These talons need a manicure
Thanks to devices like the Nintendo Switch and the Valve Steam Deck, gaming on the go has never been more popular, and just about every gaming hardware maker wants a piece of that sweet handheld gaming pie. But, while Asus and Lenovo iterated on the Steam Deck’s design with their products, they both opted for the AMD Z1 Extreme, a custom processor based on AMD’s latest GPU architecture. The MSI Claw (starting at $699, $799 as tested), while not too different in design from those two handhelds, uses Intel’s newest silicon, the Core Ultra, rather than AMD’s Z line of chips. On paper, this suggests bigger gains in performance, but in practice, Intel’s Arc integrated graphics processor (IGP) falls a few drivers short of prime time, with enough games delivering worse performance across the board—and, in some cases, not running at all—to cause concern. MSI’s Claw may seem sharp at first, but it won’t take long to see that this paw is not quite a threat just yet.Design: Touring MSI’s First PC Gaming Handheld
MSI’s Claw is almost identical to the Asus ROG Ally, complete with asymmetrical joysticks and RGB lighting, a circular eight-directional D-pad, and menu buttons that hug the top corner of its 7-inch IPS screen. (It comes in all-black instead of white.) Two sets of shoulder buttons sit at the top of the device, while additional right and left macro triggers hug the back side. At the top of the console, you’ll find the system’s port hub, which includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, volume and power buttons, and the sole USB-C port. The MSI Claw omits an additional touch panel, however, which will disappoint if you prefer touch-based over analog controls.
Measuring 0.8 by 11.5 by 4.6 inches (HWD), the MSI Claw is a hair wider than the Ally and, at 1.48 pounds, just slightly heavier. In hand, the console feels substantial despite its plastic build. The grip on the MSI Claw is shallower than the ROG Ally, but overall, they’re the same in this department. This was a smart move, as the ROG Ally is easily one of the more comfortable handheld PCs we’ve reviewed.
Turning the Claw around, you’ll see that about 80% of its back is dedicated to ventilation, which is cool (pun intended), but it foregoes a stand, just like the Asus ROG Ally. (You’ll see that last line a lot in this review.) If you’re looking for additional support, the MSI Claw carrying case, which is sold separately, includes a kickstand.
The MSI Claw uses a full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) touch-screen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio and a refresh rate of 120Hz. That’s the same size and resolution as the Asus ROG Ally, and sharper than the Steam Deck OLED’s 1,200-by-800-pixel screen and the Nintendo Switch’s 720p screen. The Lenovo Legion Go still has the highest resolution (2,560 by 1,600 pixels), the fastest refresh rate (144Hz), and the biggest screen (8.8 inches) among its contemporaries.
A sharper picture isn’t everything, however, as the Legion Go struggles to play games at full resolution. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck OLED and Nintendo Switch OLED IPS displays improve picture quality, thanks to their deeper blacks, higher contrast ratios, and brighter screens. The Claw’s 500-nit screen is no slouch, however, and while I didn’t formally test screen brightness and color range, both videos and games look bright and colorful to my eyes through this panel.Using the MSI Claw: Taking Control of the Claw
The MSI Claw runs full Windows 11, which means it works as a laptop when paired with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. You’ll probably want to use one, as navigation is still a pain using solely the touch screen. Having a full-fat version of Windows has benefits, like downloading and installing Windows apps with ease. Other game launchers, like the Epic Games Store and the Xbox Game Pass app, are still not natively supported on the Steam Deck (only through the Linux back end), so accessing games on these other stores won’t be a hassle.
MSI preinstalls MSI Center M into all Claw units. Center M aggregates your installed games into one place more or less in the same way that the Asus Armoury Crate and Legion Space apps do. However, these pre-installed apps appear hastily made: The resized thumbnails, the choice of type, and the way game titles barely fit into their squares are all tells. In its defense, Center M is ugly but functional, and it’s not as intrusive as Lenovo Space is on the Legion Go.
Center M is also for editing your user settings. Here, you can adjust the RGB lighting and the User Scenario, a preset profile that changes your system settings to accommodate your needs. You have a choice of five options: Extreme Performance, Balanced, Super Battery, Manual, and AI Engine. Now, I know what you’re thinking: The MSI Claw uses the new Intel Core Ultra, which has a neural processing unit, or NPU, specifically for running local AI workloads. Well, if the Claw indeed is, it’s not doing much with it here.
The AI Engine, when enabled, utilizes AI to learn user behavior to adjust various settings for you automatically and depending on the situation. For example, it’ll change your fan speed and turn on RGB lighting when you start a game. MSI deployed something similar in the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED, which featured an AI Vision function that would adjust contrast and brightness depending on what you were viewing, but no actual AI upscaling was involved. The same idea is applied here.
Regardless, navigating the MSI Center M was not without issue. In one bizarre instance, when navigating to the Noise Cancellation section, the system language suddenly changed to German. But Center M has its uses, and it makes updating your MSI Claw’s drivers painless, so it gets a pass.
The software, like Asus Armoury Crate and the Lenovo Space app, is a far cry from the Steam Deck operating system. And luckily, you can access the Steam Deck OS by triggering Big Picture Mode in Steam.
MSI’s Claw also supports Nahimic, SteelSeries‘ audio software that uses high-definition sound technology to boost audio performance. This is pretty useful and gives the twin 2-watt speakers some added bass.
