We can now officially talk about the MSI Claw, which joins the market trend of portable “consoles” with PC hardware. This console boasts being the first to arrive with Intel hardware instead of AMD, making it more eye-catching, and adding more competition to this market currently dominated by AMD.
Beyond the processor used, the rest of the specifications are very similar to other consoles we’ve seen in the market, so for now, the innovation is tied to using an Intel Core Ultra (Meteor Lake) processor.
MSI Claw Console (A1M) Specifications
Starting with the most relevant aspect, the MSI Claw console will be able to use an Intel Core 7 Ultra 155H processor. This means access to a 16-core and 22-thread processor. This configuration is divided into 6x high-performance P-Core cores, 8x efficient E-Core cores, and 2x highly efficient LP-E Core cores. The high-performance cores can reach a base frequency of 3.80 GHz and a turbo frequency of 4.80 GHz. These cores are accompanied by 23 MB of L3 cache memory, and more importantly, powerful integrated graphics.
The MSI Claw incorporates an Intel Arc Xe-LPG iGPU with 8 Xe-Cores, which means an iGPU based on the same Alchemist architecture seen in the Intel Arc desktop graphics. According to the latest benchmarks, it should have no trouble surpassing the AMD Radeon 780M, the top-of-the-line GPU of its rival consoles.
As expected, this processor is combined with 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, although with a speed of 6,400 MHz. This implies the same speed as the ASUS ROG Ally but slower compared to the 7,500 MHz of the Lenovo Legion Go. Regarding storage, we know it will offer a choice of 512 GB or 1 TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD storage.
All these features power a 7-inch Full HD IPS panel (1920 x 1080 pixels) with a 120 Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and 500 nits of brightness. This is virtually the same as the ASUS ROG Ally, except for the response time. The hardware is powered by a 53 Wh battery, which is larger than its competition (ASUS ROG Ally has a 40 Wh battery, while Lenovo Legion GO has a 49.2 Wh battery). Despite this, it weighs 675 grams (compared to 608 grams for ASUS or 854 grams for Lenovo Legion Go). MSI claims this will guarantee 2 hours of autonomy at maximum performance load.
Additional information, availability, and price
Continuing with the information, the MSI Claw offers Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity (Intel Killer BE1750). There is also access to 1x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 port, a microSD card reader, a headphone jack, and a fingerprint sensor on the power button. The console charges via the USB-C port, which supports fast charging up to 65W. All this, of course, is managed by Windows 11.
Regarding cooling, we only know that it uses MSI’s Cooler Boost Hyperflow technology. We don’t know what this means exactly, but it suggests a design with good airflow. The website reveals a dual-fan configuration with three copper heat pipes. In terms of software, there is the MSI Center M, an interface designed to make it easier to navigate the console’s settings. The MSI AI Engine helps the console automatically adjust settings to suit needs, generate macros, and offer LED RGB lighting on the joysticks.
As for the price, the MSI Claw console is set to launch during the first or second quarter, starting at $699 with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. However, this will come with a weaker Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU and GPU. With the Core Ultra 7 and 1 TB of storage, the price will be $799.
The entry MSI Claw: Console with an Intel Core Ultra and a 7-inch 120 Hz screen for 599 dollars was first published on El Chapuzas Informático.
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