ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 (2025) G635LX / MSI Stealth 18 HX AI A2XWJG-035US

ASUS's US spec page shows two G635LX configurations: Windows 11 Home, 1×32 GB, 1 TB, and Windows 11 Pro, 2×16 GB, 2 TB. The G635LW with the RTX 5080 Laptop GPU is a separate model.

Intel rates the chip at 55 W base and 160 W maximum turbo power. In this laptop ASUS allocates 55 W to the CPU in Turbo mode and an extra 25 W in Manual mode; its graphic shows up to 80 W for the CPU.

Arrow Lake-HX generation 24-core processor (8 performance, 16 efficiency) on the Intel HM870 chipset. There is no Hyper-Threading, so each core runs one thread.

TOPS is trillions of operations per second the neural accelerator can perform (Int8). 13 TOPS is below the 40 TOPS Microsoft asks for Copilot+ PCs.

175 W is the ceiling including 25 W Dynamic Boost shifted to the GPU when the CPU is lightly loaded; it is not a constant draw in every game. The RTX 5090 Laptop GPU is not the desktop RTX 5090. Graphics memory is soldered.

The laptop RTX 5090 is not the same card as the desktop RTX 5090. 150 W is the ceiling MSI sets for this thin chassis, so slightly lower GPU performance than thicker 175 W models is expected. MSI quotes 1824 AI TOPS.

Advanced Optimus can route the panel straight to the discrete GPU when a game starts without a reboot, and fall back to integrated graphics on the desktop to save battery.

ASUS quotes more than 2,000 local dimming zones and 1,200 nits peak; the peak applies to small HDR highlights, not sustained full-screen brightness. The panel is Pantone Validated.

The 16:10 panel is an LCD lit from behind by many small LED zones; local dimming gives high brightness and contrast in HDR content, though halos can appear around bright objects in dark scenes. MSI’s family page describes the panel as "IPS-Level".

G-SYNC matches the panel refresh to the GPU frame rate to reduce tearing. The spec sheet also lists G-SYNC for external displays connected over Thunderbolt 5.

ASUS says the layer reduces reflections and improves contrast by 4.5x; this is a manufacturer claim.

SO-DIMM modules are not soldered and can be swapped under the bottom cover. The single 32 GB module configuration runs single-channel until the second slot is filled. The product page mentions DDR5-6400 elsewhere; the spec sheet value of 5600 is used here.

Both slots come populated, so an upgrade means replacing the modules. MSI lists support up to DDR5-6400; the actual speed depends on the memory combination and the CPU.

SSDs are held by tool-less Q-Latch clips. The ASUS product page calls the slots “PCIe Gen 5 ready”, but the spec sheet says PCIe 4.0 and one independent test reported no 5.0 support. Because of nearby components, only single-sided SSDs are supported.

There is no second SSD slot; MSI advises consulting a service centre before upgrading the SSD.

120 Gbit/s is the Thunderbolt 5 one-way Bandwidth Boost rate; the normal bidirectional bandwidth is 80 Gbit/s. There is no card reader. The HDMI version is not stated on the spec sheet.

Thunderbolt 4 carries 40 Gbit/s data and video over the USB-C shaped port. This model has no Thunderbolt 5.

The third auxiliary fan moves heat from the GPU and VRAM to the heatsinks. The up-to-15 °C drop ASUS quotes for liquid metal comes from its internal test against the previous-generation compound.

These are the manufacturer ceilings under simultaneous full load; in Silent mode the GPU runs at a far lower limit.

ASUS says the mainboard frame comes off with a few screws. An independent test reported that the Wi-Fi module is soldered.

Overstroke registers a press earlier in the key travel. ASUS rates the switches for 20 million presses and lists n-key rollover.

All lighting can be switched off.

The camera has no mechanical shutter.

The Thunderbolt 5 ports accept power delivery; with a lower-power USB-C charger the battery can still drain under gaming load.

99.9 Wh is just under the common airline carry-on battery limit. Full GPU performance needs the 280 W adapter.

Adapter weight not included.

SD Express uses a PCIe/NVMe interface for much faster transfers with compatible cards; ordinary SD cards are still read.

The IR camera enables Windows Hello face sign-in.