SUMMARY
- Just a couple of days back, MSI announced that it is preparing to launch a new handheld at the CES 2024.
- The specifications of MSI were leaked, and it indeed looks like a worthy competitor.
The launch of the Steam Deck in 2022 opened up a new avenue for gaming. It pioneered a new handheld gaming console market and transformed the way players could play their games. Players who had no option but to play on their confined PCs and consoles at home now have a new way of playing on the go.
It was clearly a winning formula, and since then, several other companies have tried their hand at the new handheld console revolution. ASUS ROG Ally and the Lenovo Legion Go are just a few. And now, Taiwanese Micro-Star International, popularly known as MSI, is all set to step into the market.
Just a couple of days ago, MSI announced that it was preparing to launch a new handheld at CES 2024. The new handheld from MSI is rumored to be called the MSI Claw.
MSI Claw Specs Leaked
Although MSI did not reveal much about their latest device except some dark visuals about its design, recent leaks have surfaced on the internet revealing more details about the claw. The specifications of MSI were leaked, and it indeed looks like a worthy competitor.
MSI CLAW gaming handheld specs leaked pic.twitter.com/p67FHaC7Ku
— PC_Focus 🔴 (@PC_Focus_) January 5, 2024
MSI Claw is powered by the Intel Meteor Lake processor, specifically the Core Ultra 7 155H SKU. The Core Ultra 7 155H offers 6 P-Cores, 8 E-Cores, and 2 LP-Cores. The built-in GPU of MSI Claw is reportedly based on the Arc Alchemist architecture with 8 Xe-Cores and is set to reach speeds of up to 2.25 GHz.
The MSI Claw console will operate on 64-bit Windows 11, featuring 32GB of RAM. Besides, it is also believed that MSI may provide other configurations to accommodate different user needs.
MSI Claw vs Steam Deck
Notably, these are still leaked specs, and MSI has yet to officially announce the details. However, compared to Vale’s Steam Deck, MSI Claw seems to be much ahead. Starting with the Intel Meteor Lake processor, which features 16 cores and 22 threads. These are almost four times more than four cores and eight threads of Steam Deck’s Intel Pentium II/III.
Coming to the graphics, MSI Claw supports Arc graphics with 8 Xe-Cores reaching speeds of up to 2.25 GHz. On the other hand, Steam Deck features an AMD iGPU 8CU with a speed of 1.6 GHz. Another point where MSI Claw is way ahead of Steam Deck is in terms of its memory. Steam Deck’s 16GB memory has been surpassed by 32GB of MSI Claw.
Considering the duration gap of almost two years, it is not surprising to see MSI Claw overtaking Steam Deck in more than one aspect. It will be interesting to see how Steam Deck keeps up with the competition. MSI Claw is expected to be revealed at CES 2024, which is taking place between January 9 and 12, 2024.