MSI unveils the Claw, an Intel-powered handheld gaming PC

What just happened? Another device has joined the increasingly crowded hand held gaming PC market, though this one has some thing unique from its competition: it's powered by using an Intel Core Ultra chip. MSI's Claw has been formally unveiled at CES, in which the agency says it could play "AAA titles effortlessly."

The Claw will have its work cut out if it desires to task the king of PC handhelds, Valve's Steam Deck. It also faces stiff opposition from the ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and others. But MSI is confident that the Claw's specific functions will set it aside from the %.

The spotlight of the Windows 11-primarily based Claw is that it sports certainly one of Intel's these days introduced Meteor Lake Core Ultra processors, in place of being powered by using an AMD APU, that's usually the case in PC handhelds. The device can be specced from a Core Ultra five with 512GB of NVMe storage to an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (1TB), imparting Arc Graphics with eight Xe-cores. Models range from $699 to $799.

Another of the Claw's selling factors is its use of Intel XeSS upscaling tech in well matched titles – MSI says the Core Ultra 7 155H chip offers a "clean and immersive gameplay enjoy." There's additionally a 53Wh battery that the company claims is the biggest in its magnificence, providing two hours of battery lifestyles under full load.

Elsewhere, the Claw comes with a 7-inch FullHD IPS display with 100% sRGB coverage, up to 500 nits brightness, and has a variable refresh price of 120Hz. It might not look as satisfactory as the 90Hz OLED Steam Deck, however that refresh fee is higher. There's additionally 16GB of LPDDR5, Intel Killer WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.Four, a Thunderbolt four port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a fingerprint sensor at the power button, and a microSD slot. In addition to Windows titles, users can play Android games at the Claw thru its App Player.

The Claw is barely heavier than the unique Steam Deck at 1.34 pounds. It measures 294mm wide, 117mm tall and 21.2mm thick.

MSI has highlighted the Claw's cooling machine (beneath), which uses the business enterprise's Cooler Boost Hyperflow tech for redirecting airflow to internal components, maintaining matters cool in the course of lengthy gaming classes. There's additionally ROG Ally-like RGB lights around the thumbsticks.

MSI has now not announced the launch date for the Claw, however greater info are predicted to be launched soon. We'll ought to wait and see if it virtually is a true Steam Deck competitor.