In the ongoing human pursuit of shrinking power into portable form, MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ marks a genuine technical milestone — Intel's Arc G3 Extreme chip pushes handheld gaming performance into territory once reserved for desktop machines. Yet the device arrives at a price, roughly 7,000 shekels in Israel, that places it beyond the reach of most who might benefit from it. It is a familiar tension in the story of innovation: the breakthrough arrives before the economics do.
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ delivers major performance gains, but NIS 7,000 price is a tough sell
Excellent hardware, painful price
Mark
So this new chip is genuinely faster, not just marketing numbers?
Mimi
The testing shows real-world improvements. In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the new model delivered 71% higher frame rates at the same power level. That's not a small difference.
Luke
But that's one game at one setting. What's the average across everything tested?
Mimi
Across the games tested, improvements ranged from 40% to over 70%, depending on the title and power settings. Some games saw 30-40% gains.
Mark
And the battery life actually got better even though the battery is the same size?
Mimi
Yes, because the new processor is more efficient. You can get similar performance to the old model while using less power, which extends battery life by hours.
Luke
How many hours are we talking about in real gaming?
Mimi
In lightweight games at maximum settings, around four hours or more. In demanding games at high power, less than two hours.
Mark
That's a pretty big range. How do you know which mode to use?
Mimi
The device lets you adjust the power limit yourself. You choose whether you want maximum performance or longer battery life for that particular gaming session.
Luke
And the price—is that actually a barrier, or is it just expensive for a handheld?
Mimi
At 7,000 shekels, it's extraordinarily expensive for a portable gaming device. The previous model cost less than half that. Most people won't pay it.
Mark
So it's a great device that nobody can afford?
Mimi
Essentially, yes. The hardware is excellent, but the price limits it to enthusiasts with significant disposable income.
O Pulso
- Intel's Arc G3 Extreme chip delivers 40–70% performance gains over its predecessor, with some titles hitting 71% higher frame rates — a leap that redraws the ceiling of what a backpack-sized gaming device can do.
- Power efficiency improvements mean players can now match last-generation performance at significantly lower wattage, stretching battery life past four hours in lighter games.
- The handheld gaming market in Israel is already a quiet corner of the industry, and a 7,000-shekel price tag — roughly $1,800 — risks keeping this impressive machine invisible to all but the most committed enthusiasts.
- Ergonomic refinements and a capable 120Hz display move the device forward, but the absence of HDR and OLED — features competitors are already shipping — make the screen feel like a compromise at this price point.
- The Claw 8 EX AI+ lands as a product that delivers exactly what enthusiasts asked for, then prices itself out of the conversation it was built to join.
In the ongoing human pursuit of shrinking power into portable form, MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ marks a genuine technical milestone — Intel's Arc G3 Extreme chip pushes handheld gaming performance into territory once reserved for desktop machines. Yet the device arrives at a price, roughly 7,000 shekels in Israel, that places it beyond the reach of most who might benefit from it. It is a familiar tension in the story of innovation: the breakthrough arrives before the economics do.
MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ enters the handheld gaming space carrying Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme processor — built on Panther Lake architecture — and the performance difference over its predecessor is immediate and measurable. Depending on the title, players can expect frame rate improvements between 40% and over 70%, with Middle-earth: Shadow of War delivering roughly 71% more frames at the same power draw. In Forza Horizon 6, the EX at 15 watts matched what the previous model required 25 watts to achieve — a meaningful efficiency gain that translates directly into longer play sessions.
The device retains the same 8-inch IPS display, 80Wh battery, and 1TB storage as its predecessor, while adding wider grips that make extended sessions more comfortable, though it still falls short of the ROG Ally's ergonomic standard. At 785 grams, it is barely lighter than before, and its bulk demands a serious carrying case. The display — bright, color-accurate, and 120Hz — lacks HDR support at a moment when competitors are already shipping OLED panels, which feels like a missed step at this price tier.
The flexibility the new chip creates is perhaps its most practical virtue. Players can push to 35 watts for demanding titles or pull back to 15 or 20 watts for lighter games, extending battery life well past four hours. In that range, the EX outperforms Nintendo's Switch 2 in both raw performance and endurance.
The hardware's ambitions, however, collide with its cost. At approximately $1,800 internationally — and 7,000 shekels in Israel — the Claw 8 EX AI+ is priced far above its predecessor, with memory market shortages bearing much of the blame. The result is a device that delivers the improvements handheld enthusiasts have long wanted, yet prices itself into a niche so narrow it may never find the audience it deserves.
MSI's latest handheld gaming computer, the Claw 8 EX AI+, arrives with a processor powerful enough to make demanding games run at frame rates that would have seemed impossible on its predecessor just months ago. Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme chip, built on the Panther Lake architecture, delivers performance gains ranging from 40% to over 70% depending on the game—a leap that fundamentally changes what's possible in a device small enough to fit in a backpack.
The handheld gaming market remains small in Israel, overshadowed by Nintendo's Switch 2 and largely ignored despite the technical sophistication of Windows-based competitors like the Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go. MSI's previous Claw 8 AI+ barely registered in the local market, yet it was genuinely impressive hardware that in some tests outperformed the Legion Go 2. The new EX model builds directly on that foundation, keeping the same 8-inch IPS display, 80Wh battery, and 1TB storage while swapping in the dramatically more capable processor.
The performance improvements are concrete and measurable. In Forza Horizon 6 running at medium settings, the EX at 15 watts matched what the previous model could only achieve at 25 watts—meaning players get the same visual experience while drawing significantly less power. In Middle-earth: Shadow of War with Ultra graphics, the EX delivered approximately 71% higher frame rates at 30 watts while still providing at least two hours of battery life. Even in Black Myth: Wukong, where the older Claw had the advantage of frame generation technology, the EX still performed better, suggesting the previous processor had simply hit a ceiling the new chip easily surpasses.
What makes this performance leap genuinely useful is the flexibility it creates. Players can push the device to its 35-watt maximum for demanding titles, or dial it back to 15 or 20 watts for lighter games and extend battery life to four hours or more. In relatively undemanding titles like Hollow Knight: Silksong and Hades II at maximum graphics and 120 frames per second, the EX outperforms Nintendo's Switch 2 in both raw power and battery endurance. The cooling fan runs slightly louder than before but remains quieter than most competing handhelds, particularly noticeable when operating at 25 watts or below—where most users will spend most of their time.
MSI made ergonomic improvements too. The body is wider with elongated grips that make the device considerably more comfortable to hold than its predecessor, though it still doesn't match the ROG Ally's comfort level. The weight barely changed—785 grams, just 10 grams lighter—and the device remains bulky enough to require a substantial carrying case, which undermines its portability. An odd design choice has the bottom edge of the screen protruding beyond the main body, adding nothing to the appearance. The only available color is purple, which not everyone will prefer.
The display itself represents a missed opportunity. It's a capable IPS panel with high brightness, excellent color reproduction, 120Hz refresh rate, and variable refresh rate support to eliminate screen tearing. But it lacks HDR support, and competitors are already shipping OLED panels with higher refresh rates. For a device at this price point, the display feels dated.
The real problem isn't the hardware. It's the cost. The Claw EX sells for approximately $1,800 internationally, roughly $800 more than its predecessor, with much of that increase driven by memory market shortages. In Israel, it costs 7,000 shekels—an extraordinarily high price for a portable gaming console, even one with this level of performance and battery efficiency. That pricing creates a painful contradiction: the device delivers precisely the improvements handheld gaming enthusiasts have been waiting for, yet at its current price it will almost certainly remain a niche product for the wealthy few willing to pay a substantial premium.
Citações Notáveis
It is an excellent device that delivers precisely the improvements handheld gaming enthusiasts have been waiting for. Yet at its current price, it is likely to remain a niche product for enthusiasts willing to pay a substantial premium.— Review assessment
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