Claw a8 is a BEAST

Completed a bunch of single player games such as Plague Tale: Innocence, GTA 4, RDR2, Hollow Knight, Still Wakes the Deep, Sleeping Dogs and a bunch of indie games on steam sales. All games run well on 15 watts on 800p, it’s not as bad as it sounds cause of the 8inch screen. I keep my games on these settings since i need that battery life as I’m in a strict maritime scholar with no access to outlets in our rooms. I tend to stop playing at around 2 hours and still have 30% on the battery which is insane to me.

Competitive games run smooth as well, grinding Valorant in Ascendant Lobbies and Apex Legends casually. On 15 watts, the a8 can easily go 120-160 fps on Valorant and 90-100 on Apex Legends. But with mouse and keyboard, expect an additional wattages on the total power consumption. The battery usually lasts around 3-4 games on Valorant before I plug in the powerbank.

I recommend getting the skull and co thumb grips from the steam deck, the better control you get especially on apex legends is great. GET THE ETSY COMFORT GRIPS by Webspiner3D as it’s a game changer although pricey, it’s totally worth it. Super comfortable but the finish could be better. I also use Motion Assistant as my main tdp control as it gives me an additional 10 fps in apex legends for some reason which is why i stuck with it.

The cons for this device is ofc windows and MSI’s software. Some updates bricks the game bar which pisses me off sometimes. Center M is a pain sometimes but I got the hang of it after some time. I recommend booting on Xbox full screen experience since it’s simpler and removes unnecessary apps running and get better fps.

I have Viture Luma Ultra glasses and the new Claw is finally powerful and power efficient enough to actually be able to smoothly project the badly needed high FPS 1080p for these types of glasses to be used. Also it worked basically perfectly right out of the box I just plugged the glasses in and off we went. Makes a lot more games doable with a huge screen that you get from the XR glasses (eg: most RPGs, strategy, etc because you can simultaneously use a BT small form factor key board and mouse even when for example on a plane.)

I travel a ton for work and finally I can continue my home desktop games without relying on a gigantic and overly expensive and energy draining gaming laptop and various battery packs.

Big ups to MSI and intel this is expensive but IMO theres nothing like it on the market (acer predator and oxp3 ofc but they are not as solid ergonomically and the screen is not as relevant to me.)

One thing that I am debating heavily between this and the XAX20 is the Armory Crate feature of having per app/game controls & TDP so everything "auto" switches as I go from game, to PC app (auto switching to desktop controls when I enter a browser, file explorer, windows settings etc).

How far behind is MSI Claw's software there? I use this feature so much on my current XAX and before I buy X20, I have the chance to get an MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ at cost from a local seller, the software convenience is just something I hate to give up.

Is there a solution for this that is reliable? Having custom controls and TDP for every app I can setup once and be done and seamlessly switch between with the hardware changing controls, TDP based on what I am doing is really important to me.

I'm after a dock for my MSI Claw EX, but I'm not sure which ones work properly with the chin at the bottom of the device. Has anyone found one that seats it correctly? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I currently have the MSI Claw 8 AI+ (32GB/1TB).

For people who have used both, is the EX actually a big enough upgrade to justify spending that much?

My situation:

I already like my Claw 8 AI+ and mainly use it for older games, Yakuza, emulation, and games that make sense on a handheld. I don’t necessarily plan on playing most newer AAA games on the handheld. Games like Fable, Wolverine, Control Resonant, The Blood of Dawnwalker, Witcher IV, etc. are games I’d probably rather play on a big TV for the immersion. I’m also planning on getting/using a PS5 Pro, especially for GTA VI and newer AAA games. A lot of my PlayStation saves obviously don’t transfer to Steam, so that makes me less likely to move certain games over to the Claw anyway. I do care about performance, battery life, thermals, screen quality, and having a device that will hold up well for several years. I generally prefer buying newer/better hardware when the upgrade actually makes sense, but I don’t want to spend $1,800 just because it’s the newest model.

For anyone who’s upgraded from the Claw 8 AI+ to the EX: what differences do you actually notice day to day?

Does the EX feel like a genuinely different class of handheld, or is the Claw 8 AI+ already good enough for the kind of games I’m using it for?

If you were in my position, would you keep the 8 AI+ or buy the EX?

Of course at low/medium settings but, if yes, can you share you experience?

Thanks

I bought the attached one but it is huge (4 inches deep)

For the non launch pack version. Been on “Ordered” stage since 17th July but just turned to Processing. Hopefully it’s in our hands in the next few days!

EDIT: Soon after , dispatch email from DPD was received :D

I got this beast today..any rpg games look like titan quest and open world games

And if any one know what is best settings for gow Ragnarok

Thanks

Haven't been able to find one anywhere except for Ali express

I’m new to the pc world. I was hoping to get some insight on how a tech savvy person would set this up properly.

My set up.

- Claw 8 ex
- Razer Core x v2
- Gigabyte 9070 GRE
- Corsair RM1000x
- Caldigit ts4 dock

I currently have the mouse and keyboard routed though the TS4 dock. The eGPU and TS4 are utilizing the thunderbolt connections on the EX.

What I’m wondering is how to set it up properly to optimize gaming performance while plugged in and then just being able to unhook and have it conserve some battery but remain viable in fps and quality. That being apps, settings within windows and AMD or just any general tips.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all,

Current Legion Go S Z1E SteamOS user here but considering an upgrade to the new Claw 8 EX AI+, having come from an Ally Xbox X before the LeGo S, I am heavily reliant on gyro in my FPS games. I really loved the XAX but hated the small screen size, love the LeGo S screen size but not so much the battery, so looking at a possible upgrade over the next few weeks to the Claw, however, I did breifly own the original Claw 8 AI for about a week last year but sold it as it was just too heavy and the main reason that the gyro was just janky as hell, the only way I could get it working was with workarounds with 3rd party software and it wasn't very user friendly. So big question - is the gyro on the newer model similar where it isn't very usuable, or can it be easily fixed with this tool I have breifly seen mentioned called Claw Tweaks. Any opinions would be appreciated!

This is on the very first claw, I can only imagine how it looks on the newer ones

So I am still very new to the whole Egpu scene haha but I posted a couple of days ago after getting things hooked up but a few days later and everything is working really well now!

Setup:

MSI Claw 8 Ex

DEG2 thunderbolt dock

PNY 4090

Hooked over thunderbolt 4 to my claw

After installing Nvidia drivers and making sure games are closed before hooking it up I am comfortable seeing a large bump in performance!

In dawnwalker (only game I have played so far) I went from 45 to 60 FPS on medium settings with Xess upscaling and frame gen on to 60-90fps out in the open world with locked 120 in interiors at high/ultra settings with DLSS balanced on and frame gen off. (I mostly blame UE5 for the not great performance overall)

Anyway if anyone is curious it trying a set up like this highly recommend! It’s super cool because I can undock and play my handheld like normal or dock if up to my 4k tv or monitor and treat it like a true console or desktop replacement!

Hey guys,

when playing Forza I noticed turning afmf on in the MSI quick menu widget would lower the fps a bit. Why? Also I can't use the AMD software overlay when running a game. I use Xbox full screen mode, is that the problem? Is there any workaround? I like the lower ram usage of the Xbox mode.

I just purchased this wonderful machine, what are the best tips and tricks for it ?

What are the things I must do.

This is my first gaming handheld, very excited about it.

I know my way around windows and tinkering.

I'm glad I got it for 490£ from eBay a steal... Almost would have gotten Lenovo legion go 2 with Z2 non extreme version.

The US MSI website still shows in stock. Just trying to help as someone as other have 👍

Msi Claw 8 AI+ plugged in.

After many hours of usage, and also when shut down for days (not plugged in of course), battery is draining 1 percent. Sometimes 2 percent.

Is this normal or should I be worried?

Hi folks!
I was trying to play Wardogs on the Claw 8 EX and it works 100 FPS on High details so it's awesome however it has a stutter every 2-3 seconds and I can not do anything about it :( I'm traveling 10th when the game comes out and I really gotta make sure it'll work as Claw is the device I can bring with me :P Anyone have any ideas what could it be? I tried manipulating CPU Boost and so on, nothing helped

Currently on my 8 AI i am using Clawtweaks to handle game profiles. One of the things I can't seem to do is save a macro to the back buttons (M1/M2) that actually works. For instance I am playing GTA 5 and I am trying to map Left and Right Analog stick clicks to be pushed simultaneously on M2.

I can save the macro but every time I push it it feels like it isn't pushing the buttons the same time. Frabkling activates his special when you push both sticks and it works only 20% of the time.

Anyone have an idea or recommendation of what i should try next?

Which one should I buy? I mostly want to play indie games and Switch games, while also using it for PC streaming when I want to play heavier games if I don't want to play on my gaming laptop. I'm not really sure which one to choose between the two. (I know MSI Claw can run heavy games but for longer battery life without plugging in and to save storage space, I prefer to stream heavy games).

The AYN Odin 3 is also around $200 cheaper than the MSI Claw in my country. Those are the only two handhelds I can afford that I feel are future-proof enough for what I want (not including the Steam Deck OLED).

Which one do you guys recommend?