MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ evaluate: the hand-held PC that lastly is smart to a console gamer

I’ve all the time had a barely sophisticated relationship with PC gaming, and it’s one thing that’s spilt over into PC handhelds just like the Steam Deck, but it surely’s the place the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ actually stands aside.

Let me put some backstory on that assertion: I like the concept of customisation, tweaking settings and optimising a sport to play it in one of the best ways attainable, till I really have to do it and the concept wanes as menu rabbit holes get in the way in which of simply taking part in the sport. PC gaming handhelds exasperate that downside – I like the very fact you may carry round a correct gaming PC in your arms, and there’s one thing undeniably interesting about accessing an unlimited library of video games wherever you’re, however I’ve additionally all the time felt a handheld is the final place you wish to be losing time on optimising graphics playing cards and different settings.

I’ve spent most of my gaming life on consoles (I grew up on the ZX Spectrum, moved to the Amiga, however the ease of PlayStation and Xbox took me away), and there’s something very appealing about that simplicity. You switch on the console, your games are there, your saves are waiting, Game Pass is ready to go, Switch 2’s Virtual Game Cards install in seconds, and within a blink you’re actually playing something. The hardware disappears, and the games take over.

PC gaming has always been a little different. For many people, the tweaking is part of the fun: finding the perfect settings, balancing frame rates and image quality, getting older games running on newer hardware, but I’ve often found myself wondering why I’m spending so much time preparing to play a game rather than actually playing it. That’s where the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ feels like a more interesting proposition than I expected. It’s still a Windows handheld, and it still gives you all the freedom that comes with PC gaming, but it feels like MSI has paid attention to the bit that often gets overlooked with these devices: what happens when someone simply wants to pick it up and play.

This MSI makes an Xbox handheld work

Coming from Xbox, the setup is surprisingly familiar – I sign into my Microsoft account, and my games start appearing, my Game Pass library is there, my cloud saves follow me over, and suddenly this expensive little PC starts feeling much more like a portable extension of the console you already own. There’s even an Xbox-style interface – called Xbox Mode – that I can bring up at the press of a button, giving me a much cleaner way to browse my owned games, jump into Game Pass and find something to play without feeling like I’m navigating Windows on a tiny screen. Handheld gaming is as much about removing little annoyances as it is about raw performance, and that’s really where the Claw surprised me.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is packed with serious hardware, built around Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V processor, Intel Arc 140V graphics, 32GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD, but the feature I kept coming back to wasn’t the processor or the memory or any of the usual numbers that dominate handheld PC conversations – it was the AI optimisation, the ‘AI+’ here felt like a marketing tick-box until I actually used the handheld and discovered its here to make PC gaming easy.

As mentioned, I’ve bounced off PC gaming in the past because I don’t particularly enjoy the ritual around it. I don’t want to spend my evening adjusting settings menus, searching forums or trying to work out whether turning off a lighting effect will give me a smoother experience. There’s a point where optimisation becomes the hobby and playing the game becomes the thing you do afterwards.

The Claw’s AI optimisation tool – the AI Engine – takes some of that away by scanning your games and automatically adjusting settings, finding a balance between performance and visual quality without forcing you to dig through every option yourself.

It worked particularly well with Forza Horizon 6. The scan made some compromises, lowering certain visual settings, texture details, for example, in favour of smoother performance, a locked-in 60fps, but I appreciated that trade-off because I was racing rather than tweaking. The game was ready; it felt good to play, and I wasn’t distracted by the feeling that I might be leaving performance on the table.

Halo Campaign Evolved was probably the clearest example of how the AI Engine can really improve gameplay. Before I ran the AI optimisation, I had some frustrating issues with stuttering, freezing and inconsistent performance, which was a little surprising given the power inside the Claw. Once I let the system scan the game and make adjustments, the experience improved noticeably.

It’s a good illustration of the challenge with Windows handhelds. The hardware is often capable of impressive feats, but getting everything working smoothly can still require a bit of detective work. MSI’s approach seems aimed at shifting some of that responsibility away from the player and onto an AI mode. While some will sniff at it, and one of Creative Bloq’s team was already eager to see if they can get Forza Horizon 6 up to 120fps on the handheld (the display is 120Hz), for me that’s not an issue. I’m happy to have a PC gaming handheld that gets close to the pick-up-and-play feel of Nintendo Switch 2.

A big handheld with a very specific purpose

But that said, Claw 8 EX AI+ is not a device that tries to disappear into your life in the way a Switch does. Nintendo has always understood portability incredibly well, and the Switch 2 continues that idea of a console that feels natural to throw into a bag and take anywhere. The Claw is a different beast. At around 299 x 126 x 24mm and weighing roughly 795g, it is big, chunky and very much a portable PC rather than a traditional handheld console.

You’re not slipping this into a coat pocket, but then, that isn’t really the point. A Switch 2 is slim and wonderfully portable, but it isn’t playing Halo, Forza Horizon 6 or the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day. The Claw exists in the space where you want those bigger Xbox and PC experiences away from your TV. The size does have advantages too: there’s more room for your hands, the controls feel comfortable over longer sessions, and the whole thing feels substantial rather than like a device built around compromises.

I also found myself liking the design more than I expected. Gaming hardware often falls into the trap of looking like it belongs in a teenager’s bedroom, covered in aggressive angles and endless RGB lighting, but MSI has kept things surprisingly restrained here. The small LED strip underneath the sticks and behind the face buttons adds some personality without becoming distracting, and the purple reflective finish has that familiar PC gaming energy when you look closely, with a subtle dappled effect that catches the light, but it never feels like it’s overdoing anything – it feels adult, even.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ feels like a handheld designed for someone who has grown up with games, rather than something trying to prove it’s a gaming machine or be part of a wider trend. The controls are among the strongest parts, too. The Hall Effect sticks should improve longevity, while the triggers and buttons immediately felt familiar, as they do on Xbox. Aside from Forza and Halo, new games Denshaattack!, Mistfall Hunter and the excellent Hell Is Us all performed wonderfully. Cloud gaming proved handy too, with a trip down memory lane with Conker’s Bad Fur Day making my afternoon. All games naturally suited the stick-button layout, and many games have optimised controls for handhelds, which matters more than some of the technical specifications when you’re holding something for hours at a time.

Looking specifically at specs, the 8-inch IPS display is also a highlight. The 1920 x 1200 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and VRR support make it a great match for the hardware, giving games enough space to breathe without unnecessarily pushing the system. It isn’t OLED, and that will matter to some people, but I found the size and sharpness did a lot of the heavy lifting. Battery life is another area where the Claw has improved compared with earlier Windows handhelds, thanks to its 80Wh battery. As with any device in this category, what you get depends heavily on what you’re playing and the performance settings you choose, but it feels much more realistic as a travel device than some previous attempts and lasted a day of gaming with no issues.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is probably the first Windows handheld I’ve used that has made me understand why someone coming from console gaming would want one, largely because it subdues Windows, offers a console-like OS and AI massages away many optimisation issues. For experienced PC gamers, the appeal will always be the freedom, the ability to customise everything and squeeze more from the hardware. But for me, the attraction is much simpler: I can take my Xbox library with me, pick up where I left off, and spend more time playing rather than figuring out how to run the game.

A Windows handheld that hides Windows

It isn’t perfect. The size means it isn’t as effortlessly portable as a Switch 2; Windows still has its quirks and occasionally reminds you that this isn’t a traditional games console – such as frame stuttering on low battery or when it wants to update, and it is prone to freezing and reboots; the lack of an OLED display feels like a missed opportunity at this price. But the combination of Xbox integration and AI optimisation makes the Claw feel like a much friendlier entry point to handheld PC gaming.

For someone who has always looked at PC gaming handhelds and thought they sounded like too much effort, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is the first to feel genuinely approachable. It’s still a PC, a powerful little PC, but it’s a PC that finally makes this kind of gaming feel like a club I can finally join.