ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” vs. MacBook Air 13” 2018: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” and MacBook Air 13” 2018 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” 2018.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-8750H inside ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” has a 207% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i5-8210Y inside MacBook Air 13” 2018.

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” 2018 - Intel Core i5-8210Y
1,455
Supports larger memory

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” supports a larger memory capacity than the MacBook Air 13” 2018. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Max system memory size
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”
32 GB
MacBook Air 13” 2018
16 GB
Supports faster memory

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” supports a faster memory speed than the MacBook Air 13” 2018. It supports up to 2666MHz versus 2133MHz of system memory on the MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Memory type and speed
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” - DDR4
2,666 MHz
MacBook Air 13” 2018 - LPDDR3
2,133 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” 2018.

Display size
ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”
15.6-inch
MacBook Air 13” 2018
13.3-inch

MacBook Air 13” 2018 Pros

Reasons that MacBook Air 13” 2018 is better than ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”.

Newer manufacturing

2018 vs. 2017

About 51% lighter

MacBook Air 13” 2018 weighed 2.75 pounds, 51% lighter than the 5.51 pounds ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”.

WeightROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
Pound
5.51 lbs.
2.75 lbs.
Kilogram
2.50 kg
1.25 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 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
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
MacBook Air 13” 2018 Price
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch Retina display, 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 128GB) - Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$370.28
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
2018 Apple MacBook Air with 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$379.95
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
$239.00
$255.00 6% OFF

Availability

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
Released20172018
Release Date-
  • Available on October 30, 2018
Pricing-
  • $1,199
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 128GB SSD
  • $1,399
    Intel Core i5 8210Y | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
Generations-

Exterior

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
Dimensions15.11” x 10.31” x 0.90” (384 x 262 x 23 mm)11.97” x 8.36” x 0.16 - 0.61” (304.1 mm x  212.4 mm x 4.1 – 15.6 mm)
Weight5.51 lbs (2.5 kg)Starting at 2.75 pounds (1.25 kg)
Colors
Midnight Black
Gold Space Gray 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
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) individual LED-backlit keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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
Retina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio

Ports

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB‑C) ports with support for:
  • Charging
  • DisplayPort
  • Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Internal Specs

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 7W
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. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 617
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 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
8GB
Configurable to 16GB 2133MHz 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.
Support for Thunderbolt 3–enabled external graphics processors (eGPUs)
Storage
1TB SSHD 1TB 7200 rpm HDD 2TB 5400 rpm HDD
128GB 256GB
Configurable to 512GB or 1TB SSD

Connectivity

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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 4.2 wireless technology
Ethernet Gigabit LAN
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
-

Battery

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
Size-50.3 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 13 hours Apple TV app video playback
  • Up to 30 days of 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
30W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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 Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
CameraFront-facing webcam.720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • 2 x 3.5W speaker with Smart AMP technology
  • Array microphones
  • Stereo speakers
  • Three microphones
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
Sensors-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security-
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box-
  • MacBook Air
  • 30W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty-Your MacBook Air comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
More-Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:
    • One external display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at up to 60Hz
    • Up to two external displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at up to 60Hz
  • Thunderbolt 3 digital video output
    • Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
    • VGA, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 output using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018
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 Late
2018
16:10 WQXGA
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
2.75 lb
1.25 kg
Powered By
Intel Core i5-8210Y
2C/4T, 1.60 → 3.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
728
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,455
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 617
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Up to
16GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3

Comparison Summary

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” vs. MacBook Air 13” 2018

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” 2018 was introduced by Apple about a year later in late-2018. It comes with a dual-core Intel Core i5-8210Y with a boost clock speed up to 3.60 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics 617 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 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” 20181
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y72874.67%
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” 20181
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8210Y1,45532.55%
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” 2018. In addition, the ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” weighs 5.51 lbs. about 100% heavier than the 2.75 lbs. MacBook Air 13” 2018. 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” 2018 at 11.97” x 8.36” x 0.61”.

ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15”MacBook Air 13” 2018

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” 2018, it supports up to 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 memory.

Comments

Ask questions or share your thought and experience about the comparison between ROG Strix SCAR Edition 15” and MacBook Air 13” 2018.

Loading Comments...