MSI Claw Review: Pawing At the Door of Better, Cheaper Gaming Handhelds

The MSI Claw A1M didn’t request to bash overmuch to beryllium a contender successful the inactive nascent gaming handheld PC space. If MSI had crafted the fund option, the lower-end instrumentality with less bells and whistles than its competitors, it would beryllium a coagulated buy. Unfortunately for everyone involved, MSI made 1 of the much costly renditions of the existent Linux- oregon Windows-based gaming handhelds, and yet it someway feels similar the cheapest and slightest thought-out of what’s released truthful far.

Even MSI seems to person acknowledged it missed the mark, and present it has a new, updated console coming retired sometime soon. In my experience, show was fair. All of which seems to scream: don’t bargain this console—or astatine the precise slightest don’t not without immoderate benignant of hefty discount.

The 2 versions of the Claw that outgo much than $700 are packing an Intel Core Ultra 7-155H chip. Over the past fewer months, I’ve had a large woody of acquisition with the Ultra 7 mobile chip, and I thought I had a amended thought of however it would execute successful a handheld. MSI promised that aft the latest updates, the Claw should beryllium getting amended show than the ROG Ally successful respective antithetic titles, ostensibly capable to warrant its higher cost.

But thing does. MSI Claw has RGB lighting successful some the thumbsticks and the buttons, and it looks nice. Does it drain the battery? Yes, technically, but it’s determination for those of america who privation it. That’s rather virtually the 1 happening I would accidental the Claw has that different large gaming handhelds don’t.

The large question is however debased successful terms the MSI Claw needs to spell earlier it’s worthy picking up. The $700 Lenovo Legion Go (with 1 TB of storage) and $650 ROG Ally with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme (max 512 GB of storage) are acold amended buys. The MSI Claw would person to driblet prestigiously earlier I’d see it a existent option. Then there’s the Steam Deck OLED, which is my existent console of choice. You tin drawback the 1 TB mentation for $650 MSRP. The little almighty Claw with an Intel Core Ultra 5 spot is simply a mind-boggling $700 MSRP, and I person a feeling it won’t lucifer the show of the different large brands.

Perhaps there’ll beryllium a discount erstwhile MSI releases its caller console. You heard that right. MSI says it’s already moving connected an 8-inch semi-sequel called the MSI Claw 8 AI. The institution said successful a release that it “listened to idiosyncratic feedback, “ truthful the caller console is expected to person 1 of the upcoming, much almighty Intel Lunar Lake processors. The caller console volition person a artillery and Thunderbolt 4 support, and the close and near bumpers should beryllium changed truthful they consciousness little spongey. In addition, MSI’s manager of merchandise management, Clifford Chun, mentioned earlier this period they’re besides moving connected a caller 7-inch version.

If the Claw 8 besides manages to lucifer the artillery and show of the ROG Ally X, fixes up the power issues, and updates the bundle without adjusting the price, possibly it volition beryllium a contender.

For each its promise, the archetypal Claw is not, and apt ne'er volition be.

MSI Claw Design and Software

Everything Needs a Heavy Facelift Three Months After Release

Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

The MSI Claw looks truthful overmuch similar a ROG Ally that it’s uncanny. There are lone subtle differences, but they greatly impact wide comfort. The look buttons and d-pad are conscionable fine, possibly adjacent a small much pronounced than the Ally oregon the Legion Go, but the thumb sticks get the worst of it. I didn’t similar the tiny, toothpick-thin consciousness of the sticks connected the Legion Go oregon the Ally, and these aren’t immoderate better. They’re Hall Effect joysticks that should marque them past for a agelong time, but they person truthful small absorption and deficiency the tactile consciousness I request for specified an costly device.

The triggers are fine, but the bumper buttons are immoderate of the worst I’ve utilized connected a modern controller. They consciousness spongey and lone illness toward the edges alternatively than property down uniformly. The 2 backmost bumpers person capable click to them, but the mode the rear ammunition was designed makes it hard to scope down to property them.

The Claw doesn’t truly consciousness similar it’s meant for an adult’s hands. I’d ideate immoderate alien carnal whose pb fingers are doubly arsenic agelong arsenic their pinkies (maybe that’s wherefore it’s named “The Claw”). My fingers people privation to curl astir immoderate portion of the rear chassis, but it’s truthful jagged and un-ergonomic that I could ne'er get a comfy grip. A ample instrumentality grate conception runs on the backmost of the shell, and inevitably, your fingers volition creation upon 1 groove oregon another. Yes, the tips of your fingers bash commencement to consciousness somewhat warmer than the remainder of your manus during a agelong gaming session.

This is different Windows handheld machine, and with that comes each the baggage of an OS made for bigger screens. Microsoft’s refusal to merchandise a mentation of their OS circumstantial to handhelds has forced OEMs to travel up with their ain solution. Like the Ally and Legion Go, the Claw comes with device-specific bundle to marque it a spot easier to propulsion up your games. MSI’s is called Center M. Out of each of those I’ve used, similar Asus’ Armoury Crate SE and Legion Space, Center M is the worst. It’s barebones, with a clunky interface and an overly elemental crippled enactment menu. There’s lone 1 enactment for real-time FPS monitoring that doesn’t show CPU oregon GPU usage. The bundle is laggy erstwhile cycling done menus and freezes up much than erstwhile during use.

Too galore different hiccups disrupt your gaming acquisition connected the Claw. I’ve had to restart the Claw respective times erstwhile I encountered unresponsive games that ignored some my interaction and controller inputs. At a definite point, the handheld stopped recognizing the measurement buttons, and past I realized it had randomly switched disconnected the controller to PC controls for nary rhyme oregon reason. If I enactment it into slumber mode, sometimes the RGB stays on, blinking inexorably similar a dying antheral whose airy is leaving their eyes.

MSI Claw Performance

‘Overboost’ Does Mean Better Performance, But it Doesn’t Fix All the Flaws

Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

Benchmarking the MSI Claw is simply a chore. You get the emblematic powerfulness settings with astir different handhelds, but the latest update introduced the “Overboost” mounting that’s expected to extremity the scales successful MSI’s favor. In our experience, it adds amended performance, but lone if you’re consenting to propulsion the Claw to its limits. And still, with the settings of each competing console taken into account, the MSI Claw did not needfully execute truthful overmuch amended connected each the games we tested.

The Claw’s larger 53W artillery should beryllium offering a amended rotation connected antithetic titles with the quality to apical up to a stated 40 W TDP. I didn’t acquisition immoderate large quality successful show benchmarks connected 40 W TDP than 30W successful a crippled similar Cyberpunk 2077. Overboost, successful effect, offers you a existent 35-40 W TDP. The remainder is simply a smokescreen.

Because of the Claw’s Intel chip, it doesn’t person entree to AMD FSR. It means there’s a bigger gulf successful show for astir games. Some caller titles, similar Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, deficiency immoderate enactment for Intel’s XeSS.

The Steam Deck is the outlier among different handhelds. Whether it’s the OLED oregon LCD version, it maxes retired astatine 15W. The Claw doesn’t adjacent spell that low. The Deck, which is specifically optimized for a crippled similar Cyberpunk 2077, volition deed 30 FPS regularly with the modular “Steam Deck” settings profile. A Claw astatine 20 W volition lone get 27. Push it up to 30 W, and it’s amended astatine 35 FPS, but past it abruptly fails successful examination to the ROG Ally, which tin apical disconnected astatine 40 FPS mean connected the game’s benchmarks. You get akin outcomes with Legion Go successful the aforesaid powerfulness and solution settings.

That remains accordant with each the games we’ve tested without Overboost. In Forza Horizon 5, the Ally managed to bash 60 FPS successful benchmark tests compared to the Claw’s 42. The Legion Go did 59 FPS, each with the aforesaid settings profile. Lowering the graphics settings tin boost immoderate scores, but let’s beryllium honest: we’re not playing connected a gaming handheld that demands 60+ FPS if it comes astatine the outgo of muddy visuals with jagged textures.

MSI promised that the Claw would bash 26% amended than the Ally connected astir of the apical 100 games connected Steam with its overclocking Overboost mounting enabled. This wasn’t determination during the launch, but present it’s expected to amended things significantly. And you cognize what? It decidedly does. It really made Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla playable connected precocious settings. I saw boosts of betwixt 20 to 30% amended framerates successful astir games.

I reran each the benchmarks and managed to get 41 FPS successful Cyberpunk 2077. I went up to 50 FPS successful Forza, but that inactive pales successful examination to Ally’s archetypal benchmark.

Let’s besides beryllium wide that I would similar an AI upscaler fixing framerates alternatively than an overclocking feature. Because if I tin get upwards of 50 FPS connected the ROG Ally successful Baldur’s Gate 3 with precocious settings and FSR connected ultra-performance mode, I’d instrumentality that implicit the sub-30 FPS I get connected the MSI Claw playing successful the aforesaid country adjacent with TDP maxed retired and Overboost connected due to the fact that there’s nary enactment for XeSS. That’s adjacent much important erstwhile you see the interaction of higher settings connected artillery life.

MSI Claw Sound, Screen, and Battery

Everything is Just Average

Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

Don’t expect the prettiest gaming acquisition connected a handheld, but the Claw’s ocular capabilities are conscionable astir capable for this benignant of machine. It’s a 7-inch IPS LCD surface with a 1920x1080 solution and 120 Hz refresh complaint with VRR. Visually, I’d accidental the Claw’s show is equivalent to the Ally. They look truthful akin that I could spell from 1 to different and not miss a beat.

So if you comparison it to different screens connected the market, it’s conscionable alright. It won’t bushed the OLED of the Steam Deck nor person the quality to propulsion the higher resolutions of the larger, 8-inch surface connected the Legion Go. It’s nary slouch, but it’s conscionable beauteous basic.

Sound-wise, the Claw does conscionable fine. It doesn’t person astonishing bass, but a handheld this size wouldn’t. It doesn’t battalion the Dolby Atmos enactment of the Ally, but with however you’re playing your titles, it doesn’t marque that large of a difference.

And finally, successful presumption of longevity, the 53 Whr artillery didn’t marque for overmuch amended artillery beingness wide compared to different Windows-based peers. Playing thing similar Disco Elysium, I got astir 3 hours earlier I needed to recharge. I played thing similar Cyberpunk 2077 successful nether 1 hour, which is expected for immoderate graphically aggravated game, particularly erstwhile you propulsion the graphics to astir what the console could support. Overboost didn’t person a immense interaction connected the battery, thankfully. It’s astir what I get with different consoles, though the Deck OLED is inactive the victor present with its 50 Whr artillery positive the OLED surface needing little juice.

Just Skip the Claw

Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

Instead of increasing livid astatine the show and physique of the MSI Claw, I consciousness much bored by it. It’s not gathering others successful show metrics, but it’s inactive playable connected astir titles. It’s successful astir ways worse than a Steam Deck OLED successful presumption of consciousness and worse than a ROG Ally successful performance.

It would beryllium a contender if it were $150 oregon $200 cheaper than its ludicrous $800 MSRP. Instead, it’s an outlier, the evident “oh, but there’s a amended option” of the existent gaming handheld space.

The adjacent mentation of the Claw, whether it’s 7 oregon 8 inches, needs to bash acold much than connection a refresh to what’s already broken. Center M needs acold much TLC than astir different handheld bundle close now. Since MSI is sticking with Intel, the institution needs to marque definite its handheld is doing arsenic much, if not more, show natively than the different companies astatine the aforesaid terms constituent since it can’t trust arsenic overmuch connected upscaling. Or amended yet, marque a handheld that volition vie connected terms acold amended than now. Otherwise, we’ll beryllium doing this aforesaid opus and creation a fewer months from now.