As excitement builds for MSI’s brand new Steam Deck rival, a new benchmark shows that it might just become one of the fastest handheld gaming PCs when it launches. According to MSI, the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ isn’t just beating the Steam Deck at its own game, but the company also claims it’s 20% faster than the Asus ROG Ally X.
If that’s true, then the MSI Claw 8 AI+ may already be one of the best gaming handheld devices you can buy, even if it is only open for pre-orders. That would certainly be a win for MSI, which didn’t fare too well in the court of public opinion after the initial MSI Claw reviews following its first attempt to crack the market. MSI might feel thankful so far, however, as the early noise about this new handheld looks very positive indeed.
In a meeting with journalists and influencers, MSI presented benchmark data about the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which was then released in a video by YouTube channel ETA Prime. The data shows FPS benchmark results for a whole collection of games released in recent years, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Metro 2033.
According to the benchmark information, presented by MSI in a slide to reviewers, every game tested showed increased frame rates on the Claw 8 AI+ vs the Asus ROG Ally X. The biggest increase was found in Metro 2033, which showed a 113% higher frame rate during gameplay testing, up from 44fps on the Ally X to 94fps on the Claw 8 AI+.
On average, MSI claims that this shows a 20% higher average frame rate on the Claw 8 AI+ compared to the Ally X at 1,080p on low graphics settings, despite the same 17W power limitations in both devices. These figures were also confirmed in an MSI blog post, giving early proof that MSI is feeling very confident about its new product.
While the MSI Claw 8 AI+ specs are impressive, it’s the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V APU used in the MSI Claw 8 AI+ that’s behind the gaming power. This Intel Lunar Lake processor is another sign that choosing Intel for gaming on lower-powered mobile handhelds and laptops might be a good long-term bet, assuming they aren’t plagued by compatibility issues. It also shows that Intel-powered handhelds such as this one could offer serious competition against AMD alternatives, such as the Steam Deck OLED at the top end of the market.
We won’t have to wait too long to see for ourselves whether or not these claims are valid. The new MSI Claw 8 AI+ looks set to be released in the new year, with Amazon pre-orders now showing a February 4, 2025 release date. However, we’ve seen some conflicting information about this launch, including from MSI itself, so it may come out even sooner.
Excited to learn more about this new handheld? Check out our new MSI Claw 8 AI+ guide to learn about this potential top-tier handheld. You can also check out our Asus ROG Ally X review to see what we think about Asus’ AMD-powered rival.