MSI Claw A1M - A New Challenger in the Handheld Gaming Arena
1/10/2024
MSI Claw A1M: A New Challenger in the Handheld Gaming Arena
The handheld gaming market is heating up with more and more contenders vying for a slice of the pie. Valve's Steam Deck, Asus' ROG Ally, and Lenovo's Legion Go are some of the most popular devices that offer portable PC gaming experiences. But there is a new kid on the block that might shake things up: the MSI Claw A1M.
The MSI Claw A1M is the first handheld gaming device from MSI, a well-known brand in the PC gaming industry. It was unveiled at CES 2024 as a collaboration with Intel, featuring the latest Intel Core Ultra processors and Intel Arc graphics. MSI claims that the Claw A1M can deliver smooth and immersive gameplay even on AAA titles, thanks to Intel's XeSS technology that uses AI to upscale the graphics.
MSI Claw Specs
The MSI Claw A1M has a 7-inch full-HD IPS touchscreen display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is better than the Steam Deck's 1280x800 resolution and the ROG Ally's 60Hz refresh rate. The Claw A1M also boasts a larger battery capacity of 53Whr, which MSI says can last up to 8 hours of gaming. The device runs on Windows 11 Home, giving users access to a familiar and versatile operating system.
The MSI Claw A1M has a sleek and ergonomic design, with RGB lighting on the analog sticks and ABXY buttons. It also has hall effect triggers and joysticks that are immune to stick drift, a common issue with other handhelds. The device has a fingerprint sensor on the power button, a Thunderbolt 4 port for fast data transfer and external display support, and a microSD card slot for storage expansion.
MSI Claw Versions
The MSI Claw A1M comes in two variants: one with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor and 512GB of SSD storage, and another with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and 1TB of SSD storage. The starting price for the Claw A1M is $699, which is the same as the ROG Ally and the Legion Go, but higher than the Steam Deck OLED, which starts at $549.
How does the MSI Claw A1M compare to its competitors in terms of performance? Well, we don't have the official benchmarks yet, but based on the leaked Geekbench scores, the Claw A1M's Intel Core Ultra 7 processor scored 2403 points in single-core and 11543 points in multi-core tests. This is significantly higher than the AMD APU in the Steam Deck, which scored 1139 points in single-core and 4671 points in multi-core tests. The ROG Ally and the Legion Go use the same AMD APU as the Steam Deck, so we can expect similar results from them.
MSI Claw Benchmarks
Of course, benchmarks are not everything, and there are other factors that affect the gaming experience, such as the screen quality, the cooling system, the battery life, the software optimization, and the game compatibility. We will have to wait for the full reviews of the MSI Claw A1M to see how it fares in real-world scenarios. But based on the specs and features, the MSI Claw A1M seems to be a promising contender in the handheld gaming arena, offering a powerful and portable PC gaming experience with Intel inside.