MSI's new handheld beats AMD's best chip, at a very steep price

MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+ is now on sale, and it's the first handheld gaming PC built around Intel's brand new Arc G3 Extreme processor, a 14-core chip pairing two performance cores, eight efficiency cores and four low-power cores with an integrated Arc B390 GPU built from 12 Xe3 graphics cores.

Intel's own figures claim the G3 Extreme is 44% faster than its previous-generation Core Ultra 258V at 1080p with 2x upscaling switched on, and 42% faster than AMD's current flagship handheld chip, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, which powers most of this year's competing devices. If that holds up in independent testing, it's a genuine shift in who makes the fastest silicon in this category, an area AMD has dominated since handheld gaming PCs took off.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ pairs that chip with an 8-inch, 120Hz display. But the number getting the most attention is the price: $1,699 at Best Buy and Newegg, or $1,799.99 direct from MSI for the 32GB RAM, 1TB storage configuration. MSI has attributed the jump to a combination of premium components and the ongoing memory shortage, which is inflating build costs across the entire hardware industry this year, not just at the budget end.

Should you care?

If raw handheld performance is what you're after, this is currently the fastest chip you can buy in that form factor, and MSI's own messaging has been blunt that 2026 is "a tough year" for pricing. For most buyers, though, $1,800 buys a very capable small laptop instead, and that comparison is going to be hard for a lot of shoppers to ignore.