// ENGADGET — HARDWARE & GADGET
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review: Big money for big performance
$1,800 for a handheld gaming PC is a ton of money, even if it comes with massive gains in horsepower.
Unlike most of its rivals, MSI aligned itself with Intel instead of AMD when it made last year's Claw 8. The result was one of the most powerful PC gaming handhelds of its generation. For its latest endeavor, MSI partnered up with Team Blue again to incorporate an even beefier chip, the Arc G3 Extreme, which Intel says has been customized explicitly for portable gaming PCs. So not only is this handheld even faster, it offers smoother performance and better endurance. However, at $1,800, the new Claw 8 EX AI+ is also one of the most expensive portables from any mainstream PC manufacturer, which makes you question if the never-ending quest for higher frame rates is really worth the asking price.
Editor's Note: This review was performed using an engineering sample provided by Intel and required us to install pre-production software and drivers, so our experience may differ slightly from retail models.
Aside from its eggplant purple exterior, the Claw 8 EX has a very straightforward layout. You get a standard assortment of face buttons, analog sticks, a D-Pad and shoulder triggers along with two customizable paddles in back. MSI incorporated the requisite RGB lighting you get on modern gaming hardware by installing two LED rings at the base of the analog sticks. A pair of two-watt speakers hide behind the front-facing grilles on each side of the display. MSI also added more pronounced, subtly textured grips that vaguely ape the size and shape of those on an Xbox Series S/X controller. This is a nice touch, especially if you like a device with full-bodied handles.
That said, while the Claw 8 EX might not have the most innovative design, all of its components feel quite premium. Both its analog sticks and shoulder triggers feature Hall Effect sensors for improved precision and durability. When it comes to connectivity, the Claw supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 with LE audio and a solid mix of ports — including two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm headset jack. There's even a new linear resonant actuator and voice coil motor to provide stronger haptic feedback along with a fingerprint sensor built into the power button. The latter of which makes it super easy to unlock the system and get back to gaming with a single touch.
I do have one small gripe with the design though. While the D-Pad has a metal dome underneath that results in a satisfyingly clicky feel, its overall stiffness, combined with its concave shape, isn't my preferred setup for things like fighting games. That said, if you've grown up using Xbox controllers, you'll probably feel right at home.
As for its display, MSI didn't skimp there either. The Claw 8 EX features a large 8-inch IPS display with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate with VRR and up to 500 nits of brightness. Now I will admit that the way its screen sticks out from the bottom of the handheld looks a bit clunky, but that's purely cosmetic. Sure, MSI could've opted for an OLED panel to get even more vivid colors and improved contrast, but aside from that, there's really not much to complain about. And given the Claw 8 EX's already wallet-busting price tag, I'm not sure paying extra to upgrade to a fancier panel would make the overall package that much more appealing.
The lynchpin of the Claw 8 EX is the previously mentioned Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, which features a total 14 cores: two for performance, eight for efficiency and four for low-power efficiency. You also get 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and when combined with that chip, MSI is delivering a whole new world of handheld PC performance. Sadly, there are no plans to produce a model with the standard Arc G3, so this config is all you get.
Depending on the title, I saw framerate increases of 50 to 75 percent (and sometimes more) when compared to rivals like the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and Lenovo Legio