Yeah that thing where some manufacturers treat AMD like a second class citizen annoys me too. Think only Lenovo gives them the respect they deserve. Great review as always.
Asus should understand that given the premium price point, they gotta make some things to look premium. They gotta include a mechanical keyboard with no squished in numpads(17" and 18" still feature kitten sized keys). Biometrics and 3 USB A and 2 USB C is necessary. Camera quality gotta go upto 5MP with IR. And maybe a SD card with upto 150MB/s. This is why I think some people don't like Asus because they charge a premium price but not looking premium with such features. They gotta go back to the drawing board and redesign their keyboard like Alienware full sized keyboard and good RGB lighting already. It looks super dull and F1 to F12 icons are not lit up which is weird.
Well, Asus showed that they CAN do it with their Zephyrus Line-Up. Even the Scar 16+18 are a big step forward from this one. I would love to see a ProArt Notebook, baut with the Scar 17s hardware config ... that would be something.
@@NotebookcheckReviews Zephyrus is good, but I want them to do the same for Strix/Scar. I mean they both are in the 2 grand to 4 grand budget range so there's no excuse that these laptops don't have the features I said.
Handing the older chassis to an objectively better SoC is just….weird. The OG 7945HX model can be justified. This feels unfair. They have one last shot with the rumored 7900M chip based Strix AE model in the barn……if that goes out the winds, then it’s clear that Intel has resorted to hand-wringing to prevent an objectively better product from a competitor.
I agree, who knows what is going on behind the curtain, and how far back any agreements date. But lets hope we will see a lot more, premium, AMD-equipped notebooks soon!
This is why I am very happy I got my Vivobook Pro 14X for 1300 euro's, because it has a lot of premium features such as 90hz 2.8k oled and 32gb ram alongside 5900hx that make it a production beast still. The rtx 3050ti 4gb is the weak spot but at least it has a high performance per watt and just uses 40watts max, leading to a small compact body and PSU. RTX 4070 Zenbook Pro f.e. has twice the gpu performance and more vram but also needs a much bigger laptop body and PSU. The Vivobook Pro 14X is 1.4kg but the Zenbook Pro 14 1.8kg with twice the PSU size.A 32gb 1tb rtx 4070 i9 13900 Zenbook Pro might have twice the performance but is 2.5x the price and much heavier and less compact to travel with. So there are trade offs. Finally, single core performance of the 5900hx is 70% of the i9 13900h, which for production apps is enough anyways. I am waiting for prices to drop or for me to find a last minute deal otherwise the RTX 4070 Zenbook is way too expensive.
Your comments on the second class citizen treatment for AMD machines are very welcome, it feels like they've been sabotaged like that for years now. Dell didn't even touch AMD, not even when Ryzen 4000 and 5000 were crushing Intel 9th, 10th and 11th gen. This practice feels very scummy, and they are probably being paid for this. I usually hammer on this very key on almost every machine, too- saving pennies on machines that start at 2000 EUR is ridiculous and very off-putting. On the machine itself, it's looks shockingly similar to the G15 AE, which is both good and bad. The keyboard on it I find great, albeit lacking in a numpad, but the touchpad does look different, and I find the one in the G15 quite good as well. 3D V-cache really changed the game, and I can't wait to see it trickle down further, especially for handhelds. Imagine Zen 5 3D v-cache chips with an RDNA4 iGPU, that is going to be straight up silly. One of the most appealing parts of 3D GPUs seem to be missing from this as AMD went the way of Intel, deciding to forget tuning the power curve to instead just deliver the highest possible Cinebench scores. To be fair, I get the reason why- big number means neuron activation and all that. For the top-most, mobile workstation chip, I don't mind too much. The best part is that I expect any 3D V-cache CPU to hang at the top spots in the gaming CPU hierarchy for a long while, because to this day there are games where the humble 5800X3D, a CPU that, effectively, is a mid-range chip from 2020, is still trading blows with a 250W latest-gen i9 that costs two or three times as much, and doing it while sipping power. It has been aging really, really well. It's crazy how some games are an absolute blowout in the favor of any CPU with the extra cache, regardless of it's "base power", and it feels like we are getting more of those as of late. I don't know if it's more detailed models, more complex physics, more background stuff that happens in ever more ambitious titles, but given Intel is also racing to implement their own low-level cache expansion technologies (Adamantine I think it's called?), I suspect this trend will continue for some time.
Chip - better than the non V-cache unit, as expected... though what would have been perhaps even better would be a mixed Bergamo chiplet and 3D V-cache one, as both are more energy efficiency oriented, one potentially giving 16 full-fledged cores with regular cache size per chiplet and one with more cache for those apps that benefit from it. That aside from a full-on 3D V-cache dual chiplets CPU would make it far better. Sure it would cost as much if not slightly more, but then it would make a better premium component than this is. Still, this chassis at this price point? Perhaps sometime soon Dell might start offering a refreshed internals Alienware units, then this CPU might be offered there in some Xnn line-up models. But currently and globally it seems that along the so called "premium" laptops only Asus has the global reach and distribution (it's one thing to state that something is offered, it's a different thing to deliver it to retailers/clients worldwide). And yet, they're putting the premium compute components into an old chassis coming from a refresh 2 or 3 years ago on an even older design, with only an okayish screen? Asus once had Zephyrus S17, why not base the chassis design on it, just improve the cooling more (who knows maybe they could even get the Frore systems on board to get a whole huge set of their AirJets spread over the surface of the vapor chamber/laptop space), use the raised keyboard for extra air intake and to keep hands cool all the time and to put a huge touchpad, maybe even one to rival those from the Macbooks, put a miniLED 17" screen with 8:5, or how it is now commercialised/named 16:10, AR as there are a few of those on the market to choose from at FHD+/QHD+/UHD+ resolutions, give more than 2xUSB4-C and 2xUSB3.2-A ports as well, upgrade to the WiFi7 cards, maybe consider adding a 10GbE ethernet port as a first in Windows laptop market, and as a must-have add better camera like what's being done on the "office-oriented" Zenbooks, plus complete the package with both IR for face detection and a fingerprint scanner, maybe even consider adding smart-card reader for trully all the boxes ticked in the security department. Finally, drop the awful RGB everywhere discoteque leaving only the useful parts, like keyboard lights and maybe, if you really want RGB on a chassis, add turnable hard to see ports monikers like Lenovo did on Legion 7. Heck maybe even consider checking the USB-C chargers to get some 240W+ PD GaN small-ish brick for the on-the-go occasions... That would make it a head turner for those in the know and a stealthy looking one for those that don't want to lug around room ambient lights along with the thick old-looking laptop. And that, priced at similar range as the current old chassis, would make far more sense to the consumers looking for a trully premium offering. Someone at Asus must have known that, and yet we got this? Btw. we're still missing RDNA3 GPUs higher than 7600M in laptop space... wouldn't it be great if AMD could combine their efficiency designs and release whole platform top of the range AMD? Maybe then people could forget the old chassis setup offered on a premium product... just maybe.
While you have some good points i would add that the more powerful a laptop gets the worse it´s battery time will become. Hence it becomes more of a desktop replacement with the perk of being smaller, easier to move then a desktop pc. So stuff like keyboard flex, certain style choices, heck even the quality of the display do not matter as much anymore as they would in a laptop you actually use for "laptop" things. Sure for the pricetag they ask it´s arguable if "cutting corners" isn´t bit of a cheap shot, there are other brands that offer similar performance for less money while cheaping out on parts that probably a lot of consumers don´t even care about (or would even notice). If i would require a laptop for work, presentations etc i´d definitely not get one with a dedicated gpu and focus a lot more on efficiency. After all you do not really do high workload stuff on the go using battery. There are plenty of laptops around 400-500 bucks that are much better suited for doing anything on the go and you can add some more money to get the preferred build quality/display option etc. The one that shows up to a work meeting with a ryzen 9 7945hx3d laptop either doesn´t give a damn or wants to do some weird flex that most in the room won´t get.
Why can't it be liquid metal? Is it due to some technical problems with the chip or just ASUS not giving an option? That phase change pad is also pretty close to liquid metal in performance. Also, is the 7945HX3D single CCD or double like the desktop 7950X3D?
@@devonoconnell2742 Is the chassis fully aluminium? I might have missed it. Even so if liquid metal leaks, damaged chassis would be the least of their problems. Not like they don't place guards around the CPU to prevent leaks.
I also did not find it, but it was supposed to be available today! I will update the links as soon as we have news! There has also yet to be a word on pricing.
What an unused potential. Typical Asus are treating AMD as a second-class citizen. Hopefully, we will see X3D chips also on other notebooks like Lenovo Legion.
Yep! But given we've already waited all year for a promised L7Pro 16ARX8H 7945HX model that's never come, I'm just not bothering to hope until something is actually released and in stock
It is such a shame. I used it as a daily driver, but it was closed and connected to an external screen with a mouse and keyboard. And it's so good ... I just wished they would put everything in a nicer chassis!
@@NotebookcheckReviews Hi Notebook i am torn between the strix G17 and the strix G16 with i7 13650HX with 4060gpu. Do you think the G16 would still be ok for editing videos and multi tasking. I kinda like the 17inch but a lot of people are saying the cooling is not as good as the G16 and G18 computers. The G16 i was thinking of buying also has a 240hz QHD screen .
In a workstation V-Cache is not worth it due to not being compatible with liquid metal. That means a quite noisy laptop with worse multi-core CPU performance than 7945HX. For gaming it will bring a small performance benefit as CPU isn't running at max TDP while gaming. Overall it doesn't make much sense as you will get much better gaming experience from a desktop for much less.
Nice one amd, tack on an extra power hungry 8 cores that are useless for gaming and were already rejected on desktop. Don't take advantage of your chip thats even faster for gaming but with half the power consumption of normal zen 4 ON THE BATTERY POWERED FORM FACTOR. 🤦♂️Amd knew how power hungry even their chiplet links were so they had monolithic designs for mobile to get around that, now theyre adding both an io die link and cross ccd link needlessly so you have this chip literally losing to intel in video playback & web browsing battery life.
I had the Acer Helios 18. It felt weird the 16:10 display. It is true you can have some extra lines of stuff in Premiere, After Effects, etc. BUT the whole "feeling" it has as a more "squared" vs the more "cinematic" feel of the 16:9 is a turn off - especially when watching videos. What's next in their marketing department? Selling a 4:3 as the new cool? No thanks. I stick to 16:9 like the Scar 17 has.
Yeah that thing where some manufacturers treat AMD like a second class citizen annoys me too. Think only Lenovo gives them the respect they deserve. Great review as always.
But then again, they announced the Legion Pro 7s with Zen 4 CPUs months, and they are nowhere to be seen ...
Hopefully the framework 16 gets higher option amd gpus/cpus soon, i can't wait
Asus should understand that given the premium price point, they gotta make some things to look premium. They gotta include a mechanical keyboard with no squished in numpads(17" and 18" still feature kitten sized keys). Biometrics and 3 USB A and 2 USB C is necessary. Camera quality gotta go upto 5MP with IR. And maybe a SD card with upto 150MB/s. This is why I think some people don't like Asus because they charge a premium price but not looking premium with such features. They gotta go back to the drawing board and redesign their keyboard like Alienware full sized keyboard and good RGB lighting already. It looks super dull and F1 to F12 icons are not lit up which is weird.
Well, Asus showed that they CAN do it with their Zephyrus Line-Up. Even the Scar 16+18 are a big step forward from this one. I would love to see a ProArt Notebook, baut with the Scar 17s hardware config ... that would be something.
@@NotebookcheckReviews Zephyrus is good, but I want them to do the same for Strix/Scar. I mean they both are in the 2 grand to 4 grand budget range so there's no excuse that these laptops don't have the features I said.
A good example of "gamer" aesthetic done right is IMO the Zephyrus range. The design manages to look futuristic and distinct, yet understated.
True. The Lenovo Legions also strike an excellent middle ground, and I personally like Alienware's approach too.
Review of the mobile X3D is finally here
Sure is!
Handing the older chassis to an objectively better SoC is just….weird. The OG 7945HX model can be justified. This feels unfair. They have one last shot with the rumored 7900M chip based Strix AE model in the barn……if that goes out the winds, then it’s clear that Intel has resorted to hand-wringing to prevent an objectively better product from a competitor.
I agree, who knows what is going on behind the curtain, and how far back any agreements date. But lets hope we will see a lot more, premium, AMD-equipped notebooks soon!
there is nothing weird - only this chasis from Asus has vapor chamber
Is it just me or is the pricing on these absolutely wow-inducing :)) its shocking
The pricing for all rtx 4000 series laptops have been ridiculous. I normally upgrade every year, but the nvidia tax this year has been a real turn off
Absolutely! The Scar is a great laptop, but at that price it should offer a better/higher quality chassis.
This is why I am very happy I got my Vivobook Pro 14X for 1300 euro's, because it has a lot of premium features such as 90hz 2.8k oled and 32gb ram alongside 5900hx that make it a production beast still. The rtx 3050ti 4gb is the weak spot but at least it has a high performance per watt and just uses 40watts max, leading to a small compact body and PSU. RTX 4070 Zenbook Pro f.e. has twice the gpu performance and more vram but also needs a much bigger laptop body and PSU. The Vivobook Pro 14X is 1.4kg but the Zenbook Pro 14 1.8kg with twice the PSU size.A 32gb 1tb rtx 4070 i9 13900 Zenbook Pro might have twice the performance but is 2.5x the price and much heavier and less compact to travel with. So there are trade offs. Finally, single core performance of the 5900hx is 70% of the i9 13900h, which for production apps is enough anyways. I am waiting for prices to drop or for me to find a last minute deal otherwise the RTX 4070 Zenbook is way too expensive.
@@IguanaFilmArts sounds good! A lot of nice features for a relatively small sum. Nice find!
Your comments on the second class citizen treatment for AMD machines are very welcome, it feels like they've been sabotaged like that for years now. Dell didn't even touch AMD, not even when Ryzen 4000 and 5000 were crushing Intel 9th, 10th and 11th gen. This practice feels very scummy, and they are probably being paid for this.
I usually hammer on this very key on almost every machine, too- saving pennies on machines that start at 2000 EUR is ridiculous and very off-putting.
On the machine itself, it's looks shockingly similar to the G15 AE, which is both good and bad. The keyboard on it I find great, albeit lacking in a numpad, but the touchpad does look different, and I find the one in the G15 quite good as well.
3D V-cache really changed the game, and I can't wait to see it trickle down further, especially for handhelds. Imagine Zen 5 3D v-cache chips with an RDNA4 iGPU, that is going to be straight up silly.
One of the most appealing parts of 3D GPUs seem to be missing from this as AMD went the way of Intel, deciding to forget tuning the power curve to instead just deliver the highest possible Cinebench scores. To be fair, I get the reason why- big number means neuron activation and all that. For the top-most, mobile workstation chip, I don't mind too much.
The best part is that I expect any 3D V-cache CPU to hang at the top spots in the gaming CPU hierarchy for a long while, because to this day there are games where the humble 5800X3D, a CPU that, effectively, is a mid-range chip from 2020, is still trading blows with a 250W latest-gen i9 that costs two or three times as much, and doing it while sipping power. It has been aging really, really well.
It's crazy how some games are an absolute blowout in the favor of any CPU with the extra cache, regardless of it's "base power", and it feels like we are getting more of those as of late. I don't know if it's more detailed models, more complex physics, more background stuff that happens in ever more ambitious titles, but given Intel is also racing to implement their own low-level cache expansion technologies (Adamantine I think it's called?), I suspect this trend will continue for some time.
All I want is the Unicorn of laptops, like if this had a 16x10 ProArt screen and it had a baby with a Dell XPS. Is that too much to ask? 😁
Haha that is what we all want!
Just placed an order of this today 10/03/2023 $3,699.99 plus California tax
So it is finally available? Nice, have fun with your new machine!
Chip - better than the non V-cache unit, as expected... though what would have been perhaps even better would be a mixed Bergamo chiplet and 3D V-cache one, as both are more energy efficiency oriented, one potentially giving 16 full-fledged cores with regular cache size per chiplet and one with more cache for those apps that benefit from it. That aside from a full-on 3D V-cache dual chiplets CPU would make it far better. Sure it would cost as much if not slightly more, but then it would make a better premium component than this is. Still, this chassis at this price point? Perhaps sometime soon Dell might start offering a refreshed internals Alienware units, then this CPU might be offered there in some Xnn line-up models. But currently and globally it seems that along the so called "premium" laptops only Asus has the global reach and distribution (it's one thing to state that something is offered, it's a different thing to deliver it to retailers/clients worldwide). And yet, they're putting the premium compute components into an old chassis coming from a refresh 2 or 3 years ago on an even older design, with only an okayish screen? Asus once had Zephyrus S17, why not base the chassis design on it, just improve the cooling more (who knows maybe they could even get the Frore systems on board to get a whole huge set of their AirJets spread over the surface of the vapor chamber/laptop space), use the raised keyboard for extra air intake and to keep hands cool all the time and to put a huge touchpad, maybe even one to rival those from the Macbooks, put a miniLED 17" screen with 8:5, or how it is now commercialised/named 16:10, AR as there are a few of those on the market to choose from at FHD+/QHD+/UHD+ resolutions, give more than 2xUSB4-C and 2xUSB3.2-A ports as well, upgrade to the WiFi7 cards, maybe consider adding a 10GbE ethernet port as a first in Windows laptop market, and as a must-have add better camera like what's being done on the "office-oriented" Zenbooks, plus complete the package with both IR for face detection and a fingerprint scanner, maybe even consider adding smart-card reader for trully all the boxes ticked in the security department. Finally, drop the awful RGB everywhere discoteque leaving only the useful parts, like keyboard lights and maybe, if you really want RGB on a chassis, add turnable hard to see ports monikers like Lenovo did on Legion 7. Heck maybe even consider checking the USB-C chargers to get some 240W+ PD GaN small-ish brick for the on-the-go occasions... That would make it a head turner for those in the know and a stealthy looking one for those that don't want to lug around room ambient lights along with the thick old-looking laptop. And that, priced at similar range as the current old chassis, would make far more sense to the consumers looking for a trully premium offering. Someone at Asus must have known that, and yet we got this?
Btw. we're still missing RDNA3 GPUs higher than 7600M in laptop space... wouldn't it be great if AMD could combine their efficiency designs and release whole platform top of the range AMD? Maybe then people could forget the old chassis setup offered on a premium product... just maybe.
While you have some good points i would add that the more powerful a laptop gets the worse it´s battery time will become. Hence it becomes more of a desktop replacement with the perk of being smaller, easier to move then a desktop pc.
So stuff like keyboard flex, certain style choices, heck even the quality of the display do not matter as much anymore as they would in a laptop you actually use for "laptop" things.
Sure for the pricetag they ask it´s arguable if "cutting corners" isn´t bit of a cheap shot, there are other brands that offer similar performance for less money while cheaping out on parts that probably a lot of consumers don´t even care about (or would even notice).
If i would require a laptop for work, presentations etc i´d definitely not get one with a dedicated gpu and focus a lot more on efficiency. After all you do not really do high workload stuff on the go using battery.
There are plenty of laptops around 400-500 bucks that are much better suited for doing anything on the go and you can add some more money to get the preferred build quality/display option etc.
The one that shows up to a work meeting with a ryzen 9 7945hx3d laptop either doesn´t give a damn or wants to do some weird flex that most in the room won´t get.
Nice but how much cost 😢
Unfortunately we do not know how much the X3D version is yet! :/
ooh!! was excited to see this beast!
Haha it was fun testing this one. Its a great performer!
Too bad you can't find them anywhere for sale. Links are always for versions other than the 7945HX3D.
Why is it that only one sku used this processor?
Is it the same screen as the scar 16? Mini led 1100 nitts?
No, it is a 17" standard IPS panel.
Why can't it be liquid metal? Is it due to some technical problems with the chip or just ASUS not giving an option? That phase change pad is also pretty close to liquid metal in performance.
Also, is the 7945HX3D single CCD or double like the desktop 7950X3D?
Because Liquid Metal would eat away at the chassis
@@devonoconnell2742 Is the chassis fully aluminium? I might have missed it. Even so if liquid metal leaks, damaged chassis would be the least of their problems. Not like they don't place guards around the CPU to prevent leaks.
hmm according to the official asus site, the model also have power delivery / G-SYNC function on 1 usb c port and G-SYNC function on another c port
Yepp, just tried and can confirm that!
Your reviews are amazing and super informative
Thank you for the kind words. Unfortunately, we did not test the updated Aorus 7 yet. Check back at the website regularly so you don't miss it!
@@NotebookcheckReviews thanks for the heads up! Move love ❤️
Is this available in Germany yet? I can’t seem to find the „G733PYV-LL053X“-Version, as you call it in your german review. But maybe I’m just stupid 🤓
I also did not find it, but it was supposed to be available today! I will update the links as soon as we have news! There has also yet to be a word on pricing.
Try with G733PYV only
Giving that there’s still no (official) word on pricing yet, I guess it’s safe to assume by now, that Asus forgot about their own launch? 😅
Why can't you use liquid metal?
endlich mal notebooks mit genug vram
I have no idea that notebookcheck has a youtube channel lol
😅 we still get that a lot!
No optical drive any more?
I think we have been past optical drives for a while now 😅
what s that curved monitor on your desk?
That is the Acer Predator X45. The full review is coming on sunday!
How noisy at full load?
It's very quiet for a gaming laptop
Does it supports raid 0?
I am afraid I can not answer that.
why can't they put the mouse pad on the damn center?
Right?!
I don't understand,what X3D is going to improve
Mostly gaming performance in 1080p and QHD.
I want a legion 7 with this processor
That would be awesome!
How can it be that Asus claims that their Performance Mode does not excede 40 Db, and your testing says it is about 48 Db?
You have to read the fine print about how they test. They might got their measurements at a different distance/angle/workload etc.
Mmmm that extra cache!
It says 3D V-Chache on the video title. (typo for V-Cache)
Thank you, fixed! :)
how do you people deal with neck pain from laptop use? i love their portability but the sore neck i get seriously puts me off...
A laptop stand would be an option. The elevation would be something to help here!
i almost forgot that there was launch day today, great pr amd 😂
:D
What is a "100%" reference in this graphs? In gaming perf Strix have 98%, and nothing have 100%.
Its a synthetic reference, that no laptop was able to surpass yet.
The numbers in this review and the numbers from other sources like Jarrod are very different.
Interesting! In what way?
I don’t think he reviewed the X3D variant yet …
Should have had OLED
I don’t think there are any 17“ QHD 240Hz display in production, unfortunately
@@NotebookcheckReviews There are 17" OLEDs, maybe not 240. I would want 4k with a 4090 personally.
I need this wallpaper
I found it on unsplash.com
Just look for "abstract wallpaper"
its not available in middle east
I think that is a global problem!
@@NotebookcheckReviews if it is then why they launch it 🤐
🤷♂️
What an unused potential. Typical Asus are treating AMD as a second-class citizen. Hopefully, we will see X3D chips also on other notebooks like Lenovo Legion.
My thoughts exactly!
Yep! But given we've already waited all year for a promised L7Pro 16ARX8H 7945HX model that's never come, I'm just not bothering to hope until something is actually released and in stock
Its better to buy dream machines for this cost
It is a dream machine … at least in terms of
Performance 😅
Asus strikes again: cheap laptop with high powered AMD CPU.
It is such a shame. I used it as a daily driver, but it was closed and connected to an external screen with a mouse and keyboard. And it's so good ... I just wished they would put everything in a nicer chassis!
@@NotebookcheckReviews Hi Notebook i am torn between the strix G17 and the strix G16 with i7 13650HX with 4060gpu. Do you think the G16 would still be ok for editing videos and multi tasking. I kinda like the 17inch but a lot of people are saying the cooling is not as good as the G16 and G18 computers. The G16 i was thinking of buying also has a 240hz QHD screen .
Nvidia ripping people off due to monopoly
ok ....
In a workstation V-Cache is not worth it due to not being compatible with liquid metal. That means a quite noisy laptop with worse multi-core CPU performance than 7945HX. For gaming it will bring a small performance benefit as CPU isn't running at max TDP while gaming. Overall it doesn't make much sense as you will get much better gaming experience from a desktop for much less.
Nice one amd, tack on an extra power hungry 8 cores that are useless for gaming and were already rejected on desktop. Don't take advantage of your chip thats even faster for gaming but with half the power consumption of normal zen 4 ON THE BATTERY POWERED FORM FACTOR. 🤦♂️Amd knew how power hungry even their chiplet links were so they had monolithic designs for mobile to get around that, now theyre adding both an io die link and cross ccd link needlessly so you have this chip literally losing to intel in video playback & web browsing battery life.
First 😅
:D
@@NotebookcheckReviewsthat was pretty nice video 😁
Thanks a lot!
@@NotebookcheckReviews 💙
I had the Acer Helios 18. It felt weird the 16:10 display. It is true you can have some extra lines of stuff in Premiere, After Effects, etc. BUT the whole "feeling" it has as a more "squared" vs the more "cinematic" feel of the 16:9 is a turn off - especially when watching videos. What's next in their marketing department? Selling a 4:3 as the new cool? No thanks. I stick to 16:9 like the Scar 17 has.