One of my favorite computer trends was explosion . Even after big names like ASUS and Lenovo entered the market last year with And , and more manufacturers continue to join the battle. But with the Claw A1M, MSI is taking the road less traveled by opting for an Intel chip instead of an AMD one. This has made all the difference, even if many of these changes have not been for the better.
Design and presentation – clear and straightforward yet effective
Although MSI may have been influenced by the Claw processor, its design is incredibly familiar. This is because apart from being black instead of white, it almost looks like a carbon copy of the ROG Ally. However, some minor changes have little effect. The claw grips are more pronounced, so they’re more comfortable to hold, while the back paddles are smaller and located slightly lower, so there’s less chance of hitting them by accident.
MSI
The decision to use an Intel chip was a bold move. Unfortunately, the Claw’s performance isn’t good enough to justify its price when compared to competitors like the ROG Ally and Legion Go.
- Durable design
- 120 Hz screen
- Supports Thunderbolt 4
- Decent battery life
- Only one USB-C port
- More expensive than ROG Ally
- The MSI Center application is outdated
- Performance could be better
MSI also opted for Hall-effect joysticks, so they’re more precise to the touch and should wear better over time. However, the springs inside are fairly light, so it doesn’t feel quite as tight as I usually prefer. Unfortunately, while their triggers are nice, the claw bumpers are a bit squishy.
Meanwhile, almost the entire back panel is vented on the claw to provide ample cooling space. And along the top are a built-in microSD card reader, a 3.5mm audio jack, an audio port, and a single USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support. The latter is a very nice inclusion because it’s fast enough to connect peripherals like an external GPU dock. I wish there were two of them so I would have a spare place for accessories.
Of course, in the middle is a 7-inch 1080p IPS LCD display. They’re relatively colorful and with a tested brightness of around 450 nits, they’re easy to view even in sunny rooms (although direct sunlight is still an issue). However, apart from the 120Hz refresh rate, there’s not much else going on. There’s no variable refresh rate to help reduce tearing in modern games and it can’t match the size or more saturated colors of the Legion Go’s 8.8-inch OLED panel. And while this isn’t actually a design consideration, as the Claw is priced at $750, I wish MSI would ship it with an included case like Lenovo does with the Legion.
Performance – keeping up, but barely
This is where things get a little tricky, because on paper at least, the Claw is well equipped. Our review unit features an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU with Arc graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. There’s also a less expensive model with an Intel Core Ultra 5 135H chip and a 512GB SSD. Unfortunately, the Claw’s real-world performance lags behind MSI’s claims and competing laptops. Back at CES 2024, MSI indicated that the Claw would be 20 to 25 percent faster than AMD-based alternatives. But no matter what I do or how much time I spend tweaking the settings, I simply can’t produce numbers anywhere in this ballpark.
in Shadow of the Tomb Raider At 1280 x 720 resolution, High Graphics and in Balanced mode (30W), the Claw hit 52fps, which is just shy of the 54fps I got from the ROG Ally at just 15W. To make matters worse, these numbers didn’t improve much when I switched to the Claw’s Extreme Performance setting at 35W, which raised the frame rate to just 59fps compared to the Ally’s 60fps when set to 25W. So, despite running at a higher TDP (total device power), the Claw barely keeps up.
It’s a similar story in other titles as well. in Cyberpunk 2077 At 720p on medium graphics, Claw hits 50fps in Balanced mode, the same as Ally mode. Finally, in Backl At 720p on Medium, it was basically a tie again with the Claw hitting 32fps versus the Ally’s 33fps. Overall, the Claw’s performance isn’t bad, but it’s not as amazing as MSI promised.
The main issue seems to be the Claw optimization and graphics drivers. I’ve been using Claw for about a month, and in that time it’s gotten a lot of updates including two or three BIOS flashes and a seemingly endless number of new graphics drivers. There was even Resulting in a performance boost of up to 30 percent in some titles. So just imagine how tough it was to perform at launch earlier this spring.
In some ways, this level of support is reassuring because it shows Intel’s commitment to improving graphics on its latest chipsets. However, Claw has been on the market since early April depending on the market, so it was clearly not ready at launch and its performance is still a work in progress.
Battery life – nothing special
With a 53Wh cell, there was hope that the Claw would provide much longer run times than the Ally and its smaller 40Wh power pack. But because of Claw’s higher TDP, the difference in real-world longevity isn’t quite as obvious. When I played Diablo IV On medium graphics, the Claw lasted 1 hour and 43 minutes, which is 12 minutes better than Ally’s time of 1:31, but more than 20 minutes short of Steam Deck’s mark of 2:07.
Software – clunky at best
One of the biggest problems with Windows laptops is that while they’re great for gaming, doing anything else without an external mouse or keyboard can be a chore. Windows 11 generally works as you’d expect, but the MSI Center app feels much less polished. Similar to ASUS’ Armory Crate, the MSI Hub aims to be a one-stop-shop for playing games, tweaking settings, and downloading updates. While it works, it feels heavy. The application often stumbles when opened and I have encountered several instances when patches stopped while trying to update the software.
It is contained
In the end, timing may be the claw’s biggest enemy. If it had been released last year when the ROG Ally and Legion Go hit the market, the Claw might have been a more interesting competitor. But ASUS is about to launch a successor to Ally – – next month with a completely redesigned chassis, 24GB of RAM, and a massive 80Wh battery. This leaves the claw in a really tough position. And our top-spec review unit that (albeit with half the storage space) and has the same performance and almost identical design.
At the same time, thanks to recent price cuts, the claw has also become more expensive than before , but it doesn’t have the OLED display, kickstand, and detachable controllers found in the Lenovo laptop. This doesn’t even take into account Intel’s drivers, which clearly weren’t ready at launch and even now after multiple updates, don’t offer much of a performance advantage. But Claw’s biggest opponent may be MSI itself, because while we’re still waiting for an official release date, the company has already announced a successor in The Claw isn’t a bad gaming PC; It just arrived too late and without the required adjustment.