Cheapest MSI Claw can perform even better than the high-spec Ultra 7 model
Early in-game benchmarks are a bad look for the MSI Claw
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The MSI Claw saw a lot of fanfare back at CES 2024 when it was announced, but it hasn’t quite lived up to the hype – especially when compared to other PC handhelds. Now that benchmarks are being performed, we can see that it falls behind a close rival, the ASUS ROG Ally. What’s more concerning is that the more expensive model doesn’t really give a performance uplift for gaming.
The MSI Claw release date actually arrived sooner than expected in early March, having a quieter launch than what we were first anticipating. Either way, you can now figure out where to buy one. But before you do that, it’s always important to take a look at benchmarks and alternatives.
MSI Claw
Screen size
7″
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Refresh rate
120Hz
Processor
Intel Ultra 7-155H
RAM
16GB LPDDR5
Storage
512GB NVMe SSD
Both MSI Claw models show similar performance
We’ve already compared the MSI Claw vs Steam Deck, but now we can get a better look at how it performs against more comparable handhelds like the ROG Ally. Both running on Windows 11 and targeting 1080p performance with a 120Hz display.
YouTuber Retro Tech Dad recently released a video comparing the performance of the Ultra 5 and Ultra 7 MSI Claw versus the Z1 and Z1 Extreme ROG Ally. The findings are quite surprising, giving us a first look on how these new Intel Core APUs actually perform in a gaming scenario.
As we can see from a couple of benchmarks below, both MSI Claw models offered the same performance in Forza Horizon 5 at 1080p, just slightly behind the Z1 ROG Ally and much further behind the Z1 Extreme. Considering that the ROG Ally got a price slash after the Claw launched, it’s not a good look for MSI’s handheld.
What’s even more surprising is that in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1080p, the cheaper Ultra 5-135H model actually averaged a slightly higher framerate than the Ultra 7-155H model.
Performance comparison chart of different GPUs running Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 1080p on the lowest settings, showing that the cheapest MSI Claw can perform even better than the Ultra 7 model.
Graph showing “forza horizon 5 – benchmark” performance comparison at 1080p on low settings with various GPUs where “rog aiy (ai extreme)” outperforms the others, including
Should you get the MSI Claw, and which one?
Right now the MSI Claw doesn’t look like the best value for money against the competition. But if you are going to choose one, the Ultra 5 model for $50 cheaper seems like the way to go. The benchmarks above are while running on the respective ‘performance’ modes for each device, showing that the Ultra 5 135H is actually better utilized at this low TDP setting.
There actually isn’t too much difference between the two Claw models, as the 155H boasts 8 Xe-Cores, but the 135H is not far off with 7 Xe-Cores. This evidently doesn’t cause much difference in terms of performance. You also have to consider that driver support differs per game, and the more niche Intel Arc graphics lose out to the established AMD RDNA3 in the ROG Ally (and Lenovo Legion Go).
