MSI has just opened pre-orders for its new device, the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM, at least in Cambodia
The MSI Claw Story So Far
MSI has a rocky start to the handheld scene. The rumour is that they received funding from Intel in order to build a Handheld PC which used Intel CPUs rather than the AMD CPUs, which had better integrated graphics, which have been much more prevalent in the post-steam deck world.
While the original MSI Claw was not universally loved, reviewers who come from an audio background, like RH’s figurehead Stubbs, have always raved about the speakers in the original MSI Claw, calling them the best they have ever encountered.
The original 2024 release was followed by the second generation earlier this year, which was widely seen as a significant improvement, addressing most of the criticisms levelled at the original units. These new Claws came in both a 7-inch and an 8-inch variant, and were one of the first mobile devices to use the new Intel Lunar Lake CPUs, which were also seen to be a huge improvement on the previous generation.
The MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM
The new Claw is the first MSI handheld gaming PC to launch with an AMD CPU – the Z2 Extreme. This new device was shown at Computex in Taipei about a month ago, but reviewers haven’t yet had the device in their hands, outside that MSI booth. The Z2E chipset has also not yet been fully tested, although it’s expected to be based on the Ryzen 7 AI HX370, only with 8 active cores as opposed to the HX370’s 12 cores. The same iGPU should be present on both chips.
This Colorway will likely have its Fans and its Detractors (taken from the MSI Website)
The BZ2EM’s other specs, according to the MSI website, are as follows:
- 80 W/hr battery, good for 3 ½ hours of gameplay in what MSI describes as “endurance mode”
- PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD (capacity should be 1TB at least, from what RH has seen)
- 8-inch, 120 Hz 16:10 IPS screen with 500 nits output and VRR support
- Hi Res Audio
- 2 Possible Colorways – White and Fluorescent Green
How To Pre-Order
Taiwanese Pre-Orders are available on the MSI Website via the button below:
RH has also seen confirmation that it’s up for pre-order in Cambodia
A Cambodian Reseller showing the BZ2EM up for sale (taken from the RH Discord)
At the moment, we are expecting devices to be shipped in the latter half of 2025, hopefully in Q3
Update to Article: This article has been corrected since it was first published. The initial version suggested the pre-order was additionally live in Taiwan, which was a misinterpretation of the image above. Since the article was published RH have been informed that the BZ2EM is also available for Pre-Order in Mainland China, however RH have not been able to verify whether this is correct or not
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