MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus Review - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Thanks to the new Intel Arc G3 Extreme, frame rates top those of other devices. FWIW. Senior Editor / Computers and Gaming Hardware Senior Editor / Computers and Gaming Hardware Article updated on June 23, 2026, 1:01 pm EDT There are three intertwined stories in the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus: one about a solid, smartly redesigned Windows gaming handheld; one about the new Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, which drives it to class-leading performance; and a sadly oft-repeated one about how the Windows implementation still makes me bonkers. The Claw 8 EX AI Plus joins models such as the Lenovo Legion Go series and Asus' ROG Xbox Ally X, which let you play games from any game store that runs on a PC — Steam, Epic, GOG and so on. Along with most other computing devices, their prices have gotten pretty painful, thanks to a supply crunch in memory, solid-state storage and processors driven by rich-on-paper AI