The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is better suited for general use, creative professionals, and those who prefer a high-quality display with excellent color accuracy, as well as those invested in the Apple ecosystem. It is portable with a longer battery life, offering a balance between performance and convenience with its lightweight design. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15, on the other hand, excels in 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming thanks to its powerful graphics and processor. However, it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, making it less portable but more suited for high-performance tasks. Both laptops are similarly priced, so your choice should be based on whether portability and display quality or raw performance and gaming capabilities are more important for your needs. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for software development
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Very good portability
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15
Very good for gaming and AI
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
283.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.9/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
8.3/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is good.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15, with its Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics and a high screen refresh rate, offers a superior gaming experience particularly for fast-paced games, while the Apple MacBook Pro 14's M2 Pro GPU and lower screen refresh rate are well-suited for general 3D tasks but many popular games do not run on its MacOS.
Content Creation
8.5/10
8.0/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 are both very good for content creation, though the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.4/10
7.4/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
7.9/10
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
283.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro's screen boasts high resolution and brightness, ideal for everyday tasks and ensures crisp visuals for engineering and design with its wide color gamut. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15, while good for general use and design tasks, doesn't match the MacBook's screen in terms of overall vibrancy and accuracy. However, despite its strengths, the MacBook Pro's lower refresh rate may not be as smooth for 3D applications as some other high-refresh-rate displays, making it less optimal for 3D work where fluid motion is a priority.
Battery
13.5 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 has 5.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
14.2in
SIZE
15.6in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.0 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has very good portability, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$2,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a price of $1,700 and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 costs $2,000.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is equipped with Apple's M2 Pro chip, ensuring high CPU and GPU performance, supported by a high-resolution Mini LED screen, making it ideal for tasks that require color accuracy and visual detail, albeit at a higher price and with slightly less portability.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 compare to other laptops
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
"Asus continues to refine the ROG Strix Scar lineup with new upgrades. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 offers almost everything you would expect from a gaming laptop at this price. The build quality is great, connectivity options are decent, and there is enough scope for internal upgrades as well. Asus reverts to membrane switches for the keyboard — though not as "clickety" as the opto-mechanical ones we saw with last year's model, they still make for a decent typing and gaming experience. The lack of biometrics in any form is a downer."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) or the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.