The ROG Strix GL504 Hero II and SCAR II caught my attention in last year’s COMPUTEX 2018 and thought of having the latter as my next gaming laptop. Six months after its reveal, a refresh of these Strix models have just been announced in CES 2019. Yessir, the ROG Strix GL504 Hero II and SCAR II will have the latest NVIDIA GPUs.
These Strix laptops were designed for two distinct type of gamers. The Hero II is optimized for MOBAs and ideal for gamers who want subtler styling. Its contrasting textures and cyber-text patterns are more restrained than the aggressive aesthetic of the SCAR II, making the Hero II more approachable for wider audiences. Instead of highlighting the WASD cluster, translucent key caps impart an extra glow to the QWER row. On the other hand, the SCAR II is built for the FPS side of the esports arena. Highlighted WASD keys further reinforce the SCAR’s roots and ensure that you can easily find the home row for FPS gaming.
The Hero II and SCAR II previously had GTX 1060 and 1070 as GPUs for these mid-range models. The refreshed versions will have NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 which can provide enough horsepower to drive triple-digit frame rates in popular shooter games. For serious gamers, it’s highly suggested to get the Hero II/SCAR II with RTX 2070.
Both the Hero II and SCAR II have 15.6″ screens 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time. They are powered by six-core Intel Core i7-8750H processors backed by up to 32GB of RAM. They combine speedy solid-state system drives with a terabyte of additional mechanical capacity that provides loads of space for larger game libraries. The auxiliary hard drive can also be swapped for a faster SSHD that caches frequently accessed data to accelerate load times.
Those who yearn for a bigger screen can opt for a ROG Strix SCAR II GL704.
Prices are not yet announced but from what I know, these laptops will be available within Q1.
