MSI entered the handheld battle relatively early on, taking a gamble that was the complete opposite of its rival Asus. While the latter opted to work with AMD to equip its Rog Ally, the first MSI Claw relied on an Intel processor. The launch didn’t live up to the brand’s expectations, and many people scoffed at the Claw’s performance…unfairly, in our opinion. Here we’ve warned of the maturation time MSI should observe to get the best out of the Meteor Lake solution. But media time leaves no room for evolution. Gradually, through optimization and updates, the first Claw overcame its handicap…Unfortunately, to general indifference. The second round now begins with the new MSI Claw 8 AI.
At CES 2025, we were able to discover the new MSI CLAW 8 AI . With this second version, the brand returns with a more accomplished console, offering a refined design while continuing to set itself apart from the competition by relying once again on Intel. This time, the console is powered by the Lunar Lake SoC. We were eager to test this new console for two main reasons.
First of all, Lunar Lake really impressed us on many points during the various tests we carried out. Its integration was therefore promising. Lastly, to put our cards on the table, without abandoning our usual neutrality, we were still a little bitter about the way the first Claw was treated.
Prior to its official launch, members of the overclocking.com community were able to discover the console, handle it and, above all, ask questions to the product manager at the brand’s headquarters, as well as to Intel, who was present on site. We’ll talk a little later about the feedback from this day, which was instructive in terms of usage, ergonomics and so on.
[nextpage title=”The new MSI Claw 8 Ai in detail”]
This new Claw console now features a larger 8-inch screen.
Its design has been completely rethought compared with the first version. What strikes you immediately after the quality and size of its screen is the balance in the Claw 8 Ai’s grip.
It features an Intel Lunar Lake chip, in this case the Core Ultra 7 258V. Compared with the Core Ultra 7 155H (Meteor Lake) that equipped the first Claw, the Intel Arc 140V graphics unit stands out with performance well above that of the previous generation.
Battery capacity is 80 Wh. This is also the same as on the Rog Ally X, as well as 32 GB of RAM, compared with 24 GB on the rival Asus.
Ergonomics: notable evolutions.
The first Claw had a minor ergonomic problem. Nothing really disturbing for the user, but your fingers would instinctively rest on the rear vents. Obviously, this was not really conducive to the console’s cooling performance or the user’s comfort. This is no longer the case with Claw 8. The rear buttons are flatter, too, and each has a clearer click than before. The Hall-effect joysticks are well placed, as are the triggers. But you should be aware that, as with any controller test, this finding may depend on your habits.
The Claw 8 screen: Wow!
The screen contributes to the first “wow” effect when you discover the console. The switch to this 8-inch slab is clearly the big highlight. This 1200p IPS panel is remarkably dynamic right from the start of Windows.
Finally, Center M, the software overlay designed to compensate for the shortcomings of using Windows 11 on a console-type device, has also been redesigned. It now sports a more streamlined look. It offers easy access to all the most popular launchers and a new Quick Settings menu that lets you change power, keyboard, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings on the fly. What’s more, the new menus integrate Xbox Game Bar and Xbox Social. A big improvement on the previous version… But it’s also still MSI’s weak point to date.
During our test, and also when our community got in touch with the Claw 8, we encountered random problems with Center M that required the program to be restarted. No doubt these problems will be corrected over time, as MSI has been doing since its arrival on the console market. But it also highlights the Achilles heel of these portable consoles: Windows.
This is one of the reasons for the success of the Steam Deck. The need for an overlay isn’t exactly a good deal for the user. And it has to be said that Asus is still one step ahead. Of course, we can qualify this weakness by saying that everything that’s software can be improved. MSI must therefore race against the clock in this area to prevent the Claw 8 from being penalized.
[nextpage title=”Gaming: the Claw 8 AI is ahead”]
Even if the Claw 8 AI can be used as something other than a portable console, that’s the main reason for buying it. In this context, using the synthetic benchmarks we use for a “classic” PC seems inappropriate. All the more so since the behavior of both the Lunar Lake and the Z1 Extreme chipsets has repeatedly caught our attention. In particular, the 3DMark Time Spy GPU score is extremely high for the Lunar Lake. In terms of CPU score, the figures are more logical (with a four-core Lunar Lake Performance and four low-power cores coming up against the eight cores of the Z1 Extreme, which support four Zen 5 cores associated with eight Zen 5c cores of the Ryzen AI HX 370), but you’ll understand that in our current use case, these benchmarks aren’t really relevant.
Gaming and only gaming.
The ground truth for this type of product is gaming. We won’t neglect autonomy and usage, of course, but for the moment, let’s concentrate on what we’re going to buy it for: PLAYING. And that’s where the Battlemage-based Arc 140V iGPU comes in, with eight Xe² cores and eight dedicated ray tracing units.
In our battery of tests, we’ll be making a comparison with the current market leader, the Rog Ally X. We’ll make a first pass with average settings and scaling technologies disabled. Then we’ll activate the upscaling solutions, trying to put the two consoles under the same conditions. In all cases, we’ll be using a 1080P display. Both will also be set to a 30W tdp.
Black Myth Wukong
The two consoles are very similar, but once upscaling is engaged, the Claw 8 Ai has the upper hand over its Asus competitor.
Cyberpunk 2077:
This game is often an eye-opener for all PCs. And it also had this virtue in the Claw 8 test. Most impressive? The silence of operation and the palpable absence of overheating. We even went so far as to activate all the quality parameters… And we were able to play without ever feeling any slowdown.
F1 2024
Gaming conditions are excellent for both consoles, but here again the MSI has the upper hand, with its remarkably quiet operation.
Horizon Zero Dawn
The results are much tighter here, and with upscaling, the Rog Ally X takes the upper hand on max FPS but struggles on average during the test session. Note that in both cases, you really need to activate upscaling to play in good conditions, but even so, the Rog Ally X struggles.
Metro Exodus
As with the previous game. The Rog Ally X manages to compete with Max FPS, but even with upscaling activated, the game is not enjoyable on the Asus console.
Autonomy and usage
The battery is the second area of concern when it comes to this new family of portable PC consoles. With the Ally X, Asus has “inflated” its battery capacity so that its owner can do without a charging cable for a few hours. With its Intel chip and 80 Wh battery, the MSI Claw 8 also boasts 64 W charging capacity via two Thunderbolt 4 ports. In recent months, our tests of laptops equipped with Intel Lunar Lake chips have shown that Intel’s X86 solution is no match for ARM SoCs. MSI therefore claims that with this equipment you should get around four hours of battery life in “extended use”.
The Claw 8 is a good student of autonomy.
Unsurprisingly, in real intensive use, these figures are not fully met. However, the Claw 8 managed to last three hours at full power before requiring a mains connection while playing Metaphor: Refantazio. On the Rog Ally X, it’s impossible to exceed one hour and 45 minutes. On Valve’s Steam Deck Oled, it’s closer to two hours with less detailed settings. But as mentioned above in our Cyberpunk test, it’s the Claw’s silent operation and lack of heat that continue to surprise us. It’s also worth remembering that in both cases, its 2 rivals have smaller screens…
One of the consequences of this silence is an even greater appreciation of the sound reproduction offered by the MSI console. Of course, in most cases, we’ll be using headphones. But the power and quality delivered by these two small 2 W speakers is astonishing.
[nextpage title=”Conclusion”]
The MSI Claw 8 AI has really benefited from the lessons learned from the chaotic launch of its big sister. If you’re seduced by this ability to play anywhere while continuing your sessions started on your PC, then the Claw 8 is at the top of what’s currently available.
That’s not to say, however, that it’s flawless. During our hands-on sessions with several members of the overclocking.com community, ergonomics regularly came up as one of the console’s strong points. However, some users with “small hands” expressed a certain discomfort, particularly in comparison with the first version of the Claw, which was also present during the meeting. As with a keyboard, a mouse and, of course, a joystick, it’s always difficult to reach unanimous agreement on this issue. But let’s not beat about the bush for too long: it’s M Center, MSI’s in-house software overlay, that really grated on our nerves. Even if progress is undeniable, MSI is still lagging behind Asus. While the OCC community has been able to put up with these stability problems and ergonomic inconsistencies, the same cannot be said of a younger generation that doesn’t want to be bothered with Windows tweaks.
However, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, as this story is all about software. MSI will be working hard to improve all this. And that’s where the good news comes in. With its Claw 8 and Lunar Lake, MSI has a well-born product that’s already very competitive, despite the youth of the Intel graphics solution (aka Battlemage). As for the competition, Asus has a tried-and-tested AMD platform (Z1 Extreme) that has reached its peak. Optimizations for games and performance upgrades are clearly ahead of us. Already excellent, the Claw 8 will continue to widen the gap…before the arrival of new competitors, but that’s the life of hardware.
