Not the cheapest price based on previous deal posts .
Description
MSI Claw Ultra 5 135H 512GB Handheld Gaming Console A1M-058AU
MSI Claw A1M is a groundbreaking handheld gaming device that marks a new era in portable gaming experiences. Powered by Intel Core Ultra processors and featuring Intel XeSS technology, ensuring a smooth and immersive gameplay experience even on AAA titles.
Best In Class Battery Life
thanks. fixed
689 from Triforce for the U7 1TB is tempting
https://hub.triforce.com.au/product/msi-claw-7-fhd-120hz-u7-…
GPU is the bottleneck, so for gaming there's no improvement with the U7 over U5
I ordered the U7 this morning from triforce and they said they're actually out of stock unfortunately
If i were you id be price matching at JB asap before they remove off the website.
Exactly what I did! It seems to be running out of stock everywhere but managed to grab one
HODL
looks like an official price drop everywhere now
This or Switch 2
porque no los dos?
This can't play Switch games.
This could almost certainly emulate Switch(1) games fairly reasonably if that's your thing ;)
Apparently the switch 2 is also emulating switch 1 games, thats why it wont be fully backwards compatible with all games
Playing Zelda BOTW at 1080p/60fps pretty smoothly on mine. :)
Yes it can play switch games. Loaded and ready for my next flight. Much cheaper too 😉
dumb question but would you take this out as a 'laptop' through security? or just leave in bag
@perfectlydark: Yes, as I don’t want to be put aside and argue it’s not a laptop or it’s not a tablet, and then wait for them to rescan my bag.
@perfectlydark: I just left it in the bag and they never asked to take it out. A lot of people go through the terminals so they already know it's some kind of game console.
Switch can't play PC games.
IMO if you have handful amount of postponed steam library then this one would be preferable.
What makes you think I wouldn't let this sit with cobwebs?
To provide good reasoning for spending money on this item
Completely difference kind of game console
Owner of one these and think the world of it but that's because my stance is PC handhelds/Steam Decks are tremendous second consoles, iffy "only" consoles.
If you have a PC with any modern GPU or PS5, then there is no handheld that comes close so I wouldn't break the bank on one of these coz if I really wanted to play any of the latest games I would just go on my significantly more powerful PC or PS5.
This at that price is pretty damn good for essentially a pc with a controller stuck on it. But if this is your "only" console, then buy one of the 2nd gen ones. Or buy this ($600) & a PS5 ($650) coz together would be way cheaper than something like the MSI Claw 8 ($1800) right now
How do find the comfort side of the controller part?
I'd always recommend checking out the bigger JB Hi Fis, if possible, as they usually have most of the handhelds on display to try for yourself
For me it's fine as someone used to Xbox controllers (not a Playstation guy). I can easily play on this thing for 1-2 hours stretches (godsend for airplanes) with no discomfort.
Will say I'm not a back paddle guy so I had to alter my grip to keep my fingers around those
The other take is that if you don't already have a beefy enough PC at home, you can use TB4 egpu solution attached to a display. The docks now are pretty affordable especially 2nd hand now.
I have one with rx6700xt attached to my TV at home that I use with an old i7 8th gen xps.
The egpu setup cost me about AU$400.
Excellent advice. I actually run a 6700XT on an old laptop motherboard with an Oculink m.2 adapter and it is flawless.
I stumbled upon this forum thread recently that has everything one would need for the Claw. Note this is aimed at maxing out the bandwidth and futureproofing the setup, so the TB5 dock may not be for everyone (very pricey!).
https://egpu.io/forums/builds/2024-7-msi-claw-a1m-cu114ch-rt…
Who buys this instead off a SteamDeck? I looked at them before going with a SteamDeck and just can’t understand the value proposition for this.
I'm curious too how this and others compare to the SteamDeck
I can't compare as I do not have a steam deck, although if you have games across multiple platforms this is likely a better option. This is literally a windows computer in a handheld, the steam deck is not. I bought one of these a few months ago and it's great for playing indie games & emulation has also been great.
SteamDeck doesn't run Windows - if your games library is scattered across UPlay, Microsoft Store, Epic Games, and EA Origin you can just install all these stores alongside Steam and everything will just work.
This device isn't actually as bad as other make it out to be. Games run smoothly after all the recent intel driver updates as well as some improvements to the MSI centre M. For the price you pay, it's quite good. Albeit a 7 year old game, I'm getting 70 FPS average on KCD 1 at 900P res.
Guys…why is this so cheap compared to Lenovo and Rog Ally X? Is it coz of integrated GPU ? What would the gaming experience be significant?
It's cheap due to the lack of demand for it as it got terrible reviews upon release. Fortunately MSI and intel are coming out with frequent driver updates which are making it competitive now. If you have the extra money get the Lenovo or ally x, although this is excellent at the current price point.
Yeah I would prefer the bigger screen on the Go, much better to look at for my old eyes
Out of stock for me at Officeworks, no delivery option either (SA if that makes a difference)
JB will go only as low at $593.15 cos they won't match Costco being a members only price
would call 1300 OFFICE to check stock, online isnt accurate, also better off buying a costco membership if jb wont match
For everyone thinking of buying and feeling doubtful because of the low price or the bad reviews, here are my two cents:
I've been eyeing this specific handheld for a while, especially because of the historically low prices ranging from $599 to $699. I held off on buying it for around 8 months, waiting for the release of the Nintendo Switch 2. To say I was disappointed by the Switch 2’s pricing would be an understatement. So, I planned to wait for another sale on the Claw, but I ended up grabbing a two-month-old one from Marketplace for $450. Pretty sweet deal for what it is. Here are my thoughts on it:
Variable Refresh Rate makes a massive difference. Even when playing at relatively low FPS (~35–45), it feels really smooth—no more stuttering or screen tearing like you’d get with standard displays or by capping the framerate using V-Sync.
The device was pretty rough at launch, mainly because Intel was just starting to develop the GPU drivers. Now, they’re releasing driver updates almost weekly, with consistent improvements across most games.
It lacks truly up-to-date reviews. Don’t trust reviews from 4 months ago—definitely not ones from a year ago. It’s basically a different device now.
XeSS works fantastically well for supported games. I don’t notice many artifacts—it's on par with, if not better than, FSR. Plus, the small screen helps hide any imperfections.
Battery life is average—but honestly, that’s true for all devices in this category. I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Mirage in high performance mode with brightness around 60%, getting about 1.8 to 2 hours. Depending on image quality, FPS, and brightness, it could be less.
AC Mirage at 1080p using XeSS on Quality Mode with Medium settings has been averaging 45–50 FPS. I haven’t tried many other games yet, but everything I’ve tested has run well.
Emulation: I’ve been playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild using Sudachi. Honestly, it's a much better experience than on the original console—better FPS, better resolution, bigger screen, etc. No FPS drops, no issues.
This one’s important: The Core Ultra 5 135H is actually better than the Ultra 7 for handhelds. The GPU is the same, but the Ultra 5’s CPU draws less power, leaving more room for the GPU—which means more frames at the same TDP. Power efficiency really matters when running on battery.
It runs Windows, which can be amazing—or a nightmare—depending on how tech-savvy you are. I love tinkering, so I’ve had no issues. Bazzite is an option, and SteamOS might come in the near future, though it could take a bit longer for Intel-based devices since most currently rely on AMD’s Z1 Extreme.
If you’re thinking about pulling the trigger—do it. It’s a fantastic device.
luckily i swooped and picked this up over the switch 2, and now with the $50 price drop its making it an even better deal for that price range
Updated. Thanks
Good to note that this uses a 2230 size NVME, which makes upgrading storage more costly / limited.
For anyone travelling overseas TRS brings it down to $499.99
I bought the u7 155H for $699 with all the accessories in a bundle and that came down to $635.45 after TRS
I’m still happy with my purchase for what it can do.
Just some CP2077 benchmarks
u7 155H
1600x900 steam deck preset
20w 40.7fps
25w 49.97fps
30w 56.1fps
35w 43.33fps (thermal throttle?)
Rog ally z1e
1600x900 steam deck preset
15w 40.84fps
20w 52.99fps
25w 63.23fps
30w 58.77fps (thermal throttle?)
I ran this on my GPD Win 4 (HX370) just for comparison:
1600x900 Steam Deck Preset
20W 60.27fps
25W 70.51fps
28W 71.43fps (similar issue?)
1920x1080 Steam Deck Preset
20W 53.40fps
25W 56.98fps
28W 58.29fps
Looks to be thermal throttle as the tdp gets to the upper limit.
u7 155H & z1e showed the same issue at the max tdp.
I wonder how the z2e in the LeGo 2 and the leaked Ally 2 fares to a fully fledged HX370
Yeah, the fans were quite loud once the CPU and GPU hit 70C.
I think the HX370 is more powerful (12 core APU) than the Z2E (8 core APU), however, the Z2E is apparently more efficient (better for handhelds). As far as I know they both have the same iGPU (890m).
Even though the HX370 outperforms the U7 155H the U5 Claw is amazing value for money at the moment!
@MayhemVC: Ya, the HX370 would be faster but the Z2E will be better with efficiency. Can't wait for real world testing ;)
The U5 in the $500 mark new or $300-400 used is a really good deal compared to the 8 AI+ at its $1799 price.
Like 3x the price, but not 3x the performance, but that 8" is super succulent and the speakers are scrumdiddlyumptious.
Waiting for a deal again. Now back to $749/$799.
The title states Intel U7, but the item is U5