The MSI Claw A1M is emerging as a potential rival to Valve’s Steam Deck in the handheld gaming sphere, with several key features that could help it claim the title of “Steam Deck killer.” One of the major talking points has been MSI’s choice to power the Claw with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor. Despite some initial criticism concerning compatibility with older games and emulation, this processor and its integrated GPU (iGPU) show promise in terms of energy efficiency and handling less demanding tasks and games with aplomb.
Under the hood, the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a complex 16-core processor, with a mix of core types which include six performance cores, eight efficiency cores peaking at 3.8 GHz, along with two low-power efficiency cores, totaling an impressive 22 threads. The performance cores also benefit from hyper-threading, and what’s more, each core type operates at different boost frequencies. The performance cores range from 1.4 GHz to 4.8 GHz, the efficiency cores from 900 MHz to 3.8 GHz, and the low-power efficiency cores work from a minimal 700 MHz to 2.5 GHz.
This diverse configuration of cores paves the way for varied usage scenarios, such as deactivating all but the performance cores for resource-intensive gaming or combining efficiency with low-power cores for tasks that exert minimal pressure on the CPU. Additionally, the Claw is equipped to harness Intel’s Thread Director and an onboard NPU alongside MSI’s AI-driven Center M technology, offering users the ability to customize CPU settings and manage power usage dynamically.
The tailor-made customization, which allows for the activation and deactivation of cores based on usage demands, is pivotal for the MSI Claw A1M to achieve similar levels of efficiency witnessed in other Windows-based handheld gaming devices that operate on the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme platform. This level of flexibility could solidify the MSI Claw’s position as a versatile and powerful handheld gaming device for various user preferences and gaming needs.
