MSI Claw 8 AI+ Reportedly Performs 20% Better Than ASUS ROG Ally X At 17W Across 22 Games

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ first benchmarks have been shared by MSI, revealing a 20% performance uplift over ROG Ally X at the same power consumption.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ can deliver up to 113% higher performance in Metro 2033, and an average of 20% as tested in around two dozen games

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is about to hit the shelves in a couple of weeks. Before we can see the actual performance numbers of the new gaming handheld, ETA Prime has shared the official slide by MSI, which compares the Claw 8 AI+ with the current best gaming handheld, ROG Ally X.

Keep in mind that these are the company’s benchmarks and the actual numbers may come out somewhat different. However, it’s still expected that the Claw 8 AI+ will outperform the ROG Ally X since it is based on the latest and faster Intel Lunar Lake chip. The latter uses the Ryzen Z1 Extreme based on AMD Zen 4 and the Claw 8 AI+ is based on the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, which is an 8-core/8-thread APU.

Across 22 titles, including some intensive and popular games like Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry 6, and Call of Duty Black Ops 6, as well as some older and less intensive titles like Bioshock Infinite, Watch Dogs Legion, and various others. These are still pretty GPU and CPU-intensive games and, as per the MSI chart, the Claw 8 AI+ can maintain over 30 fps in most titles and can reach over 100 in less intensive ones.

The processor is benchmarked at 17W but can be adjusted at up to 30W or as low as 8W. Therefore, the graphical settings were kept low with Xess or FSR enabled in the performance mode. Compared to the 17W Ally X benchmarks, the Claw 8 AI+ comes out to be 20% faster on average and up to 113% faster than Metro 2033. However, this is an exception, as in most cases, the performance remains between a 5-15% margin, with older titles favoring the Claw 8 AI+ to increase the gap even further.

If these results are somewhat accurate, the Claw 8 AI+ will successfully dethrone the ROG Ally X. Not only does the Claw 8 AI+ seem to perform superior but it also brings an equal battery life of 80 Wh. Plus, the connectivity features are better, including Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 54.

It’s also one of the first handhelds to come with a 32 GB LPDDR5X memory capacity, clocked at a good 8533 MT/s. Officially priced at $799, this looks pretty competitive to the Ally X, particularly when there is another 7-inch edition that costs $699 with the same hardware.

News Source: ETA PRIME