Customer Ratings & Reviews

I'm not a hard-core gamer, but I enjoy playing titles that are often older than the latest-and-greatest. These older games generally work great on the Intel Core Ultra/ARC graphics the Claw uses, and this includes the better retro gaming platforms as well. Essentially, the MSI Claw A1m is a Windows 11 mini PC with an integrated Xbox controller, using an overlay to allow you to quickly access your games from the various gaming hubs (Steam, EA, Xbox, etc.) I had a few initial hiccups with the device: occasional stuttering, confusing switching between the MSI Center and Windows; but within about a week, I had two firmware updates. Right now the system run great, and I've been able to play (most) of my games without issue. A few things I really like about the Claw: 1) The audio coming from its speakers sound great for a device of its size. 2) The button placement is more comfortable than I expected. My hands are on the bigger side. 3) The screen is crisp and clear 4) The MSI Center app lets you customize the gaming colors and behavior. 5) Thunderbolt 4: I can plug the Claw into a hub and use the device with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Some small complaints: 1) I still get some occasional stuttering, but it's usually in the menu and seems to go away while usiing. 2) The device is a bit heavy and large to carry around. 3) The battery doesn't last as long as I would like (maybe about 1.5 hours of gameplay). I can get lost in a game and not realize how much I'm draining. This is my first large handheld gaming device. I now the Claw is relatively expensive compared to some of its competitors, but I really find it a comfortable device to use; and generally speaking, it functions as I would expect. I'm actually surprised by how well many of the games in my library play on this device.

I have a Nintendo Switch and my iPad and iPhone for gaming on the go, but I thought about it and having a PC, an actual PC with Windows 11, and an ability to play PC games on the go, is a different story. And so when the MSI Klaw showed up (it says Claw here but per MSI the name is Klaw) I was excited to get it up and going. My first impression of the machine was very high, the thing is big, but not heavy, it's got a superb screen and all the buttons in just the right place. Sure some of the buttons feel a bit mushy (the front of the unit bumpers) but I had zero issues in anything I did in regards to the controls. The entire bootup process was pretty cool, the RGB lights come up and despite all the RGB in my life, I never get tired of a rainbow of color like the Klaw exhibits so awesomely. However, my progress came to a screeching halt when it asked me for my Wi-Fi login and I could not get the keyboard to come up. I tried both methods that MSI offers on their site, with a double tap and with a button dedicated to it, but neither worked. I had to wait for a support call to figure out how to fix it. The fix was a simple HARD reboot but I had not been able to figure out how to do this and information online does not address a hard reboot. Anytime I had tried to reboot it just came up to the Wi-Fi login screen. After a few days support got back to me (again it was the Memorial day weekend holiday) they told me to reboot was simply holding in the power button for 15 seconds, waiting for 15 seconds and then voila a hard reboot. Once I did this I was back up to the Wi-Fi screen and this time I had a virtual keyboard so it was smooth sailing after that issue was resolved. Running the games has two ways to do so, either run them how you normally do on your home PC or use the MSI interface, which is really nice and is similiar to the SteamOS running full screen. Note that there are two ways to operate when playing a game, in game controller mode (think Nintendo Switch) or Desktop mode (think PC). I tried all sorts of games and ran into what most PC gamers know, some games work quite brilliantly (Forza Motorsport, F1 24, FC 24, TopSpin 2K25) but some games simply would not work at all (Madden NFL 24) and so there's some technical issues going on here. I got a "out of graphic memory" when trying to run Madden, did a hard reboot and got a DirectX issue. So this is a fantastic machine, but it's early on and so go into it knowing that. How does this stack up to the SteamDeck and others? I have no idea as i've never used any of the others. But i can say this is an amazing machine when it all works together, but right now it is definitely going to fall into the early adopters need only apply. This one could be the best of all the handhelds in my view, if MSI continues to support it. Know that going in and I think you will enjoy this machine a lot.

Great handheld with the potential of becoming up to speed with the other handhelds that are on the market. The latest bios and Intel updates have definitely made the handheld better from when it first launched. The screen is beautiful and vibrant and I love the VRR. I played a little bit of MW3 that was kind of glitchy but after a little tweaking in the game settings and the MSI M Center I got the game running with as little stuttering as possible. I also tried Diablo 4 on low setting and the game still looks and plays amazingly with a tad bit of stuttering but it's not too bad that it ruins the gameplay. I got the 512gb version and was looking to upgrade the ssd hoping it would be but for some reason MSI put the heat pipes over top of it which means I would have to remove the fans and the cooling system in order to upgrade the ssd and would also have to re-apply the thermal past to to ensure everything is as it was. I don't see it being a big deal for some people that are not that tech savvy it may be a little bit of a learning experience. To me though, I love learning how to do these types of upgrades. Another thing that I hope the next generation has is the ability to upgrade the vram for better quality and performance . The one thing I love about the claw is that it has plenty of ventilation all around the handheld so you don't have to worry about it overheating. The design is really nice too making it light to hold and doesn't feel heavy in your hands after hours of gameplay. I'm really enjoying the handheld so far and I'm hoping that MSI and Intel keep pushing out updates to make it better and be transparent as they can in the process. After all they are a major gaming contributor . Love the experience with this handheld so far! Keep up the great work MSI! Looking forward to future updates.

The recent bios and graphics driver updates have made this gaming device work great. I would say on par or better performance than the Asus ROG Ally. Runs cool with fans not getting overly loud. Controls are outstanding. The only negative I would say is the battery life but that all depends on the game being played. Highly recommended.

This is my first introduction into the Windows-based handheld gaming devices so I didn't know what to expect. Looking at the specs MSI Claw A1M 7" definitely peaked my interest but the real test was going to be how my real world experience went. Setup was a bit more tedious than expected but nothing difficult or too off putting. Installing games was fairly simple. I was impressed by the options available but I went with XBox Game Pass since I am already a subscriber. The device itself felt extremely comfortable in my hands with the placement of the buttons feeling natural and easy to work with. Responsiveness was as expected with no complaints. The resolution of the screen was impressive to my eyes with great color and high refresh rates. I couldn't find anything I didn't like about the hardware. Overall software wise I experienced a few minor issues but it seems like BIOS updates are addressing those hiccups. The few games that I have tried so far have performed smoothly with no issues. Overall, I can say that I fairly enjoy using the MSI Claw A1M 7". While I do like it I do think there is always room for improvement so I am excited to see how future updates help improve things.

Best buy for some reason under specs says LED screen it is an ips screen NOT LED

Love this item, very fast runs games good. Don’t listen to haters all the handhelds had problems until they was updated check out for yoursrlf like i did. Excellent gaming device