Tuesday, February 27th 2024

German Customers Get First Dibs on MSI Claw

by
T0@st
 Discuss (20 Comments)
MSI could be staggering the launch of its Intel Core Ultra-powered Claw gaming handheld, depending on regional availability—VideoCardz has observed contradictory release date data through UK retail channels. A confusing scenario is presented with some listings mentioning March 20, although others outline various dates going into April. MSI's German e-store appears to be the first outlet to have Claw units "in stock," although the active listing indicates that orders will start shipping on March 5. The pre-orderable "Handheld CLAW A1M-036" seems to be the most basic out of MSI's three launch SKUs—€849 (~$921) bags you a model that sports Intel's Core Ultra 5 135H APU and 512 GB of storage.

Preview samples are out in the wild—YouTube reviewers and influencers have started to show off their pre-release units, but Western embargoes are still in effect at the time of writing. Fairly comprehensive comparison videos emerged just over two weeks ago—courtesy of the "Please, Xiao Fengfeng" Bilibili video channel. The MSI Claw (Ultra 7-155H version) was compared to a close handheld rival; an ASUS ROG Ally (Ryzen Z1 Extreme). Overall, the AMD APU-based Ally seemed to outperform MSI's plucky new entrant—it is possible that the latter was disadvantaged with immature chipset drivers. Intel and its hardware partners are attempting to catch up with Team Red's more widespread release of portable-oriented APU packages—another Meteor Lake-based handheld gaming system, Tulpar, was demoed at a recent Intel Extreme Masters event.
MSI CLAW MSRPs, according to VideoCardz sleuthing efforts:
  • MSI Claw A1M: Core Ultra 7 155H, 1 TB SSD, 16 GB RAM: $799 / £799 / €949
  • MSI Claw A1M: Core Ultra 7 155H, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM: $749 / TBC / €849
  • MSI Claw A1M: Core Ultra 5 135H, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM: $699 / £699 / TBC
Check out their comparison table:
The MSI Claw is lined up against its closest mainstream rival handheld gaming PCs.

MSI Germany's spec sheet for their A1M-036 SKU:
  • Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor 135H
  • Windows 11 Home
  • Ergonomic design for comfortable gaming.
  • 7" FHD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz frame rate, touch screen, 100% sRGB (Typical), 500 nits (Typical), IPS-level panel.
  • 512 GB SSD
  • Hall effect triggers and analog sticks for microscopic precision.
  • Long lasting 53Whr battery capacity.
  • Cooler Boost HyperFlow technology cools the internal components with 2 fans.
  • Macro buttons on the back.
  • Comprehensive connectivity with Thunderbolt 4.
  • Keyboard: German layout (QWERTZ)
  • The MSI Center M for user-friendly settings.
  • The MSI AI Engine automatically adjusts system settings.
Sources: MSI DE Store, VideoCardz

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20 Comments on German Customers Get First Dibs on MSI Claw

#1
Ferrum Master
Hall effect triggers and analog sticks for microscopic precision.
Whose bright idea was to add this level of stupid... the ADC at the end is the same as using a resistor divider values... the only thing it does not wear off and drift...
Posted on Reply
#2
LabRat 891
Ferrum MasterWhose bright idea was to add this level of stupid... the ADC at the end is the same as using a resistor divider values... the only thing it does not wear off and drift...
How do I get into marketing?
"Durable Precision" would've been both technically accurate and attention grabbing.
Posted on Reply
#3
1stn00b
Ferrum MasterWhose bright idea was to add this level of stupid... the ADC at the end is the same as using a resistor divider values... the only thing it does not wear off and drift...
Same people that invented Passive SSD Thermal Technology :>

Posted on Reply
#4
LabRat 891
1stn00bSame people that invented Passive SSD Thermal Technology :>

Absolutely amazing.

It's like they specifically hire people that have the loosest grasp on Language.
(*Looks over @ western marketing*) Never mind, it checks out...
Posted on Reply
#5
Darmok N Jalad
Well, at least it's getting interesting in the handheld gaming PC space. Curious how the Intel version is going to stack up against AMD over the long haul.
1stn00bSame people that invented Passive SSD Thermal Technology :>

It does say “evolutionarily” in the description. Fans and pumps are passive-cooling evolved.
Posted on Reply
#6
bonehead123
Y/a/W/n......

m.E.h......

Yet ANUTHA copy/paste rehash of a clone of a copied/pasted rehash of yada yada yada....

seems like the term "original idea" has been completely obliterated from the world's dictionaries :(
Posted on Reply
#7
LabRat 891
bonehead123Y/a/W/n......

m.E.h......

Yet ANUTHA copy/paste rehash of a clone of a copied/pasted rehash of yada yada yada....

sooooo boring :(
While all these handheld PCs are kinda un-interesting... I am grateful to see a concept I'd dreamt about as a child, becoming ubiquitous.

Next major (industry-wide) platform update will probably allow for some more-interesting Steam Deck descendants.
For now though, The (OLED) Steam Deck is *still* amongst the most efficient (and well-supported) options.
Posted on Reply
#8
Ferrum Master
LabRat 891While all these handheld PCs are kinda un-interesting... I am grateful to see a concept I'd dreamt about as a child, becoming ubiquitous.

Next major (industry-wide) platform update will probably allow for some more-interesting Steam Deck descendants.
For now though, The (OLED) Steam Deck is *still* amongst the most efficient (and well-supported) options.
Tbh this is a modern rehash of gameboy there has been a market for those always... then PSP and then SWITCH then this... the power consumption is still mad for any of those devices, making it with limited use like on a plane or train/bus... where you don't have high powered PD USB or AC outlets to feed at least 20W and more, at least yet unless you travel business class. When I am at home... then I have my PC.

I am good with my phone for occasional mobile gaming to kill boredom while waiting for or in something... emulation and some rare ports... latest one I picked up is Alien:Isolation... it works fine.
Posted on Reply
#9
Vayra86
Ferrum MasterTbh this is a modern rehash of gameboy there has been a market for those always... then PSP and then SWITCH then this... the power consumption is still mad for any of those devices, making it with limited use like on a plane or train/bus... where you don't have high powered PD USB or AC outlets to feed at least 20W and more, at least yet unless you travel business class. When I am at home... then I have my PC.

I am good with my phone for occasional mobile gaming to kill boredom while waiting for or in something... emulation and some rare ports... latest one I picked up is Alien:Isolation... it works fine.
Ive got 3-4 hours or more coming out of a full steam deck battery at 45 FPS/90hz. I think thats pretty good. Its certainly enough for one or two lenghty sessions of gaming.

I totally dont understand the Claw though. At this price point, IPS screen... a not great Intel cpu... it just screams avoid.
Posted on Reply
#10
CyberCT
We'll have to wait for some BIOS and driver updates before the performance improves ... as usual.

Really enjoying my ROG Ally at the moment. Best PC device I purchased in a long time.
Posted on Reply
#11
sLowEnd
Ferrum MasterTbh this is a modern rehash of gameboy there has been a market for those always... then PSP and then SWITCH then this... the power consumption is still mad for any of those devices, making it with limited use like on a plane or train/bus... where you don't have high powered PD USB or AC outlets to feed at least 20W and more, at least yet unless you travel business class. When I am at home... then I have my PC.

I am good with my phone for occasional mobile gaming to kill boredom while waiting for or in something... emulation and some rare ports... latest one I picked up is Alien:Isolation... it works fine.
A handheld PC isn't really similar to a gameboy. It's missing its own console exclusives (the main thing), and there's no game cart collecting experience.

Back in the day, people would get a gameboy to play pokemon, metroid, mario...etc. Sometimes there'd be an interesting port like SFA3 for the GBA, or Final Fantasy 1-6 GBA.

You don't get any of that kind of novel appeal with a handheld PC. You could get an MSI Claw...or a ROG Ally...or a AyaNeo 2...etc., they all play the same games. No need to get a particular one.
Posted on Reply
#12
LabRat 891
sLowEndA handheld PC isn't really similar to a gameboy. It's missing its own console exclusives (the main thing), and there's no game cart collecting experience.

Back in the day, people would get a gameboy to play pokemon, metroid, mario...etc. Sometimes there'd be an interesting port like SFA3 for the GBA, or Final Fantasy 1-6 GBA.

You don't get any of that kind of appeal with a handheld PC. You could get an MSI Claw...or a ROG Ally...or a AyaNeo 2...etc., they all play the same games. No need to get a particular one.
Agreed but, opposite PoV; every negative, a positive.
w/ a handheld PC, there's no such thing as an exclusive. (Given time, you often can emulate a given 'exclusive' title)
w/ a handheld PC, you're not tied-down to a particular for-profit ecosystem
w/ a handheld PC, you don't NEED physical media but, neither do you need to kowtow to DRM-locked digital distribution


A handheld PC, is just that: A x86_64 PC, that's handheld; a broadly capable device.
I've used my Steam Deck as a backup/HTPC more than I've ever gamed on it.

A GameBoy, a Neo-Geo, etc. are a Handheld Console, they're 'appliances' with RISC uArch processors.

The only thing missing (out of current offerings) for my Dream Handheld PC, is modularity.
IMHO, give Framework a few more generations of mere existence, and other companies will (hopefully) look @ bringing the modularity into Handhelds.
Posted on Reply
#13
Darmok N Jalad
sLowEndA handheld PC isn't really similar to a gameboy. It's missing its own console exclusives (the main thing), and there's no game cart collecting experience.

Back in the day, people would get a gameboy to play pokemon, metroid, mario...etc. Sometimes there'd be an interesting port like SFA3 for the GBA, or Final Fantasy 1-6 GBA.

You don't get any of that kind of novel appeal with a handheld PC. You could get an MSI Claw...or a ROG Ally...or a AyaNeo 2...etc., they all play the same games. No need to get a particular one.
Also, the game library you do have access to on a game console handheld will be optimized for the hardware in said device. Any of the mobile PC gaming devices could have their issues with certain games and drivers, like their big brother desktops do. Still, there's a large library of games that should work well enough for that not to be a show stopper. It does change the reason you get one though, for the very reasons you mention. Platform-specific stuff drives console purchases.
Posted on Reply
#14
chrcoluk
These guys all wanabe's thinking power wins, steam deck wins on price simplicity and integration.
Posted on Reply
#15
LabRat 891
chrcolukThese guys all wanabe's thinking power wins, steam deck wins on price simplicity and integration.
Valve being THE driving force behind Proton, is a HUGE help.
For instance, (w/ the 'Deck) Windows is downgrade.

AFAIK, there are games that run better on SteamOS than on Windows, now.
Posted on Reply
#16
Darmok N Jalad
LabRat 891Valve being THE driving force behind Proton, is a HUGE help.
For instance, (w/ the 'Deck) Windows is downgrade.

AFAIK, there are games that run better on SteamOS than on Windows, now.
I agree. For example, I was never able to get Halo MCC to run when getting it straight from the Windows Store (with a Gamepass trial), yet it runs perfectly fine when downloaded from Steam running Linux. The only real hold outs for Proton these days are devs that use some form of Anticheat, and running under Proton could get you banned from that game. Valve even offers porting support, but these studios come back with a lame excuse. Bungie is one of them, claimed it was too hard to support all the Linux distros. Pretty weak since you just install Steam and enable Proton on whatever distro and then it works. It's not like Linux folks are afraid of doing their own troubleshooting anyway.
Posted on Reply
#17
Chaitanya
1stn00bSame people that invented Passive SSD Thermal Technology :>

Back in 2008 at CeBIT MSI showcased truly passive fan for cooling chipsets, unfortunately it never got beyond demos like that Passive SSD Thermal solution.
www.techpowerup.com/53991/msi-working-on-powerless-cpu-cooler?cp=2

bit-tech.net/news/tech/msi_ecolution_powering_fans_without_electricity/1/

www.mydigitallife.net/msis-passive-fan-cooling-system-with-stirling-engine-powered-by-hot-air/
Posted on Reply
#18
watzupken
I am not optimistic about Intel's iGPU performance in such a form factor. The iGPU is a great step forward from the XE/ UHD GPU from previous generations, and while the driver/software have improved drastically since day 1, it is still not quite there. Based on some of the videos posted online comparing Core Ultra 155H and Z1 Extreme/ 7840H, the Arc iGPU don't really perform as well in games, and seems to require more RAM to run (likely due to less optimized memory compression). With 32GB, it works well. But with the Claw, 16GB seems to be the max, and it may impact game performance.
Posted on Reply
#19
Ferrum Master
sLowEndA handheld PC isn't really similar to a gameboy. It's missing its own console exclusives (the main thing), and there's no game cart collecting experience.

Back in the day, people would get a gameboy to play pokemon, metroid, mario...etc. Sometimes there'd be an interesting port like SFA3 for the GBA, or Final Fantasy 1-6 GBA.

You don't get any of that kind of novel appeal with a handheld PC. You could get an MSI Claw...or a ROG Ally...or a AyaNeo 2...etc., they all play the same games. No need to get a particular one.
You didn't get the idea. It ain't about console vs PC. But format, medium. People don't care, they just game on what they find comfortable without much paying attention to details, especially if you give this device to a kid. Gameboy, the heck even Tetris is the precursor, back then it was not feasible to create a general purpose device... and only now is, but with serious caveats and still very high power consumption and active cooling witch should limited to minimum in mobile device field, else your products still sucks.

It also ain't about exclusives, complete derail it is all about being mobile and gaming here and what fits you bill and needs. Who cares for exclusives these days? If you wish you buy, else pass. Like there is lack of gaming material these days on any platform.
Posted on Reply
#20
HOkay
I just don't see why anyone would buy this over the Ally or the Legion Go. If you want cheap you go Deck, if you want full Windows then those other two are just objectively better than the Claw.
I had a Deck, changed to a Go because I wanted full Windows & external GPU support, & whilst I definitely miss some aspects of the Deck, I much prefer my Go overall.
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