Greetings friends and fellow enthusiasts. This is Mikhailov from Team Retrogue where we like retro games and the devices that bring them to us.
Stubbs Reviews Evian Water at the MSI Event.
This week, I, along with Stubbs, Rob, Russ, and several other YouTube personalities, got our first hands-on with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ in Anaheim, CA. Through the experience, I formed some initial impressions of the device.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ Hardware Revisions
A Summary of the Hardware Changes Coming to the Claw 8 AI+. Courtesy of MSI
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ will be the first handheld PC to feature the Intel Core Ultra 258V Lunar Lake Processor.
The device features an 80Wh battery, which is a massive bump from the 53Wh battery in the original Claw A1M.
A Sample of the New D-Pad on the Claw 8 AI+
The D-pad is more concave in the middle compared to the original model, and feedback was mixed among those present at the event as to whether this was an improvement or not.
Also, the speakers received a sound boost, and they sound GOOD. I’m looking forward to testing and comparing the sound to the original Claw. However, such testing will have to wait until I have a unit in-house.
The Hard Drive Can Easily be Replaced in the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
The hard drive is easily accessible and can be replaced by the end user simply by opening up the back of the device. Unfortunately, the device will only accept M.2 2230 NVMe SSD sizes. This means only a maximum upgrade of 2TB is possible on the Claw 8. The device ships with a 1TB Hard Drive installed.
Other hardware revisions include improvements to the shoulder and trigger buttons, an 8″ 16:10 VRR screen capable of a 120Hz refresh rate, and the addition of a second Thunderbolt 4 port.
Ergonomics
The Back of the MSI Claw 8 AI+
The Claw 8 felt decent in the hands, and I did not experience fatigue playing games on the device. However, the ergonomic bumps felt a little flatter than the original Claw. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the device can benefit from an additional case.
Stubbs and I recommended MSI look into having kickstand cases and grip cases manufactured for the Claw 8. I actually showed the reps my ROG Ally X with the Killswitch case and Dbrand skin, and they were very interested in seeing something similar available for the Claw.
The Claw 8 also improves the back buttons, making them bigger and easier to access. They did not seem to get in the way when holding and playing games on the device.
The device did not feel heavy or unevenly distributed despite being a device with an 8″ screen. If a big screen is a priority, this might be a good fit over the Legion Go simply because it’s not as heavy.
MSI Center M Updates
The Manual Setting Allows Shifting Between Three TDP Modes and Custom Fan Curves.
An updated version of MSI Center M will allow a manual adjustment between three TDP modes as well as the ability to set custom fan curves.
Despite the updates, there are only three options for TDP control: AI Engine, Endurance (Battery Saver), and the aforementioned Manual setting.
While these offer more flexibility than the original Claw, a manual TDP slider would have been nice for those times when you want to dial back the TDP to very specific levels.
The Quick Settings Menu in MSI Center M
The new MSI Center M app contains a similar frontend to its predecessor for launching games from various game stores such as Steam and Epic. However, there is a new quick settings mode that has integration with the Xbox Game Bar.
MSI has also partnered with BlueStacks to produce an application that will allow you to install and play Android Apps on the Claw.
Gameplay
Street Fighter 6 on the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
There weren’t many opportunities to try out gameplay on the device. The only games I was able to play were Street Fighter 6 and Immortals Fenix Rising. In SF6, the D-pad was responsive enough to get out Hadoken Fireballs, Dragon Punches, and Tornado Kicks with around 95% accuracy.
At a 17W TDP at Low settings, Street Fighter 6 was not hitting the 60FPS cap, topping out at about 58FPS. During the one match I set up against Guile, the battery dropped from 84% to 83%. While this is not the most effective of tests, if you expected 1% battery loss per full match of Street Fighter, that’s 100 matches before you have to reach for a charger.
MSI also set up a demo where they attempted to show the Claw 8 outperforming an ROG Ally X at a 17W TDP at Low settings. When Fenix was just standing in the world, the Claw did indeed outperform the Ally by about 18FPS (the Ally maxed at 51FPS and the Claw maxed at 69FPS). When actively played, however, the framerate on the Claw would dip more frequently than the Ally X.
MSI did comment that the Intel drivers will be updated prior to the Claw’s release date, rendering these initial tests inconclusive. However, I hope that the driver updates improve this gameplay experience because I feel the Lunar Lake chipsets are capable of performing better than what was on show at the event.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ & Claw 7 AI+ Pricing
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is expected to launch at Best Buy and other major retailers for $900.
MSI also is planning an update to the original 7″ MSI Claw with the Lunar Lake Processor as well as some hardware revisions like the shoulder buttons for $800.
The preorder pages are live on Best Buy’s website, but they currently show as “Sold Out”. Links to the pages are below for you to monitor and pre-order when they become available.
Stay Tuned…
I am publishing a first impressions video on the Claw 8 AI+ on my YouTube Channel this coming week and will do a more in-depth review when my review unit comes in.
What do you think of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ so far? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
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Vast improvement over the original, but $900 is a bit of a hard sell. Even though I’m in the market to upgrade my handheld, and this shows a lot of promise,I’m not going to immediately buy this on release. Don’t know how long before we start seeing a sale on the 8 AI, but it’ll give me time to see what the competition releases, like the Lenovo go 2, and to see the accuracy of the Intel lunar lake chip in benchmarks, plus we should get some possible driver tweaking from Intel to improve the performance over time
I think my only other concern with the new Claw, which was answered here in the article, is how difficult it is to upgrade the 2230 for more storage. The original MSI claw didn’t seem too user friendly in doing that. I do hope this one is closer to plug n play than having to remove the cooling system which was a major hassle with the original Claw.