5 Reasons Why MSI Claw Is the Best Handheld Gaming Device

Jun. 7, 2024

Handheld consoles have always been a bit of an enigma to me. While I can understand the appeal of carrying an entire PC with you, I am equally skeptical about their performance and ease of use in the real world. After being disappointed by my fair share of portable PCs, I decided to ditch the idea altogether. Well, that was until my co-worker handed me an MSI Claw.

Touted to be the next big thing, the MSI Claw holds a stellar mix of hardware components backed by smooth software. As I got into the habit of carrying around the Claw wherever I went, I realized that I had stopped using my gaming laptop altogether. But this change wasn’t sudden. It was a persistent mix of factors that made the MSI Claw the best handheld gaming device I have ever used. What were they? Well, let’s talk about them here.

1. Finally, a Handheld That Doesn’t Hurt

One of the biggest reasons I’ve avoided handheld consoles is that they are plain uncomfortable. While one device will be too heavy to hold, others will have sharp corners or raised edges that hurt. The MSI Claw, on the other hand, is literallybuilt different. It packs what MSI calls a ‘user-centric‘ design.

This lends the Claw aminimalist profilethat does an excellent job of being comfortable while showing off its unique identity. MSI has achieved this by designing the Claw through the science ofAnthropometry. Put simply, the handheld has been designed perfectly to accommodate the natural contours of the human grip.

This is not just for show, though. My experience with the Claw mirrored the company’s promises. Using the Claw turned out to be supremely ergonomic and made my experience crazy comfortable.

Of course, this effect carries over to the Claw’s front, too, with its ‘Hall Effect‘ joysticks and triggers that were just so much more comfortable than the competitors. MSI made the deliberate choice to add the newer Hall Effect analog sticks that aremuch more durablethan the traditional ones found in most handhelds.

Since you’re likely someone who won’t go buying handhelds every year, having joysticks with over5,000,000 cyclesof direction is obviously a plus. However, the biggest highlight is that the MSI Claw’s hall effect joysticks and triggers will bedrift-freein the long run.

Once I knew the Claw was capable of being my portable companion for a long time, I moved on to the one thing we all look for —Power.

Like anything else in life, a device without the proper power is useless. Fortunately, the MSI had me covered there, too. The handheld comes withIntel’s Core 7 Ultra155H CPU, with a host of performance enhancements. Keen ones among you will know the Meteor Lake NPU is present inside, which lendsAI accelerationto the handheld.

True to its advertised performance, the MSI Claw performed well. I played various games, including my favorites,Red Dead Redemption 2, Hogwarts Legacy, Forza Horizon 5, and Ghostrunner 2. The Claw consistently delivered an average of60+ FPSwithout a hassle.

While this was helped byIntel XeSSand its upscaling, I didn’t notice any drop in visuals with the Claw outputting sweet eye candy from its7-inch FHD 120Hz VRR display.

Truth be told, I was a bit worried about running out of space on the device. Thankfully, MSI Claw’s all-in-oneThunderbolt 4 portensured I could transfer content in and out with absolute bliss. And while I didn’t insert an SD Card, I loved the fact it had a dedicated reader, too!

Even though I use headphones most of the time, the Claw’sHi-Res Audio 2W speakershelped boost performance even further. As someone who was fearful of handhelds disappointing me in performance, I was pleasantly surprised. But did the MSI Claw handle the heat well?

While the MSI Claw offers an excellent combination of design and performance, it needed a good battery to complete the Holy Trinity. As I sit here writing this, I am still surprised that MSI could pack a massive53Whr batteryin such an ergonomic device. The battery inside the handheld is bigger than its competitors and naturally lasts longer.

While I tend to keep my gaming sessions short, the MSI Claw sucked me into a portal of never-ending gaming. Throughout my time with the console, it lasted a little over2 hoursbefore I had to reach for the charger. While laptop users among you will nitpick, do remember this is effectively a portable PC.

The cherry on the cake wasMSI’s CoolerBoost HyperFlow, which takes the Claw’s thermal design and keeps the entire thing ice cold for hours on end. The best thing I want to point out is that the vents wereperfectly positionedto keep the warm air away from my hands, which only made my sessions last that much longer. I don’t know about you, but that pretty much sealed the deal at this point.

Windows, by itself, does a fairly decent job of fitting in every device. But when your monitor is literally 7 inches wide, it can be difficult to do everything. Of course, the company thought ahead and integratedMSI Center M, its own handheld interface inside the Claw.

The MSI Center M packed a host of features that effectively made it the go-to software for me. As someone obsessed with performance, the first thing I went to was the ‘User Scenario‘ screen, which let me choose from a selection of performance profiles to amp up my experience. There’s an intense level of customization present, with the center even letting gamers fine-tune their PL1 and PL2 limits.

Once I was done there, I got obsessed with the MSI Center M’s beautiful ‘Game Library‘ that placed all the titles on my device on a single screen. Furthermore, the software even has instant platform access for clients like Steam and Epic to access all your selections.

While I normally stick to the official GPU apps to monitor device temps, I wouldn’t need to rely on third party due to the Center’s ‘Quick Settings‘ OSD that let me see and set a variety of factors like myFPS, resolution, refresh rate and even the blazing fastWi-Fi 7all in one go!

I topped off the entire experience by setting a few macro keys for Windows and using the MSI Claw’s cuteMystic Light. Despite not being too much in the latter, the MSI Center M just made the temptation too hard to resist. I was even surprised to find out that you can nowdirectly update your BIOS & other diversfrom MSI Center M without the need for a docking station

Using the MSI Claw was like trying my hand at a new hobby. Truthfully, there was a small learning curve as I infused myself with a handheld like this. However, as soon as that passed, I started doubting my skepticism about the entire concept in the first place.

After spending hours away hiding from my editor and playing on the MSI Claw, there’s one thing for sure: I’m not parting my ways with this amazing handheld anytime soon. Having said that, what do you think about the MSI Claw? Let us know in the comments below!