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MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
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ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
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What we think

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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated August 22, 2024·

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is ideal for those who prioritize portability, battery life, and a high-quality display with excellent color accuracy, making it a top choice for creative professionals and general users who value a premium build and performance. Its M2 Pro processor ensures efficient multitasking and decent gaming capabilities, though it falls short for intensive gaming or specialized engineering tasks. In contrast, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is built for high-performance gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks, thanks to its powerful AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D processor and Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU. It offers a larger, fast-refresh rate display, which is great for gaming but at the cost of portability and battery life. It's also well-suited for engineering applications due to its superior graphics performance. Ultimately, choose the MacBook Pro for its all-around performance, exceptional display, and portability, especially if you're within the Apple ecosystem. Opt for the Asus ROG Strix Scar if your primary focus is on gaming or demanding computational tasks, accepting that it's less portable and has a shorter battery life. 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 (2023)
  • Excellent for general use
  • Very good for software development
  • Excellent for content creation
  • Excellent overall display quality
  • Best in class overall build quality
  • Good portability
  • Best in class battery life
  • Best in class speakers
  • Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
  • Excellent for engineering and design
  • Excellent for gaming and AI

Key differences

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General Use

9.1
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
8.1
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
487.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
3.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for general use, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is very good.

Gaming and AI

7.4
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
9.2
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is good.

Content Creation

9.1
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
8.2
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is excellent for content creation, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is very good.

Software Development

8.9
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
7.9
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good for software development, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is good.

Screen Quality

9.3
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
8.3
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
487.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.

Battery

17.5 Hours
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
3.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 hours of battery life. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has 3 hours of battery life.

Portability

Good
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
Poor
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
6.6 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.1in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has good portability, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

10.0
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
7.4
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D has good build quality.

Cost

$2,423
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
$3,500
Product image
Product image

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) has a price of $2,423 and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D costs $3,500.
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Key similarities

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Engineering and Design

8.8
MacBook Pro 16 (2023)
ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
9.1
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
5.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D to be excellent for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is very good.

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We’re constantly working to improve.

How the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) and the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D
Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D

GENERAL

Price
$2,423
$3,500
Release Date
January 1, 2023June 6, 2023
Overall Dimensions
14'' x 9.8'' x 0.66''15.6'' x 11.1'' x 1.11''
Weight
4.7 lbs6.61 lbs
Width
14.01"15.55"
Depth
9.77"11.1"

INTERNAL

Processor
Apple M2 Pro (12C)AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D
RAM
16 GB32 GB
DDR Memory Version
55
RAM Slots
02
Storage
1024 GB2048 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
17.5 Hours3 Hours
Battery Capacity
99.6 Wh90 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
16.2"17.3"
Display Technology
Mini LEDIPS
Resolution
3456 x 22342560 x 1440
Refresh Rate
120Hz240Hz
Display Brightness
487 nits350 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
10/107.4/10
Portability Score
7.6/105.7/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
NoYes
Premium Business Laptop
YesNo
Fan Noise Score
8.8/106.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
9.5/108.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
10/107/10
Webcam
1080p720p
Fingerprint Reader
YesNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
NoYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
02
USB-C ports
32
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
23
Thunderbolt Version
4N/A

Shopping

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Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023)

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Andreas Osthoff | February 2023
"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."

Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) or the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D

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.

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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.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

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.

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