Key Takeaways
1. New APU Technology: The MSI Claw A8 features the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, based on Zen 5 architecture, with 8 cores and 16 threads, and an RDNA 3.5 integrated GPU.
2. Performance Comparison: In benchmark tests, the Z2 Extreme outperforms the older Z1 Extreme, scoring higher in both 3DMark and Geekbench tests.
3. Gaming Performance: The Claw A8 achieves around 80 FPS in Forza Horizon 5 at 1200p and shows improved FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 compared to the Z1 Extreme.
4. Battery Life: The device offers impressive battery life, potentially exceeding 9 hours under low TDP settings while maintaining good performance.
5. Display and Storage: It features an 8-inch 1920×1200 IPS display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and has a user-upgradable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD.
YouTuber ETA Prime has shared a first-look video of the MSI Claw A8, marking the company’s debut into AMD-powered handhelds with the innovative Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU. In this video, he does a direct comparison with a handheld that features the previous Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor to see how the performance stacks up.
Specifications and Performance
The MSI Claw A8 runs on the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, which is based on the Zen 5 architecture and boasts 8 cores and 16 threads. It also has an RDNA 3.5 integrated GPU with 16 compute units, specifically the Radeon 890M. This handheld device comes equipped with 24 GB of LPDDR5X RAM operating at 8000 MHz. Of this, 8 GB is dedicated to the GPU by default, leaving 16 GB for general system use. Users can change the memory allocation if they see fit.
Benchmark Tests
ETA Prime evaluates the MSI Claw A8 through synthetic benchmarks and game comparisons, putting the Z2 Extreme APU head-to-head with the older Z1 Extreme. In the 3DMark Time Spy test at a 17 W TDP, the Z1E scores 2917, whereas the Z2E achieves 3495 points. At 25 W, the Z1E hits 3017, while the Z2E reaches 3666.
The YouTuber also conducts Geekbench 6 tests at a 30 W TDP, where the Z2E scores 2,781 in single-core and 12,086 in multi-core tests. In 3DMark Time Spy at 30 W, the APU scores 4066, which is slightly below the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 in his Lenovo LOQ laptop, which scored 4348.
Gaming Performance
In practical gaming scenarios, Forza Horizon 5 runs at about 80 FPS on average at 1200p with Medium settings and a 17 W TDP. Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077, tested at 900p using the Steam Deck preset, shows 35.5 FPS on the Z1E and 45.6 FPS on the Z2E, with both setups using 8 GB of VRAM at 17 W.
When tested at 1600p with Medium settings, IGTI upscaling, and a 25 W TDP, Spider-Man Remastered initially has trouble maintaining 60 FPS. However, enabling FSR frame generation boosts performance to over 75 FPS at the same resolution.
At a 6 W TDP, while playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge with RGB lighting turned off and screen brightness set to 50%, the system consumes between 8.1 and 8.7 watts, leading to an estimated battery life of over 9 hours, according to ETA Prime. Even with the default 17 W performance setting, the Claw A8 is said to provide impressive endurance.
Additional Features
The MSI Claw A8 features a user-upgradable 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD. It also has an 8-inch 1920×1200 IPS display that supports a 120 Hz refresh rate and variable refresh rate (VRR), the same kind of panel used in the MSI Claw 8 AI, which is powered by Intel, and the Lenovo Legion Go S.
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