The New MSI Claw is Actually Good (This Time)

[@piesareround]

Agh. I've been sitting on the fence about buying a handheld for over a year now. At a price point of $900, I'm jumping off the fence and continuing to game on my laptop with a wireless controller.

[@whosthisgirltommy]

just buy a steam deck oled. unbeatable price to performance

[@AloushMan]

@@whosthisgirltommy definitely agree with this. I've done a "full" circle trying out different handhelds, and as someone who owns a 4090 rig, 4060 laptop.. the deck oled is the best companion. I would definitely look into refurbished ones from valve (i believe they have oled refurbished now).

[@namduonghoang2931]

no just dont just dont buy this now. Wait for a couple of months, until Asus, Lenovo release their next gen handheld then you can decide.

[@TheFahre]

I'll vouch for a Steam Deck as well

[@ninetendopesaitama2107]

I bought a gaming laptop last year January instead of a pc handheld. Too niche and the battery life sucks for aaa gaming imo. Everything else would run on my switch. This is the first pc handheld I want. It has rt . And it's very efficient I'm an oled believer but this screen is really good. Msi made a good job. ☮️

[@devonpack906]

$900 is top of the pricing. If the Legion Go 2 is cheaper then MSI is off to a rough start again. Thank you for the Review Russ

[@KingSlendy]

It's definitely not going to be cheaper, and not at those rumored specs, that's potentially why they are releasing a cheaper Legion Go S alternative

[@devonpack906]

@ Go S is their 6680U which is meant to be be the budget they are diversifying a bit and getting ready for first steam OS machine. And we don’t know what pricing is going to be I don’t expect it to be more than Ally X especially if the battery life isn’t better fine and dandy for OLED screen but 80 watt battery is clutch

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

I want to see the Legion Go 2's pricing. £800 and I'll buy one at launch. £900 and I'll give it 6 months and pick it up for £600.

[@slickrounder6045]

Sadly Legion Go 2 will probably be $900 as well due to the new and highly coveted OLED screen. Assuming they (hopefully) upgrade to 32gb of ram and 1tb ssd as the baseline (both upgrades over the original model), and importantly get a bigger battery (ideally the same 80wh battery that the Msi Claw 8+ and Ally X have), they can justify the price increase, since it will likely be the best handheld of 2025 (won't be till 2nd half of 2026 where we get a meaningful upgrade of Amd APU once there is Medusa Point (?) that has Zen 6 and Udna 1 (the successor to Rdna 4). In a perfect world it would be $800 (and then I'd snap it up right away), but we should expect the $900 price point to match the MSI.

[@seanfindley1428]

I appreciate the in depth battery life testing. This was one of the selling points their marketing team was pushing. It made me think this would have drastically better battery life than anything out there but unfortunately it doesn’t look like that’s the case. Your review is the only one I’ve found that really puts it to the test.

[@VSMOKE1]

so their liars battery technology has pretty much peaked for now i don't see it improving in the next 5 years maybe 10

[@X862go]

From what I can tell it's really only at 17 watts that it getting good results. But in AMD favorite games like forza it's a tie.

[@AtlasRega]

So is the Ally X still the best on the market right now?

[@Bert439]

Any handheld going above 15 Watts is going to have bad battery. A handheld sucking over 30 watts is absurd. I get they want max performance but you are beyond diminishing returns at that wattage.

[@jomscath1822]

@@AtlasRegayep

[@slickrounder6045]

Nice Job adding in benchmarks with charts of the relevant systems! Big step forward towards becoming the most reliable Handheld reviewer now. Hope to see this continue with future products like the highly coveted Legion Go 2 Oled with the new Strix Point based Z2 Extreme.

[@Holyblades1982]

For those of you with the Ally X, you def don't need this. I'd wait for the new handhelds coming later this year.

[@Macintosh007]

Yea I impulse bought and ally X before a holiday few weeks ago and don't regret it. The bigger screen would have been nice but after the holiday I put in a 4tb ssd. I also got it for a small discount.

[@JYMBO]

TLDW: It won... but at what cost?

[@slowmodo]

lol yeah It technically is the best on the market today (or though still not perfect in some areas) but the performance gap between this & some of the competing handhelds is not large enough to justify such a large price gap, you could buy something significantly cheaper and still get very close.

[@GundamEnvy]

haha it does win but only if money is no object!

[@idkanymore3382]

its not that much moneu

[@beckettmazeau2224]

$900

[@l0rdpelvis]

@@beckettmazeau2224 Plus tax.

[@ultimategohan1551]

Russ, just as an FYI, VRR still works below 48fps(at least on screens with a 48-120vrr range). Low framerate compensation kicks in and sets the monitor to say 70hz if your fps dips to 35, and smooths things out. No need to cap the fps to 40 or whatever other than batter life really.

[@DrevisTECH]

You were a cookbook author? Have you made a video about this? For some reason I think it would be super cool to hear about that.

[@josem.garibay5478]

He's mentioned it in a couple of his videos.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Yes, I published three cookbooks! www.amazon.com/stores/Russ-Crandall/author/B00FNR3XZ4

[@battman505]

He used to be a chef

[@smashedintopieces000]

@@RetroGameCorps Thats pretty dope actually

[@ktheitguy]

@@RetroGameCorpsmay be you can add “owner of Retro Game Corps channel on youtube and website” :D

[@akaqe4573]

Great comeback, the market is neat now

[@tomoprime217]

Russ on paper pricing is justified. Nobody at retail ticks all the boxes at the same time: wifi 7, great audio, big 8" 1200p screen with VRR, with 80Whr battery, with 2 intel legit Thunderbolt 4 ports and 32GB of 8530MTs fast ram. Usually boutique handhelds offer these top tier level specs for well over $1200. I mean what handheld even competes with a more expensive hx 370 under $1400? Yeah without a doubt Intel Driver support sucks atm, especially for older Direct X11 games. I suppose the same can be said for the launch of AMD 780m based handhelds, they have poor Vulkan support, intermediate driver timeout issues, adrenaline overlay problems with native portrait displays and Z1E drivers lagging behind official 7840u driver updates. Rdna 3 has had a long runtime to bake in this market. Lunar Lake is a fresh step for intel. This new generation hasn't even been in the wild long enough for big updates yet and we are dooming it before January 15th's official launch. Plus don't forget how slow both Lenovo and Rog was on improving the software out the gate. Yeah I agree, $900 is a lot to spend, the 2TB Ally X costs exactly that much go figure, and I would also argue you cannot update any of the older permanent features to match MSI specs outside of a getting a bigger ssd. We need to be a little more optimistic for these newcomers or I believe cutting corners is their only recourse to compete. Edit: Note we are still waiting for CES 2025 to show off the competition. Hopefully Lenovo will up the ante here but will they match this higher price bracket I wonder?

[@Smallville19751980]

I would also add that the new MSI Claw has XESS, which in the little time it has been out is superior in every way to FSR. And will only get better with time, like fine wine. The only handheld with something similar to DLSS. The cheapest Lunar Lake option, which if you want it to double as a regular laptop, you can. Hall effect sticks, and the price will go down with time, just like the other older handhelds. Everyone is complaining about the price; this is a better option than the Rog Ally X at 100 dollars more.

[@DrakonR]

If only we could all be dopey enough to make up excuses for multi national corporations.

[@livesportster]

LEGION GO 2 OLED z2 extreme next week dont buy before ces 2025 next week

[@noobgamer_x98]

Legion go 2 wont have 80wh battery

[@livesportster]

@noobgamer_x98 yes maybe around 70whr , but no one from big brand will release their handheld battery less than 60whr next , 80whr is standar except lowest version like legion go 2 lite

[@garryw1974]

Yep this will be my next handheld,as long as the battery is at least similar size to the ally x,i couldn't go back to a small battery after owning a ally x

[@livesportster]

@@garryw1974 yes but just expect around 70whr for legion go 2

[@IronBanana]

@@livesportster Lol, the Aya Neo 3 will be 50 whr

[@carlos10571]

Lowkey feel MSI is charging the premium price to make-up for their losses on the original. Not cool.

[@EthanCarey-p8k]

Where have we seen that before * cough cough Ally X..it's normal. I wouldn't begrudge either company for pricing the devices as they did as long as they're good competition. Let the market decide.

[@ezyfnef]

These need removable battery systems

[@jebacina23]

Bow and Arrow Boy at 34:30 min mark…. Never heard of that game for the switch 😆

[@engagex1]

Its Skyrim

[@charlesayere7470]

@@engagex1you mean Zelda

[@kalvin.]

I felt just the slightest bit of FOMO getting the Legion Go for my wife and the original Ally Z1E for myself, knowing the new models were on the way. But seeing these upcoming prices and knowing the likely impending economic conditions in the gaming space, and suddenly i feel quite good about getting the devices i got for their respective costs ($500 for the 1TB Go and $415 for the Ally). Add in just how transformative Bazzite has been and i even dont feel the need to get the Steamdeck either. The only device I'd consider otherwise is if the Ally X was just a bit cheaper, closer to $550-600 instead of what it is now. At that point it would be worth the premium to get the bigger battery, an extra thunderbolt 4 port, cheaper SSD upgrades, and ergonomics.

[@jaybee-f9x]

Agreed I spent about the same on my Go and it still feels like a steal imo

[@iceinmyveins6132]

Can I ask an honest question? Do you feel the screen is too small and bezels too large on your Ally vs the Legion Go? I almost purchased an Ally X during the Black Friday sale because I really want the larger battery but seeing them side by side, I thought the screen just seemed tiny and outdated (not in technical features but in size and bezel). I thought it would eat at me if I bought it at that price point and I don’t want the legion go ( had one briefly and though the software was buggy and battery died too quick)

[@kalvin.]

​@iceinmyveins6132 I was floored by how nice the screen is on the Legion Go, both size, resolution as well as screen quality. It's not OLED, but its gorgeous, and while I'm not a screen fps snob, 144hz is noticeably smooth and premium feeling. In comparison the Ally certainly feels more cramped, and the bezels are a bit larger than I'd like. But if you don't have the 2 to compare, I'd be perfectly happy with the screen size, and for FPS shooters the VRR is a must for smooth gameplay as the frames jump around (I'm getting about 90fps on 30W Turbo mode on COD Warzone but it can fluctuate depending on environments). With the 2 in hand, it kinda feels like I have the PC equivalent of a Switch OLED and a switch lite in terms of size and feature differences, even down to the "joycons". If you mainly play anything besides FPS games and want the best visual experience, the Legion Go would be my recommendation (my wife mainly plays aesthetic cozy games while in bed so it was a perfect choice for her). With Bazzite installed, it even fixes some of the poor speaker quality issues when running windows.

[@darth_dunedain106]

​@iceinmyveins6132 I have the ROG Ally X and I love it. Do I wish it was slightly bigger? Yes. However mainly use it at night and in my bed and can bring it closer. The extra battery is great.

[@jordanperosiel-williams7236]

I dont care what ANYONE says. I don't care if a handheld is excellent or perfect. its not worth $900 in the slightest

[@MrCcfly]

yea for that u buy real laptop and good gamepad

[@SaltyOldBaldurian]

It's tough to justify $900 when you can get a used Steam Deck for $300 pretty easily.

[@RetroGameCorps]

I agree, these handhelds keep inching up in price and there is a definite line of "no longer worth it". And for me that is $900. Even the $800 ROG Ally X retail price was pushing it.

[@astartes7313]

i disagree

[@seanroberson1316]

Personally I think tech influencers should take this stance. If it is a outrageous price. They shouldn't review it. If they do review it they create fomo and interest.

[@gordface]

The Graphics on that Wii U game were WILD, seriously they took my BREATH away LOL

[@DrewDragoon]

Imagine paying $900 for a device using underdeveloped Intel drivers... You try to boot up a game from 2003 and it doesn't even launch and there's no way to fix it

[@igorkowalski1928]

Although it's 1 AM, I'm here, I'm ready and able to watch.

[@12ig]

In Celeste, the battery life at 4 watts is 13 hours. In another game, at 8 watts, the battery life is almost 7 hours. Doesn’t that seem absurd to you? These numbers are completely illogical. Have you verified them yourself? I don’t believe you sat there for 13 hours to confirm this personally. The battery capacity is 80Wh. 80/13 = 6, meaning the CPU+GPU consumes 4 watts, and only 2 watts go to the screen. The Steam Deck has an OLED screen that consumes around 5 watts. Yet, when the CPU+GPU consumption is 8 watts, the battery life is 7 hours, meaning 80/7 = ~12. Of that, 8 watts are for the CPU+GPU, and 4 watts are for the screen. This is with the same FPS and resolution. I think (I am absolutely sure) your results are incorrect.

[@joeynox]

The problem with the claw 8 AI is that it's too late. In 2024 it would have been good but in 2025 there's no point of it at its price point

[@jackykwan2580]

You are right it should have been launched during the holiday season before the z2 comes to the market now people are just going to be swayed by other potential handhelds

[@LuisPerez-5]

Lets see the price point of the Z2s before jumping to that conclusion

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

For me the fact it doens't support 2280 nvmes is also a no-go now. I want to drop a nice 8TB NVME (+2TB MicroSD) into my device so I can have all my games on it.

[@anttho3545]

You giving out those “I don’t have the funds” type of energy.. but I understand it is pricy💯

[@LuisPerez-5]

@anttho3545 Poor shaming is not a good look. Also "pricey" and "overpriced" are two different things and this is the latter.

[@ilpastor]

Thanks for the amazing review!

[@barebarekun161]

After this thing released, I feel like it would be the perfect opportunity for MSI to discounted MSI Claw down to like $300 at least with Ultra 5 model. It can still be a pretty good entry level alternative to Claw 8 AI๋+ and it can be a cool laptop replacement for Windows productivity and on the go gaming you know for those weirdos like me that wished I can use my device on the go and not confined to a stable table surface or my lap and obviously free up some space in my backpack I currently have a gaming laptop with 17.3 inch screen with 330W power brick that are heavy and took up all the space and is a hassle to packing it every time I have to go somewhere that I might want a PC around. Spending basically $1000 on a handheld that will get obsolete in less than a year is such a hard pill to swallow to me. Remember you don't have to get the latest greatest, just the right price and its good enough for what you'll be doing with it.

[@chavsny1578]

These reviews are a breath of fresh air. I dont need to follow any other channel which doesnt have its audience as a priority as Russ does, and are just full of click baits, hype and monetary interests.

[@TechSpaceCowboy]

The performance difference between Bow and Arrow Boy and Green Boat Man on Wii U is crazy

[@codecampbase1525]

From what I’ve seen in Linux tech tips, it’s also super quiet, even under heavy load. This is a big big plus.

[@sophisticated]

I also agree with the phawx. These premium handheld devices need an oculink port. Usb is not there yet so I would strongly push back on that in every review. USB is fine on a lower cost handheld but premium handhelds should have an oculink port to use full bandwidth with an e-gpu.

[@BruBoyz]

True! Oculink over USB

[@charlestannehill7537]

Yeah, but oculink users are niche in the computer world. And I think they're pushing usb4/thunderbolt 4 because oculink will confuse the non tech-savvy. Not to mention cost of implementing and limited selection of gpus right now.

[@sophisticated]

@@charlestannehill7537 e-gpu users are niche. You could still use usb if that's what you want.

[@DrakonR]

If you're buying this and then using an e-gpu then you've already lost the plot.

[@sophisticated]

@@DrakonR and why is that?

[@queazocotal]

A 6 month update video will be likely quite interesting this time. How are the new crop of devices with this chipset and similar ones competing with AMD silicon, and how much have drivers improved to economise on power. I am now also wondering if there is a shader to drop switch emulation down to 20p for copyright purposes.

[@Francisco-i9n2b]

I love my steam deck oled, but I think I’m ready for a bit of an upgrade for a little more power. I’ve been impressed with the claw 8 but I really want to see a comparison with the upcoming z2e chips, specifically legion go 2.

[@DaitoClan]

good review as always

[@matthewvillegas6494]

Thank you for an in-depth review. I know this is a loan unit but it would be cool to see how it works with external GPUs, especially having an Intel chip.

[@sirshartsalotxvii]

Sweetness new video from retrogame corps time to sit down and enjoy

[@Madblaster6]

Grab a snack and a drink.

[@mordacain3293]

I have a different take on the pricing; currently this would be the cheapest Lunar Lake device by a decent margin. Now I can't say I enjoy the experience of using a portable screen to make a laptop out of a handheld, but I do enjoy using them in an alternative capacity as a low wattage desktop replacement for when I'm not doing anything strenuous like compiling or encoding (currently typing this out on a modded Legion Go in just such a capacity). I used the original Claw in the same way and it was surprisingly the best overall experience for that use case (Legion Go won out by merits of being the best overall handheld and DTR). By all accounts, Lunar Lake is on parity with AMD's latest processors and the Claw has several advantages (sound, ergonomics, thermals & performance) that justify the price and put it on parity with higher end devices from AYANEO and the like. In that way it's actually more affordable and the addition of another USB4/ thunderbolt makes it that much better as a low wattage DTR.

[@Kamallidin]

So, Happy New Year!

[@igloogh0st764]

Great comeback! Although 900.. Will wait for Legion Go 2

[@boriszotkin1258]

It’s cool, but I’ll still pass on it. My steam deck oled has been amazing.

[@pfroo40]

Yeah, not enough of a jump for it to be worth upgrading yet. I'll wait to see what Valve comes up with for the next SD.

[@BoomBapBlast]

@@pfroo40isn’t that at least 2026/7? I’m so confused if I should get something right now, insane the amount of options in this market

[@elasmojones]

at the very least, waiting lets you buy it on the cheap when someone else realizes he never uses it.

[@nuclearbiologist]

Could you make a video showing off the lightest and smallest handhelds by how powerful they are? It’d be nice to see what the other end of this handheld would be. And what even is the lightest smallest steam capable handheld

[@saltysteved3831]

I bought an open-box Ally Z1 over a year ago and it’s been more than adequate for what I play. I don’t even think I’ve spent $900 in accessories and games for it yet. I’m more tempted to just mod the battery at this point than invest in a whole new handheld.

[@hadouken2123]

Happy new year 🎉

[@AlexanderBukh]

Awesome review, thanks 🎉🎉🎉

[@geoffhall3012]

I'm a light weight user of pc and have moved to mainly android for gaming other than a ps5. Having kept my eye on portable pcs over past few years . This is the first one that really catches my eye. I would prefer AMD over intel and given the choice will always pick AMD. I love this screen size but not the fact it's LCD and not amoled As mentioned the price isn't great either so I will be greatly interested in the new legion specs and prices when they are released soon. Until then I will hold off on a purchase this year. For the moment the Odin 2 pro scratches my current itches for retro. With the release of the portal due soon I've decided not to upgrade to the portal just for the amoled screen , it really needed an M2 option or gen 3 in addition to the screen . 😊

[@ender-illustrata]

Hey Russ! Thanks for another video :) Was wondering when you would be doing one for the Ayaneo Pocket EVO?

[@patmcmiller3379]

13:29 The thing I am most curious about is whether MSI has improved the feel of the plastic shell. When the first Claw released, I stumbled upon it in a local electronics shop. I own a Steam Deck and the other mainstream PC handhelds (ROG Ally and Legion Go) were also on display at that place, so I had a direct way for comparison. I took the 1. Gen Claw into my hands and my immediate reaction was: "Oh, dear lord...this thing feels sooo cheap!" My main issue was the feel of the plastic. It didn't felt like "cheap plastic", it felt like "cheap plastic from chinese knockoff Transformer toy out of a rundown dollar store" cheap. I was baffled how a brand like MSI could put something with such horrendous haptics on the market.

[@AceFondu]

I have an Ayaneo 2s and the performance here doesn't seem much better, but that battery is compelling to me. I'll probably wait to see what ASUS does next for now.

[@chrissesock4245]

Great video as usual… …COOKBOOK AUTHOR?!

[@HiagoAndrade-rm9vj]

hey Russ, thanks for your always great content! Could you make a permanent page in which you state the current best handhelds for each price bracket? e.g.: we saw the new odin 2 portal being released, but even so the odin 2 is still the best buy with a ~$400 budget.

[@nomad5036]

I just saw your other video on eGPUs too and you mentioned that the 1st gen MSI worked the best with eGPUs but you wouldn't use it. Would this one change your mind as far as the combo is concerned?

[@eksquirrel1879]

I love that you told the price at the beginning no wasted time just straight and honest thank you! I'm getting really sick of reviews that just gush about a device for the whole video and then either never talk about the price or only bring it up at the end like it's not one of the largest factors when considering a new device.

[@d0minant24]

I'm holding on to my Deck OLED LE at 622g pretty much for the rest of its life until it craps out on me, forcing me to upgrade. The handheld is not my primary device, I use a gaming laptop + moonlight so I don't need the most power in my handheld. The Deck balances great battery life to performance, at cost with a nice 7.4" HDR OLED display, trackpads and 4 macro buttons. I'm pretty much at my end game when it comes to PC handhelds. Sold the Ally X as I preferred the Deck.

[@engagex1]

I eager to see how these handheld PC evolving in next 5-10 years

[@blackvq3759]

Love my day one original lcd steam deck can’t wait get news and launched date SD2‼️

[@LiamMarcon]

Given that unlike phones, these devices aren't designed to be waterproof, I think hot swappable batteries is a missing feature from the available range. You could have like a 20Wh built in battery and a 30-40wh swappable battery. Would be amazing. Then you could even play plugged in without one of the batteries for a lighter device.

[@greendro6410]

That's nice to hear 😃

[@ShadyTalesyt]

Had this been the original claw they revealed it would be a different story. It's just not a large enough jump to get people off the competition and maybe too much money to get people to get it.

[@adamheath2533]

People say the Steam Deck OLED is the best handheld deal. The 1TB version with tax and shipping is over $700. I know because I bought one. I’d say if the SD is worth it then a handheld with a bigger screen with VRR, higher resolution, double the ram, almost double the battery, and double the performance is worth paying a little over $200 more than the SD.

[@jackykwan2580]

Steamdeck is overpriced man, deck fanboys acted just like nintendo ones but the diff is i agree valve is a more consumer friendly company.

[@MCcalzone]

Finally someone who speaks the truth All this steam deck fanboy crap is getting sickening steam deck is underpowered and overrated

[@LuisPerez-5]

But you don't need yo buy the most expensive one. $200 is a lot of money though. Double the performance? Did you watch the video? He plays most games at 800p so where's "double the performance" at? And the battery life isn't that much better. Unless you are only playing lightweight indie games.

[@LuisPerez-5]

​​@@MCcalzone If you want to spend $700 on a Steam Deck you are dumb. It's not about being a fanboy. For the price the Steam Deck (base model) can't be beat. And I don't have a Steam Deck just common sense

[@gordie2377]

You don't mention the fact that it comes w/32 GB LPDDR5x-8533, but w/a 1 TB SSD, but using the 2230 SSD vs the 2280. What about the graphics that it comes with? Also too, MSI is also releasing an all-black model, but w/just a 512 MB SSD, and a 7" display, for $799.99.

[@TarikA]

@Retro Game Corps: Didn't you receive the Miyoo Mini Flip yet? Just curious since a few other reviewers already got theirs. :)

[@stadros83]

Very good come back BUUUUUUUUUUTTTT still no Thunderbolt 5 and much too heavy. I'd love to have a handheld device with just a 10WH battery and a magnetized external battery. 😊

[@stadros83]

AH and a TOUCHPAD is a must (or better a small touchball).

[@MrDucatiV4]

This would have been nice with detachable controllers like the legion go. I like to use this as a powerful tablet by itself.

[@VSMOKE1]

I really don't see the point of external gpus when they're so expensive i mean you already going to game on your desktop might as well use your computer

[@romanplacek9425]

Good test.R@C Rift apart only 35fps? Legion Go 50fps-fsr 3.

[@lijimmy80]

"if you like a big screen go eith the Legion Go, if you like a big battery go with an Ally X". But what if you want both a big screen and bit battery?

[@serpserpserp]

Then you buy this. Or wait for Legion Go 2

[@jheithaus3]

The ally x is 800. Not exactly cheap.

[@juiciness]

2:05 Cookbook author?! What can't this guy do!

[@battman505]

Reach the top shelf

[@ovrxpsd]

Solve world hunger.

[@Eldtrich]

Check his video - "The Problem with External GPUs and Handhelds". He has an intro part there whereby he discussed some parts of his life.

[@RissieW]

Love Onions...

[@spoonbox]

And previous military

[@GunsnRoses1972]

The only thing i want from the MSI Claw for my ROG ally is the intergration with the Xbox game bar, assuming with a press of the Xbox button on a remote you can get to that power setting instead of having to get up to turn it off or use my wireless keyboard (i just my Ally for the most part in a dock on my tv lol)

[@LuisPerez-5]

They should also send the 7" Claw with the new processor for reviews. Also almost $1000 to play most things at 800p is crazy. May as well get a Steam Deck and save sone money.

[@DriveCancelDC]

800p on a 1200p screen will also look worse than 800p on the Deck screen because the scaling will be whack. It's amazing these manufacturers keep putting these pointless high res screens on these devices. We don't have the power/efficiency to justify those displays on these handhelds yet. And nobody with a brain is choosing a 1200p LCD over an 800p OLED!

[@LuisPerez-5]

@DriveCancelDC While it is true what you are saying games don't look bad at that 800p. My gripe is the ridiculous price when it doesn't have the power to run games at that high of a resolution. 800p to 1200p is basically the same as 720p to 1080p

[@astartes7313]

hope you had a good holiday!

[@RetroGameCorps]

Thanks, you too!

[@moonlightfilms5279]

Hey I know this might sound random but you should totally do a review on your Vaer Watch, was looking at purchasing one because they have American made movements that look super interesting! I promise I have no relation with the company, just thought you could give a unique EDC kinda perspective!

[@AhhSamboi]

They made a new one??? I was about to buy the one with the Ultra 5 135h for $500 but found a laptop with an ultra 9 for around the same price 😅

[@bozardo101]

Will you make a video about this with an eGPU combo/configuration?

[@RealLodoss]

I am interested to see what 2025 will bring in terms of handheld hardware. Personally I want the functionality to Dock and Handheld for gaming using the SteamOS.

[@ThugZ3r0]

Why do they put this 1200p screen if we still game at 800p which now should look worse, comparing to SD with native 800p?

[@jackykwan2580]

Only the very demanding titles you go 800p, most can go 1080p or higher with frame gen.

[@ThugZ3r0]

@jackykwan2580 but even 1080p is not 1200p. Modern handhelds can't play many games on 1200p, can't see any reasons behind putting it except of only marketing ones. It's just decision against consumers.

[@sofaking1180]

​@@ThugZ3r0 So the slightly higher 1200p screen compared to the 1080p screen has to do with the slightly taller 16x10 aspect ratio as opposed to the shorter 1080p 16x9 aspect ratio. In other words, 1200p at the 16x10 screen ratio is pretty much the same as 1080p at the 16x9 ratio... they therefore both actually have the same pixel density.

[@KB-fc1dk]

The first Claw does have Hall Effect sticks and triggers, too 😜

[@DavidAddis]

I'm a big fan of Bow and Arrow Boy, classic series...

[@nefariou5]

very curious about the legion go 2. I do like my steam deck but it's too big to leave the house and the screens too small to be a primary gaming system I really want a bigger screen device to knock it out the park without being crazy expensive.

[@jackykwan2580]

The Go is even bigger than the deck but the screen is the best amongst all too, its a tablet size

[@alexandremeloni1176]

Do you plan to review the OneXFly F1 Pro with the new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU?

[@datpspguy]

I was all in on this device because 7" screens are just not large enough for my eyes. For some reason the SteamDeck and my GCloud Handheld device are sufficient but the ROG Ally i just couldn't bare. But then the Legion Steam was leaked with an 8" screen so I'm probably going that route.

[@stephenmilazzo2535]

Does it have a HUD for FPS, batter %, etc? Something like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally implement? In the video, it looks like after burner is being used. Thanks!

[@PixelatedWolf2077]

Great review, but im afraid i cant entirely agree with you. With the Legion Go bit, yes it has a better screen and featureset overall, but its also limited ny 16 gigs of RAM and it's screen, unlike its competitors (ROG ALLY/X and MSI Claw), it lacks VRR whoch in many games can be beneficial overall. The Ally isnt worth it in general because of the 16 gigs, but also with the fact its screen isnt as good, it has access to the worse version of XeSS, and its FSR, while being in more games isnt as good either. It also doesnt have hall effect sticks either which increases its chances f having a stick failure in the future, especially as the carbon pad slowly wears away over time. I cant vouch for the Ally X either because like the Ally, it also doesnt have hall effect either. If those fail, i dont wanna contact their janky customer service ONTOP of that and risk not being able to have my device repaired. Lastly, with the games ive played, ive had a overall decent experience besides the occasional crash like Black Ops Cold War) and semi stuttery gameplay in other places (Scarlet Nexus). Its also got the better version of XeSS which means it could potentially get improved performance and visual quality over FSR based competitors.....provided the devs actually use it properly.

[@CatSimulator2000]

Something about that ribbed back just really bothers me aesthetically juxtaposed with the smooth, modern-looking front of the device. As for the price, gotta agree with Russ here. $900 is just a no-go, but given some of the big discounts we've seen on these handheld gaming PCs as they age, my guess is that in 6-12 months this will be selling at prices that make it a far more interesting point of consideration.

[@CPUjunkie]

Snack and a drink

[@garryw1974]

My main problem with this is the 2230 ssd,which limits me to only 2tb if i wanted to upgrade. When i purchased my Rog ally x i upgraded the ssd to a 4tb samsung 990 pro with heatsinc as soon as i got it. But i won't be able to do that with the msi 8 since 2230 ssds don't come in 4tb size. Aa much as i dislike the detachable controllers on the lenova go i might go with the second generation of lenova go when it gets released.

[@samsquanch1382]

I think I might get it and return my ally x, My issue with the ally X is that I have big hands and long fingers and with the right analog stick when I move far left my thumb ends up hitting the screen completely throwing my gameplay off. And I’m happy this will have VRR

[@jackykwan2580]

You might as well wait for legion go 2, it has the most gorgeous screen at 8.8 inch and bigger than this claw so it suits you probably

[@samsquanch1382]

@ hmm okay I’ll wait to see it’s reviews then when it’s available for gaming benchmarks

[@scottsutton140]

For the price it should have changeable dpad and adjustable torque for thumbsticks.

[@samh5886]

Doesn't really feel a clear step up over the 7840/z1e devices , feel more like an alternative, so 899 is a no go, especially with the z2e devices coming soon.

[@LISTEDGames]

If this would've been 699. It would sell like hot cakes. That 8 inch screen looks nice!

[@DogginsFroggins]

I'm not really gonna buy this for its price, I'm personally waiting for the Switch 2s price. I am pleasantly surprised that batteries are getting bigger, If they finally decrease the price with a great battery life I'll jump in, I feel like we are inching towards that reality, awesome coverage!

[@LuisPerez-5]

Prices are getting bigger too

[@MrMilli]

Intel's 200V series CPU package power includes RAM. So you need to give the MSI Claw 2-3W more to normalize against AMD chips. So set the Claw to 19W to compare to the 17W Ally.

[@grandmoffporkins]

The fact that my 18-mth old LCD Steam Deck can still do SO much… these are tempting but ya, at that price point it’s easy to opt out of the FOMO

[@mackw919]

Just say your broke it's okay this is a luxury item

[@JonnieBoy_Gaming]

I think you definitely forgot the better efficiency from the RAM being build in the chipset.

[@XFactorSports]

I'm usually in the camp of "no handheld is too expensive", especially when it tries to do something unique like the Ayaneo Flip DS, Slide, Air 1S. Here, we have a $900, non OLED, marginally better than what weve had for the past 2 years processor, weighs a ton, and nothing that makes it particularly stand out from the crowd. Agree with Russ here, not worth $900. Needs to be Ally X pricing, but even then, that weight is such a turn off for me personally. But some folks may bite at that price as an alternative to the Ally

[@callanwilson3623]

at some point we need to have a conversation about the difference between a consumer product and an enthusiast product, how can most people justify spending $1300 on a handheld pc from onexplayer, ayaneo, GPD knowing these devices if they fail will need to be shipped all the way to china if the warranty is even upheld VS a consumer product reasonably priced with much the same specs as a majority of the enthusiast products (z1 extreme) a product you can buy from a physical store that is sold by a company you know and (likely) trust if you go for the enthusiast route, you are paying for a unique form factor, higher specs and to support a much smaller or more specialised company so i have to personally disagree there absolutely can be handhelds that are too expensive, because if i can drop $600 to get much the same product vs $1300 (enough for a great spec desktop for fuck sake) then yes they can be too expensive, especially when these companies are able to release almost yearly refreshed versions of these handhelds or dont have the track record of making software to support the handheld

[@EthanCarey-p8k]

​@@callanwilson3623great comment. I've said the same but you put it much better

[@callanwilson3623]

@@EthanCarey-p8k honestly i feel like these "enthusiast" handhelds need to do ALOTm to come close to justifying the prices they ask for, one of the biggest offenders is ONEXPLAYER they seem to have like 10 different handheld pcs and all of them perform about the same, i even recall one that had removable "joycon" type controllers and the funny part is they werent bluetooth like the legion go's are how companies can ask for that money when they literally churn out junk is beyond me, the only company i find that comes somewhat close to "worth the money" is GPD they have 2-3 handhelds in different form factors that loos masterfully built with i can only presume are top tier AMD/intel chips and they release a new version with the latest specs yearly but they are so far behind in the software department, its not even funny we really need to stop giving them a free pass

[@SwordSaint892]

Russ what's your favorite weapon aspect in Hades

[@6igPP]

Does anyone know if these buttons are removable because I don’t like the ones on the left side. They are too small, such a beautiful handheld tho 😭

[@julianf40ify]

As I’ve said in other claw 2 videos ….looks nice but being a current ally x holder I don’t see much reason to switch will wait out until possible ally x2 or what ever it’ll be called in 2 years or so she’s currently serving me well even when docked to my tv just need a good dock now to active that VRR on it

[@des138]

Important question. Is "Dear You" a good Jawbreaker record?

[@RetroGameCorps]

It’s an excellent Jawbreaker record. The production isn’t great, but let’s be honest all Jawbreaker albums fumbled the production in some way. My favorite sounding record of theirs is actually their live album!

[@des138]

@RetroGameCorps I can't say I've heard the live record. I will definitely check it out!

[@TJ-un2zv]

Hey Russ, are we getting a review video on the Ayaneo pocket Evo?

[@niveketihw1897]

I almost always use my Switch plugged in. I'm probably going to buy a PC handheld in 2025, and will probably use that plugged in too. Thus, the max battery life I need is probably about 1 minute, and I would never bother with lower wattage modes.

[@serioserkanalname499]

The big question was always what differentiates it from the steam deck where we all know noone can compete with on the software side. A bit more power and battery? Alright but why would you need that, what game do you need to play where you need those 5 extra fps? To me the next handheld will be one that'll flawlessly emulate switch 2 games because everyone knows nintendo will once again release their next console with hardware that was outdated a decade ago and then complain that everything under the sun can emulate their games at 4x the resolution and twice the fps with half the frametime variation. So probably the legion go 2. Cause that also has the cool detachable controllers and a way bigger screen for videos and movies on the go. Or even wait for another steam deck.

[@sjzafrani]

No video on the Ayaneo pocket evo😢

[@LeilahFawn]

Appreciate the detailed breakdown! A bit off-topic, but I wanted to ask: I have a SafePal wallet with USDT, and I have the seed phrase. (alarm fetch churn bridge exercise tape speak race clerk couch crater letter). How should I go about transferring them to Binance?

[@mahiru20ten]

Seems like quite the redemption arc if not for the price.