The Dubai Esports & Games Festival (DEF) 2025, organized by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), has officially begun today, 25 April, and will run until 11 May, transforming the city into a vibrant hub of gaming, esports, and pop culture. This year’s festival promises an unparalleled celebration for gamers, families, and fans, featuring free-to-play experiences, mega prizes worth over AED 500,000, and immersive activities across Dubai. The highlight of DEF 2025 is the flagship GameExpo, set to take over Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in Zabeel Halls 2 and 3 from 9 to 11 May.

Tickets are now on sale for GameExpo, which offers non-stop gaming, next-level entertainment, and interactive zones—all free to play. Attendees can look forward to:

1. Influencer Showdowns (10-11 May): Featuring top regional gamers like Abo Flah.
2. Dubai Cosplay Championship (11 May): With prizes up to AED 30,000—registration open until 7 May.

Key Festival Highlights:

1. DEF Educational Engagement Programme (Until 8 May)
   A citywide initiative inspiring young gamers with esports tournaments, AI and game design workshops by Microsoft and Unreal Engine, and a chance to win AED 50,000 in prizes. Students can also visit GameExpo on 8 May for an exclusive school trip experience.
2. Power Up Parade Week (28 April – 2 May)
   Schools, students, and families are encouraged to dress as their favorite gaming characters and share photos on social media using #DEFPowerUp for a chance to win prizes.
3. Game Changers Initiative (Deadline: 30 April)
   Student teams can submit innovative gaming ideas with real-world impact. The top five entries will pitch live at GameExpo on 8 May, with winners receiving sponsorships and recognition.
4. ENBD Fortnite Quest (Until 8 May)
   The UAE’s biggest Fortnite competition culminates in a live final on 8 May at GameExpo, featuring a custom Dubai-themed map and AED 20,000 in prizes.
5. GameOn with HP Gaming Garage (Until 8 May)
   An online hackathon where students develop Dubai-inspired game prototypes, with finalists showcasing their work at GameExpo.
6. JPEX Entertainment Exhibition (25-27 April, Expo City Dubai)
   A must-visit for anime, manga, and cosplay fans, offering live performances, workshops, and Japanese pop culture experiences.
7. Yalla Ludo Challenge (29 April – 6 May, Online)
   A mobile gaming tournament where players compete for exclusive in-game rewards and leaderboard glory.
8. Rove Hotels Exclusive Offer (Until 12 May)
   GameExpo attendees can enjoy 25% off stays at select Rove Hotels using the code “Esports”.

With 17 days of non-stop action, DEF 2025 brings together esports, gaming innovation, and community fun for all ages. Supported by strategic partners including Amazon, du, Emirates NBD, and Red Bull, the festival cements Dubai’s position as a global gaming destination.

The 2025 ROG Strix SCAR 18 G835LX is ASUS’s latest flagship gaming laptop, designed to deliver desktop-grade performance in a sleek, portable package. With top-tier hardware, a stunning Mini LED display, and innovative cooling solutions, this machine is built to dominate both gaming and creative workloads.

Design and Build
The ROG Strix SCAR 18 features a redesigned chassis inspired by automotive racing, combining aesthetics with functionality. The laptop boasts rounded corners, a reduced hinge gap of just 2mm, and a full-surround RGB lightbar that gives it a futuristic glow.

The tool-less design is a standout feature, allowing easy access to RAM, SSD, and cooling components—a first for gaming laptops. The chassis is crafted from a durable mix of ABS and polycarbonate, ensuring it stays cool to the touch even during intense sessions.

Display
The 18-inch ROG Nebula HDR Mini LED display is a game-changer. With a 2.5K resolution (2560×1600), a 240Hz refresh rate, and 3ms response time, it’s tailor-made for competitive gaming. The display supports 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, Dolby Vision, and G-SYNC, ensuring smooth, tear-free visuals.

The Mini LED technology delivers 1200 nits of peak brightness and over 2000 dimming zones, resulting in unparalleled HDR performance. ASUS’s new Ambient Contrast Ratio film further enhances the experience by reducing reflections by 55% and improving contrast by up to 4.5x.

They also feature our customizable AniMe Vision lighting array on their lids, originally pioneered on our Zephyrus machines. With an array of 810 LEDs shining through precision-milled holes, you can show off your style with a wide selection of pre-made animations, import a GIF of your choice, or animate your own image from scratch.

Specifications
Under the hood, the Strix SCAR 18 is powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, featuring 24 cores and a boost clock of up to 5.4GHz. Paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU (24GB GDDR7 VRAM), this laptop is a beast. The GPU leverages NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture, offering DLSS 4, Reflex 2, and RTX Neural Shaders for next-gen gaming and creative workloads.

The laptop supports up to 64GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and dual PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD slots (upgradeable to Gen 5), ensuring lightning-fast load times and multitasking capabilities. With a combined CPU and GPU power of up to 255W, the Strix SCAR 18 handles AAA games and demanding applications with ease.

Cooling
ASUS has revamped the cooling system with a Tri-Fan design, a sandwiched vapour chamber, and Conductonaut Extreme liquid metal. The rear-exhaust vents keep heat away from the user, while dust filters prevent internal buildup. In Turbo mode, the laptop operates at a noise level of 47dB—quieter than previous generations—while delivering maximum performance.

Audio and Connectivity
The SCAR 18 features a 4-speaker system with Dolby Atmos, offering immersive spatial audio. Wi-Fi 7 and 2.5G Ethernet ensure lag-free online gaming, while Thunderbolt 5 ports provide ultra-fast data transfer and display output. The laptop also includes a Full HD camera with Windows Hello for secure facial recognition.

The laptop is equipped with two Thunderbolt 5 ports (supporting DisplayPort 2.1 and Power Delivery 3.1), three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.1 FRL output, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and an ASUS Slim Power Jack for charging. This comprehensive selection ensures high-speed connectivity, versatile display options, and efficient power delivery.

Software and Customisation
Armoury Crate centralizes system controls, allowing users to tweak performance modes, RGB lighting, and fan speeds. The SCAR 18 also includes GameVisual for optimized display settings and Scenario Profiles for automatic performance adjustments based on the task. A one-month PC Game Pass subscription is bundled, offering access to over 100 games.

Performance
To evaluate the Strix SCAR 18’s real-world capabilities, we conducted extensive testing using the Turbo performance profile with Advanced Optimus enabled (GPU in Standard mode) and the display running at its native 2560×1600 resolution. This configuration represents how most power users would realistically operate the laptop for demanding gaming and creative workloads, allowing us to assess its true performance potential while maintaining optimal system efficiency through NVIDIA’s dynamic graphics switching technology.

Here’s what we got:

GeekBench 6.2.2 64-bit: Multi-core: 20170, Single-Core: 3127
CineBench R15 (best run): CPU 5872 cb, CPU Single Core 321 cb
3DMark 13 – Fire Strike (DX11): 387819 (Graphics – 47910, Physics – 46620, Combined – 12940)
3DMark 13 – Time Spy (DX12): 22412 (Graphics – 21517, CPU – 14511)
PCMark 10: 9312 (Essentials – 11276, Productivity – 10391, Digital Content Creation – 18927)

Battery Life
The entire Strix series comes with sizable 90Wh batteries that deliver excellent endurance for everyday tasks like web browsing and video playback. For quick charging, the included ASUS Slim Power Jack adapter can replenish 50% of the battery in just 30 minutes.

When traveling light, you can still power up via USB-C thanks to 100W USB Power Delivery support, ensuring you’re never left without juice on the go. This combination of long battery life and flexible charging options makes the Strix lineup equally capable for both marathon gaming sessions and mobile productivity.

Verdict
The 2025 ROG Strix SCAR 18 G835LX is a triumph of engineering, blending cutting-edge hardware and performance, a breathtaking display, and innovative cooling into a single package. While its size and weight (3.3kg) make it less portable, it’s a small trade-off for unmatched performance. Whether you’re a competitive gamer, content creator, or power user, the ROG Strix SCAR 18 delivers in every regard.

Price: AED 25999

Availability: The ROG Strix SCAR 18 arrives in UAE stores by late April 2025 with a free ROG backpack. Gaming fans can experience it first at Comic Con UAE from April 18-20 before its retail launch. Early buyers will also receive the Monster Hunter Wilds game (redeemable via Armoury Crate) with purchases made before May 31, 2025. ASUS sweetens the deal with its Perfect Warranty covering AED 500 in accidental damages when registered within 90 days, plus the ROG Elite Rewards program offering redeemable points for gaming goodies and exclusive content.

Product photography by Ryan Chris

Acer announced the expansion of its mainstream Nitro gaming line with the launch of the new Acer Nitro AI laptops and the Nitro 20 desktop. The Nitro range brings a full-package gaming experience and great value for gamers and content creators, combining robust processing power, essential computing features, and more without breaking the bank. The addition of slim laptops and a compact Windows PC option also support users with limited space for their gaming set-ups.

The Nitro AI laptops are Copilot+ PCs, powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors and equipped with the game-changing NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series Laptop GPUs to make more powerful AI rendering capabilities more accessible. The Nitro 20 desktop also utilizes AI processors and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 GPU, focusing on better energy efficiency with a smaller footprint.

The latest additions to the Acer Nitro AI series of mid-range gaming laptops feature an 18-inch and three 16-inch options, with new slim models introduced for gaming and productivity on-the-go. All the devices are Copilot+ PCs and feature up to AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processors, maximizing gaming experiences on favorite titles and efficient performance for multitasking with dedicated hardware to seamlessly run AI workloads.

The gaming laptops are also equipped with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPUs. Powered by NVIDIA Blackwell, GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs bring game-changing capabilities to gamers and creators. Equipped with a massive level of AI horsepower, the RTX 50 Series enables new experiences and next-level graphics fidelity. Multiple performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generate images at unprecedented speed, and unleash creativity with NVIDIA Studio. These Nitro AI devices come with up to 32 GB of DDR5 dual memory and PCIe Gen 4 SSDs of up to 2 TB.

The Nitro 18 AI (AN18-61) offers a large 18-inch panel with up to WQXGA (2560×1600) resolution, a 165 Hz refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut support for immersive game views and offers a larger screen canvas for creators. Both the Nitro 16 AI (AN16-61) and slim Nitro 16S AI (AN16S-61) feature up to WQXGA-resolution displays, blazing fast 180 Hz refresh rates, and 400 nits peak brightness.

This trio of Nitro laptops also comes with NVIDIA G-SYNC display technologies that help minimize the nuisance of screen tearing, stuttering and input lag for smooth frames. The Nitro V 16S AI (ANV16S-61) comes with up to a WQXGA resolution, 180 Hz refresh rate, 400 nits brightness, and 3 ms response time.

Cooling-wise, all the devices are supported by dual-fan, quad-intake and quad-exhaust technology. The thermal systems of 18-inch and 16-inch powerhouses get an added boost with liquid metal thermal grease on the processors and vector heat pipes for optimized heat transfer.

The new Nitro 16S AI and Nitro V 16S AI showcase a modern and slim design, measuring less than 19.9 mm, topped off with a sleek metal chassis for added device durability. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 and above maximize network speeds for gaming and browsing, USB 4 for flexible connectivity, and FHD IR cameras for streaming or recording content. Users can also utilize the NitroSense software and Experience Zone to explore available AI applications and to call on AI assistance to help boost productivity.

The new Acer Nitro 20 (N20-100) is a budget-friendly PC system that can handle modern games while consuming less energy and space. The latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 GPU enables new experiences and next-level graphical performance with NVIDIA DLSS 4, generating images and frames at unprecedented speeds and supporting graphics-intensive games, applications and tasks. It doesn’t fall short in terms of storage support with an option for up to a 1 TB HDD and 1 TB SSD. The desktop also utilizes a Intel Core i5-13420H desktop processor.

Standing at just 15 liters, the Nitro 20 sports a cool and minimalist housing design stamped with a subtle red Nitro logo, blending seamlessly into any gaming setup. The power button is integrated with a fingerprint sensor that enables users to seamlessly unlock their device without needing a password or PIN. It is also decked out with loads of connectivity features inside and out including Wi-Fi 6E and LAN for speedy network connections, a generous offering of USB Type-C and Type-A ports located at its front and rear, and display ports that can connect to a wide array of viewing devices.