MSI Claw Test: A PC console with a blunt claw

At first glance, the MSI Claw portable console looks similar to its main competitor, RoG Ally, and only the color (black for MSI, white for Republic of Gamers) differentiates them. So we get four action buttons on the front, four menu keys, Xbox controllers as well as two sticks placed asymmetrically like a directional cross, maybe a bit wider on Chloe than RoG Ally. Be careful, the cross is a bit stiff and the diagonals seemed too weak to us.

Rough plastics chosen by MSI improve grip, as do the bulges on either side of the console. So we keep everything well in hand and the overall weight of 675 grams improves comfort during the game; We’re a long way from the Lenovo Legion Go and its 850 grams. For your information, the Nintendo Switch is still the lightest of the current portable consoles at only 400 grams.

Unlike the Nintendo Switch or Lenovo Legion Go, it is not possible to separate the controllers from the console. So we may fear the appearance of drift, this inputs Accidental damage due to mechanical wear of parts. But luckily, MSI has opted for Hall Effect sticks based on magnetism, which essentially limits friction and, Finally, drift appearance. A very good point on a machine that sells for €800. The sticks (enhanced with RGB functionality for gaming machines) are however pleasant to use, neither too stiff nor too loose.

This is also the case for various action buttons and triggers. Good point, the LT and RT travel, adaptive triggers, are long enough to be precise and not pinch your fingers, as sometimes happens on the Logitech G-Cloud. Final controls include traditional paddles placed on the back of the console. There are only two of them on the MSI Chloe. A second pair might have been welcome, but at least we avoid the trap of supernumerary orders for the Lenovo Legion Go.

Finally, the few option keys placed around the screen (see, MSI Center M, Menu and Quick Settings) feel quite hollow and give the impression of low quality. Fortunately, these are not the most used buttons.

As usual, the top edge of the console houses the main switch, jack socket and volume keys. There is also a USB-C port for charging or connecting a monitor, a hub… Finally, MSI has chosen the Micro-SD format to expand the storage of the MSI Claw. On the other hand, there’s nothing on the lower edge, while some consoles include an extra USB-C port for more versatility.

We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the MSI Claw is a PC before it becomes a console. So it works under Windows 11, an OS that is not that easy to use. And of course, unless you connect everything to the monitor with a mouse and keyboard (thus losing the portable side of the device), performance is made more fragile by the smaller screen size.

Fortunately, like its smaller peers Lenovo and RoG, MSI has developed an overlay to make launching games easier and making some quick adjustments. Called MSI Center M, it is structured around two main lines: one for gaming services (Steam, Ubisoft, Epic, Battle.Net, etc.); Others, just below, for installed games. The third line, at the bottom, is useful for more technical aspects. The latter gives access to various and varied parameters such as configuration of various non-wire connections. There is also a tab for configuring user views to prioritize performance over autonomy, for example. Command configuration options are also found in the MSI Center M and seem a little less advanced than the competition. For example, it is not possible to change the response of the sticks to strokes, as the Logitech G-Cloud offers. Finally, let us point out that we navigate all these sections and these folders using the directional cross, sticks and triggers, but also thanks to the tactile features of the screen.

Finally, Chloe benefits from a quick settings menu. Once again, MSI’s direct competitors offer similar tabs. It is through this that the user will be able to manage certain aspects of their console, such as performance levels. It will also be possible to close all windows or take a screenshot. Please note that the Quick Settings menu is flexible and the MSI Claw owner can add or remove menus as they wish using MSI Center M.

With MSI Center M, we are of course far away from the heaviness of PC OS, be it Linux, Windows or MacOS. However, we can’t get enough of the ease of use of the Nintendo Switch. So getting the most out of the MSI Claw will take some fiddling; So it’s hard to recommend it to young players who want to start the game Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown On the unbot.

Games and performances

The MSI Claw features an Intel Ultra 7 155H processor, Intel’s latest flagship for laptops with the all-new Meteor Lake architecture. We have already discussed this topic at length, and therefore invite you to read our tests on the pure performance of this processor and its brand new graphics part, the Intel Arc.

So we subjected the ROG Ally Ryzen Z1 Extreme to the same protocol as a laptop PC.

Installed in the MSI Clone, the Intel Core 7 Ultra 155H scores a performance index of 118, placing it below the ROG Ally with its AMD Ryzen Z1 and well behind the ROG Ally equipped with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme (MSI Clone’s processor). being 20% ​​less efficient).

Nothing catastrophic as the pure performance of the processor does not bias the in-game performance.

To evaluate the latter, we took a large portion of games tested on the Asus ROG Ally with some new features and XeSS compatible games, such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

In Full HD, the MSI Claw achieved an average of 37 frames per second with the “low” setting. A somewhat disappointing result because on the same panel of games, ROG Ally and its Ryzen Z1 Extreme achieved an average of 52 fps or 40% more performance!

Thus, the MSI Claw is close to the performance of the ROG Ally and its Ryzen Z1, as the pair achieves an average of 33 fps; So MSI Claw is 13% more efficient than this version of ROG Ally. Please note, we used Intel Graphics Drivers 101.5333 for these measurements. Intel is planning new drivers between now and the console’s release, which are likely to boost performance. We will make sure to check this if necessary.

If you want to compare performance with Valve’s console Cyberpunk 2077The MSI Claw achieves 33 fps in Full HD and 44 fps in 800p, all with Steam Deck presets.

So you should not hesitate to activate the Intel Scaling Option (XeSS) to increase the performance somewhat; If the game is not compatible, as a last resort it is possible to activate FSR, AMD’s scaling option, which is more comprehensive. So if you choose the performance mode of XeSS or FSR at the expense of graphics quality you will be able to see a performance increase of around 30 to 40%.

screen

MSI has opted for a screen displaying 1920 x 1080 px at 120 Hz, but the manufacturer remains quite conservative on the type of panel as it is an IPS type panel.

Under our testing, the panel chosen by MSI turned out to be perfectly calibrated with a delta E of 1.4, which is below the threshold of 3 at which the eye can perceive colorimetric gradients.

Color temperature is slightly above 6500K, with 6868K registered, which remains acceptable.

The maximum brightness was measured at 477 cd/m², which is a suitable value for a product intended to be used only indoors. We have no doubt that users will use it outdoors and in this case, you will need to find a shaded area to play comfortably. Especially since the anti-reflective filter is effective with only 23% of reflected light, the same level as the ROG Ally or the Apple MacBook.

Good news for gamers, the afterglow is 8 ms according to our measurements. Decent value for the best gaming laptops, so you won’t be throwing stones at the screen if you miss your target.

Audio

For the audio part, MSI has placed two speakers at the front of the lower part of the console. They are arranged horizontally and their ends can be lightly covered by the palms of the hands.
The rendering is very decent, like a small Bluetooth speaker. Sound volume is high and ventilation noise is mostly masked.

The headphone output offers top-notch features. Thus mobility is high, distortion is particularly low. Stereo will be perfectly reproduced in your headphones as we get very little crosstalk. Finally, the output level for driving high impedance headphones will, certainly on average, be a bit low.

Thermal release

The MSI Claw has two fans to evacuate the calories dissipated by the Intel Core Ultra. Hot air is drawn out from above.

In performance mode, the latter can sometimes reach 44 W peak depending on the integrated software.

Under the sensor of our thermal camera, the MSI Claw cools properly. All parts where fingers can touch are kept cool. However, notice the rear, where we measured significant temperatures. However, our camera seems to have recorded the temperature on the mesh, which is not accessible.