The hand-held gaming area grew by one as MSI unveiled their Steam Deck competitor, the Claw A1M. The transportable gaming console is the primary to be constructed with Intel’s new Core Extremely chipset, which makes use of superior AI algorithms and on-chip video codec assist for enhanced video high quality whereas streaming video games in addition to bettering efficiency beneath heavy workloads. And whereas some first-look specs are spectacular, just a few of MSI’s choices depart me scratching my head.
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For the GPU, the Claw A1M makes use of an Intel Arc card, which is just about a beefed-up, standalone model of their available built-in Xe graphics chips. Here is what makes this fascinating: The Intel Arc assist discussion board is bursting with complaints of Arc playing cards inflicting crashes and glitches, in addition to flat-out not working with a whole host of games.
The issue appears to stem from varied driver updates being incompatible with varied video games and launchers, so we’ll have to attend and see if Intel addresses the difficulty earlier than the Claw launches pre-orders.
Nevertheless, there are just a few vibrant spots: The 7-inch IPS show gives 1080p full HD decision in addition to a 120Hz refresh fee, the Claw A1M has a built-in fingerprint reader for added safety, and it helps Wi-Fi 7 for sooner, extra steady on-line gaming.
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So, if the MSI Claw A1M caught your consideration, how does it stack up in opposition to the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally?
Specs |
Steam Deck OLED |
Asus ROG Ally |
MSI Claw A1M |
CPU |
AMD Zen 2 4-Core |
AMD Ryzen Z1/Z1 Excessive |
Intel Core Extremely 7 155H |
GPU |
AMD RDNA 2 |
AMD RDNA 3 |
Intel Arc |
RAM |
16GB DDR5 |
16GB DDR5 |
16GB DDR5 |
Storage |
As much as 1TB inner, expandable with microSD |
512GB inner, expandable with microSD |
As much as 1TB inner, expandable with microSD |
Show |
7.4-inch OLED, 1280 x 800 90Hz |
7-inch IPS LCD 1080p 120Hz |
7-inch IPS LCD 1080p 120Hz |
Battery |
As much as 12 hours |
As much as 12 hours |
As much as 4 hours |
Dimensions |
11.7 x 4.6 x 1.9 inches |
11.02 x 4.37 x 0.83 inches |
11.57 x 4.6 x 0.83 inches |
Weight |
640g |
608g |
675g |
Whereas the MSI Claw A1M has some promising specs, the identified points surrounding the Intel Arc graphics drivers goes to make it a tough promote in a market that’s already dominated by the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.