Asus Scar II - GL704GW, i7 8750H, RTX2070, 144hz

Hello all,

I bought one of this latest beast. Has any of you also ?

- Repaste : done
- Clean install : done => Media creation tool (USB drive)

Questions :
- my processor is always on max speed (3,8 - 3,9 ghz in XTU)
- Does this laptop has optimus ?? (it should but I don't know how to set it yet)
- I tried to reset and change my power settings to optimal settings : doesn't change anything
- Armoury crate : doesn't work : where can I download it ? (Went on MS store, downloaded Armoury crate beta : no tabs to monitor anything)

Reviews online :
https://laptopmedia.com/review/asus-rog-gl704-scar-ii-hero-ii-review-everyone-hop-the-rtx-ship/
https://www.tech-critter.com/review-asus-rog-strix-scar-ii-gl704-gaming-notebook-rtx2070/
https://me.pcmag.com/gaming/12148/asus-rog-strix-gl504gw-scar-ii
https://elchapuzasinformatico.com/2019/01/asus-rog-strix-scar-ii-gl704gw-review/

From those links, it seems like Nvidia drivers are not optimized yet : performances are for some games as high as a GTX 1070 (laptop).

Last words :
- I can make a review if you want me to. For those who own one of this laptop, let's discuss about perfs and temps.
- CPU cooling is not as good as for the GPU (temps are higher on average)

Thx !

 

Hey there!
Looking at one of those myself. If I’ll find one at the right price - will sure buy it.
Your review with pros/cons would be greatly appreciated.
Meantime:
There is no Optimus onboard.
I always set my power plan on Ult Performance
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/ultimate-performance-power-plan

 

Looks nice. I want to hear the speakers. The GPU and CPU have different thermal throttle limits, max allowed temps. GPU is cooler because it has to be, it might be the reason for the asymmetrical heatpipe/heatsink/heatfin design.

 

Hello,

Here is a quick review while for a complete test :

- Screen is a AUO409D, 144hz : responsive as expected, good colors, no dead pixel
- Before repasting : I got HUGE thermal throttling under XTU.
FYI : Asus' job on the thermal paste and pads are a real joke ! The paste was completely dry and spread on the sides. The pads were squished when I removed the rads.

- Repasted, no notepad cooler : after a complete game of Insurgency Sandstorm, all settings maxout :
a. CPU : min 33°C, max : 85°C, average : 66°C. Current : 44°C
b. GPU : min 33°C, max : 77°C, average : 61°C

- Fans are noisy compared to my GT72VR-6RE with GTX 1070 (average temp after a game of insurgency were around 70°C)
- I got the version with i7 8750h, SSD 512 go, 16 go Samsung DDR4 => laptop is quite a beast to process anything

- 3D marks score :
a. Firestrike : 16 416 pts
b. Time Spy : 7400 pts

Nvidia drivers : 417.77

So far :

**PROS :
- Very nice screen and response time
- Laptop materials seem solid and quality
- Pretty responsive (remember I'm from a GT72VR-6RE 6700hq, GTX 1070)
- Scores on 3dmark are pretty goods

**CONS :
- Noisy fans (to mitigate : my GT72VR had a bigger chassis, this one is way slimer)
- Currently, performance ingame are LOW (haven't seen ANY differences with my GT72VR => online reviews reported the same performance issues probably due to non mature drivers from Nvidia).
A bit disappointed on this side for the moments...

 

Screen! Is there a lightbleed?
Thanks

 

I’ll post some tomorrow after work

Yes I have a small bleed leak on the bottom of the screen but it does not bother me at all.

From my experience, I got and have tested so many laptops... I’ve never seen any perfectly black screen.

My current gt72 is way more bleeding than this one.

 

My real concern is the performance right now. Fps are not that high, kinda low for this new gen rtx... if nvidia releases new drivers in the next few days, i’ll keep you all in touch.

 

Hello,

New Nvidia drivers came out yesterday for RTX (418.81).
I installed them and noticed increases of performance in game !

=> Insurgency Sandstorm with ultra settings had about a boost of 15 fps with those newest drivers !

 

What’s your FPS on max settings? I’ve had around 80-90 with 1060

 

Regarding the firestrike and yours 16 416 pts. I assume this is the general score? What is the graphics score? It should be around 19000

 

Hey,

Sorry haven't had time to make pictures.
My scores are the following with the newest nvidia drivers (418.81) :

 

I've just done another 3dmark test with Armoury Crate settings to Turbo :
Final score is 16 999 pts.

 

Wow, on laptop ? With a 1060 ?

What settings are you using ?
I put almost everything on ultra and don't get 80-90. It's more of 70-75 fps.

 

that is a nice result, I wonder what would liquid metal repaste do to thermals, performance and noise levels, it definitely should help

 

You don’t want to run UE4 engine games on Ultra. There is guides on how to get best FPS in sandstorm, check utube. I’ve had a mix of high textures/low shadows, no SS, etc... Nvidia experience got good profile for it already. You should be able to pull of 144 FPS easily to match that refresh.

 

In case you live in the US and near a Microcenter, they are selling the 15" for $1700 and 17" for $1800. I live about an hour away but it was worth the drive to buy one (got the 15 myself). Pretty impressed by the build quality, especially the keyboard is surprisingly nice compared to others I've used and the speakers are awesome.

 

Thanks for the heads up! What’s with the price? What’s the catch? MC exclusive SKU’s?

 

Ah ok thank you mate.
I'm feeling better now. Thought you were running the game with everything on ultra.
I'll definitely take a look on youtube to optimize the settings. Thx

 

I have some IC Diamond 24 at home. Last time I used it, the paste became so hard to remove I don't want to use it anymore.
I'll go check for some liquid cooling. Is there any risk the liquid could interact with the mobo or other components ?

Thx

 

For thermal paste remover, I used this https://smile.amazon.com/ArctiClean...9501658&sr=8-4&keywords=thermal+paste+remover or isopropyl alcohol.

Yes, a bad LM application will short out components on your mobo.

Do you have any games that have built in benchmarks you can use to provide us data?

 

Does the screen AUO B173HAN04.0 suffer of the same inverse ghosting issues as AUO B173HAN03.2 aka AUO239D (GL703)?
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthre...)-display-panels-affected-by-inverse-ghosting
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...-ghosting-display-issues-with-nvidia-drivers/

 

BTW, repasting voids warranty AFAIK...

 

Hence why you get it done by a reseller / system builder shop.

 

I haven't noticed any reverse ghosting on my screen (it's a 144hz panel AUO239D).

The only ghosting I have is 3 halos from the bottom of the screen on a black background.
Yes there is a sticker on one screw that says "void warranty if removed".

Anyway, this is completely BS from Asus since their thermal paste job is a real joke. Before repasting, I also had so much thermal throttling.

 

Please, can you check carefully the inverse ghosting issue? It is more noticeable with a white background (sky, fog scenario etc.) and rotating camera at a moderate constant speed… Hard to see in some games. Some users didn't notice it at all (but was present) until someone else or a friend showed it… it's a minor defect but still annoying (especially for some users, like those very sensitive to 30fps jerkiness) and all GL703GS users reported it sooner or later. It would be really interesting if absent on GL704 with the same panel since most people say it's an overdrive issue (in the panel itself so a different HW shouldn't change that)...

https://www.blurbusters.com/faq/lcd-overdrive-artifacts/ (Ghosting explained. Inverse ghosting generates a dark trail…)

Mmmh, I'm afraid here in Italy it won't save you from warranty void: only the ASUS official repair lab is allowed to do it (and there is only one centralized lab in Italy where all RMAs go). That's what ASUS customer care told me.

 

Ok I'll make a more intensive check once I receive my new one.
I decided to return the previous one because the ghosting were actually worse than I thought at night (3 spots on a black background).

I also ordered :
- Grizzly Liquid Metal
- Scotch Thermal tape 33+
- Thermal Pads
- Conformal Coating (Jet 7361 for isolation)

I'll let you know the results in a week (ghosting, reverse ghosting and temperatures with Liquid Metal).

 

You mean screen bleeding

Great. I ordered new Noctua NT-H2... seems equal to Kryo thermal paste. I don't like the LM idea because I've read it can be corrosive on long run (after months being applied. There are also videos on YT), even though is known to be the most effective in cooling solution.

 

Yup I meant screen bleeding

About corrosion, it is on aluminium heatsink but obviously no issue for copper ones (most of heatsinks are made of copper).

 

Also copper pipes can be a bit corroded… see on YT "liquid metal corrosion". Probably heat-sinks are never 99.99% pure Cu++ and there is always some gallium oxidation

 

If you haven't bought a laptop yet, talk to HIDEVOLUTION and see if they can help you out. I believe they do international shipping but ask to be sure.

Sent from my SM-N960U1 using Tapatalk

 

What's your AIDA64 Extreme "System Stability Test" result? Do you have some CPU Throttling in the first 60 secs? And what's max temp reached for you during test (see Statistics tab)?
Remember to flag every stress option except: Stress local disks.

https://www.aida64.com/downloads (ZIP portable versione available, unpack and run)

 

You said in some of your early posts you have B173HAN04.0 AUO409D (?). This explains why you can't see ghosting like with AUO B173HAN03.2 (AUO329D)

 

Also stated that it’s AUO329D on the previous page. So...Not sure what he said.

 

How do you like yours so far? Decided to get a 17inch version from them. Quick question: it comes with 16GB ram - you got two stick of ram or one ?

 

My bad guys, I do have a 409 not 329... so probably because I didn't have any reverse ghosting.
I'll receive another one in the next days so I'll make deeper tests.

So far, my only concerns Were the temperatures but I'll use liquid metal so I should get -20°C at least on my CPU.

Yeah mine came With a 16 go ram from Samsung ! so that's pretty sick...

 

Two sticks of 8GB or one 16?

 

Answer is bold.

 

No worries about LM, it works just fine, but it does have to be reapplied after first 9 months with not too much scratching on the heatsink. The sink will absorb some amount of gallium and will change the color to grey, this is normal, no need to scratch that away or use the sand paper as some guys do, a good wipe with alcohol is fine,the consecutive applications will absorb less and less as the copper will already be plated with gallium. Another thing though is a proper application, that one is easier said than done. This vid is awesome in explaining this . Watch the full video before the application. I reckon since u already bought the 33+ tape then u must have seen the application tutorials already, just dont use too much conformal coating as it may increase the overall socket temps. Apart from that really looking forward to your results, thermals and noise levels.

 

Those videos where max temp in well cooled desktop systems is between 50-65°C are nonsense for testing paste/LM effectiveness though.
If you really have to compare different thermal paste or LM you have to do it with temps higher than 75-80°C IMHO (gaming laptops typically).

 

I saw you're mentioning No Optimus on your unit. Does that mean the dGPU is always active? I'm asking because I had the GL504GW for a while, and that came with Optimus and allowed the dGPU to switch off with daily use.

As a side note, I found that dual-channel memory makes a big difference in games on the GL504 ( https://www.ultrabookreview.com/25079-asus-gl504gw-scar-review/#a5 ), so I'd reckon it should on the GL704 as well.

 

This is interesting (inverse ghosting issue with previous GL703GS): new Armoury for 704 includes a mod-switch to control Overdrive! Would be very appreciated also for Gaming Center sotware on GL703GS.



GL704 users with Armoury can make sshots of the 144Hz Overdrive control software please (if any, or is it just a switch ON/OFF with a shortcut key)?

 

hello,

from where did you take the current Nvidia driver? On the Asus side is an older version

https://www.asus.com/de/Laptops/ROG-Strix-SCAR-II/HelpDesk_Download/

and unfortunately also BF5 does not run since the new update, is that the same with you?

many greats

 

Hi guys, do you know if theres a thread for the new Zephyrus S 2070 Max-q?

I need to find a Zephyrus S 2070 Max-Q owner to kindly ask for a copy of the vbios of the 2070 MQ in that chassis.Working on a little project

Any help to point me in the right direction would be ENORMOUSLY appreciated!

Thaaaaaaaanks!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/asus-rog-zephyrus-s-gx701gx-xs76-owners-lounge.826858/
2080 MAXQ model, but I would guess they use same BIOS

 

Thanks a lot but I'm after the vbios of the gpu not the logic board but I'll go check out the thread still.

Thanks!

 

Ok guys,

I have received all my gears.
I’m ready to test all over again.

I’ll post the results soon. Ask me if you want some specific details.

Btw I have a question on undervolting : I saw some 8750h that can go down to -0.160v with xtu on core voltage offset ! On average, people can get up to -0.130 to -0.150.

How come mine out of the box cannot exceed -.110 without crashing during benchmarks?
Is there any limiting factors I can play with ? I’m a bit disappointed I cannot go further.

Is it the v302 bios which is limiting ? Or has my cpu a bad under volt capacity ?

Thx a lot

 

Each CPU is different, it is a lottery. -110 is still a decent result though

 

Sorry for late response. I ended up returning it simply due to the fan noise. Everything else was awesome (keyboard, speakers, etc). The camo design on the inside is kind of cheesy but eh. The problem is I'll be using it mostly next to my wife while she watches TV so fan noise is nearly my #1 issue lol. LM'ing probably gives better results but I'm too chicken to do it on my own + void the warranty

 

Here is a review from Notebookcheck german edition, english version coming soon I guess.

https://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-...L704GW-i7-8750H-RTX-2070-Laptop.397611.0.html

 

I will probably give the device back, unfortunately, the notebook makes noises when the power adapter is connected