The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 offers superior performance suitable for intensive gaming and engineering tasks thanks to its high-end processor and powerful graphics card, but it comes at a premium price and is less portable. On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is much less expensive and still provides decent performance for general use and less demanding gaming, with a somewhat lower quality but still high refresh rate display. The ASUS has better performance scores across the board and significantly higher refresh rate which benefits fast-paced gaming, while the Lenovo prioritizes affordability and still maintains good general use and gaming capabilities with good heat management. Both have similar screen sizes and do not feature touchscreens. The choice between them largely hinges on whether the high-performance features of the ASUS warrant the increased cost over the Lenovo. 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 ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good battery life
Very good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has no clear advantages over the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17.
Key differences
General Use
7.9/10
7.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
292.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.5 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.8/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" are both good for general use, though the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is somewhat better.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 offers more storage and a more powerful CPU compared to the Lenovo Legion 5 17", making it very effective for various tasks; however, it is less portable due to its weight and has more battery life for longer use away from power sources.
Gaming and AI
8.4/10
7.4/10
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.6/10
7.6/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is favored for engineering and design because it offers a top-tier CPU and GPU, crucial for demanding tasks, along with a vast and fast storage option, whereas the Lenovo Legion 5 17" provides a less powerful CPU and GPU, which may lead to slower performance in intensive applications, though it does share a high-quality screen and sufficient RAM for solid engineering work; both are large and somewhat heavy, affecting portability but feature quality keyboards and decent operating noise levels suitable for professional environments.
Content Creation
8.2/10
7.2/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" is good.
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.
Screen Quality
8.1/10
7.3/10
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
292.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
305.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 17" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, both the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" offer screens that provide clear visuals and good color representation, making everyday tasks like browsing and video streaming pleasant. These laptops are suitable for engineering and design professionals since they cover a wide range of color gamuts, ensuring that colors in designs and models are accurate and vibrant. However, for gaming and 3D applications where smooth motion is key, the lower refresh rates of these screens may not provide the most fluid experience, making them less optimal for fast-paced, visually demanding games.
Battery
7.0 Hours
4.5 Hours
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has 7 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 17" has 4.5 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.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.4/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 5 17" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,200
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a price of $2,499 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" costs $1,200.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Lenovo Legion 5 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.
Portability
Poor
Poor
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
6.3 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and Lenovo Legion 5 17" both have poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and the Lenovo Legion 5 17" compare to other laptops
"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."
"The Lenovo Legion 5 17 is a current-gen 17-inch gaming laptop and equipped with the latest AMD CPU and a powerful GPU, that manages to reach its full potential. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600H is a very good choice for this laptop and able to maintain its performance level for long periods of time. Our test model only falls behind consistently in a direct comparison with its competitors that are often equipped with eight cores and 16 threads. Despite this, the Legion 5 17 leaves an excellent impression and is almost able to keep up with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 mobile GPU in synthetic benchmarks."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 or the Lenovo Legion 5 17"
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.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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