When choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, consider your priorities: The MacBook Pro offers excellent build quality, a high-resolution display, and is more suitable for professionals who prioritize a sleek design and prefer macOS for tasks like video editing, graphic design or development. It is lighter and offers excellent battery life, making it more portable and a good fit for those who work on the go. On the other hand, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, while more expensive, provides top-tier gaming performance, a high refresh rate screen, more ports, and customizable RGB lighting, making it ideal for gamers and users who need high-performance hardware for demanding tasks like 3D rendering or machine learning. However, it is heavier and has a significantly shorter battery life, making it less portable. Choose the MacBook Pro if you prioritize portability and macOS, and the ROG Strix Scar if performance and gaming are your main concern. 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 16 (Late 2019)
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.4/10
8.4/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.7/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) with its AMD Radeon Pro 5300M and 60 Hz screen refresh rate is suitable for some 3D tasks, but the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17, boasting a superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti and a much higher 360 Hz refresh rate, excels at gaming and 3D applications, and is also more compatible with a wider range of games compared to the Mac's limited gaming library.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.6/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
4.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is good.
The MacBook Pro 16, with its high-resolution IPS screen and adequate AMD Radeon Pro GPU, offers substantial screen quality for design work but less powerful GPU performance for engineering applications. In contrast, the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 boasts a top-tier Intel i9 CPU and a superior Nvidia RTX GPU which deliver exceptional performance for engineering tasks, although it is heavier and less portable, with a focus on gaming aesthetic that might not appeal to all professional users.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.1/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
360Hz
477.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
292.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 for general use, engineering and design, and software development, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a high-resolution display with exceptional brightness and color accuracy, making it excellent for general use and engineering tasks where precision in color is crucial. However, it lacks a high refresh rate, which is vital for smooth visuals in 3D applications. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 also offers a good resolution for clarity and is bright enough for general tasks and engineering work but falls short for gaming and 3D because it doesn't match the high refresh rates preferred for those activities despite its gaming-oriented brand.
Battery
12.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 12 hours of battery life. The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has 7 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
Good
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.3 lbs
WEIGHT
6.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has good portability, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$540
$2,499
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) has a price of $540 and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 costs $2,499.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) are both good for general use.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) is lighter and offers longer battery life, making it more suitable for on-the-go use and general productivity tasks, whereas the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 provides a more powerful CPU and a high refresh rate display that could be overkill for general use but is an advantage for gaming and heavy performance tasks.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.2/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) are both very good for content creation.
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
7.9/10
7.5/10
4.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3072 x 1920
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 are both good for software development.
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.
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How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) and the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 laptop review: liquid metal 7 nm AMD Zen 3 is stunning. The raw performance increase is absolutely bonkers if you're upgrading from a laptop on Coffee Lake-H or older. The 45 W Ryzen 9 5900HX is neck-to-neck with the thicker, heavier, and hotter Schenker Ultra 17 running on a desktop-class Core i9-11900K despite their wide TDP differences. The performance-per-watt advantages can make Intel Rocket Lake feel like a last generation platform at times. As for the chassis itself, it's a huge light show with RGB LEDs on almost all sides of the system."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (Late 2019) or the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
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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