Introduction

MSI is one of the world's largest PC component vendors, offering a wide range of products, including motherboards, graphics cards, mini PCs, laptops, monitors, cases, coolers, and pre-built gaming desktops. The company even sells gaming chairs. So it's not surprising that MSI recently decided to enter the handheld gaming PC waters. Their first offering, the MSI Claw A1M, didn't leave a big mark. Does its successor, the Claw 8 AI+, fare better?



Unlike most of its competitors, the Claw 8 isn't powered by an AMD chipset. Instead, it utilizes an Intel Lunar Lake chip, which consists of a Core Ultra 7 258V CPU featuring 4 performance cores and 4 efficient cores, as well as an Intel Arc 140V iGPU based on Intel's Battlemage (Xe2) architecture. The APU is paired with 32 GB of lighting-fast LPDDR5X 8533 MT/s on-package memory.

Other specs include a massive 120 Hz, 8-inch screen with VRR support, 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, a chunky 80 Wh battery, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a capable dual-fan cooling solution, and lots of RGB. Before we move on, we'd like to thank MSI for providing the review sample.

Packaging and Contents

The Claw 8 is protected by a massive box made of thick cardboard of the roll end tuck front variety. Everything's tightly packed and protected with a sticker, so there's no chance of the box opening inadvertently. The box's sides contain the usual mix of specifications, information about the manufacturer, and so forth.


After opening the box, you're greeted with the Claw 8 itself, which is packed inside a plastic bag. The box has a cardboard insert you can cut out and assemble into a DIY stand for the console. An interesting gimmick, sure, but what's more important is that a part of the insert is located just above the console, doing a commendable job of protecting its screen. The console itself is well protected, considering its top is shielded by the insert, its bottom by multiple layers of thick cardboard that should absorb impacts, and its sides by two layers of the same, chunky cardboard.


Below the console is the second part of the DIY stand that you can lift, which hides the charger, a quick start guide, a warranty card, and a user guide.


The selling package features the console itself and a 65 W charger, along with three pieces of documentation.

A Closer Look

Looking at the Claw 8 from the front, you can spot the usual mix of face buttons, thumbsticks, extra buttons, and a d-pad. You can also notice two microphone holes located next to each side bezel, and there's the inevitable Intel sticker below the right thumbstick.


On the back, you've got two programmable buttons, two large intake grilles, and a giant MSI dragon logo. Six Phillips-head screws keep the back panel secure to the rest of the chassis.


The top houses a number of connectors and buttons.


You have two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a LED that lights up when the device is on and/or charging, two wide air vents through which hot air is exhausted out of the console, a power button that also plays the role of a fingerprint sensor, a 3.5 mm audio jack, a microSD card slot, a nice-feeling volume rocker, and a Claw logo located smack in the middle.


The bottom doesn't include any ports, which is a shame, as we always appreciate seeing a USB-C charging port at the bottom, but oh well.

MSI Claw 8 Charger

The charger provided with the MSI Claw is a 65 W USB PD unit featuring a non-removable cable ending in a USB-C port.


While the cord is non-removable, we don't mind it because it's very long. It measures 175 cm in total, only a few centimeters shorter than the ASUS ROG Ally charger's cable, which is a plus because it gives you enough leeway to game in any position while topping up the console.