MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus: Power at a Price

Testing the Claw alongside the Steam Deck OLED reveals a clear performance gap. In titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and 007 First Light, the Claw consistently pushed higher frame rates and sharper visuals. While the Steam Deck often struggles to maintain 60fps in demanding AAA titles, the Claw handled these scenarios with relative ease, even if it introduced occasional graphical artifacts in games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Despite the higher power draw of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip, the Claw’s 80Whr battery manages to hold its own, offering roughly two hours of intense gameplay, similar to the Deck’s endurance.

However, the hardware advantage is undercut by the software experience. Transitioning from Valve’s streamlined SteamOS to a multi-layered Windows interface feels like a regression. Initial setup alone took over 90 minutes, and navigating between Windows, Xbox Mode, and MSI’s proprietary software proved far less intuitive than the Deck’s unified approach. Beyond the software, the hardware ergonomics fall short for daily use. The Claw is significantly heavier at 785g, lacks the useful trackpads found on the Deck, and relies on an IPS LCD screen that fails to match the vibrancy of the Deck’s OLED panel. While the Claw offers superior raw power and compatibility for anti-cheat-protected multiplayer games, these benefits are currently overshadowed by the steep price premium and a lack of refinement. For most users, the trade-off remains tilted in favor of the Steam Deck.