ROG ALLY (s) Vs MSI Claw: Performance and comparison

Full comparison of the ROG ALLY(s) and the MSI Claw 155H. Performance, physical overview, repairability, and other comparisons.
Device info:
ROG ALLY:
-Bios 337
-Driver: 23.20.23.08
MSI CLAW:
-Bios: release bios
-Driver: 31.0.101.5379
00:00 Intro
00:23 Performance comparison
04:59 screen and sound
05:41 Specs
06:31 Physical comparisons
08:18 Claw Bumper
10:05 internals (repairability)
11:19 what's in the boxes?
12:09 summary
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
uppbeat.io/t/paul-yudin/summe...
#msi #msiclaw #legiongo #gaming #handheld #handheldgaming #handheldgaming #rogally #steamdeck #onexfly #onexplayer #pcgaming #rogallyvs

[@Gaming_for_insight]

Great video! Thanks for the benchmarks and frame rate data. Another informative video as always. Now we just need to get you your X1!

[@okestgamer]

Thanks man! Yeah it's still on hold, but at least in Canada haha

[@keyvand.7667]

Hey, very nice video. I really like your calm and clear voice and it's really professionally made. Thanks for that! Are you going to do the same Tests with the Legion Go? I would be curious because I own this handheld.

[@okestgamer]

Yup, I’m hoping to bench a couple of others and make a series of vs videos. Not promising (it’s many many hours of work) but am going to try

[@genesis7748]

Great video thank you! Also can you please tell me where you got that back replacement shell of the rog ally? It looks really nice!

[@okestgamer]

No problem. The shell is from handheld diy. You can purchase from their website hadhelddiy.com

[@evilcc82]

Thanks for an unbiased vid. Was very keen on the Claw but now I'm thinking of the ally extreme.

[@okestgamer]

No problem, I think the ally is a better purchase between the 2

[@chubbs6504]

Ally 👑

[@okestgamer]

Out of the two it seems so haha

[@tebo2286]

The Claw is such a disappointment for a device this expensive. I really hope both MSI and Intel optimize this device sooner rather than later. I would gladly buy the ROG Ally if it weren't for the propriety eGPU port. Guess I'm now ready to pull the trigger on the Lenovo Legion Go after watching most Claw reviews. Great video, by the way

[@okestgamer]

Appreciate it man, yeah honestly the Go is a pretty nice device. I’ve really enjoyed mine

[@erfgthygreas1709]

The legion GO was to buggy for me. And the software legion space is not that great. Got the rog ally. It's not buggy at all and software armory crate is great. The legion go was also to heavy for me for long term handheld gaming.

[@tebo2286]

@@erfgthygreas1709 Noted with thanks. Yeah, I agree when the Go initially dropped, lots of folks complained about its software however there are tips and tricks around that also Lenovo is listening to their customers, and hopefully, those issues will be soon addressed via OTA updates. I totally understand the Go's weight might be a deal breaker for some, but I'm cool with it. Unlike Lenovo, MSI went radio silent upon releasing their expensive half-baked device, even though I'm hopeful they might turn their fortunes around, I'm always going to view them with suspect eyes.

[@okestgamer]

Still needs some work, hopefully they sort it soon, the staff have been amazing for conveying the community requests to the larger team. Just seems to take time

[@okestgamer]

The Go will get better with time. The good news is it's working with a chip that has been maturing well.

[@GamingRepairs]

Whoa! I thought for sure the whole back of the claw was vented. What a twist lol.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah they had me tricked at first as well haha

[@puissance-steam-deck]

Salut j'ai une question s'il te plait, j'ai la msi claw mais mon overlay n'affiche pas les fps et est tres large, le tiens est propre, pas large et tu as les fps, comment as tu fait? Merci et bonne video

[@okestgamer]

I set the overlay up with MSI afterburner. If you look up a tutorial on setting up the afterburner overlay you can customize it's look.

[@puissance-steam-deck]

@@okestgamerthx, ok but we'll say the original overlay, I can't put the battery in

[@okestgamer]

There is basically 3 layers of overlay for the stock one. You tap the overlay option in the pull out menu of the MSI app. Tap it to cycle through which of the 3 sizes you want. Unfortunately you can add anything to it

[@TheRogueBro]

Finally the video we've all been waiting for!!! Although even if the Claw was better, i wouldn't buy it... cuz i already have an Ally lol.

[@okestgamer]

You just gotta start a channel, then the handhelds become like Pokémon, gotta catch em all!

[@james8606]

I've owned the ally since release and been nothing but impressed with it as a portable device. Playing hell blade at the moment and it runs it amazingly in handheld mode at both 15 and 25w. I also got myself a 3080 and wow this transformed the device for TV play. With the claw I expect it to not beat the ally but it's great to see intel starting to take on AMD and or will only push these consoles the same as ARM too.

[@okestgamer]

Did you get the 3080 xgmobile? Yeah I'm hoping the Intel side can shape up a little and be more competitive

[@james8606]

Yeah I did was a game changer for me and replaced my 1070 pc. I'm hoping intel and AMD go for it now with mobile chips as it can definitely be the future of gaming

[@oscart5990]

@@james8606I’m planning on replacing my desktop as well. Those egpus are so expensive. I’d take a 2080 version for a lower price point tbh hopefully they look into more affordable options

[@james8606]

@@oscart5990 yeah they are not cheep I got mine from eBay but it was around 1K but it was definitely worth it especially as I will be able to use it on the next console and hopefully others in the future. That's the way I looked at it. if I get 5 years out of it as the min it's definitely money well spent

[@okestgamer]

Nice, they seemed pretty expensive in Canada, so I had not looked into them

[@kewlztertc5386]

If only the Claw was released 2 years ago....

[@okestgamer]

Yeah it would fit better in that timeframe for performance

[@Muhluri]

The MSI Claw is like the Ferrari F1 team. They always look amazing during the tests but they fall behind when it matters the most (during gameplay)

[@okestgamer]

Let's hope that they can tune it to get a win soon though

[@OblivionPrime]

I own a ally and steam deck but im rooting for intel to fix those drivers for a better device down the road.

[@okestgamer]

Same here, I just want better performance for everyone who purchased one

[@Science_of_Sound]

I own an Ally but Imma get the GPD Win 4 because of how compact it is

[@MichaOstrowski]

For the display comparison, make sure to disable the POS called Varibright in AMD Software.

[@okestgamer]

That's a good point, I'll have to see if it was turned on

[@okestgamer]

Double checked, looks like I had already turned it off

[@MichaOstrowski]

@@okestgamer so the newer panel revision is indeed improved

[@okestgamer]

That’s good to know. Mine is from September I think or august

[@doolittle_]

Calipers! You've gone big time now.

[@okestgamer]

This is how I know I’ve made it!!! Soon I’ll be reviewing mini PCs

[@bannedgotit185]

Is the msi claw a demo unit or production unit? If it's a demo unit of course it won't perform well.

[@okestgamer]

It's a production unit that I purchased

[@AMRCineVerse]

So basically out of the box the Claw- is a bit disappointing until drivers and updates come along. Just like the Ally

[@okestgamer]

Yes, although it's starting off in a worse spot than the ally did

[@francescostroppetti8219]

rog ally is hard to beat right now, I think only new processors and faster ram is going to outperform it. Im happy with mine.

[@okestgamer]

Glad your enjoying it, yeah the Z1 extreme and 7840 are doing very well.

[@poquepoque5851]

great vid, always knew ally sucked. thanks for confirming it.

[@okestgamer]

Lmao, it's no Kun

[@RedMageGaming]

The big takeaway is MSI made a solid device, but Intel needs to up their game in the drivers department, and needs to start partnering with game studios to better utilize their GPUs. The benchmarks tell a pretty solid story here, the raw power is there. But the games arent made with this new player in the GPU scene in mind. THe Claw's biggest benefit for now is going to be it's still a great indie handheld, and with USB4 is going to have a more flexable eGPU experience. The biggest Let down for the Claw is the strange position it's two models put themselves in, the core ultra 5 version has the same GPU on die, and due to the less power demanding CPU side, actually can perform better in more gpu bound scenarios. where the core ultra 7 model performs better in more cpu bound scenarios. Intel has their work cut out for them though, If they want their APUs to start taking market share for portable gaming devices in the future they need to do the heavy lifting and really knuckle down on driver support, and will have to take cues from AMD with working with game studios for game support. nVidia is still king on dGPUs AMD is king on iGPUs, Intel's got a long road to catch up on.

[@okestgamer]

The last driver update has helped a little, but they have more to go yet

[@Madblaster6]

Def seems like a driver issue. The problem is that Allly is better sometimes cheaper so unless Intel can fix the drivers ASAP, I don't see this product selling well. I wonder if someone will use an Nvidia mobile chip in a handheld.

[@okestgamer]

Currently out here, it's always cheaper. The sales also make the gap even larger

[@Sonsofanarchyrules678]

I want acer to make a handheld they have mentioned it a few times as they make great products in my opinion anyways

[@okestgamer]

Rumour has it they are working on one as well

[@Sonsofanarchyrules678]

Claw sucks it is already 200 off the top model in the uk lol barely a month on from release people are not stupid enough to buy this

[@justswitched8841]

Something no one is mentioning is you have to remove the fan and heatsink on the claw to change the ssd which means you have to repaste the claw every time you remove the ssd lol😅

[@okestgamer]

Yeah I just saw that from another creator after I posted. I haven't gone that deep into the internals yet. Very odd decision on their part.

[@justswitched8841]

@okestgamer Yeah it sucks. Maybe they did it because of space constraints or to keep the ssd cooler Maybe ? Idk.Sucks though because the average user isn't gonna want to do that. I've repasted laptops before but I still don't want to do it lol.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah for many it will be too much

[@oo0Spyder0oo]

Here the claw is $500 AUD ore than the ROG so it’s kind of out priced against the lower priced steam deck, ROG Ally and others.

[@okestgamer]

Really? That's kinda wild if they did a 50% off deal already. Launch price was 799 USD for top model and 699 USD for lowesr

[@WuFluChan]

Now take the battery out of the claw and see if it fits in the ally or nah

[@okestgamer]

Measurements seem to show it could. I think the center would end up above a warm spot though, so not sure I would recommend

[@WuFluChan]

@@okestgamer think it would just be over the ram? Wonder if there would be a big enough gap between the ram and battery for it to not be a problem. Couldn’t find the battery for sale yet last time I looked anyways

[@ezg8448]

Measurements, yes. But the battery layout is different on the claw. 6 cells are used on the claw for a 3S, 2P configuration. The Ally uses 4S 1P. This just means the Ally runs at a slightly higher input voltage compared to the claw.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah I haven't seen the part for sale yet.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah and I don't know enough about the specifics to give it a shot. Wouldn't want to do damage with the attempt

[@jacobwellman6280]

I wanted the Claw to be better than the Ally. Im always looking for companies to impress me with the best performing handhelds and from what I see the Claw isn't it.

[@okestgamer]

Not at this point anyways. I'm not sure it will improve enough even with updates unfortunately. I hope to be wrong though

[@mgsan4702]

My ally came with charger like claw and i like it because it prevents losing or moving

[@okestgamer]

Which region are you from?

[@mgsan4702]

@@okestgamer Asia.

[@okestgamer]

Ah ok then makes sense

[@colophus1735]

Claw was just not it for what they had offered. Rog Ally is the way to go if you JUST want a gaming handheld. Where the Legion Go Stands out ( and why I can justify the size of it ) is that it is more along the lines of a laptop replacement rather than just a handheld device. I like that I can put it on a stand or on a pillow while lying in bed and playing some games with the controllers dethatched.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah it's not performing well for the price. I'm not sure if it will ever catch up tbh

[@Tkcrypto1]

Its like they didn't test the Claw at all.

[@okestgamer]

It was pretty rough. It improved a bit with the latest drivers in some games

[@elasmojones]

They droped the Z1 non-extreme Ally to $400 right now...squeezing the Claw market.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah I got mine for 319 open box. Bought it right as I was making the video haha. Ended up adding it in

[@elasmojones]

Its a great deal....but I don't use my Ally as it is lol. I'm always on my AyaNeo2

[@kdubspencer3390]

​​@@elasmojonesthe ayaneo 2 design is so nice with no bezel, curved corners , and full size thumbsticks but they're being forgotten because of its price now that the us has the steam deck oled , rog ally , legion go, msi claw . I have a legion go for mac performance and screen size but i use the loki max with bazzite os for a light, comfortable handheld with quick access to games with bazzite os .

[@elasmojones]

@@kdubspencer3390 I have 2 actually....I got one used for $400

[@okestgamer]

I have one of those as well. Nice device, only complaint is the grips aren't comfortable for me, And the joysticks being vertical to the buttons feels odd

[@nitmare64]

So sad that the 155H is NOT optimized for gaming since there is no good CPU and GPU power balance & to top that all off, Intel Drivers are still not at Nvidia or AMD Levels.

[@okestgamer]

Yeah I wish it was a little further along when they released

[@nitmare64]

@@okestgamer I agree. Intel really needed to work on this before primetime. This why I cancelled my order of the Onexplayer X1, Great screen but same 155H chip, Same crappy performance as the Claw

[@okestgamer]

My X1 is on the way still, I kinda wish they went with a 8840 instead

[@nitmare64]

@@okestgamer Damn! Me too, Would have been close to perfect. Im getting the GPB Win Max 2 8840U instead. Indiegogo starts in April

[@okestgamer]

Let me know how it is, I've been curious about those

[@micholiotti8889]

So right now the Claw is simply useless. I get they can patch and update it in the coming weeks, but giving the competition they should have come out with something way closer to the other models.

[@okestgamer]

Right now yeah it's pretty rough

[@Howlspaziani]

my ROG ally charger looks exactly like the msi claw

[@okestgamer]

That's odd, did you buy it used?

[@Howlspaziani]

@@okestgamer its officially a rog charger probably different from the american one

[@okestgamer]

@@Howlspaziani that might the the reason then

[@Sonsofanarchyrules678]

I really dislike the claw they put no thought in that device completely rushed to market intel probably offered msi some discount so they would use there trash

[@okestgamer]

Hoping it gets better with time, hope is what I’ve got to hold onto haha

[@MrRawand89]

you forgot about the battery life

[@okestgamer]

The claw will last longer Technically, but you need to push more battery to achieve playable FPS.

[@GeekL30N]

Intel Modify the performance for these Benchmark

[@okestgamer]

That’s why I included a lot of gameplay benchmarks

[@betag24cn]

rofl, wait for it to not be sold and once you buy it, it will melt in your hands...

[@okestgamer]

I hope not haha, this cost me more than it should have

[@gregorywilson2124]

Intel is getting embarrassed. What a fall from grace.

[@okestgamer]

Let’s hope they can get it together sooner than later.

[@BarelyAverageDude]

MSI couldn't Claw out a win. 🤦🏽‍♂️😅

[@okestgamer]

Not in this round haha

[@salientdiscovery9090]

Claw sucks, Ally rules!

[@okestgamer]

Glad you're enjoying your Ally

[@GODSLAYERxxx]

I wish sony make handheld ps5 🥹

[@okestgamer]

Maybe one day haha