In my experience, performance was fair.
MSI Claw has RGB lighting in both the thumbsticks and the buttons, and it looks nice.
Does it drain the battery?
The RGB lighting in the face buttons may be the only real advantage the MSI Claw has over competing consoles.Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Yes, technically, but its there for those of us who want it.
Thats quite literally the one thing I would say the Claw has that other major gaming handhelds dont.
The big question is how low in price the MSI Claw needs to go before its worth picking up.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The MSI Claw would have to drop prestigiously before Id consider it a real option.
Then theres theSteam Deck OLED, which is my current console of choice.
you’re free to grab the 1 TB version for $650 MSRP.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
Perhaps therell be a discount once MSI releases its new console.
You heard that right.
MSI says its already working on an 8-inch semi-sequel called the MSI Claw 8 AI.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
For all its promise, the first Claw is not, and likely never will be.
There are only subtle differences, but they greatly affect overall comfort.
They feel spongey and only collapse toward the edges rather than press down uniformly.
Photo: Kyle Barr / Gizmodo
The Claw doesnt really feel like its meant for an adults hands.
Its barebones, with a clunky interface and an overly simple game selection menu.
Theres only one option for real-time FPS monitoring that doesnt display CPU or GPU usage.
The software is laggy when cycling through menus and freezes up more than once during use.
Too many other hiccups disrupt your gaming experience on the Claw.
Overboost, in effect, offers you a real 35-40 W TDP.
The rest is a smokescreen.
Theres a bigger gulf in performance for most games.
Some recent titles, like Assassins Creed: Valhalla, lack any support for Intels XeSS.
The Steam Deck is the outlier among other handhelds.
Whether its the OLED or LCD version, it maxes out at 15W.
The Claw doesnt even go that low.
A Claw at 20 W will only get 27.
You get similar outcomes with Legion Go in the same power and resolution prefs.
That remains consistent with all the games weve tested without Overboost.
The Legion Go did 59 FPS, all with the same options profile.
This feature, as described by MSI, disables Intels virtualization technology in the BIOS.
This wasnt there during the launch, but now its supposed to improve gameplay significantly.
And you know what?
It actually made Assassins Creed: Valhalla playable on high parameters.
I saw boosts of between 20 to 30% better framerates in most games.
I reran all the benchmarks and managed to get 41 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077.
I went up to 50 FPS in Forza, but that still pales in comparison to Allys original benchmark.
Lets also be clear that I would prefer an AI upscaler fixing framerates rather than an the boosting feature.
Thats even more important when you consider the impact of higher options on battery life.
Its a 7-inch IPS LCD screen with a 19201080 resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate with VRR.
Visually, Id say the Claws display is equivalent to the Ally.
They look so similar that I could go from one to another and not miss a beat.
So if you compare it to other screens on the market, its just alright.
Its no slouch, but its just pretty basic.
Sound-wise, the Claw does just fine.
It doesnt have amazing bass, but a handheld this size wouldnt.
Playing something like Disco Elysium, I got about three hours before I needed to recharge.
Overboost didnt have a huge impact on the battery, thankfully.
Its not meeting others in performance metrics, but its still playable on most titles.
Center M needs far more TLC than most other handheld software right now.
Or better yet, make a handheld that will compete on price far better than now.
Otherwise, well be doing this same song and dance a few months from now.
Update 06/24/23 at 2:26 p.m.
ET: This post was updated to correct our mention of FSR compatibility on Intel chips.
The description of Overboost was changed to closer reflect how it improves performance in games.
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