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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is a premium option, better for intensive gaming and engineering tasks due to its more robust graphics and processing power, but it's less portable and more expensive. In contrast, the MSI Pulse GL66 is more budget-friendly and offers better portability, suitable for general use and decent for gaming, but it falls short in performance for demanding engineering or 3D tasks and has a shorter battery life. Both laptops have ample RAM for most tasks, but the ASUS has a larger screen and a higher refresh rate which are beneficial for gaming, whereas the MSI is lighter and thus easier to carry around. 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
- Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the MSI Pulse GL66
- Good portability
Key differences
General Use
7.9
7.3
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
292.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
5.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for general use, though the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is somewhat better.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for general use primarily due to its superior CPU, the latest i9, and the high-end Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics, making it highly capable for demanding tasks, although it is less portable and has shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
8.4
7.2
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Pulse GL66 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
7.5
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is very good for engineering and design, while the MSI Pulse GL66 is good.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 stands out for engineering and design use with its top-tier Intel i9 processor, superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, and larger high-refresh rate screen, which are all very important for demanding tasks and detailed visual work.
Content Creation
8.2
7.2
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 MSI Pulse GL66 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.
Software Development
7.5
7.0
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and MSI Pulse GL66 are both good for software development, though the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 is somewhat better.
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
8.1
6.8
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
360Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
292.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
245.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has a better screen than the MSI Pulse GL66 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 offers a well-balanced display with the necessary resolution and brightness for daily activities and a wide color gamut, which is beneficial for engineering and design work. However, its lower refresh rate might not provide the smoothest experience for gaming and 3D applications where fast motion is common. The MSI Pulse GL66, with its fair display attributes, can handle everyday use and works decently for engineering applications, but it doesn't excel in gaming or 3D due to a less impressive refresh rate and smaller color range.
Battery
7.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has 7 hours of battery life. The MSI Pulse GL66 has 4 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
Poor
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
6.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The MSI Pulse GL66 has good portability, while the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5
7.4
The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 has very good build quality, while the MSI Pulse GL66 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,499
$1,399
$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 MSI Pulse GL66 costs $1,399.
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How the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 and the MSI Pulse GL66 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 | MSI Pulse GL66 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,499 | $1,399 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | January 1, 2023 | March 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.1'' x 1.02'' | 14.1'' x 10.2'' x 0.94'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.39 lbs | 4.63 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.55" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.1" | 10.2" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-12900H | Intel i7-11800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 4 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 90 Wh | 53 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 360Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 292 nits | 245 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.9/10 | 7.1/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.8/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 9/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8.8/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | No Webcam | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | May 2021
"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."
MSI Pulse GL66
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | April 2022
"The MSI Pulse GL66 has a lot of potential for improvement. Although the RTX 3060 is only able to use 105 watts, we still liked the gaming performance, particularly since this also makes the Pulse comfortably efficient but not slow by any means. Neither the dark display with its lame response times, nor USB 2.0 or the lack of Thunderbolt will please real gamers. The use of a sticker factory seal, which is at least questionable, also won't inspire any enthusiasm. It is obvious that the laptop is really designed for price-conscious gamers."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Strix Scar 17 or the MSI Pulse GL66
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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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