Hi Just Josh Community! We are hoping Josh can raise some awareness and publicise this issue so ASUS can take it seriously and work on fixing it for us! Help us!
Please help us (me) in exposing and bringing attention to this issue, countless customers who have bought this laptop are now facing - and ASUS don’t seem to be doing anything about it.
Please see the posts and troubleshooting that I (and others who have the issue) are doing in place of ASUS, who you would expect to be doing the troubleshooting and fixing themselves.
I (and other who bought this laptop) have spent over 19,000 SAR on a laptop that does not work as intended or advetised.
What do we do? Except plead to you to bring attention to this issue to please help us. Not only am I disappointed with the laptop but I also now depressed by not even being able to utilise the laptop as it was intended, by using the MUX switch and gaming directly on the laptop screen via dGPU.
The only way we can use the laptop without blackscreen crashing (and then having to force restart) is by using Optimus (not even Advanced Optimus).
Please help look into this and expose this issue so they take note and try and fix it!!
Here is the first post of the thread linked above with the issue - please delve into it, it seems customers who bought the first iterations of the 5090 RTX Mobile versions have had issues since the beginning, releasing the laptops in haste maybe wihtout proper testing?
I am also in a position where (in Saudi Arabia as an expat) RMA and refunding is not a possibility for me. So the only way I can actually use this laptop as intended, is if they fix it.
Please help me!
---------------Snippet from the my first post of the thread------------
System Overview
ASUS ROG Strix Scar 18 (2025) – G835LX
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5090 (Laptop)
Issue Summary
Grey/white/black screen crashes occur only during gaming, system is stable in all synthetic stress tests.
Software / Driver Environment
Windows 11 Home 25H2 (Build 26200.7623), ASUS driver 32.0.15.7324, tested with both ASUS bundled and latest NVIDIA Game Ready drivers (591.86, 595.79).
Driver Result
Issue occurs on both ASUS validated drivers and latest NVIDIA Game Ready drivers.
Repro Conditions
Crashes occur during gaming at ~95–98% dGPU usage with NVIDIA optimised settings enabled and no overclock applied.
Games Affected
Arc Raiders, Battlefield 6, Marathon, Counter Strike 2.
Display State
Laptop panel running at 240 Hz with Overdrive enabled.
GPU / Display Scenarios Tested
Laptop Only (Standard Mode)
Standard mode with Advanced Optimus (auto NVIDIA) still results in crashes.
Laptop + External Monitor (Ultimate Mode)
Ultimate mode (dGPU only) with USB-C external monitor increases crash frequency.
Hybrid Override Scenario
Standard mode with NVIDIA GPU Only still results in crashes.
Latest Confirmed Crash Cases
Ultimate + ASUS drivers = crash, Standard + NVIDIA GPU Only = crash, Ultimate + latest NVIDIA drivers = crash, external monitor present in multiple cases.
Key Observations
Stable at 100% GPU load in benchmarks, crashes only in games, occurs across all GPU modes and drivers, external display increases frequency but is not required.
Expected Behaviour
Stable gaming using Ultimate mode, latest NVIDIA drivers, external monitor connected, and high GPU utilisation.
Actual Behaviour
Random display crashes during gameplay requiring restart, with no instability outside gaming.
====================== EDIT: Suspected Root Causes ======================
NVIDIA Driver (RTX 5090 Mobile)
Driver instability under gaming load, possibly linked to clock/voltage (P-state) transitions across both ASUS and latest drivers.
ASUS MUX / GPU Mode Switching
Potential conflict in GPU routing or display handoff between iGPU and dGPU, even when using Ultimate (dGPU-only) mode.
External Display Pipeline (USB-C / HDMI)
Instability in dGPU output to external monitors via USB-C/HDMI, with higher crash frequency when connected.
ASUS Firmware / Power Management
Possible transient power or thermal balancing issues under combined CPU/GPU gaming loads causing GPU resets.
VRAM / Memory Handling
Gaming workloads may expose VRAM or memory controller instability not seen in synthetic benchmarks.
Windows Graphics Stack (WDDM 25H2)
Potential incompatibility with Windows 11 25H2 graphics scheduling and hybrid GPU handling.
Software Control Conflicts
Conflicts between ASUS Armoury Crate, NVIDIA App, and Control Panel managing GPU behaviour simultaneously.
Display Timing / High Refresh Rate
Possible sync or timing instability with 240 Hz panel (Overdrive) combined with external display output.
GPU Driver Reset (TDR Events)
Crashes consistent with GPU driver reset (DXGI device removed/reset) triggered by the above interactions.
======================================================
All we want is a stable Scar 18 G835LX Rtx 5090 Laptop:
-
To be able to use ASUS GPU MODE: Ultimate
-
Use latest updated Nvidia GameReady Drivers
-
Plug in external monitors and play games using dGPU whilst having external monitors connected
=================================================================
Threads with similar / past issues: (credit to @SlythaSlytha for digging these up from the forums):
Scar 18 - Alternate Thread about the same issues on the SCAR 18 G835LX RTX 5090:
https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-notebooks/asus-rog-strix-scar-18-2025-g835lx-grey-screen-crashn.