ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” vs. MacBook Air 13” 2017: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” and MacBook Air 13” 2017 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” Pros

Reasons that ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” is better than MacBook Air 13” 2017.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-8750H inside ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” has a 190% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-5650U inside MacBook Air 13” 2017.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - Intel Core i7-7700HQ
3,208
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - Intel Core i5-7300HQ
2,685
MacBook Air 13” 2017 - Intel Core i7-5650U
1,538
MacBook Air 13” 2017 - Intel Core i5-5350U
1,350
Supports larger memory

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” supports a larger memory capacity than the MacBook Air 13” 2017. It supports up to 32GB versus 8GB of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2017.

Max system memory size
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”
32 GB
MacBook Air 13” 2017
8 GB
Supports faster memory

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” supports a faster memory speed than the MacBook Air 13” 2017. It supports up to 2666MHz versus 1600MHz of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2017.

Memory type and speed
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - DDR4
2,666 MHz
MacBook Air 13” 2017 - LPDDR3
1,600 MHz
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GDDR5 vs. integrated

17% larger display

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2017.

Display size
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”
15.6-inch
MacBook Air 13” 2017
13.3-inch

MacBook Air 13” 2017 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 13” 2017 is better than ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”.

About 47% lighter

MacBook Air 13” 2017 weighed 2.96 pounds, 47% lighter than the 5.51 pounds ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”.

WeightROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Pound
5.51 lbs.
2.96 lbs.
Kilogram
2.50 kg
1.34 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” Price
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 300Hz IPS Type FHD Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, Opti-Mechanical Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 11, G533QS-DS94
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 300Hz IPS Type FHD Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, Opti-Mechanical Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 11, G533QS-DS94
By ASUS
$1,576.48
$1,999.99 21% OFF
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” Nebula HDR 16:10 QHD 240Hz/3ms, 1100 nits, Mini LED Display, GeForce RTX 4080, Intel Core i9-14900HX, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Pro, G634JZR-XS96
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 (2024) Gaming Laptop, 16” Nebula HDR 16:10 QHD 240Hz/3ms, 1100 nits, Mini LED Display, GeForce RTX 4080, Intel Core i9-14900HX, 32GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Pro, G634JZR-XS96
By ASUS
$2,899.00
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz IPS QHD Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, Intel Core i9 12900H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 11 Home, G533ZW-AS94Q,Black
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 15 Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 240Hz IPS QHD Display, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, Intel Core i9 12900H, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, Per-Key RGB Keyboard, Windows 11 Home, G533ZW-AS94Q,Black
By ASUS
$1,689.97
$2,049.99 18% OFF
MacBook Air 13” 2017 Price
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
Apple 13in MacBook Air (2017 Newest Version) 1.8GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)
By Apple
$238.99
$255.00 6% OFF
2017 Apple Macbook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Silver (Renewed)
2017 Apple Macbook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$244.99
$289.99 16% OFF
Mid 2017 Apple MacBook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
Mid 2017 Apple MacBook Air with 1.8GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$274.68
$290.00 5% OFF

Availability

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Released20172017
Release Date-
  • Available on June 6, 2017
Pricing-
  • $999
    Intel Core i5 5350U | 8GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 5350U | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Dimensions15.11” x 10.31” x 0.90” (384 x 262 x 23 mm)12.8” x 8.94” x 0.11 - 0.68” (325 mm x 227 mm x 3 - 17 mm)
Weight5.51 lbs (2.5 kg)Starting at 2.96 pounds (1.35 kg)
Colors
Midnight Black
Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Backlit chiclet keyboard
  • RGB 4 zones
  • Marked WASD keys
  • Hotkeys: Volume up / Volume down / Mute / ROG Gaming Center
  • 1.8mm travel distance
  • 0.25mm keycap curve
Full-size backlit keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted “T” arrangement) with ambient light sensor
  • Multi-Touch trackpad for precise cursor control; supports inertial scrolling, pinch, rotate, swipe, three-finger swipe, four-finger swipe, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities

Display

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Size15.6 Inches13.3 Inches
Info
ROG Strix SCAR Edition SL503.VD/VM
  • 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) wide-viewing angle TN panel, 120Hz, 5ms, 72% NTSC
ROG Strix SCAR Edition SL503VS
  • 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) IPS-level panel, 144Hz, 7ms, 72% NTSC, G-SYNC
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503GE
  • 15.6-inch Full HD (1920x1080) wide-viewing angle TN panel, 120Hz, 3ms, 94% NTSC
  • Widescreen display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
  • Supported resolutions: 1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio and 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio

Ports

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” Ports
Image Source: ASUS
  • 1 x mDP 1.2
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0
    Supports 4K UHD output at 60 fps.
  • 1 x RJ-45 Jack
  • 1 x 2-in-1 card reader
  • 1 x 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo jack
  • 1 x Kensington lock
ROG Strix SCAR Edition SL503VD
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Type-C)
  • 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • 1 x USB 2.0
ROG Strix SCAR Edition SL503VM
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Type-C)
  • 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
ROG Strix SCAR Edition SL503VS
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen1 (Type-C) (Thunderbolt™)
  • 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503GE
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-C)
  • 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 2 port
    Supports data transfers up to 20 Gbps.
  • 2 x USB 3.0 ports
    Supports data transfers up to 5 Gbps.
  • 1 x 3.5 mm headphone jack
  • 1 x SDXC card reader
  • 1 x MagSafe 2 power port

Internal Specs

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Processor
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    4 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  4. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. 5th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-5350U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.80 → 2.90 GHz, 3MB Cache, 15W
  2. 5th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-5350U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.20 → 3.10 GHz, 4MB Cache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  4. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  1. 5th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-5350U
    Intel® HD Graphics 6000
    48 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
  2. 5th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-5350U
    Intel® HD Graphics 6000
    48 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503.VD/VM/VS
  • Up to 32GB DDR4 2400MHz SDRAM
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503GE
  • Up to 32GB DDR4 2666MHz SDRAM
4GB 8GB
 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
Discrete Graphics
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VD
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 
    Factory-overclocked by 100MHz, 2GB/4GB GDDR5 VRAM.
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VM
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060
    3GB/6GB GDDR5 VRAM.
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VS
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070
    8GB GDDR5 VRAM.
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503GE
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti
    4GB GDDR5 VRAM.
-
Storage
1TB SSHD 1TB 7200 rpm HDD 2TB 5400 rpm HDD
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB flash storage.

Connectivity

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ac 2x2 Wave 2 WLAN
  • 802.11ac 2x2 WLAN
  • 802.11ac 1x1 WLAN
  • 802.11ac Wi‑Fi wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Ethernet Gigabit LAN
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
-

Battery

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
Size-54 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503.VD/GE
  • 9 hours battery life
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VM
  • 3.5 hours battery life
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VS
  • 3 hours battery life
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503GE
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti
    4GB GDDR5 VRAM.
  • Up to 12 hours wireless web
  • Up to 12 hours of iTunes movie playback
  • Up to 30 days standby time
Power Supply
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503.VD/GE
  • 150W power adapter
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VM
  • 180W power adapter
ROG Strix SCAR Edition GL503VS
  • 230W power adapter
45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter
With cable management system; MagSafe 2 power port.

Software

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
OS
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
Shipped with macOS Mojave
Built-in Apps
ROG Gaming Center GameFirst V GameVisual Sonic Studio & Sonic Radar III Aura Core XSplit Gamecaster (free) Android / iOS App
Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview iTunes Books App Store Time Machine

Camera & Audio

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
CameraFront-facing webcam.720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • 2 x 3.5W speaker with Smart AMP technology
  • Array microphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Dual microphones
  • Headphone port
  • Support for Apple iPhone headset with remote and microphone

Misc

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
In the box-
  • MacBook Air 13″
  • Power adapter
  • AC wall plug
  • Power cord
Warranty-Limited Warranty and ServiceYour MacBook Air comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer’s purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple Support or call 800-823-2775.
More-Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 3840-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz on an external display, both at millions of colors
    • Thunderbolt digital video output
    • Native Mini DisplayPort output
    • VGA, HDMI, DVI, and dual-link DVI output using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017
At Glance
Released in
2017
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 144Hz
Weight
5.51 lb
2.50 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8750H
6C/12T, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz
Geekbench 5
975
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,470
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
Up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” Ports
Nvidia GeForce
GTX 1070
8GB GDDR5
Released in Mid
2017
16:10 WXGA+
13.3”
900p 60Hz
Weight
2.96 lb
1.34 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-5650U
2C/4T, 2.20 → 3.10 GHz
Geekbench 5
737
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,538
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 6000
48 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Up to
8GB
1600 MHz LPDDR3

Comparison Summary

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” vs. MacBook Air 13” 2017

ASUS has released the ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”, a 15.6-inch machine, in 2017. It is powered by up to a hexa-core Intel Core i7-8750H with a boost clock speed up to 4.10 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5.

On the other hand, we have the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2017 was introduced by Apple around the same year in mid-2017. It comes with up to a dual-core Intel Core i7-5650U with a boost clock speed up to 3.10 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® HD Graphics 6000 (48 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ84886.97%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ85287.38%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H93595.90%
4
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H975100.00%
MacBook Air 13” 20171
5th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-5350U65467.08%
2
5th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-5350U73775.59%
0975

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”1
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ2,68560.07%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ3,20871.77%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H3,26973.13%
4
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H4,470100.00%
MacBook Air 13” 20171
5th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-5350U1,35030.20%
2
5th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-5350U1,53834.41%
04,470

The ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” has a 15.6-inch display which is considerably larger than the 13.3-inch MacBook Air 13” 2017. In addition, the ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” weighs 5.51 lbs. about 86% heavier than the 2.96 lbs. MacBook Air 13” 2017. Moreover, measured at 15.11” x 10.31” x 0.90”, the ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” is much bulkier than the MacBook Air 13” 2017 at 12.8” x 8.94” x 0.68”.

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2017

Moving over to upgradability, ASUS claims that the ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” supports up to 32GB 2666 MHz DDR4 memory. It also comes with a single SATA slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For MacBook Air 13” 2017, it supports up to 8GB 1600 MHz LPDDR3 memory.

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