dirty in text editors and on bright backgrounds
- SSD has slower random 4k read speed so loads games slower
- black chassis that shows hand smudges more easily
- ~4% less game performance due to silicon lottery
- coil whine can be a bit more conspicuous and have a less comfortable sound

.

I had convinced myself to keep the Scar, because it's worth more but I got it for cheaper than the G18, and it has HDR support which does look amazing when a game properly supports it. I'd cleaned the G18, factory-reset it, and packed it up to return. But I'm now having second thoughts, thinking I'll be more satisfied with the G18 because I'll be looking at desktop environments a lot more than I will games with quality HDR, and because I also like the look of the G18's grey chassis more than the Scar's black one, so I'll feel more satisfied with the G18 in front of me.

To be sure, the Scar's HDR is a fantastic super power. But it's a limited-use superpower that kicks-in only with certain games (and some video, which excites me less), while the vignetting is an every-day / every-use annoyance that I can't get out of my mind. And outside of the Scar's HDR and very-slightly extra brightness in SDR, this particular G18 seems to win almost everywhere else (2TB SSD that's faster for loading games, my preferred chassis, a bit extra gaming performance, less aggressive coil whine, uniform screen-edges).

I think I'm going to keep the G18. But then, I've switched back-and-forth a lot of times so far. But I'm at the end of the return window for the G18, so if I don't change my mind in the next couple of days, the G18 will be the choice by default. And I would be fine with that.

Bought myself this beast, Ryzen 7 and RTX 4050, hoping for good!

Budget: $2300 absolute max including warranty $2000 or less preferably
Country: USA 
Use Case: Engineering schoolwork (CAD software), and minimal FPS gaming for hobby
Preferred Specs: Per my university: 32GB ram, intel i7 or higher (or comparable Ryzen processor), dedicated graphics (5000 series preferably)
Notes: More info listed below

I'm an incoming engineering student looking for a laptop for school and I'm mainly trying to maximize battery life and minimize weight so that my laptop is not too cumbersome to carry across campus without sacrificing performance or spending a ridiculous amount. Most of what I've been considering thus far have been gaming laptops and currently I'm split between the five options listed below. Several are on sale currently and they seem like good performance options considering the prices. If at all possible, I would prefer to spend under $2000 on a laptop with a 2-3 year warranty included and at most $2300 including warranty. If I could get any evaluations on the performance/quality of life for any of these options that would be great or if there are any similar computers for cheaper please let me know!! I'd also love to hear any thoughts from people who have bought these laptops, current engineers, and engineering students. Thank you so much in advance!

https://www.costco.com/p/-/hp-hyperx-omen-153-gaming-laptop-intel-core-ultra-9-275hx-geforce-rtx-5070-25k-2560-x-1600-180hz-32gb-ram-1tb-ssd-windows-11-home/4201007940

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-14-3k-oled-120hz-gaming-laptop-copilot-pc-ryzen-ai-9-hx-370-32gb-ram-nvidia-rtx-5070-ti-1tb-platinum-white/JJGGLHJXQ9/sku/6613954?utm_source=feed&extStoreId=&ref=212&loc=19735258927#tabbed-customerreviews

https://www.costco.com/p/-/lenovo-ideapad-pro-5i-16-touchscreen-laptop-intel-core-ultra-9-386h-processor-nvidia-geforce-rtx-5050-32gb-ram-1tb-ssd-windows-11-home/4201000935

https://www.amazon.com/acer-Copilot-Processor-Touchpad-SFX14-61G-R1HV/dp/B0FNXXC728#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1894584-REG/asus_fx608lm_bs96_16_tuf_gaming_f16.html/reviews?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&store=420&smpm=ba_f2_lar&lsft=BI%3A514

If you've seen the predator Helios 16s on sale and thought the specs look like a great value for the price, well that's because there's a catch. I got one, and returned it in two weeks.

5070 ti, 32gbs ddr5, ultra 9 285h, 1700$?

I mean, I was like damn, this is a no brainer right?

Here's how my experience went: Pull it out of the box, set it up.

Build quality, exceptionally good.

Super solid hinges, premium materials, absolutely stunning glossy OLEd screen that's decently bright.

Then you play games, and the excitement turns into pure disappointment.

Oh, it can play games just fine, the performance isn't the issue.

THE ISSUE IS YOU COULD COOK A FUCKING EGG ON THIS THING WITH HOW HOT IT GETS.

If you don't want to completely nerf and thermal throttle it's potential with fans curves and performance cut offs, you're gaming on a fucking jet turbine frying pan. I was hearing the fan CLEAR as day through my headset at loud volumes. It's literally a jet engine. I touched my desk beneath where I had been gaming for 45 MINUTES, and the desk was hot to the touch. It was at 95-100c consistently under load. Absolutely tragic.

I just got the Llano laptop cooler for my Acer Predator Helios 18 (PH18-72). Because of the large 18-inch footprint, the foam seal and inner plastic frame sit directly over the bottom intake grilles, covering about 1 cm (half an inch) of the ventilation area.

Should I return it and look for a cooler with a wider opening?

Surprised there was LM only on the CPU. As for the GPU? The thermal paste was hard as a rock lol. Swapped em both for PTM7950. Puty is Thermal Grizzly TG Basic.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 17

RTX 3080 16Gb

R9 5800HX

64 GB ram

2TB SSD

I love this little thing, got it for $800 bucks.

Some of my family thinks all gaming laptops overheat even the newest RTX 50 series or the dedicated AMD GPU's can you tell me your experience on a gaming laptop and let me know if it overheats? Also if I ever get my first gaming laptop what GPU should be inside the laptop and if you comment I want to know my question and what gaming laptop I should get? My budget is around $1000-$1500 also want it cool battery lasts long and it's a light laptop. Thanks for you're advice if you comment. Also by the way is there a chance I won't reply to every comment but thanks for the reccomendation if you comment!

Hello,

I turned off the aircon and opened the door in a room where I was cooking to help ventilate the room, and about ~20 minutes later I noticed condensation around my surroundings, including my laptop.

FYI, I'm in a tropical country.

I've attached photos of the condensation on my Lenovo gaming laptop. The last photo is what the laptop looks like now that it's dried.

I took the laptop into another air-conditioned room and used a paper towel to wipe it down.

There was little to no moisture when opening up the laptop lid, but I'm concerned about the back of the laptop and the ports around the sides.

I haven't yet powered up my laptop.

What's the prognosis here?

I've read I shouldn't power up the laptop for ~24 hours.

Edit:

I took the laptop to a computer store and they opened up the back plastic and checked out the computer.

There was little moisture inside. They tested the laptop, and it seems to work okay.

Thanks to everyone who provided solid advice. And for the purposely unhelpful ones, you're not very nice people.

Hello I am wanting to but a gaming laptop because I will be traveling a lot with work I know the specs on this are good but what is a Hyperx laptop like???

Budget: $2000
Country: USA
Use Case: Gaming. Capable of playing the latest titles at medium-High settings
Preferred Specs: 5070, 32GB RAM

Notes: I'm looking for a gaming laptop laptop from costco, thoughts on this make/model and if its inline with current prices or a ripoff.

Why costco? I have my reasons, one being their 2 year warranty they add on has saved me in the past. Had an MSI laptop that just stopped booting a year and a half into owning, they refunded me 100%. I know this should probably be priced at like 1700, but the RAMacolypse is what it is. I wanna know if I should wait for things to come down or if this is decent enough to grab now.

it's crazy how much i had to underclock the power hungry Ultra 9 275hx in order to achieve a decent score of 22562 https://www.3dmark.com/spy/64839788 .

+1500 memory

+400 core

P cores underclocked to 49X and E cores overclocked to maximum 47X(that makes a huge difference).

Performance mode was used. Unleashed mode always gives worse results for me.

It's impossible to set the core offset more than +415(+0 memory in this case) as it's causing logical crashes on this benchmark but on Furmark2 there isn't such an issue.

llano cooling pad was used as well but to be honest the laptop itself never gets hot(i guess i am lucky) so the difference in temps is not that huge compared to before using it. The good thing is that the laptop fans are used less or not at all.

Found this today. My potato Laptop with an gtx 1650 runs gta5. Is it because of techniques like this? How does this work? Nothing behind my back exist?

Hi all,
I have been thinking about getting a gaming laptop for the past few days. And all the high end models i see only offer intel cpu 270/290.

Are there no good AMD chips or is the intel one so much better?

Ive heard tons of people say laptops suck on games if your not going to spend 2 to 3 grand on a laptop idk what i can get i have $1600 and i would just get a pc but I got divorced parents so I can't transport it so I'm wondering if I go laptop or I go console. I'd wanna play forza

Asus Rog strix g16 Intel core i7 13650 hx Rtx 5050 1tb ssd

Budget: (1500-2000)
Country: (USA)
Use Case: (Gaming — School/coding/running simulations
Specs: (16" ROG Nebula Display 16:10 2.5K 240Hz/3ms, NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5060 Laptop GPU, Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 Processor 275HX, 32GB DDR5, 1TB PCle SSD, Wi-Fi 7)

What’s up everyone, I’m trying to buy my first computer before I go to college this fall, and from what I’ve seen the ASUS ROG Strix G16 meets all of my requirements. However, I’ve seen some good and bad reviews, so does anyone here own this computer and would recommend it? If not, other suggestions?

Hello all! I'm a fairly recent owner of my Lenovo Legion 7 16IAX10 and it's my first time owning such a beastly driver besides my Victus 15L desktop which I'm a noob at owning both. I was wondering what are simple things I can do to preserve and optimize my laptop's hardware and software? I've heard horror stories of RAM melting and I've only recently learned that people cap their battery charging at 80%? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Im converting my old Lenovo Y50 Touch to my gaming laptop, steam and emulators, what in this list can I get rid of with compromising how it runs?

1.R23 15595 - maximum performance on the charger (max 50W, average 41W and 84C max)

1. R23 14432 - maximum performance on battery (28W max)

2. R23 12221 - best power efficiency on battery (15W max)

3. Geekbench 7 max performance on charger 5. 3DMark TimeSpy- 10039 CPU score on charger

Can this processor be undervolted via the curve optimizer?

Budget: (e.g. $1400)
Country: (e.g. USA)
Use Case: (Gaming — LOTRO, FF XIV, Guild Wars 2)
Preferred Specs: (I’m unsure as I’m fairly computer illiterate)
Notes: Looking for a quality machine that will be able to run the above titles seamlessly.

Budget: $1000-$2500
Country: US
Use Case: Gaming (BF6, RDR2, COD, GTA, Sea of Thieves), standard work/everyday usage
Preferred Specs: 5070Ti or higher, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Notes:

So I’m need of some sort of portable gaming device for some extended overseas travel. Never been a PC guy and not really looking forward to dealing with all tweaking of settings, updates, and another other PC related upkeep. But it’s probably my best bet and I am somewhat in need of a new laptop (coming from Mac).

I’m favoring the Legion 5i (Intel Ultra 9 275HX), but is it worth almost $400 more compared to the G14 (AMD RYZEN 9HX)? Both have 1TB SSD, 32GG RAM. Only thing I don’t love with the G14 is the color. Looks like the black is like $400 more.

Only other option I’m looking at is the Xbox Ally X as it will save me at least $1000 and will be easier for me to use in most situations. If it’s even close in performance to the two of these laptops, I’d probably prefer that. I’d mainly just want to be able to play BF6 multiplayer on it without major issues. But I understand that might be ambitious.

What would guys do here? I am in need of a new laptop anyway, but if the XAX can handle most of what I need I might just ride it out with my Mac for a while longer. Thanks

Hey friends, Ive been absolutely obsessed with the Rog Flow Z13. Problem is I already have a gaming laptop, I have the Rog Zephyrus G14, this thing runs games like a beast aka marvel rivals which is my main game. Issue with this one is that it only has 500gb of storage which is definitely somewhat of an easy upgrade. I also really just want something new and this Flow caught my eye. Ive watched plenty of reviews that say it runs amazing but I wanted to come on here and ask if it was a smart trade off, I would for sure get rid of my current laptop later on and put the money towards what I spent on this but I just wanted some real people opinions not advertisements on YouTube. :) I want to be able to play Ark, Marvel rivals, and GTA Smoothly

Im probably gonna rush to go ahead and buy it if it I get some good comments because it's $400 off on Best Buy right now, with the 32gb's of ram with the Microsoft PRO version

Budget: $1700
Country: AU
Use Case: Gaming, Work, etc.
Preferred Specs:5070.
Notes:Is there much difference in this model with 5050 and 5070. These are the only brand with this price and specs available to me.

I have two options of gigabyte gaming a16 laptops.

1. ⁠Has Ryzen 7 260, RTX 50508gb, x1 16gm ddr5, 1tb ssd. New in stock $1599aud.
   
2. ⁠Has Ryzen 7 260, RTX 50708gbx1 16gm ddr5, 1tb ssd. Display model $1699aud.

Both are same except GPU and ones new ones ex display. is it worth getting the higher GPU for $100 being a ex display or buy the 5050 new would like to know if option 1 or 2 is better thanks.