After a run-in with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ ($899.99) at Computex 2024 and a hands-on session at its year-end launch, the updated handheld gaming device has finally hit our test benches. The original Claw failed to leave a mark due to glitchy software, driver woes, and so-so performance. Now, the new model features a bigger screen, longer battery life, a new Intel “Lunar Lake” processor, and improved software. However, it introduces some new problems: The system’s larger size is awkward to hold for long, and its power ceiling is too limited for its price. The Claw 8 AI+ is a more complete and capable product than the original, but the Asus ROG Ally X and Steam Deck are higher-quality handheld solutions, and a similarly priced gaming laptop will still deliver more power for your dollar. With that, the ROG Ally X maintains its hold on the Editors’ Choice Award for gaming handhelds.
Configurations: Core Ultra 7 Claws Its Way In
As we outlined in our previous hands-on coverage, one of the primary upgrades to the Claw 8 AI+ is the new CPU—Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V, an eight-core, eight-thread chip with a neural processing unit (NPU) rated at 47 total operations per second (TOPS). A 1TB solid-state drive and 32GB of memory support the new processor and its Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Since this isn’t a laptop, you shouldn’t expect multiple or customizable configurations; this is the only 8-inch Claw 8 AI+ configuration. MSI has also launched a new 7-inch Claw, priced at $799.99, with a smaller 512GB drive but sharing the rest of the 8-inch console’s latest features.
The choice of a Core Ultra 7 processor may turn some heads, given the variety of alternatives and that Lunar Lake hasn’t made the most convincing case for itself on the gaming front. While its processing power won’t top any charts, the CPU prioritizes efficiency, which should help a handheld device run longer. The platform’s neural processing unit, designed for AI tasks, inspires the Claw 8 AI+ name.
Before I get to the performance details below, I must say this is a pricey device for its parts. The OLED Steam Deck starts at $549, and the LCD version is just $399, making the MSI handheld relatively exorbitant at $899. Even the 1TB OLED Steam Deck is $649, and while a Windows 11 license doubtless adds to the cost, the ROG Ally X comes in $100 lower.
Design: A Larger Handheld, for Better and Worse
The two most noticeable changes from the first Claw are the color and design. The Claw 8 AI+ comes in a beige-gray tone, hardly the most adventurous color, yet it still stands out in the PC space. The beige extends only to the handle portion, while the bottom and rear are entirely black.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Most laptops and handhelds are all black, as was the original Claw, so even beige is—dare I say—more fun. Asus’ all-white ROG Ally was the main exception to the rule, but its Ally X follow-up shifted to an all-black look. Like the Ally, the Claw features ringed LEDs around the joysticks for a bit of flair, and more subtly, the face buttons also include customizable lighting.
Next is the larger display. The original Claw had a 7-inch, 1,920-by-1,080 resolution screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and the Claw 8 AI+ bumps that up to 1,920 by 1,200 pixels. With the new 8-inch diagonal size, that’s a 16:10 aspect ratio rather than 16:9.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The larger screen certainly makes the Claw more enjoyable to use. It’s roomy, it’s sharp, and it fights against the concessions of playing on an inherently smaller device. When gaming, I see plenty of real estate for a handheld—obviously still not on par with a laptop or a desktop monitor, but it doesn’t feel cramped. The extra diagonal inch and taller aspect ratio make a noticeable difference.
However, this handheld is larger than most rivals in look and feel. If the Ally is on the smaller side of this category, the Claw is one of the chunkier models, closer to the Steam Deck but not quite as comfortable. The device isn’t too heavy—feeling lighter than I expected at first glance—but I don’t find its ergonomics as comfortable. My hands are neither especially large nor small, but I can’t entirely get the device in my grip comfortably, neutrally. The Steam Deck has similar dimensions, but its handles are curved in a way that sinks into my palms more naturally, while with the Claw, I feel as if I’m reaching for the joystick at times.
Surveying the rest of the updated chassis, the Claw now features two Thunderbolt 4 ports along the top, one more than before. This adds more flexibility since you can plug in a peripheral and keep the device charging at the same time. A microSD card reader and an audio jack join these, while the power button features a built-in fingerprint sensor.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
A more internal design upgrade is that the Claw’s main storage drive, an NVMe Type-2230 SSD, is now more easily accessible. Users have shown enough interest in swapping their drives from the stock model to a larger or faster option (feedback I also heard from Asus), so the drive is now easier to reach. It sits above the cooling system rather than behind it, so you don’t have to remove anything else once you open the Claw’s chassis.
Using the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and Its Center M Software
When we reviewed the original Claw, my colleague had a host of issues with the state of the software at launch. These Windows-based devices have the challenge of navigating a desktop-first OS via a small touch screen and control sticks. Being able to install and run the full Windows version of the Epic Games Store or the Xbox app (to run Game Pass locally rather than stream it) is one of the main benefits of these devices, but you have to access it through a small Windows interface and without the friendly tile-like interface of SteamOS.
As a result, each manufacturer has implemented its own software to fill the ease-of-use gap with SteamOS. MSI’s initial take—the Center M software on the original Claw—was frankly glitchy and unimpressive. On top of that, missing drivers made the experience around review time even worse.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Without getting into how every menu is structured, the Center M experience on the Claw 8 AI+ is much better. The hardware button on the left side of the screen pulls up Center M wherever you are on the device and gives immediate access to your gaming library (all in one place and on a smaller screen- and touch-friendly menu), plus performance tuning settings. If a title isn’t surfacing in the library automatically, you can add any game manually by finding its .exe file on the device.
The ability to quickly swap between gaming mode (tablet and joystick controls, meant for most games) and desktop mode (replicating a mouse experience for the desktop and some titles) is also key. Generally speaking, after a learning curve and trial and error, I can easily navigate the Claw menus, Windows itself, my game library, and the customizable settings.
If I had a criticism, it’s that some options could be more clearly labeled, but it wasn’t long before I knew where to find the scenario settings used to tweak the power, fan, and battery endurance modes. You’ll also find an AI Engine automated mode to change these settings, which you may prefer, though you won’t know what it’s changing. Center M also includes a handful of online and MSI support options that, while not quite bloatware, you probably won’t need to interact with much. On the whole, Center M is more responsive and useful than before.
Testing the MSI Claw 8 AI+: Lots of Power Savings, But Little Punch
To gauge the performance of this new handheld, we put it through our usual benchmark suite, gathered the results, and compared it against the following systems…
Here, you’ll find two other handhelds, the Asus ROG Ally X ($799.99) and the Lenovo Legion Go S (a lesser-powered option at $729; that review is in the works). Note that the original Ally and Claw were tested on our old benchmark suite, so we can’t compare them. I included the Gigabyte Aorus 15 BMF gaming laptop, with an entry-level Nvidia GPU, because these gaming handhelds have traditionally compared decently with them. The Lenovo LOQ 15 ($699) sits somewhere between with its uncommon Intel Arc discrete GPU, priced even lower than the Claw (but without the convenient form factor).
I tested the Claw 8 AI+ on its highest performance mode, setting the TDP adjuster to 30 watts in Center M (rather than the lower 8W and 17W options) with fans on auto. I also used Intel’s XeSS rather than FSR in the gaming tests where applicable.
Productivity and Content Creation Tests
Our primary overall benchmark, UL’s PCMark 10, tests a system in productivity apps such as web browsing, word processing, and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC’s storage throughput.
Three more tests are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon’s Cinebench 2024 uses that company’s Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the train scoding tool HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.
Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems’ PugetBench for Creators rates a PC’s image editing prowess in various automated operations in Adobe Photoshop 25.
While you won’t primarily use your Claw 8 AI+ as a PC, these results show that you could. Thanks to the Intel CPU, the Claw’s PCMark 10 productivity score was competitive with the laptops, though the device’s thermal constraints certainly limit its ceiling for more demanding tasks.
The laptops excelled on the media tests here, generally leaving the Claw behind (though not always by a significant margin), while the Ally X also performed better on average. Still, for general use, the MSI is quick enough to navigate Windows and complete everyday computing tasks (as long as you use a mouse to make things more palatable).
Graphics and Gaming Tests
We challenged the systems’ graphics with several animations or gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark test suite. Wild Life (1440p) uses the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. Steel Nomad’s Light subtest focuses on APIs more commonly used for game development, like Metal and DirectX 12, to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. We turn to Solar Bay to measure ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment.
Our real-world gaming testing comes from in-game benchmarks within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at the system’s full HD (1080p or 1200p native) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. If the screen is capable of a higher resolution, we rerun the tests at the QHD equivalent of 1440p or 1600p. Each game runs at two sets of graphics settings per resolution for up to four runs total on each game.
We run the Call of Duty benchmark at the Minimum graphics preset—aimed at maximizing frame rates to test display refresh rates—and again at the Extreme preset. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs fully, so we run it on the Ultra graphics preset and again at the all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS, FSR, or XeSS. Finally, F1 represents our DLSS effectiveness test (or FSR on AMD systems and XeSS on compatible Intel systems), demonstrating a GPU’s capacity for frame-boosting upscaling technologies.
In the synthetic 3DMark tests, the Claw performed well, showing pretty capable graphics power in the same ballpark as the laptops. The Aorus 15 clearly proved the most potent among the compared systems.
We see more separation in the real-game tests, however. The Claw was, at best, half as effective as the Aorus in these benchmarks. That’s acceptable on its own—we expect the laptops to perform better—but the actual frame rates leave much to be desired.
I must stress that the game tests are meant to be demanding even on full-size laptops since they primarily run at maximum visual settings, so the demands realistically exceed what you’d expect from a handheld. Regardless, the Claw couldn’t reach 30fps in most cases and only just reached it in F1 2024 with the help of XeSS. Again, you can (and probably will) run these titles on lower settings, but it demonstrates the system’s ceiling and limited future potential. The lowest-settings run on Call of Duty achieved 44fps, but that’s still well short of the 60fps target, which the ROG Ally X managed. The Gigabyte laptop was comfortably at more than that number; the LOQ, in contrast, doesn’t look worth the laptop-size trade-off.
You should generally opt for less demanding, simpler games on a handheld, but that’s not to say these were entirely unplayable. Outside of our testing regimen, I played Cyberpunk 2077 on the game’s Steam Deck visual preset (a batch of settings intended to run on handhelds). With FSR or XeSS active, the game settled into a smooth enough and playable state—I had a perfectly acceptable session—so long as you’re willing to see more pop-in, more fuzziness, and less visual fidelity. Realistic open-world titles are among the most demanding, so you’ll find increasing smoothness as you go down the fidelity and genre realism scale.
Considering the new Claw’s price is well into budget gaming laptop territory, it’s only fair to compare it with gaming laptops. Obviously, if you want the handheld form factor above all else, the price and performance are part of the package. These games (and less strenuous titles) are certainly playable on lower settings. So, dial in your expectations accordingly or seek another system if performance or visual concessions bother you.
Battery Test
We test each system’s battery life by playing a locally stored 720p video file (the open-source Blender movie Tears of Steel) with display brightness at 50% and audio volume at 100%. We make sure the battery is fully charged before the test, with Wi-Fi and keyboard backlighting turned off.
The Claw 8 AI+ performed exceptionally well in our battery test, lasting 21 hours in the video rundown. Its 80WHr battery is a significant factor here, another benefit of the larger chassis, but using the Claw for computing versus gaming is a huge difference. If you want to watch videos, poke around your desktop, and browse the web, this device has an admirable amount of juice.
However, I ran some additional testing while gaming and saw the battery run out much faster. I played Cyberpunk on the Steam Deck visual preset using the device’s high-performance rather than endurance mode—a realistic scenario for smooth gaming off the charger on the Claw—and it only lasted for 1 hour and 50 minutes.
That’s obviously much shorter but not too bad for a gaming session on the go, and Cyberpunk is one of the more power-hungry titles around. Laptops will take a similar battery hit when gaming versus video viewing or office work. As with frame rates, the less demanding the game, the better the Claw’s battery will handle it.
Verdict: This Claw Cuts Deeper, But Not Quite Enough
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ improves on the original with its hardware and software while still being imperfect. The new body color, the larger screen, and the increased power are all welcome. The system feels well made, it can generally run games smoothly enough (as long as you lower some settings), and it has a respectable battery life. If this particular device speaks to you, it will do the job.
On the other hand, the new ergonomics leave room for improvement; the performance needs a boost; and the price has officially entered the laptop zone. We still prefer the Editors’-Choice-award-holding Asus ROG Ally X and Steam Deck among handhelds, and if you’re not hell-bent on a handheld, your dollar will still go further with a gaming laptop.
The Bottom Line
MSI’s Claw 8 AI+ handheld PC gaming console is an improvement on the original and capable of running most games on its roomy screen, but it’s underpowered for its price.
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About Matthew Buzzi
Lead Analyst, Hardware
