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The MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM is an amazing handheld gaming console that blows the competition out of the water with its gaming performance. It sports an 8″ FHD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and has Intel Core Ultra 7 258V at its core to keep it snappy, while the Intel Arc 140V drives give it solid graphics capabilities. You can set the power mode of this handheld for better performance or efficiency. On B&H Photo, you can grab it for only $1,099. The next iteration of this handheld with a Panther Lake chip, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, was also spotted recently, but it is expected that we might see it launch soon with a special bundle.
The 80Wh battery also allows it to last longer, given that the components are very energy-efficient, but the 1TB SSD and 32GB RAM are great to see for overall performance. You’ll also get WiFi 7 and Thunderbolt 5 for a bulletproof online gaming experience and superfast data transfer.
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MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM
What we liked about the MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM #
Dominating the leaderboard
The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and the Intel Arc 140V might seem underpowered, but we need to keep the scale and requirements of this device in mind. While keeping the input efficient, they deliver outstanding performance that the competition can’t seem to keep up with, whether it is the ASUS ROG Ally, the Steam Deck LCD, or any other handheld. Since its TDP can be adjusted, the best output you’ll get is at 30W, and that is where it delivered over 60 FPS in Hogwarts Legacy and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, while Control ran at 80 FPS+, with Cyberpunk 2077 managing almost 35 FPS.
Since the display of this handheld gaming console has a 1920×1200 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, it isn’t taxing on the components when rendering game data, which is why it can churn out very high FPS.
The 80Wh battery keeps it in the race longer
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM is considered one of the best on the market when it comes to battery size and sustained gaming sessions. Once again, the efficient components don’t take a lot of power, which allows the device to last a good while before needing a recharge. That being said, even recharging is pretty fast, as generally under 2 hours is said to bring you up to 100% from 0%, meaning you won’t have to wait much longer before getting back to gaming.
Super-fast connectivity options eliminate any hurdles
WiFi 7 and Thunderbolt 4 are great additions to this handheld. As long as you have a WiFi 7 router, you’ll be able to connect to it with the 6GHz band and leverage the full capabilities of this technology, resulting in faster download and upload speeds, increased reliability, and a bullet-proof online session with low latency. On top of that, Thunderbolt 4 allows you to have high bandwidth with a wired connection, allowing for super-fast data transfer whether directly to the 1TB storage or the SD card, if you have one installed.
More deals like this #
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