MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Gaming Handheld Evaluate

PC gaming handhelds have develop into a vibrant phase that’s seeing continued improvements because of modern-day CPUs’ capability to ship excellent efficiency and effectivity. All main {hardware} producers are into the hand held craze. Compared to the primary iteration of handhelds, these latest gadgets provide a whole lot of gaming efficiency backed up by distinctive designs and shapes/sizes that cater to every kind of players.

Now, Intel goes all-in on the gaming handheld phase, not simply rebranding a chip made for power-efficient laptops, however introducing a purpose-built handheld SoC known as the Arc G sequence. The first of those SoCs is known as the Arc G3 sequence, and that is primarily the identical structure as Panther Lake however with a whole lot of optimizations for handheld designs. The firm guarantees extra ecosystem partnerships, & there are the next highlights to anticipate from these chips:

• Extended playtime with Endurance Gaming
• PC-Class efficiency and adaptability
• Smooth, immersive gameplay with XeSS 3
• Seamless gaming experiences on the go

Intel’s Arc G3 handheld SoCs embrace two chips, the Arc G3 Extreme and the Arc G3. So let’s dive into the specs of those merchandise.

For right now’s evaluation, we have been despatched an MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, outfitted with the top-end Arc G3 Extreme chip. This is a very quick handheld, providing significantly better capabilities than the competitors, similar to as much as twice the efficiency on the similar energy and half the ability on the similar efficiency. It additionally packs Intel’s newest architectures, optimized and tuned particularly for handheld gaming. We did a deep dive on every particular characteristic right here, so on this evaluation, we will probably be having a look at efficiency, options, design, and the worth of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Gaming Handheld – Specifications At A Glance

In phrases of specs, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ gaming handheld is provided with the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip. This is the flagship processor throughout the Arc G3 lineup, and it has rather a lot to speak about, so let’s get began.

The Intel Arc G3 Extreme options 14 cores in whole with 14 threads. The cores are a mixture of 2 P-Cores primarily based on the Panther Cove structure, and 12 E-Cores (8 E + 4 LPE), that are primarily based on the Darkmont core structure. The CPU has a base frequency of 1.9 GHz for efficiency and 1.5 GHz for the E-Cores. The increase clocks are rated at 4.7 GHz for the P-Cores, 3.4 GHz for the E-Cores, and three.1 GHz for the LP-E cores. The chip contains a whole of 12 MB L3 and 18 MB of L2 cache and has a TDP ranking of 8-35 Watts, although the hand held we examined right now maxes out at 35W (PL1).

For the iGPU, Intel is utilizing an upgraded model of its Battlemage structure referred to as Xe3. The Intel Arc G3 Extreme is configured with the complete Arc B390 GPU, which affords 12 Xe cores that clock as much as 2.30 GHz and have a most TOPS (INT8) ranking of as much as 113. The iGPU helps all the newest APIs and AI Frameworks, together with newer Ray Tracing Units and even help for XeSS MFG, which is much better than the DP4a mannequin on the older Alchemist-based iGPUs.

On the NPU aspect, the Intel Arc G3 Extreme is provided with an up to date NPU5, which affords a peak TOPS (INT8) of 46 and helps all the newest AI frameworks similar to OpenVINO, WindowsML, DirectML, ONNX RT & WebNN.

With the internals of the chip lined, let’s speak about the remainder of the specs. First, we now have the reminiscence, which comes within the type of 32 GB of LPDDR5X. These are 64-bit DRAM modules which are rated at 8533 MT/s speeds, and that is soldered reminiscence, so that you’d higher remember the configuration you’re buying primarily based in your calls for.

Storage features a 1 TB PCIe Gen4x4 SSD, which is rated at as much as 7.4 GB/s. The handheld is provided with a single M.2 2280 SSD slot, which might help greater capacities. There’s additionally a MicroSD Express card reader that gives 600-800 MB/s learn speeds.

For show, you’re getting an 8″ IPS-Level display with a most decision of 1920×1200 and a most refresh price of 120Hz configured on this gaming handheld. The display delivers a max brightness of 500 nits and is 138% SRGB shade house rated with a 16:10 facet ratio. Audio comes within the type of two 2W front-facing audio system.

IO features a 1x SD Card Reader,  2 Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, Volume buttons, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an influence button with built-in fingerprint scanner. On the entrance, you get two Hall Effect Analog sticks, a D-Pad, 4 buttons to entry Quick Settings, Menu, MSI Center, and View & ABXY buttons. The rear has two Macro buttons, two properly positioned bumpers, and Hall Effect Analog triggers.

The floor of the controller affords good grip, and the buttons/triggers are very simple to entry. The show does prolong out of the chassis on the backside, nevertheless it’s not that distracting. The purple shade of the hand held blends in properly with the matte black textures on the again.

Wireless connectivity consists of Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0 performance. The handheld is provided with an 80Whr and comes with a 65W Type-C adapter to juice it up. For cooling, MSI makes use of its new Hyperflow know-how, which incorporates two cooling followers and twin heatpipes, successfully growing the utmost TDP by 5W. The greater airflow is vented out by way of the again vents and two giant vents on the again of the chassis.

The evaluation unit was shipped with a model new OWC Thunderbolt GO Dock with a whole lot of nifty options similar to an SD card reader, USB 3.2 Type-C port, USB 2.0 port, Audio jack, twin TB5.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet jack, and twin USB 3.2 10 Gbps Type-A ports.

The handheld comes built-in with Xbox Mode, which makes for a seamless handheld/console expertise.

It was a bit troublesome to modify between Windows and Xbox mode at first for the reason that MSI Center M app was not responsive, nevertheless it seems that the stock-installed model wanted an replace.

Also, the MSI Center utility consists of the power to regulate the TDP manually, set the console to Endurance mode for longer battery life, or simply let AI do the job with the “AI Engine” mode. The most PL1 TDP will be adjusted between 8-35W, whereas PL2 will be set between 10-45W. Intel and MSI suggest conserving the PL2 at 2W greater than PL1 for the perfect efficiency.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Gaming Handheld – CPU Performance

We begin by evaluating the 3DMark CPU Profile assessments. The Arc G3 Extreme is much like the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 on the similar energy, which is spectacular because it packs simply two P-Cores whereas the HX makes use of 4 full-fledged Zen 5 cores, whereas the remaining 8 are primarily based on Zen 5C.

Next up are the reminiscence and cache benchmarks, that are respectable however nothing groundbreaking, because the higher-end Panther Lake chips that stack 9600 MT/s speeds. The speeds supplied by the Arc G3 Extreme are ok for its handheld design.

For Blender, the Arc G3 Extreme falls behind the Ryzen AI 9 365, which reveals that its E-Cores aren’t as nice for rendering duties however nonetheless provide higher efficiency than Lunar Lake.

In CPU-Z, the Arc G3 Extreme supplied higher efficiency than the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 in multi-core assessments however fell behind in single-core assessments.

In Cinebench, we see the exact opposite, with the G3 Extreme successful in single-core and dropping a couple of factors behind the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

In Geekbench 6, the Arc G3 Extreme affords significantly better single-core and multi-core efficiency than the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

In Procyon Office, the Arc G3 reveals that it’s a very succesful chip for lightweight workplace duties if you wish to use the platform for functions apart from gaming.

WinRAR’s compression assessments see the Arc G3 trailing behind the OneXPlayer X1 Pro’s 370 chip.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Gaming Handheld – GPU Synthetic Performance

Now we’re going to have a look at the GPU efficiency, and earlier than we current to you the gaming numbers, we first must see how the efficiency fares in artificial benchmarks. For this goal, we first wish to define the artificial efficiency.

In 3DMark Speed Way, a purely raytracing benchmark, the Arc G3 Extreme is 65.7% sooner than AMD’s present quickest handheld iGPU.

For 3DMark Steel Nomad, the Arc G3 Extreme posts a large 2.36x benefit over the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370-based OneXplayer X1 Pro.

In 3DMark Port Royal, we as soon as once more see over 2x uplift over the 890M.

In 3DMark Time Spy, the G3 Extreme is 85% sooner than the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

For Fire Strike, the Arc B390 iGPU on the G3 Extreme is 57.8% sooner than the Radeon 890M iGPU on the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

Lastly, we now have 3DMark Night Raid, the place the iGPU was an affordable 25% sooner than its fundamental competitor.

ASUS Zenbook A14 Laptop – HD Gaming Performance

With the artificial efficiency out of the best way, we will begin having a look at pure gaming numbers, and we begin off our testing spree with Cyberpunk 2077 working on the Medium Preset at 1200P. We used FSR 3.1 upscaling and Frame-Gen, and the efficiency was respectable sufficient to get us within the 50-80 FPS vary.

F1 24 with the High Preset at Balanced upscaling nets us 88 FPS with out frame-gen and 141 FPS with frame-gen. That’s a forty five%+ lead over the 890M.

In Forza Horizon 6, utilizing the High Preset with Balanced upscaling, we get a 60+ FPS expertise, which is far sooner than the 30-40 FPS vary that earlier handhelds have been able to.

In Forza Horizon 5, we ran the sport utilizing Quality Upscaling on the Medium Preset at 1200P, and the Arc G3 Extreme delivered 89 FPS on common. The expertise wasn’t the smoothest, and we did expertise many artifacts and stutters.

In Horizon Zero Dawn on the “Favor Quality” preset, we used the FSR 2 upscaling set to Balanced. Here, the Arc G3 Extreme scored 61 FPS on common.

The Radeon 8060S and the Arc B390 are the one built-in SoC options that may ship a 60 FPS vary in Metro Exodus with RT enabled. The Arc G3, being a decrease 30W half, delivered 43.70 FPS on common, which was nonetheless 87% sooner than the Radeon 890M. Even at half the TDP of 15W, the G3 Extreme managed to supply 13.8% sooner efficiency.

Lastly, we now have The Callisto Protocol, the place the Arc G3 Extreme ended up 40% sooner than the 890M and was virtually related at a 10W decrease TDP.

HP Zbook Ultra G1a Laptop – Thermals, Power & Battery

A significant component of right now’s handhelds is their energy consumption, and in that regard, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ got here with a normal 30W mode that could possibly be adjusted as much as 35W and right down to 8W. In sure circumstances, the TDP exceeded the edge as quick bursts have been skilled in artificial apps, however video games principally stood by the TDP set by us.

In phrases of temperatures, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ did get a bit of bit toasty when working artificial benchmarks. In gaming, the temps have been secure within the mid 70s vary, which is respectable given the compact nature of this handheld. MSI packs in a dual-fan thermal answer, which will be fine-tuned for higher cooling and, in some circumstances, greater efficiency.

The Claw comes with an 80Whr battery.

Conclusion – Intel Becomes The Handheld Champion

Intel’s journey into the hand held phase began with Meteor Lake, Lunar Lake refined it, and Panther Lake (Arc G3 Extreme) perfected it. The efficiency that the Arc G3 platform has on provide is stunning, typically highlighting why continued dedication to a phase can yield superb outcomes. We want the identical for the Arc discrete sequence merchandise, however let’s speak in regards to the Arc G3 a bit extra to inform you why I contemplate it to be an excellent product.

Handheld Performance & Efficiency King

Intel Panther Lake already shocked us with its sturdy efficiency and effectivity. The Arc G3 takes that up a notch with a design that’s tailored for handhelds. Intel has dropped a lot of P-Cores, conserving simply two for duties the place they matter, and the E-Cores do the remainder of the heavy lifting. This few P-Core and extra E-Core mixture is what makes the hand held obtain its very good energy effectivity. Keeping simply two P-Cores additionally helps make sure the chip can attain its max clock by diverting energy to only two efficiency cores somewhat than 4, 6, or 8. The P-Cores can even utterly shut down in light-weight duties or when working the hand held at sub-15W, good for light-weight gaming.

Talking about gaming, the Arc Xe3 “Battlemage” iGPU is spectacular as ever. We have been shocked to see its capabilities after we first examined it earlier this 12 months, and we’re as soon as once more delighted to see it retaining its lead over the competitors even in handheld and lower-TDP kind components.

Plus, the iGPU is backed by probably the most superior characteristic set that Intel has supplied so far. It has sooner ray tracing cores, it has higher AI cores, it has very good picture high quality with XeSS 3, and it even helps MFG. Intel is by far the one vendor that gives Multi-frame-generation throughout greater than 1 technology of GPUs and iGPUs, and Battlemage’s Xe3 uplift is by far the perfect iteration of the blue group’s ML-powered upscaling ventures. Software help for the Arc B390 iGPU can also be good proper from the beginning, and we will solely anticipate it to get higher with fine-tuned efficiency and energy profiles throughout numerous titles as extra platforms hit the street.

The result’s virtually doubling the efficiency on the similar energy, and related efficiency ranges, if not greater, at half the TDP.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ (Arc G3 Extreme) vs OneXPlayer X1 Pro (Radeon 890M) Performance Comparison:

Key Takeaways

• At 30W: The MSI Claw constantly outperforms the OneXPlayer X1 Pro by a major margin (typically 40–87% sooner relying on the title).
• At 20W: The Claw stays aggressive or forward in most video games, roughly matching or barely beating the 890M@30W in a number of titles.
• At 15W: The Claw drops however nonetheless delivers playable efficiency and stays near or forward of the 890M@30W in lighter titles.
• The Claw reveals sturdy effectivity, sustaining good efficiency even when power-limited.

Endurance Mode Goes Crazy, But G3 Offers Great Battery Times Even Without It

In phrases of battery life, you will get an honest 4-5 hours of gaming day out of the hand held with the 80Whr pack throughout the MSI Claw. At 15W, you possibly can go a bit past that with as much as 6-6.5 hours, which is a really respectable period of time, ought to final you a one-way flight. Even higher, the ability supply from the USB slot is tremendous fast, and you will get from 0-80% in simply 20-30 minutes.

The followers do spin a bit loudly when utilizing the system for a protracted interval in video games, nevertheless it wasn’t that intrusive. Plus, you get temperatures that sit at round 75C, typically underneath 70C, however the grips do not warmth up as they’re away from the warmth dissipation vents on the hand held. You’ll solely really feel the warmth in the event you contact the again or the highest aspect, and since this is not a laptop computer, you will not fear a lot about that.

MSI Claw 8 Gets A Design Revamp, Better Display & Improved IO

I feel we now have talked rather a lot about the primary facets of the Arc G3 Extreme, and now we have to focus a bit on the hand held itself. Intel at present has three choices primarily based on the Arc G3 Extreme out available in the market, and MSI’s Claw 8 EX AI+ is certainly one of them.

Compared to the earlier Claw, the brand new one is extra eye-catching with its purplish-pink shade scheme, grippy handles, corridor impact keys, and plenty of ports. You are getting all the things newest out of the field, similar to Thunderbolt 4, a MicroSD Express Card Reader, an inside M.2 Gen4 slot, 2x2W audio system, that are front-facing and pack a punch given their dimension, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0 help.

The most essential design alternative is the 8-inch IPS show. Sure, it is not an OLED and comes with a bizarre prolonged design on the entrance, nevertheless it’s not noticeable once you’re truly taking part in it. OLED, although, is one thing that I actually wish to see on this display. 120Hz and 500 nits of brightness are respectable. Given the premium $1699 worth of this handheld, I want it got here with OLED as customary. A max decision of 1920×1200 is nice sufficient.

Arc G3 Changes The Handheld Game

When I heard that Intel’s new handheld SoC can be known as “Arc G3”, I instantly knew the challenge was in secure fingers. The Arc division has been on a roll, delivering very good updates within the type of {hardware} and software program. And the Arc G3 sequence delivers completely mind-blowing hand-held capabilities that we did not assume have been doable, particularly by Intel. Arc G3 is a whole gaming bundle that places the perfect of Arc and Core collectively in a kind issue that’s made actually for players on the go, and backed by a formidable set of options and applied sciences that at the moment are the usual for all future handhelds to match.

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