If you told me a year ago that an Intel‑powered gaming handheld would be sitting on my desk in 2026, absolutely clowning AMD’s best silicon, I’d have told you to lay off the spice. Yet here we are. Computex 2026 teased it, Cale Hunt went hands‑on, and now the retail MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is in front of me.

Let’s be honest: MSI’s first handheld felt like a prototype that slipped out the side door. Instead of giving up, MSI regrouped, teamed up with Intel, and came back with a device that blows past every expectation.

But before we go any deeper, we need to talk about the price. Global supply chain chaos has sent high‑density RAM and NAND costs into orbit, and premium hardware is paying the bill. In a sane market, this machine would likely land around $1,299. Instead, it’s $1,799 at Best Buy—firmly in ultra‑premium territory.

Is it worth the jump? Let’s break it down.

MSI and Intel had no input, nor did they see the contents of this review prior to publication.

Specs and Configuration Options

Under the hood, MSI has radically re-architected its core layout, abandoning general-purpose laptop chips to pivot entirely to handheld-optimized architecture.

Design, Ergonomics, and Upgradeability

The physical layout of the Claw 8 EX AI+ is a massive love letter to Xbox fans. MSI completely reshaped the side chassis into a beautifully sloped, flared grip design that heavily mimics the curvature of an official Xbox controller. It contours perfectly to the natural resting shape of your hands, making extended, multi-hour gaming sessions an absolute breeze.

Even better, the actual weight distribution is the sweet spot. Coming in at 785 grams, the Claw 8 EX AI+ feels surprisingly nimble in the hands. When compared directly to the behemoth scale of something like the Lenovo Legion Go 2 at 854g/1.88lbs (it has a kickstand for a reason, folks)—which goes out of its way to adopt a massive, thick, and substantially heavy tablet aesthetic to accommodate its 8.8-inch display.

The MSI variant is vastly easier to slip into a travel bag without feeling like you packed a concrete brick. (Trust me, I've ditched Legion Go 2 for travel multiple times, but it's awesome on the couch).

On the upgrade front, MSI has finally listened to reviewers. The storage slot has graduated to a full-sized M.2 2280 slot, meaning you aren’t locked into paying premium prices for tiny, obscure storage drives. Pop out six standard Phillips head screws on the back shell cover, and you can swap out the internal SSD in less than five minutes.

RAM, however, is integrated, but 32GB should be enough.

Display

The Claw 8 EX AI+’s 8‑inch screen is one of the system’s strongest components. MSI uses a roomy 16:10 panel at a crisp FHD+ (1920x1200), giving you about 38% more usable space than comparable 7‑inch handhelds—huge for readability and UI-heavy games.

The IPS-level touchscreen hits 500 nits and covers 100% of sRGB for vivid, accurate color. Its standout feature, though, is native VRR from 48Hz to 120Hz, letting the display track fluctuating frame rates in real time to eliminate tearing and micro‑stutters for consistently smooth gameplay.

At this price tier, the lack of an OLED panel is the one obvious drawback. If you bounce between this and a Steam Deck OLED, you’ll notice the missing infinite contrast and true blacks in a dark room. But once you’re actually in a game and pushing high, stable refresh rates, the brightness and responsiveness take over. The gray floors fade from your mind, and the experience becomes all about the smooth, fast motion on screen.

Buttons, Joysticks, and Elite Audio

Controls are a premium highlight here. MSI went all-in on specialized Hall-Effect analog sticks and triggers. Because they utilize magnetic positioning instead of physical carbon contacts, the threat of stick drift is permanently eradicated. The action on the triggers feels smooth and progressively weighted, while the face buttons feature beautifully rounded edge boundaries to keep your thumbs from feeling sore after hammering out combos.

The standard directional pad also received a massive overhaul, implementing a tactile metal dome component underneath the casing. It delivers an incredibly clicky, distinct feedback loop that completely wipes away the mushy, missed-input sensations from past generations.

There's no capacitive touchpad for mouse cursor control in Windows or precision aiming. Do I care? No, I turned it off on Legion Go 2, but I get how some people want it, so I'm mentioning it here.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, though, is the acoustic and haptic transformation. Historically, speakers and vibrating feedback have been clear weak points across MSI’s portable portfolio. Not anymore. The dual 2W speaker array outputs genuine, punchy high-res audio that maintains depth even at high volume levels.

Paired with an upgraded Voice Coil Motor (VCM) driving refined HD haptics, the physical immersion matches anything currently on the market.

With Bluetooth Core 6.0 and LE Audio onboard, pairing wireless earbuds like the Galaxy Buds4 delivers low‑latency, battery‑friendly audio with no noticeable delay. The Claw 8 EX AI+ also supports Windows 11 Super Wideband Stereo, so your sound won’t collapse into muddy mono when you’re using a mic for in‑game chat. And with Shared Audio broadcasting, you can stream to multiple compatible earbuds at once with zero hassle.

Performance: Intel Arc G3 Extreme Crowned King

As a nerdy refresher, the Intel Arc G3 Extreme is Intel's very first purpose-built SoC engineered from the ground up specifically for handheld gaming form factors. Rather than simply shoving a generic, power-hungry laptop processor into a portable shell, Intel completely re-architected this silicon to optimize the power-to-performance ratio at typical handheld wattages. It cleverly shifts the hardware balance directly toward graphics throughput by scaling up to 12 Xe-cores on its Xe3-based B390 GPU while dropping the heavy CPU core count down to just two performance cores. This intentional asymmetry leaves massive thermal and electrical headroom for its 96 integrated XMX AI Engines to work their upscaling magic.

Better yet, the chip introduces Intelligent Bias Control (IBC) v3.5. This proprietary firmware engine perfectly optimizes power sharing between the CPU and GPU, and it even utilizes a clever trick called "P-core parking" to turn off the power-hungry performance cores entirely at 14W and under, ensuring your battery juice goes where it matters most: pumping out maximum frame rates.

For the past few years, AMD has comfortably monopolized premium mobile gaming graphics, but Intel’s new XeSS architecture drops an absolute tactical nuke on that narrative.

3DMark Time Spy & Synthesis Testing

Look at our lab-tested benchmarks below:

• MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ (Intel Arc G3 Extreme): 6,726
• ASUS Xbox Ally X (Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme): 4,029
• MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra 7 258V): 3,882
• Lenovo Legion Go 2 (Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme): 3,795

A score of 6,726 on a handheld profile is a jaw-dropping result, representing an aggregate jump that flies completely past AMD's flagship Z2 Extreme silicon.

3DMark Fire Strike & Torture Run Results

To push this chip further, I threw the classic Fire Strike benchmark at the Arc B390 GPU. The results speak for themselves:

• Fire Strike Overall Score: 13,340
• Graphics Score: 16,735
• Physics Score: 24,513

The monitoring loop stayed remarkably consistent, and 3DMark’s integrated engine estimates real-world game performance for titles like Battlefield V at a smooth 120+ FPS at 1080p Ultra settings.

Geekbench 6 Compute & General Performance

The AI Engine acts as the device's intelligent, set-and-forget autopilot, leveraging real-time behavioral analysis to dynamically adjust power settings and hardware configurations (defaulting to a flexible 25W ceiling during gaming) to maximize performance on the fly.

In stark contrast, Endurance mode is a highly restricted efficiency preset designed strictly to squeeze out every drop of battery life. While the AI Engine dynamically scales performance upwards to match the game's demands, shifting to Endurance mode clamps the platform down to a rigid 15W target and automatically triggers Intel’s Endurance Gaming profile, enforcing a stable 30 FPS cap on battery to extend your playtime up to 11 hours on lighter titles.

Here's what that looks like in Geekbench:

• MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ (Intel G3 Extreme - AI Engine): Multi-Core: 13,210 / Single-Core: 2,574
• MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ (Intel G3 Extreme - Endurance): Multi-Core: 10,129 / Single-Core: 1,983

Even under a highly restricted energy curve, the restricted multi-core target hits 10,129, keeping processing capability completely clear of bottleneck thresholds.

Turning to the SSD, storage performance is similarly blinding, with CrystalDiskMark validating peak sequential read limits hitting a clean 6,997 MB/s.

Intel XeSS Feature Test & In-Game Frame Rates

The true magic happens when you leverage Intel's hardware-level AI upscaling. Running the native 3DMark Intel XeSS Feature Test (using XeSS 1.3.1 Balanced at a 2.0x scaling factor) shows exactly what the architecture is capable of:

• XeSS Off: 26.82 FPS
• XeSS On: 51.80 FPS
• Performance Explosion: +93.2%

Real-world gaming translates perfectly to these synthetic gains. Launching the graphically punishing 007 First Light with the console dialed directly into its integrated AI Engine mode, I ran natively at full 1920x1200 resolution at High settings and consistently locked down a blisteringly fast 130+ FPS when plugged in.

Even more absurd was the experience playing LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight. The game regularly hit 150 FPS with fluid frame pacing.

How is 150 FPS beneficial on a physical 120Hz panel profile? It comes down to Intel's XeSS 3 Multi-Frame Generation (XeSS-MFG) engine. The chip utilizes internal AI matrices to interpolate synthetic smoothing frames directly between every traditionally rendered frame. Because the platform features a hardware-level Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) window extending up to 120Hz, pushing frames above the panel refresh ceiling completely eliminates frame delivery micro-stuttering, ensuring ultra-responsive inputs and perfect pacing.

Of course, results for XeSS will vary based on the game (if it's supported), whether you're plugged in, and what modes (including custom) you have set. I did have some mixed results with DOOM: The Dark Ages, which was running above 60 FPS one night, but fell below 30 on the next level despite XeSS being enabled.

To understand how big a leap Intel’s Arc G3 Extreme really is, look at this custom Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark. On AMD handhelds like the ROG Ally X or Legion Go 2, turning on ray tracing usually drops you into a sub‑30 FPS slideshow even at a soft 720p. Here, the Claw 8 EX AI+ is running at its full 1920×1200 resolution on the Ray Tracing: Low preset with XeSS Super Resolution 2.0 set to Auto, and it still averages 46.6 FPS with a minimum of 38.1 FPS.

See a clip from Cyberpunk 2077 with the above settings on the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ below:

This is where the Arc B390 GPU and its 12 dedicated Ray Tracing Units show their advantage. Instead of choking on ray‑traced shadows and lighting, the G3 Extreme architecture handles the workload with an efficiency AMD’s current mobile silicon cannot match.

Holding a stable, genuinely playable 40+ FPS at 1200p with ray tracing enabled is unheard of for any other handheld today, and it proves Intel did not just build a faster chip. They built a smarter one.

When you stack the Claw up against Valve’s Steam Machine, the hardware contrast becomes even more fascinating. Looking at the benchmark breakdown above, both devices run neck-and-neck in single-core metrics (a 2,574 for the Claw versus a 2,579 for the Steam Machine's Custom APU), but the Intel Arc G3 Extreme leaves Valve in the absolute dust on multi-threaded workloads, flexing an eye-watering multi-core score of 13,210 over the Steam Machine’s 8,680. This doesn't even account for the GPU difference, which will also favor Intel.

Unfortunately, much like the Claw, the Steam Machine (starting at $1,049) is a premium engineering marvel suffering from historically terrible macroeconomic timing—both launched directly into a brutal global supply crunch that bloated retail pricing, making a direct cost comparison a bit of an exercise in wallet masochism. It's a cosmic shame that, through no fault of their own, bad timing and bloated component markets might prevent casual players from seeing just how hard this new Intel portable silicon kicks.

Manual Mode: For the Tinkers (But You Really Don't Need It)

For the hardware purists who insist on micromanaging their silicon, MSI Center M includes a robust Manual mode that unlocks granular sliders for the chip's PL1 and PL2 power levels.

For the uninitiated, PL1 (Power Limit 1) dictates the maximum sustained wattage the processor can draw during long-term gameplay, while PL2 (Power Limit 2) establishes the absolute ceiling for short-term burst power. In Manual mode, you can crank PL1 up to 35W and push PL2 to a blistering 45W to squeeze every single drop of performance out of a heavy title—just make sure PL2 stays at least 2W higher than PL1 so Intel’s power management algorithms don't choke. Alternatively, you can drop them into the single digits to slam the brakes on power consumption for lighter indie titles.

However, a quick note for the average reader: I rarely ever touched Manual mode. I use a gaming handheld to actually play games, not to spend 30 minutes acting like an IT admin configuring power registries before launching a level. Thankfully, you don't have to. The default AI Engine setting is brilliantly "set it and forget it," handling the heavy lifting and power shifting so smoothly on the fly that it renders manual tweaking strictly optional for anyone who values their free time.

But hey, cool on Intel and MSI for making it easy to go all out and tweak the chip!

Thermals and Fan Noise

High performance doesn't mean a melted chassis. Thanks to MSI's custom Cooler Boost HyperFlow architecture (love these names, btw)—which seals internal pathways to draw cold air directly over hotspots while isolating grip boundaries—this device stays remarkably chilly.

Our FLIR thermal array capture maps external chassis heat dissipation flawlessly under extended benchmarking loops:

• Front grip surface area: 96.3°F or 35.7°C (Perfect comfort territory)
• Rear grip chassis boundary: 92°F or 33.3°C (Literally cooler than your own body temperature)
• Display base intersection hotspot: 106.5°F or 41.4°C (Warm to the touch, but completely out of micro-stuttering finger range)
• Recessed exhaust vent interior: 130°F or 54.4°C (Where the actual dragon spirit lives, safely away from your hands)

The physical thermal reading confirms your hands remain entirely cool, completely isolated from internal hotspots. While the localized zone at the very base of the display glass reads at 106.5°F, it remains warm rather than hot, safely out of reach during normal use.

Even measuring directly inside the deep-set cooling channels yields 130°F, yet the felt air volume dissipates cleanly away from you. The internal acoustic profile is equally stellar: the dual fans emit a gentle, low-frequency airflow "whoosh" instead of a whiny, high-pitched jet engine shriek.

Software, Connectivity, and the Mini-PC Hybrid Trick

MSI Center M has matured beautifully, but can still be a bit awkward, and I hope to see some improvements (I may end up adding Winhanced at some point). The software utility integrates seamlessly across massive digital clients including Steam, Xbox, Epic, and Battle.net. It's simple and basic, but the whole Windows 11/launcher/various gaming libraries thing/switching is still a bit underbaked, but making improvements.

Triggering the native full-screen Xbox mode layout overlay brings up a clean, translucent quick-access console dashboard that only handles half the panel layout, avoiding disruptive gameplay pauses. They did a great job here.

From this single overlay window, a user can instantly adjust hardware properties:

• Swap operational profiles on the fly between AI Engine, Endurance, or full user-defined Manual tuning controls.
• Purge non-essential active memory via Free Up Memory sweeps.
• Fire up high-bitrate screen recording capture or toggle ambient Mystic Light RGB analog stick arrays.

The long‑standing Windows Modern Standby curse is finally gone. As far as I can tell, putting the Claw 8 EX AI+ to sleep with the fingerprint/power button triggers a proper hibernate state, or rather, the buttons/triggers/joystick don't wake it. But when I hit that button, it stays off and standby battery drain was minimal, which is a nice change.

The fingerprint reader can be a little picky about angle, but once you get the feel for it, it’s fast and consistent.

Intel's Wi-Fi 7 R2 on here is a beast. I have a Wi-Fi 7 router (TP-Link Tri-Band BE19000), and this thing just sucked down so much data when downloading big games like Cyberpunk 2077 that it even affected my TV streaming. Good stuff.

My only gripe is that, for some reason, my Xbox games are not showing up in MSI Center M, though I can, of course, access them via the Xbox app. I chalk this up to some early bugs, and hopefully some updates will iron those out.

The Ultimate Dual-Use Mini-PC Killer

Because this is an Intel architecture design instead of AMD, you get dual full-bandwidth Thunderbolt 4 ports. This unlocks a highly lucrative dual-use scenario. Dropping the Claw 8 EX AI+ onto a single-cable desk setup completely transforms the handheld experience into a premium desktop workstation environment.

When stacked up against custom high-end discrete desktop boxes like the Geekom A9 Max AI Mini PC (which utilizes mobile AMD Ryzen AI architecture), the Claw 8 EX AI+ matches or exceeds its functional productivity output while preserving complete, uncompromised on-the-go portability. It's a phenomenally versatile desktop replacement machine.

While the A9 Max AI outpaces the Arc G3 Extreme in CPU (see above), I'm confident the reverse will be true for GPU performance and the Intel B390 (we'll try to get some actual comparisons in an update to this).

Battery Life

The massive 80Whr ultra-capacity battery module integrated inside the shell handles power delivery exceptionally well.

Testing the console under heavy loads while running on the custom Endurance Mode setting—which dynamically caps rendering properties and shifts core priority to energy-efficient architecture—and maintaining screen brightness at a very vivid 45% setting (roughly 225 nits of total display output), the platform delivered a solid 3.5 hours of continuous triple-A gameplay. Switching over to casual indie titles or retro emulation easily pushes the operational lifespan past the 5-hour mark.

Final Verdict: Should You Buy It?

Look, if your bank account can handle the entry point and you are looking for absolute top-tier, uncompromised technical performance in a highly ergonomic package, yes, absolutely buy it. Intel and MSI have created a generational performance jump that sets a brand-new benchmark for portable PC gaming. The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is friggin' awesome.

If you're a normal working Joe, then of course not; that'd be financially irresponsible.

And that's my only real regret with the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+: a vast majority of gamers won't be able to experience it. This device is THE watershed milestone our portable community has spent years waiting for—a true, uncompromised hardware revelation where you can load a visually dense, modern triple-A blockbuster and play it at 100+ FPS in the palm of your hand without a single structural sacrifice.

MSI and Intel have finally delivered the holy grail payload we've been begging for from day one. It is an absolute masterpiece of engineering brilliance, hitting the market at a time when raw component pricing is absolutely screwing it up. If you have the enthusiast means to jump on it, don't hesitate. This is the future, right now.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is the new gaming handheld that I'd use as an example of how far these devices have come since the Steam Deck launched in 2022. It's a shame, then, that MSI's new device is far too expensive to reasonably recommend to most of my PC gaming pals.

Coming in at $1,799, MSI's new handheld is indeed priced out of the hands of many gamers. It's not MSI's fault, or at least not entirely. Whether it's the AI boom making components drastically more expensive, premium build quality and features, or the new Intel Arc G3 chips, $1,799 is a far cry from the Steam Deck's original $399 baseline price.

Last week, I wrote about how a gamer could buy an Xbox Series X, a PlayStation 5, and a Nintendo Switch 2 instead of an MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ and still have $50 left over to spend.

The article kicked off a lively debate in the comments section and in our subreddit, with hundreds of replies aimed directly at me and at other commenters. Here's what the Windows Central community is saying about the rising cost of gaming handhelds.

Was Nintendo already leaving PC handhelds behind?

Nintendo fans are everywhere, and by far the broadest discussion about PC gaming handhelds revolves around a Switch-related comment from u/locked-in-place in our subreddit.

It's true that the Switch and Switch 2 have sold incredibly well. According to official Nintendo numbers, nearly 156 million Switch units have been shipped, with another 19.86 million Switch 2 units adding to the momentum.

Although Steam hasn't offered public Steam Deck sales numbers, it's believed that somewhere around 4 million units have been sold. That's a massive difference, and even if I add in other popular handhelds like the Xbox ROG Ally/Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go family, MSI Claw 8 AI+, and practically any others with a PC flavor, Nintendo is still far in the lead.

Many of the replies to the OP suggest that the Steam Deck and the overall PC handheld market were never meant to disrupt Nintendo's sales, which are themselves being disrupted by their own price hikes.

Just before the Switch 2 went up in price in Japan on May 25, sales skyrocketed. Right after? They plummeted. A comparable price hike is notably coming to the US, Canada, and Europe on September 1.

Comment from r/windowscentral

A good point is made here by u/First-Junket124, who suggests that the Steam Deck was never meant to compete with Nintendo and was instead an alternative route for PC gamers.

Another comment by u/UberShrew says what I've always thought: that the Steam Deck is an "enthusiast device to play your PC games on the go," whereas the Switch is first-party hardware that's the only way to play the latest Nintendo games.

Switch and Switch 2 are indeed intended for a different market than something like MSI's Claw 8 EX AI+. MSI sees its device as made for on-the-go PC enthusiasts who want top-tier performance and a device that can also act as a mini PC via Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. It's like comparing a four-cylinder sedan to a heavy-duty truck.

Comment from r/windowscentral

Lord_pizzabird's comment above seems oddly prescient. The Steam Deck and the PC gaming handhelds that followed it disrupted the market, but that disruption is now struggling (albeit due to circumstances out of its control).

I can see the PC gaming handheld market retreating at least until memory and storage prices return to normal. Unfortunately, no one can say for sure when that will happen.

The PC gaming handheld market isn't over ... it's just hibernating

Pulling myself out of the Nintendo weeds, there are some other comments well worth highlighting. Many of them are suggesting that the PC gaming handheld market is "over" and won't return, just as I mentioned in the original article's title.

Comment from r/windowscentral

There's an important distinction to make that doesn't fit in a title. While I do think the handheld market is frozen by the ever-increasing cost of components and the general PC sentiment that new models have to be faster and better (leading to higher costs no matter component prices), I don't think it's frozen for good.

For those who have had a chance to test the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ with Intel Arc G3 chips, you know what I'm talking about. I thought AMD's Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme hardware was good, and it is, but Intel worked some magic here.

If these Arc chips were going out in handhelds not hampered by inflated component prices, we'd be having an entirely different conversation.

Comment from r/windowscentral

A market thaw will undoubtedly happen at some point, and when it does happen, I think there will be a resurgence of interest. There are still plenty of people out there waiting for the right price and the right specs.

In the meantime, I won't be surprised if MSI's new Claw 8 EX AI+ does sell out at launch. There are still plenty of PC gamers with deep pockets who don't care about prices and just want the latest and greatest device.

The real shame is that handheld PC gaming really has no chance of going mainstream under the current market conditions, a blow that's double as hardware and design hit new heights.

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MSI revealed its new Claw 8 EX AI+ gaming handheld at Computex, and unfortunately, the price has been all that most gamers can focus on.

For good reason. A gamer can buy an Xbox Series X, a PlayStation 5, and a Nintendo Switch 2 for less money than the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+.

MSI introduced its new handheld with a $1,500 price tag, but that quickly climbed to $1,799 when it was listed on the official MSI website. It's now the same $1,799 price at Best Buy after appearing first at $1,699, and only Newegg is still showing $1,699. I expect Newegg's pricing to catch up any time now.

Here's what I'm really struggling to wrap my head around. For the same $1,799, you can buy an Xbox Series X with 1TB storage and a controller ($649.99), a PlayStation 5 Slim with 1TB storage and a controller ($649.99), and a Nintendo Switch 2 ($449.99).

The trio of modern consoles comes out to $1,750, leaving you $50 to buy a few games for whatever console you set up first. That covers three different rooms in your house (or one mega setup in your gaming room), three different gaming ecosystems, and three exclusive libraries of games.

Giving the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ the kudos it deserves

I want to be as fair as possible towards the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. I got to test it out first-hand at Computex, so I have a bit of extra insight.

What I was most impressed with was the performance. Intel's new Arc G-series chips are making their debut in the new Claw 8 EX AI+, and from what I saw, they're going to change gaming handhelds in a major way.

Intel likens these chips to a GPU with an integrated CPU. A GPU with super resolution, ray tracing, multi-frame generation, and newfound efficiency. A GPU that was keeping Hogwarts Legacy and LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight at a smooth 120 FPS while I played.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ made the current offering of gaming handhelds seem outdated, which is exactly what you want from a new device.

From a hardware standpoint, I didn't really have any qualms, either. Its 8-inch touch display with 1920x1200 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate looked great with plenty of brightness, the device was comfortable to hold, and inputs were snappy and responsive. The only odd omission on a device at this price is a lack of an OLED display.

With up to 42% better performance at 1080p compared to the ROG Xbox Ally X with AMD Z2 Extreme, MSI's CLaw 8 EX AI+ is the real deal, at least on paper.

Why is MSI's new Claw 8 EX AI+ so expensive?

I highly doubt that MSI set a $1,799 price for its new gaming handheld just so it could make a few quick bucks off of those who still have a big PC gaming budget. The original MSI Claw 8 AI+ that launched in 2025 had an $899 price tag attached, nearly half that of the new EX AI+ version arriving officially on June 23.

The massive jump in price has a small part to do with upgraded hardware and new performance chips, but it has a massive part to do with RAM and storage costs. AI data centers are eating through the world's supply of these components, and practically all tech costs more than it did just a year ago.

The trio of consoles I mentioned earlier receives generous subsidies from their parent companies in order to keep prices down, but even they have become more expensive in the fallout of the RAM shortage.

MSI doesn't have a closed loop of games it can sell to make back the money it would theoretically spend on subsidies, so consumers are getting the full force of the price increases.

Who is buying the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+?

A $1,799 gaming handheld is a hard sell anytime, never mind in our current economy. At this price point, it's competing with full gaming laptops with discrete GPUs and, as mentioned, a bundle of consoles.

Yes, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is far more portable than anything else with the same level of performance, but I don't doubt that a lot of gamers will be happy to sit at a desk and play after saving hundreds of dollars.

👉 Gaming handhelds are the new netbooks — will they suffer the same tragic fate?

The average gamer is going to have a hard time coming to terms with such a high cost for one device when you can get an Xbox Series X for the living room, a PS5 for the gaming den, and a Switch 2 for portable gaming, all for the same price.

I agree that it's great to be a PC gamer, but whether or not the new flagship mobile device from MSI is worth more than three modern consoles is something you'll have to answer for yourself.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Ever confident, MSI is pushing ahead with its Claw 8 handheld, with the perplexingly named MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, and a move to Intel's Panther Lake-based Arc G3 Extreme chip. It's a processor expected to appear at the Computex show in Taipei next month (via VideoCardz), and Australian retail links have seemingly confirmed their inclusion in a "Void Purple" model.

It sounds great in theory, especially since I tested the previous MSI Claw 8 AI+ last year and came away impressed by the phenomenal performance from its Lunar Lake-based iGPU. However, that model came with a price that I already described as "absurd", but I'll have to find a stronger synonym after seeing the ~$1,900 price tag on the Claw 8 EX AI+ (converted from $2,749 AUD).

There's also a "Launch Pack" listed at ~$2,000 ($2,849 AUD), bundled with a tempered glass screen protector, claw-grip caps, a travel case, and a keychain. Unfortunately, any eager gamers with pockets full of money in Australia will be disappointed to see that Scorptec's listings are set to "out of stock", but the price doesn't feel unrealistic when the Claw 8 AI+ still sells for $1,299.99 in the US.

MSI never implied that the Claw range was anything but high-end, premium gaming handhelds, and it's still offering 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, a 120Hz touchscreen, and an 80Whr battery on the Claw 8 EX AI+ model. It's certainly an impressive display of what you can pack into a portable PC gaming device, but I'd struggle to convince anyone that a handheld is worth over $1,000.

At this point, I'm not sure who would be legitimately excited to buy the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ when there are more viable options on the market. Valve's still-brilliant Steam Deck remains the champion, and Windows-based alternatives start with ASUS' comparable ROG Xbox Ally (that's the $599 white one) and realistically end at the also eye-wateringly expensive $999 ROG Xbox Ally X.

Perhaps it's just a display of what's possible; a spectacle of sorts. Then again, this hardly feels like the time to show off your ability to push prices to their extreme — even with Intel's Arc G3 Extreme. Give me more affordable hardware that runs games at a consistent framerate, otherwise I'm sticking with the Steam Deck and ASUS' original ROG Ally (and so should you).

Windows Central will be at Computex, so we'll keep an eye out for Intel's new handheld-centric processor and any of the OEMs that might be showing it off — including MSI — to see how it justifies such a monstrous asking price. Until then, I wouldn't hold your breath for a price change before this launches. At least, not one in the cheaper direction.

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The first showcase I attended at CES 2026 was from MSI, and it certainly set the tone for the rest of the show. Gorgeous PC gaming hardware, thin new laptops, brilliant displays, and, of course, a lot of AI.

One new product that stood out to me was the MEG X, a 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor with AI tools baked right in. The tagline for this undeniably gorgeous screen? "AI Sees First. You Win First." Right. This isn't the first AI-infused gaming monitor to show up in the past couple of years, but it is the most advanced.

As I approached this beacon of OLED on the showroom floor, an MSI representative was quick to begin explaining its capabilities. "This kind of feels like cheating," I said, to which the rep just sort of laughed and shrugged it off.

The MEG X has six total AI enhancements. Some of them are less egregious than the others, and I can see how they'd be a massive boon when it comes to accessibility. An AI Gauge warns you when your health (or any other mana or energy) bar is low. These aren't always easy to see, especially if your vision is impaired.

AI Scene automatically analyzes what type of game you're playing and switches to the optimal display profile. Not a bad idea, especially for those who aren't exactly sure how to get the best picture.

Here's where things turn a bit more nefarious. AI Vision+ effectively removes dark spots on your screen, allowing you to peek into those unlit corners. Arc Raiders players would certainly get a big boost with this feature.

AI Scope automatically zooms in when it senses a player beneath your crosshair. AI Tracker highlights in-game characters as they appear on your screen. No more hiding! And AI Goggle might be the most egregious of all with its ability to remove the effects of flashbangs. Counter-Strike 2 players just sat up to attention.

MSI says there are no limits to this AI tech; you don't have to set anything up or train it on games. It works automatically with any game.

Don't use it for competitive gaming, or whatever

About 30 minutes after I first laid eyes on the AI monitor, MSI's actual keynote presentation kicked off, and the MEG X was introduced in a tongue-in-cheek manner, like "Hey, don't use this for multiplayer or competitive gaming. WINK WINK. LOL."

Indeed, MSI's marketing slide explaining the monitor's AI capabilities has a small asterisk — *These AI features are recommended for use in single-player gameplay or practice. That should definitely remove any liability when these monitors are eventually used in some competitive tournament that's not attended in person.

See, with AI contained to the monitor's own processing abilities, there's really no way — at least for now — for these performance-enhancing tools to be detected by traditional anti-cheat measures.

Bottom line? The tech is impressive, but I hate to see this sort of pay-to-win hardware coming to market when there's not yet a solid way to keep it out of competitive play. I could certainly benefit from these tools — I'm getting old, and my reflexes and sight aren't what they used to be — but I could never justify using them when going up against real players.

Am I old and out of touch? Are AI "cheats" in monitors an inevitable step forward? Is there any way for this type of hardware to be banned from competitive play? Let me know in the comments section below!

At CES 2026, Intel showed off its next-gen Core Ultra Series 3 chips (Panther Lake) and explained that these latest AI chips will be the company's platform of choice for laptops, tablets, mini PCs, and handheld gaming PCs going forward.

Of course, Intel plans on challenging AMD's dominance in the handheld gaming space with its newer SoCs (system on a chip) integrated with Intel ARC B390, which the company says offer better performance and features than its rival's; some are referring to this competition as the handheld war.

In an interview, Nish Neelalojanan, senior director of product management client for Intel, reportedly stated that AMD is "selling ancient silicon, while we’re selling up-to-date processors specifically designed for this market" (thanks, PC World). Apparently, the company is returning to low-power E-cores that are "particularly appropriate for gaming."

In other words, we can expect Intel to have a larger and louder presence in premium handhelds this year and next.

RELATED: Here's how to understand Intel Core Ultra Series 3 models

As part of Intel's plan to steal AMD's handheld crown, Team Blue is working with several other companies to create new handhelds. After all, you can't fully challenge the market king if it doesn't have consumer products for people to choose from.

Some of those companies include Acer, MSI, Compal, Pegatron, GPD, Quanta Computer, H Foxconn, Wistron, NexPlayer, and Microsoft.

As a reminder, AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z2 chips power most mainstream handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X, Legion Go 2, and many more devices. Even the Steam Deck has a custom AMD APU (accelerated processing unit), basically an AMD SoC.

Meanwhile, the only major OEM to have Intel-powered handhelds is MSI with its Claw lineup. I've personally been able to get my hands on one of these devices, as seen in my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review, and it truly impressed me with its impressive performance.

If Intel wants to get consumer attention as the best handheld chip manufacturer, it first needs to get its SoCs into more devices. I guess that means we'll be hearing about some new handhelds in the coming months.

It seems the handheld war is ramping up between Intel and AMD this year. Are you more interested in getting an Intel or AMD-powered handheld, and why? Tell us in the comments.

Handheld gaming PCs had a fantastic year in 2025; dare I say they've almost become mainstream, which is fantastic for a relatively expensive and niche category of gaming hardware.

But when you look at the sea of handheld gaming PCs on offer, you're mostly met with a sea of black or white devices, like the Steam Deck, Legion Go 2, Xbox Ally X, Legion Go S, and even the original MSI Claw.

Thankfully, we've gotten more color added to the mix during CES 2026. This week, MSI revealed a new Glacier Blue Edition of the Claw 8 AI+.

In case you aren't already aware, MSI's Claw devices stand out from rivals since the company offers some of the only handhelds from a major OEM (like Lenovo, ASUS, etc.) that utilize Intel processors rather than the more typically used AMD Z2 Series chips.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+, specifically, features an 8-inch IPS display, Intel Core Ultra 7 258V with integrated Intel Arc 140V graphics, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD. It's unclear if the Glacier Blue Edition's specs are any different. We'll likely learn more from MSI in the coming months.

Now, I previously reviewed the original device (see my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review), and I was blown away by its fantastic performance. MSI creates some truly impressive Intel handhelds, but only if you can actually manage to get one.

Love the color, but it will be hard to get

Yes, it might be hard to get your hands on this beautiful new handheld — the reason being, MSI handhelds have historically been hard to find in stock in the US and UK, due to stock shortages.

I spent several months last year waiting for the MSI Claw 8 AI+ to become available after writing up my review. Long story short, it took several months after the device launched for it to regularly stay in stock at any local retailers in the US, and this wasn't a demand issue; there just wasn't enough supply sent to stores.

Case in point, the MSI Claw A8 AI+ (note the A in this handheld's name) was supposed to have launched in August 2025, but I've never seen it in stock. As such, I'm not expecting to see the new Glacier Blue Edition at US retailers any time soon.

On top of that, 2026 just isn't going to be a good year for gaming hardware in general, if things don't change soon. Between ongoing US-China tariffs (where most hardware is made), RAM price increases, and the GPU shortage problem, it's going to be hard to find devices at reasonable prices. Hell, it might be hard to find a lot of hardware in stock at all.

What do you think about the new Glacier Blue Edition Claw 8 AI+ handheld? Are you interested in seeing more handhelds with vibrant coloring? Tell us about it in the comments below.

When shopping for a new gaming laptop, I always recommend waiting for a big sale. This allows you to cram more performance hardware inside without overspending, making your frames faster and your wallet heavier.

Black Friday deals are in full swing this week, and I've spotted a huge discount on MSI's 16-inch Vector gaming laptop with a Ryzen 9 CPU and RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU.

Instead of the regular $1,999.99 price tag, you can now pick up this powerful gaming laptop for just $1,299 at Walmart, a savings of more than $700.

More power for less money — every PC gamer's dream come true

When buying a new gaming laptop, you always want to carefully balance the price-to-performance ratio. Spend too little, and you might end up with a laptop that can't meet the demands of your favorite games. Spend too much, and you might end up with an overkill system and an empty wallet.

This 16-inch MSI Vector A16 is perhaps the perfect PC for an upper mid-range experience. PC gaming veterans will find that the NVIDIA GPU, AMD CPU, and QHD display with 240Hz refresh rate can easily keep up with modern games, and newcomers to the PC gaming scene can get a lot more performance right from the start.

With this deal, you can essentially get an RTX 5070 Ti laptop for the same price that you'd normally spend on a system with an RTX 5060. It's hard to beat that.

Because there's one of NVIDIA's latest RTX 5000 Blackwell GPUs inside, the laptop grants full access to DLSS 4 upscaling techniques, including Multi Frame Generation. If you want to see frame rates double, triple, or quadruple with a click of a button, this is the way to go.

The 16-inch form factor's larger cooling system helps prevent any thermal throttling, and it remains far more portable than an 18-inch laptop. There's also plenty of space for ports, including dual USB4, dual USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), an SD card reader, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and HDMI 2.1.

Black Friday is generally the last big hurrah of deals before the holidays, and this $700 discount was too good not to mention. I'm not exactly sure how long it will last, but I do know that Walmart has both Amazon ($1,419.99) and Best Buy ($1,499.99) beat by a significant margin.

More Black Friday Deals 2025 — Quick Links

• The best Black Friday deals from all categories
• Mini PC deals: up to 47% off tiny PCs
• GPU deals: early price drops on NVIDIA RTX before they go up
• Microsoft Surface deals: save up to $500 on premium PCs
• Xbox accessories: best deals on gadgets for your Xbox Series X|S and PC
• Gaming laptop deals: the best laptops for the best price
• Xbox controllers: our top picks for best controller deals
• Samsung monitors: the best Samsung display deals we've found

MSI's Raider A18 HX joins a fairly exclusive club of 18-inch powerhouse gaming laptops, competing directly with the likes of the Razer Blade 18 and ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18, two laptops we also reviewed this year at Windows Central.

Equipped with up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU, MSI's Raider hits the upper limits of power available in a gaming laptop. It's not all about power, though, as MSI has included quite a few premium features to keep you happy while you game or work.

Is this the right 18-inch laptop for you? Let's find out.

MSI Raider A18 HX (2025) review

MSI's Raider A18 HX is not an affordable laptop, but that's expected for a device with so much power.

The most affordable price I found while reviewing the PC is $2,799 at B&H (after a $500 discount) for a model with an AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, and a UHD+ mini-LED display at 120Hz.

You can also find the same configuration available at Amazon for $3,399, at Newegg for $3,299, or at Walmart for $3,799.

Models with an RTX 5090 are not recommended due to price and meager performance gains over the RTX 5080. The exception is users who plan to use the Raider A18 HX for creative or AI work, in which case a 5090 might be necessary.

👉 NVIDIA's most expensive laptops are a terrible value — Here's what you should buy instead

This review was made possible thanks to a loaned review unit provided by MSI. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

Design ⭐⭐⭐⭐

As with any 18-inch gaming laptop designed to accommodate the latest and greatest mobile performance hardware, there's a decent amount of bulk involved. Models with all the best internals weigh in at about 7.94 pounds (3.6kg) with about 1.26 inches (32mm) of thickness.

A lot of the chassis is plastic, although MSI uses aluminum for some of the larger panels to add strength. The PC feels sturdy and doesn't have much bend.

The back edge has stylized red and black vent covers, with some space at the center for 2.5Gb Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, and a proprietary charging port. This positioning helps improve cable management. The plastic venting extends to the sides to cover additional exhausting.

On the left, you'll find dual USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2) and a UHS-III SD card reader. On the right are dual USB4 ports, a third USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), and a 3.5mm audio jack.

It's a decent mix of modern and legacy ports, even if it doesn't officially support Intel's branded Thunderbolt tech (as some of MSI's product notes suggest). Wireless is also as modern as can be, with Wi-Fi 7 support and Bluetooth 5.4.

The gem-cut front corners and display bezels add some distinct flair to the PC, and a customizable LED light bar along the front edge is a nice addition that users can choose to disable in more professional settings.

Above the display, there's a 1080p webcam with an IR sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition. A physical shutter adds some privacy. Overall, picture quality is just OK; if you plan to stream your games, a great standalone webcam will do a lot better.

The top-firing speakers remain unmuffled, and they get plenty loud without distorting. The downside is that there's not a whole lot of body to the audio. I do love the manual shutter on the webcam and the fingerprint reader below the keyboard; many gaming laptops ignore these features.

Getting inside the PC requires the removal of 12 screws on the vented bottom panel. Once removed, you have access to RAM, storage, and the Wi-Fi card for quick and easy upgrades/replacements after purchase.

Display ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Raider A18 HX's 18-inch display hits a 3840x2400 (UHD+) resolution, making for an ultra-crisp look whether you're gaming or working. The use of a mini-LED panel provides deeper blacks, brighter whites, and improved contrast when compared to a standard LCD screen. The difference is immediately noticeable.

Compared to OLED, mini-LED is better suited for HDR content thanks to its higher brightness. Indeed, the display here is certified for VESA DisplayHDR 1000, and I tested for 558 nits of brightness without HDR using my colorimeter.

Also tested was color accuracy, for which the Raider A18 HX scored quite well, hitting 100% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB, and 100% DCI-P3. These results are crucial for creative work.

Combine all of this with a 120Hz refresh rate (quite fast for a 4K display), and you have an impressive screen to work or play with at any time. I also appreciate the matte finish that reduces glare.

Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Running through our standard set of benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D CPU unsurprisingly falls behind Intel's flagship mobile chip for productivity tasks. AMD designed its CPUs to boost gaming performance, and that's evident as soon as you start playing.

Paired with a 3840x2400 (UHD+) display, the performance hardware doesn't have an easy job. However, I clocked a 148.7 FPS average in Cyberpunk 2077 using Multi Frame Gen 4x, high overall settings, and ray tracing lighting set to high.

In Far Cry 6 with Ultra settings and no DLSS, I got back a 100 FPS average. And in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with highest settings and DLSS enabled, I saw a 170 FPS average.

DLSS is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but that's no different in any other powerhouse gaming laptop. The fact that you can still max out the UHD+ display's 120Hz refresh rate with these demanding titles is mighty impressive.

MSI has also included the fastest M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD we've ever tested in the new Raider. Thanks to its own heat pipe connected to the full cooling system, I didn't find it overheated.

Thermals & fan noise ⭐⭐⭐

I kicked off performance testing with a full-system stress test. The Raider A18 HX showed no signs of throttling under these conditions, and you should find that working normally at the PC won't create a ton of fan noise or heat.

MSI's included control app allows for intelligent balancing of power using AI, but you can also force it into specific performance categories. The GPU is overclockable, though I'm not sure the added fan noise is worth it.

The laptop's fans are not quiet when under gaming duress. I tested about 52 decibels when pushing the system with Cyberpunk 2077. Less demanding titles don't create nearly as much ruckus, but you'll still hear fan noise practically any time you're at the PC.

Battery life ⭐⭐⭐

MSI's Raider A18 HX was not built to be an efficiency superstar. Sporting the most powerful mobile CPU and GPU combo for gaming in the world, it focuses on raw power rather than long runtimes.

A Windows battery report shows that standby lasting power is excellent (lasting a couple of days), but active power is not the same story. You should not attempt to game on this laptop without it being plugged into an AC adapter unless it's a light title and you have a bunch of the Raider's power settings turned down.

Leaving the laptop at full power and going about regular, non-gaming tasks will get you about two or three hours of life, more if you tune the system down. It's the same story for practically any gaming laptop with this much power inside.

Keyboard & touchpad ⭐⭐⭐½

A colorful keyboard isn't exactly a rare sight in the gaming laptop world, but MSI's option isn't just flashy.

It's a SteelSeries board boasting 99 keys thanks to the full number pad, each with separate and customizable RGB lighting. Key travel is deep enough that I didn't experience any discomfort when typing or gaming, and although it's not a mechanical board, it feels snappy and responsive.

I dislike the translucent keycaps on the WASD and arrow keys, but it's overall a quality keyboard.

I'm not as impressed with the mechanical touchpad. There's a lot of movement on the surface that makes some clicks feel spongy, and it seems like MSI could have used up more space on the deck for wider and taller dimensions.

The plastic pad is smooth and tracks well, and in the end, that's what matters most. You might wish it were a glass touchpad if you were using the built-in pointer full-time, but I suspect most gamers are switching to a controller or an external mouse anyway.

MSI Raider A18 HX (2025): Should you buy it?

✅ You should buy this if ...

• You want one of the most powerful gaming laptops on the market today.
• You love a gaming laptop with customizable RGB lighting.
• You want to experience the very best of what AMD and NVIDIA can deliver.

❌ You should not buy this if ...

• You require long battery life to get you from one AC outlet to the other.
• You want a laptop that's easy to carry around.
• You don't plan on tackling demanding local AI tasks or hardware-intensive games.

MSI's Raider A18 HX should be a top choice for anyone who wants the best mobile gaming CPU in the world and a choice of NVIDIA's latest laptop GPUs, including up to an RTX 5090.

Battery life isn't great, and the fans aren't exactly quiet, but these are downsides found in practically any high-performance gaming laptop.

Considering the Raider A18 HX is competitively priced against similar laptops, there's no reason not to consider it unless you particularly value audio and touchpad quality.

• Back to the top ⤴

Newegg is celebrating Black Friday big time with "Black November", a special event where the retailer will host "Doorstopper" discounts on certain items for one day, every day up until Black Friday officially starts.

One of today's "Doorstopper" discounts is for the MSI Pro, a budget-friendly gaming monitor outfitted with a refresh rate of 100Hz and 1920x1080 full-HD resolution that's now available for $69.99 at Newegg.

Why should you buy this gaming monitor?

Gaming monitors run the gamut from premium curved monitors that take up the whole desk for a cinematic viewing experience to down-to-earth monitors built with the core features for gaming without costing you thousands of dollars.

The MSI Pro (MP243XW) gaming monitor falls in the latter category. For an entry-level monitor costing $74.99 at retail, it features plenty of advanced features that help make it just as valuable as more expensive mid-range monitors.

It features a 24-inch screen capable of 1920x1080 full-HD resolutions, 100Hz refresh rates, and a response time of 1ms to ensure that your favorite Xbox and PC games are running smoothly with no hiccups to their performance or graphics.

It also comes with multiple DisplayPorts and HDMI ports, built-in speakers, a TÜV-certified display to protect the user's eyes, an adjustable stand, and an IPS grade panel to enhance the screen's clarity and color accuracy.

So, if you want an affordable monitor to play video games on, communicate with colleagues via online video calls, or simply to watch movies, you can't go wrong with the MSI Pro (MP243XW) Gaming Monitor.

The MSI Pro is available at a 15% discount at Newegg for $69.99. Do note that Newegg's discount will only be available for today and will be replaced by another discount for a different product tomorrow as part of Newegg's "Black November" event.

FAQ

If you ask me what the single most impactful upgrade I've made to my gaming setup in the last year is, you might be surprised when I don't mention a new CPU or a new GPU. It's the MSI MAG MT201D dual-monitor mount that has so conveniently changed my life at a desk.

Although I fully recommend this awesome accessory at the full $130 price, the fact that you can now get it for just $89.60 at Amazon during Prime Big Deal Days makes it a deal anyone with two screens cannot miss.

The best office gaming upgrade I've made all year is down to just $89

There's really no downside to the MSI MAG MT201D dual-monitor mount, especially now that it's enjoying a 31% discount at Amazon.

It's easily the best display mount I've ever used. Setup — which doesn't require you to drill any holes in your desk unless you really want to — didn't take long, and I was back to gaming within 45 minutes.

Thanks to 75mm and 100mm VESA compatibility, the stand will work with the vast majority of modern displays, and with support for up to dual 45-inch screens, you should find it hard to test the mount's limits.

I've been using the MSI MAG MT201D for gaming and professional work for about nine months at this point, and it hasn't yet lost any arm tension or base stability. I haven't had to make any adjustments, and my monitors remain where I place them with no sign of drooping.

Perhaps the best part is the built-in cable channel that runs down each arm. Never has my desktop looked so clean despite having multiple monitors connected to multiple PCs.

I've recommended this mount to a few friends who have followed through, and everyone has been satisfied with the purchase, even at full price. With this discount, it only gets better, but the $89.60 deal price isn't going to last long!

FAQ

Over the summer, I took a trip to London, England, to visit MSI's UK offices and see what kind of tech it was cooking up — besides the usual gaming hardware that I'm used to. As much as I'm a fan of the MPG motherboards and Ventus graphics cards that have featured in my custom desktops over the years, I'm also a giant advocate for mini PCs, something I hadn't expected from MSI.

After going hands-on with the MSI Cubi NUC AI 1UMG, a relatively standard offering in the same vein as Intel NUC mini PCs you might have seen in the past, I was more intrigued by a variant that wasn't currently available at the MSI office for me to tinker with right away. I'd touched on some light details, but later got my hands on it: the Cubi NUC AI+ 2M, previously seen at CES 2025 — with Copilot+ PC certification.

Yes, most Copilot+ PCs have existed as laptops, but there has been an ultra-tiny category of Copilot+ mini PCs like the previously reviewed Beelink SER9 that launched before Microsoft ever released local AI tools like my favorite, Click to Do, and the controversial Windows Recall. These Cubi NUC variants are firmly in the enterprise space, advertised specifically towards businesses, but I still jumped at the chance to try one now that Microsoft's local AI tools are live, and here's what I found.

It's not that a regular consumer wouldn't be able to buy the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG; on the contrary, they're listed on standard retailers like Amazon.

The real caveat to the Cubi NUC series is its target audience: these mini PCs are designed for anything from a working office sprawling with monitors to touchscreen interfaces in fast food restaurants.

Now, obviously, the Copilot+ functions of the NUC AI+ 2MG are designed for traditional workloads, but there's still an obvious focus on the enterprise market.

PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) materials are used in its construction and security-first offerings, like a fingerprint reader, surround more professional considerations like dual RJ45 Ethernet ports, which are generally more useful in offices. Finally, a built-in microphone and speaker alongside a VESA monitor mount make the business-centric appeal quite obvious.

Physically, the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG is almost indistinguishable from the AI 1UMG, its slightly more slimline sibling that lacks Copilot+ PC certification. That also explains the missing Copilot button on the AI 1UMG, but it's here on this taller variant and mirrored by a power button that now comes with a built-in fingerprint reader. Still, some tradeoffs make this Intel Lunar Lake-based mini PC 'different' rather than simply 'better' than its Meteor Lake counterpart.

Port selection is the most obvious divider between the two Cubi NUC AI mini PCs, as this AI+ 2MG Copilot+ PC comes with two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports on the front panel, surrounded by a combo audio jack and a micro SD card reader, whereas the AI 1UMG offers a forward-facing USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port instead, ditching the 3.5mm audio and card reader.

It's not a total deal breaker, as either Cubi NUC model gives you two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the rear side, but I'd still prefer at least one option on the front panel now that most of my peripherals have adopted the modern connector. Besides, this is aimed at the business sector, not at me and my collection of gaming-centric accessories. A little cable management (or a Thunderbolt docking station) could make use of the entire I/O offering.

There's a similar example of trade-offs around the rear side of the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG, as it ditches the secondary HDMI 2.1 port in favor of two USB-A 2.0 ports. You have to presume that this pairing is intended for basic peripherals like a mouse and keyboard, because anything else would be seriously stunted by the outdated 2.0 standard.

Both of the Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports support DP (DisplayPort) 2.1 output anyway, so there are other options for additional screens. Without a dedicated docking station, you could connect three separate monitors to the AI+ 2MG via one HDMI cable and two Thunderbolt-to-DP equivalents. It's a little more finicky than hooking up two standard HDMI-supported displays, but it's not a bad thing.

By far, the most surprising (and invisible) addition to the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG, at least over its AI 1UMG sibling, is the built-in speaker and microphone. Admittedly, I had forgotten about both until I heard the Windows 11 boot sound. This speaker certainly isn't designed for listening to music, that's for sure. Almost entirely devoid of low-end bass frequencies, this is more of a dialog-only offering, better suited to narrating documents or listening to virtual meetings.

So, is it any good? The Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG features the same Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor as MSI's Claw 8 AI+ gaming handheld, which I already showered with praise for its stellar performance, but I still tempered my expectations. Out of the box, the MSI Center companion app is pre-installed, housing a power meter to monitor average and total wattage over a selected time period (nice). Sadly, Norton 360 antivirus is also installed alongside a 'Dropbox promotion' (boo).

Regarding performance, the CPU in the AI+ 2MG ranks just above Acer's Swift 14 AI laptop with the same Core Ultra 7 258V processor but below the previously reviewed MSI Claw 8 AI+ gaming handheld and even further down from my current favorite Copilot+ PC, the ASUS Zenbook S 14. It isn't terrible for a mini PC running at 17W TDP, but I don't think it'll have the same appeal as some mass-produced office desktops do to retro gaming enthusiasts for their surprisingly capable components.

The memory-on-package (RAM) isn't upgradeable like the SO-DIMM RAM in the Cubi NUC AI 1UMG, but you could replace the standard M.2-2280 SSD yourself here, if you ever needed to. Again, you'll have access to Microsoft's latest Copilot features, but I doubt you'll ever be reaching for that physical Copilot button. At least teardowns are as easy as ever, totally on brand for a NUC.

It's a capable little mini PC, and a refreshing Copilot+ alternative to a laptop, but I still think AMD chips in dominant competitors like the Geekom A8 Max on my desk will stay as my top recommendation for everyday consumers. I'm a big fan of what Intel achieved with Lunar Lake chips, but there's little for your average Windows user to benefit from here — the Cubi NUC range is better for enterprise customers, which is exactly what MSI itself already says.

A new trend in PC gaming was popularized by Valve's excellent Steam Deck, a handheld option that brought console-style convenience to the masses who wanted to play titles locked to the platform, whether that's via Steam or any other storefront. I have my own, and it remains a huge part of my almost-daily gaming routine, but its Linux-based presentation is starting to be overshadowed by Windows-based alternatives.

First, the ASUS ROG Ally showed promising signs of supporting Microsoft's operating system in a package that could challenge Valve's leading handheld. It was even one-upped internally by its bigger brother, the highly praised ROG Ally X. However, the original, with its AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, stuck with me for months as a viable Steam Deck alternative. That is, at least, until I got my hands on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and fell in love with it.

MSI dared to pass on AMD's offerings as it already enjoyed total domination, its earlier chips appearing in the Steam Deck, and Ryzen Z1 variants appearing in Lenovo's 'Nintendo Switch-esque' Legion Go. Instead, the Claw would use Intel's mobile chips, starting with codenamed Meteor Lake processors in the previous generation Claw 7 A1M and refreshed with Lunar Lake versions in the Claw 8 AI+. It all sounds fantastic, but there's a glaring issue — you'll hardly ever find the thing in stock.

It's an axe I'll grind down to the handle, because it'll always frustrate me. The high-scoring MSI Claw 8 AI+ should have seen a few price-reducing deals by now, bringing it to a more realistic cost that resembles the post-$100 savings that ASUS has previously bestowed upon the ROG Ally X — but that's not the case — in fact, it's much worse than that.

Every week, I'll check on the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at Best Buy to see that its $999.99 price tag hasn't budged. Not only that, but the availability tracker sticks with an unmoving "Sold Out" message despite a handful of user reviews that suggest people have been lucky enough to bag one from this prominent retailer in the past, and they seem similarly happy with it.

Then again, if you pay over the odds, Walmart might hook you up for a Claw 8 AI+ at $1,249, but it's via a third-party seller, not the store itself. It's the same story at Amazon US; either it's stocked with an inflated price by a third-party seller, or it's completely invisible. Even a $999.99 listing at the official MSI US digital store can offer to notify you of restocks, but it can't sell you a Claw 8 AI+ today. At this point, it's a struggle to recommend it.

Now, sometimes you might see something in stock alongside the elusive Claw 8 AI+, and it might seem like my complaints are unnecessary when you see it. However, the "MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM Polar Tempest Edition" (yes, it's a mouthful) is little more than a white recolor with a higher price tag. It was supposed to launch with a 2TB variant for more game storage, but at least for now, it's just a $25 price hike to replace the unique "Sandstorm" shade of the original.

Price and availability problems keep coming back to the topic of tariffs, which has probably been the hottest topic in tech throughout 2025. We already saw the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and the Claw 7 AI+ increasing their price by $100 back in April this year, and neither has dropped back to their previous MSRP listings since. Raising the price is one thing, but if it isn't paired with any solutions for issues surrounding supply and demand, then what's the point? Even if the Claw returned to its previous price, there's no guarantee that any stock would follow.

It's mostly frustrating because I see a lot of generic, boilerplate responses from brands when inquiring about sudden component changes or reductions in their hardware categories, never wanting to point the blame directly at import/export tariffs. That, and I have to temper my expectations for modern-day gamers who are constantly mocked by gaming hardware that bloats its prices far above any intended MSRP, particularly with GPUs. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is not a budget handheld gaming PC by any stretch of the imagination.

On the other hand, the Claw 8 AI+ is the best Windows handheld I've ever used. It ran everything; I couldn't find anything in my Steam library (or GOG, Epic Games Store, etc) that it wouldn't shred. That, and it did it all without raising the fan noise, an ode to Intel's success with Lunar Lake's much-professed efficiency bump for its mobile processors.

Sure, it had its downsides, mostly related to software gripes and other issues that could be fixed with patches, but none of them detracted from my gaming enjoyment.

I could spend all day praising MSI and Intel's partnership, but again, if you can't buy the thing, then who cares? I wanted to see Lunar Lake devices thrive, and some may have, but it still feels like the Claw 8 AI+ redeemed all of its predecessors' missteps for ultimately no reason. These days, I'm more eagerly awaiting the AMD-based ROG Xbox Ally X and its (presumably) similarly premium price point — which is fine, but it's still a shame to see a competitor fall off.

A prominent brand among PC gamers, MSI has offered some of the best value graphics cards and motherboards for years. I've used its hardware more times than I count; in my custom-built desktops and those made for friends, but the brand has still expanded its scope more than I realized.

I'm aware of its budget-centric gaming laptops; they're popular during almost any sales event, such as Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday, because they offer an affordable introduction for those who otherwise don't have a substantial budget. Still, I had overlooked the manufacturer's efforts in the mini PC space until it revealed some intriguing new MSI "Cubi" models at CES 2025.

MSI invited me to its London office to hear details of exactly that: its two new AI-centric mini PCs now functional and running Windows 11, with a sample to tinker with and some insight into why the company is expanding its Cubi range with the MSI Cubi NUC A1 1UM and AI+ 2MG.

Intel introduced the concept of a NUC (Next Unit of Computing) mini PC in 2013, using its low-power "Sandy Bridge" mobile processors, and continued to iterate on the design until ASUS acquired a non-exclusive license to Intel's NUC designs. Now, there are examples of mini PCs that cater to specific needs and even venture beyond Intel chips.

Many brands have updated their naming trends, but MSI remains traditional, sticking with NUC and utilizing Intel's "Lunar Lake" Core Ultra mobile processors in its Copilot+ PC effort, the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG, and "Meteor Lake" equivalents in the Cubi NUC AI 1UMG, though both are configurable for component changes.

At a glance, the concept remains familiar: a blocky, miniature cube equipped with Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports and running Windows 11, offering the same level of versatility as any productivity-centric laptop or desktop PC, albeit in a tiny form. However, there are a few features that MSI hopes will make these mini PCs stand out from the crowd.

First up is the sustainability angle since both of the Cubi NUC models are built with PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled) materials, and, according to Gökhan Bodur, the jovial head of MSI UK marketing, the packaging will later follow suit to remove all instances of plastic bags and ties inside. It sounds like an obvious move for the enterprise sector, but I'm still celebrating every example of responsible manufacturing when I see it.

Then, the pint-size Cubi NUC AI 1UMG (0.51 L) and Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG (0.826 L) come with a cute, detachable power button that makes it much more viable to attach the mini PCs to the back of a monitor with an included VESA mount. To be fair, the Cubi NUC already has a power-link option via HDMI to wake the mini PC through a compatible MSI-branded monitor, and the dual 2.5G Ethernet ports on both models will likely offer a "Wake on LAN" alternative, like other NUCs.

Nevertheless, it's easy enough to attach the power button to the side port of the Cubi NUC, and it's the route I'd likely take if I were setting one up in the kinds of small business or education settings that MSI is targeting. The button itself has a sticky pad, so it can still be mounted out of sight without being out of reach — a useful addition that I'd like to see in more consumer mini PCs.

Finally, at least on the Cubi NUC A1 1UMG, you can connect four external monitors via the dual HDMI and Thunderbolt 4 ports. It's a big effort for a mini PC, but it has its reasons.

Of course, you could set up a typical workspace with screens dedicated to any particular app or metric tracker, but the Cubi NUCs are also targeting digital signage. In that, you could display four individual menus at a restaurant, or run a multi-screen ordering system. It's a flexible little PC, but a reminder that it's targeting enterprise markets first, not your average PC consumers.

Then again, there's nothing really stopping anyone from buying a Cubi NUC from MSI, particularly if you're craving a Copilot+ mini PC similar to the Beelink SER9, existing in a category that's already extremely slim. It won't be the cheapest thing in the world, but one ready-made $949.99 variant of the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG features the same Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip as MSI's Claw 8 AI+ handheld, a category leader in its own right.

For anyone else interested in replacing their full-size desktop with a pint-sized alternative, the previous-generation Cubi NUC A1 1UMG is priced at $749.99 at Best Buy with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD paired with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor, but configurable with the same Core Ultra 7 155H that featured in Lenovo's Slim 7i 14 (Gen 9) — one of my all-time favorite laptops. While the memory and storage are generous, it still stands in the shadow of its more capable Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG sibling, but it has its own target audience.

It'll be tempting to recommend the Copilot+ PC-certified Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG if it were ever to go on sale, particularly after I was shown MSI's rigorous testing process that ensures each mini PC should last for years. It's reassuring for a market that I'm not familiar with seeing MSI explore.

If a regular consumer were to spring for the AI+ 2MG, they'd get a built-in microphone, speakers, fingerprint reader via the on-device power button, and even a dedicated Copilot button, if they really wanted those.

Either way, I'm just happy to see more Copilot+ PC options that aren't strictly laptops. Anyone who recognizes my byline will know that I'm a big advocate for mini PCs; I'm adamant that they're a better solution than semi-permanently leaving a laptop attached to a docking station.

That, and it's satisfying seeing products make it out of CES 2025 and into full production, rather than disappearing into the ether. Still, if either of these new mini PCs deserves highlighting, it's the Cubi NUC AI+ 2MG, and I hope it'll succeed well enough to warrant some generational follow-ups from MSI.

MSI doesn't need much of an introduction to PC gamers; it's one of the most recognisable hardware brands in the industry, famous for its motherboards, graphics cards, and even full-sized gaming laptops. And not to discredit the company, but I'd still say that its more affordable products remain far more popular than its high-end options.

I've personally bought several MSI 'GAMING PLUS' and 'TOMAHAWK' motherboards alongside 'VENTUS' variants of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX GPUs. Its components aren't always perfect, but they're arguably the kings of value in the custom PC gaming scene, and most minor downsides are easily overlooked.

However, MSI's adventures in hardware aren't so well-known. Casual consumers might recognise its 'Thin' and 'Katana' laptops that pop up during retail sales events, but even some enthusiasts don't know much about its handheld gaming PC partnership with Intel — the MSI Claw — including the first, unimpressive outing in the Claw 7 or its follow-up, the Claw 7|8 AI+.

I'm an unapologetic fan of Intel's mobile processors, convinced that its efforts in the laptop category have been far more exciting to a broader audience than the productivity-centric Core Ultra 9 285K and its siblings built for desktop PCs. That goes for gamers, too, as significant advancements in Intel's Arc graphics platform and its XeSS upscaling tech keep getting better.

The 'Lunar Lake' mobile chips that I saw in preview made such an improvement over their previous-generation Meteor Lake counterparts, particularly regarding power efficiency to mostly benefit laptops, but I became more excited after hearing that MSI's Claw 7|8 AI+ would feature the very same Core Ultra Series 2 chips that impressed me in Copilot+ PC's like ASUS' Zenbook S 14.

At least, that was before I saw my colleague Rebecca Spear's review of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and had some of my hopes dashed by the horrifically low stock availability, paired with an alarmingly high $899 price tag — unrealistically "converted" to £899 in the local stores of my U.K. hometown, by the way — that had my wallet snapping firmly shut.

Sure enough, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is still out of stock in Curry's (a sort of British equivalent of Best Buy, which is similarly sold out of the Claw), and I've rarely seen that status change, so I couldn't buy it if I wanted to. Luckily, I know some cordial and generous folks at MSI's offices in London, who endeavored to loan me a sample so I could at least play the thing.

I'm a firm believer that the ASUS ROG Ally with AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip is the best Windows 11 handheld purchase you could make right now, and I still play one. Granted, it's a second-hand unit previously owned by Jez Corden, who developed a stronger obsession with Lenovo's Legion Go. That ROG Ally is also starting to desperately need a battery upgrade, but remains my top choice.

However, that hasn't stopped me from being captivated by the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and its impressive hardware. It's certainly enough to let me look past the exhausting naming convention that's mostly a byproduct of Copilot+ PC classification, earned from the 47 TOPS performance of the NPU tile in the Core Ultra 258V processor here, which technically labels it as an AI PC.

It's nice to have dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, leaving one free for peripherals when I'm charging, usually an external mouse for a few games that are better with precise aiming. They offer plenty of compatibility for some of the best docking stations, too, so I could hook the Claw up to a TV if I wanted. However, it's a combination of hall-effect joysticks (the kind that don't get stick drift) and incredible internals that sold me on this Claw.

I have a constant rotation of a few PC games that I play on handhelds almost exclusively in the late evening before bed — sometimes while I'm actually in bed. My fiancée is starting to know which game it is without ever looking at my ROG Ally screen; if the fans sound like a jet engine, then it's probably Microsoft Flight Simulator, and that's nothing to do with the in-game jet sounds.

Switching to the MSI Claw 8 AI+ for about a week made the most striking differences almost immediately apparent; this thing runs cool and quiet. Even games that appear lightweight for GPUs but pull heavier on the CPU, like our nightly sessions of world-building in the survival crafting game Valheim, saw me running it at higher resolutions with lower temperatures and for much longer.

It's all legit; everything Rebecca said in her Claw A2VM review was playing out in front of me. It runs games better than my ASUS ROG Ally, and does it with a longer-lasting battery and a more vibrant 8-inch screen. Not that I ever doubted Rebecca for a second, but I like to see these things for myself, and I was starting to feel even more disappointed that I won't be able to find a Claw 8 AI+ to buy.

Not to get carried away; there are aspects of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ that aren't great, and some that are downright terrible. The 'MSI Center M 2.0' launcher app is a mash-up of the Xbox Game Bar appended with system tweaks, but it's a messy experience that rarely works the same way each time — the quick settings button often does nothing at all, leaving me without an on-screen keyboard.

Control settings will also lose customization changes that I make, including for the rear-mounted 'M1' and 'M2' macro buttons, reverting to their default state of replicating some face (ABXY) buttons. It's disappointing when I'm expecting M2 + A to take a screenshot, but my character in Rematch just stands idle on the football pitch instead, despite having set up that shortcut the day before.

It's the kind of quirks that I might get used to and settle for, should I pay around $600-700 for a handheld gaming PC that came with Wi-Fi 7 for blisteringly fast network speeds and a whopping 80Whr battery that's only otherwise found in ASUS' beefed-up ROG Ally X — but that's not the case here. Still, I mostly forgot about my gripes with the Claw 8 AI+, and now I'm sad to see it returned to MSI.

Does any of this mean that the second-generation MSI Claw A2VM is worth $900? No, of course not. The price is absurd, and I'd have to perform a pretty spectacular trapeze act of jumping through proverbial hoops to ever convince you that it is. If Microsoft knocked $100 off the price to offset its Windows 11 license, then that might help, but I wouldn't hold your breath on that front.

This is a $900 handheld vying for a crown that's already contested by Valve's $549+ Steam Deck and ASUS' often sub-$500 ROG Ally. If the MSI Claw 8 AI+ saw a significant price drop and severe improvements to its stock availability, then it'll be the easiest gaming recommendation I'll have made in years. Until then, it's being held back from a wave of deserving praise by its nightmarish price tag.

If I ever see the MSI Claw 8 AI+ on sale with a deep enough discount to bring it down to a reasonable price, then you can bet that I'll be sharing it with our readers — if only because I'll be ordering one for myself. It's bulky and a little heavy, but I'm spending longer evenings on Windows-based handhelds than ever, and this Claw has me wanting more.

Having first debuted at Computex earlier this year, information on the availability of the MSI Claw A8 handheld gaming PC has been lacking. At least, for anywhere outside of China.

Now, however, as spotted by VideoCardz, the Claw A8 has appeared for pre-order at some European retailers. And there's no other way to put it, this thing is expensive.

Of course, without any official word from MSI, there's always a chance this could be a placeholder. But given the price of the Intel-powered Claw already on the market, it feels like it's accurate.

The reports suggest prices approaching €1,000 ($1,175), which is in the same ballpark the Intel-powered Claw 8 AI+ was listed at when it first hit the market. But it's just too much, even if it is a ridiculously powerful handheld.

The Claw 8 AI+ has since settled at a lower, but still high price of $899/£899, so it's not too far-fetched to expect this to be the mark the AMD version eventually hits.

I agree with the words of our pals over at Techradar — it's overpriced. By all accounts, the big difference here is the use of the AMD Z2 Extreme versus an Intel chip.

There's no denying how good the existing Claw 8 AI+ is, that's not a debate. But it's a $900 handheld in a world where you can buy the cheapest Steam Deck for less than half that. Both Claws are more powerful and better equipped, but when you're talking hundreds of dollars, it's already a hard sell.

MSI also continues to do a pretty awful job of marketing these things. You could have forgiven them with the original Claw since it wasn't that great, but the new ones are exceptional, even if they're expensive. And yet there's minimal information provided, even to press.

We've managed to spend time with the MSI Claw 8 AI+, but truthfully, it was one of the harder review samples we've had to try and get hold of. I just don't really get what MSI's end game is with these things right now.

Lest we also forget that ASUS and Microsoft has the Xbox ROG Ally X coming along by the end of the year, too, with similar hardware. The Xbox Ally X rumored price of €899 is below these pre-order prices for the Claw A8, so at the very least, you feel MSI would need to match that.

Then, for U.S. customers, I guess there's the eternally looming tariffs situation which could interfere at any given moment. Either way, if you want one of these, you'll have to dig deep.

I thought my office setup was complete ... until I met the MSI MAG MT201D dual-monitor mount.

Not only is it the single best accessory I've ever purchased to complement my desktop work and gaming space, but it's also not going to break the bank even at full price.

While I can easily recommend the MAG MT201D at the usual $130 MSRP, the fact that it's down to $84.99 at Amazon for Prime Day — by far the lowest price in its history — makes it the single accessory that I'm urging all of my dual-screen friends to consider if you have a Prime membership.

• Shop all of the deals at Amazon Prime Day

Why do I love MSI's dual-monitor mount so much?

Sometimes you upgrade your desktop setup and wonder how you ever managed without the additional hardware. In my case, this occurred with MSI's MAG MT201D dual-monitor mount.

For far too long, I dealt with built-in monitor stands with poor ergonomics and zero space-saving attributes. Now that both of my main monitors — including a 34-inch ultrawide and a 27-inch 4K screen — are attached to MSI's stand, I can never go back.

In my MSI MAG MT201D review, I said:

"When I began my search for the ultimate monitor mount, I was hesitant to spend the $100-$130 on the MSI MAG MT201D. I'm glad I took a chance and didn't spend less on an inferior product. I'm here to firmly recommend the MAG MT201D for anyone using two oversized monitors and who has the space to let the mount's arm operate properly. With a three-year warranty and a quality build, I'm certainly satisfied with my purchase, and I'm confident you will be, too."

Thanks to the smart design, I can freely move my screens around depending on how I'm working or gaming. Need to edit some photos in 4K? No problem; I just pull one monitor forward and square it up with my seat.

Need to multitask or game on the ultrawide? It gets set up at the perfect height so that my neck isn't taking damage while I sit.

The MAG MT201D supports both 75x75mm and 100x100mm VESA mounts, which cover the vast majority of modern monitors. And because it can attach with a C-clamp or with drilled anchors, you can decide whether or not you put holes in your desk.

I chose to use the C-clamp, and so far it has had no problems with stability. It's as secure as when I installed it. I've also not noticed any sag on the tensioning for the arms; everything stays where I put it.

Another perk that I sorely needed is cable management. The MAG MT201D's arms all have channels in which you can run your cables to your monitors. My desk has never been less cluttered.

The monitor mount supports two displays, each at up to 44.09 pounds and measuring 45 inches. That should cover just about everyone, save those with super ultrawide screens.

MSI throws in a three-year warranty to protect your purchase, but after 6 months of flawless daily use, I don't expect I'll need to use it.

You can pick up the MSI MAG MT201D for just $84.99 at Amazon or Newegg. This Prime Day deal marks it down to the lowest price it's ever been.

Check out this great monitor deal to go with the new mount

The MSI MAG MT201D dual-monitor mount is the single best accessory I've purchased in recent memory, and it's something that I recommend to anyone who wants to make a huge upgrade for about $100.

I've been using it for about six months at this point and have yet to experience any issues; I firmly stand by my five-star review and Windows Central Editor's Choice award.

This monitor mount launched at a $150 price tag but soon dropped to $130, and with the current discount running at Newegg and Amazon, you can currently pick it up for just $99.99.

Why is the MSI MAG MT201D such a great monitor mount?

The monitor mount market has hundreds of options, many of which pull you in with an affordable promise of quality. Unfortunately, there are many lemons just waiting to fall apart once you've attached your monitors.

Imagine my surprise when I spent a little extra money and received a high-quality dual-display mount that has so far caused me no issues after about six months of use. No tension loss in the springs, no drooping displays, and no change in the smooth swing of the arms.

In my MSI MAG MT201D review, I remarked:

"As someone who doesn't need RGB lighting or a particularly stylish mount — I'm here for functionality and ease of use — the MSI MAG MT201D is the ideal accessory for my desk. Now that it's set up and working to improve my workflow (and gameflow, if such a thing exists), I don't know how I managed without it."

Indeed, the MAG MT201D has transformed the way I work and game for the better. My desk is no longer crowded with two monitor stands. And because the MSI mount has sleek built-in channels for cabling, everything remains tidy behind my desk.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is the ergonomic change. I always find that built-in monitor stands aren't high enough to get a straightforward view, and there's not enough space on my desk for two risers.

The MAG MT201D solves that issue, allowing me to easily adjust the height of my displays no matter how I'm sitting. My neck has never felt better.

MSI is often associated with PC gaming, but the MAG MT201D is designed to suit professional and casual environments with its slick design and black finish.

A C-clamp fixes the stand tightly to a desk — you'll need to be sure that your desk is thick enough to support the weight of two monitors — and each arm supports a standard 75mm or 100mm VESA connection. The MAG MT201D supports up to dual monitors at 45 inches.

One drawback I noted in my review has to do with there being cheaper alternatives out there. As I mentioned, I'm completely satisfied with spending a bit more now that I know it's such a high-quality product. MSI backs up your purchase with a three-year warranty.

The only other drawback I mentioned involves a lack of RGB lighting. I'm fine without it, but MSI also has a MAG MT201DR with built-in lighting for PC gamers. It costs about $190 at Amazon.

For everyone else, I can confidently recommend the non-RGB MAG MT201D, especially now that it's once again down to the lowest price ever at $99.99.

Memorial Day deals are live, and Walmart is where you want to shop if you're looking for a new NVIDIA RTX 4060 gaming laptop at the best price possible.

MSI's Thin 15.6 is the PC I'm talking about, and it's back down to a similar price to what I saw during Amazon's Gaming Week.

Instead of $999.99, you pay $705.99 for the PC with a 144Hz refresh rate, RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, and Intel Core i5 CPU.

Get into PC gaming for a lot less money

NVIDIA's RTX 4060 Laptop GPU is now at the top of Steam's hardware survey list for 2025, making it the most popular card for PC gamers.

Why is it so popular? It's all about price and performance. While the RTX 4060 Laptop GPU isn't going to quite match its desktop counterpart, it still has the power to make your games look good.

It can handle demanding AAA titles as long as you don't mind tweaking in-game settings, and it absolutely excels at esports and more casual titles, including Fortnite, Minecraft, Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and many more.

The 15.6-inch display has a 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate, a perfect match for the GPU.

The RTX 4060 is paired with an Intel Core i5-13420H CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM (which can be upgraded after purchase), and a 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD (also upgradeable).

This is a great gaming laptop for anyone who's just getting into the world of PC gaming or who wants to upgrade an older PC on the cheap.

As reported by GamesRadar, during Computex 2025, MSI revealed its latest Windows gaming handheld: the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM. But, unlike the previous entries in the Claw line, this upcoming device will be the first to not have an Intel APU (accelerated processing unit).

Instead, it will feature a next-gen AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, the follow-up to the AMD Z1 line seen in ASUS ROG Ally, Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, and other gaming handhelds.

Aside from the processor, the Claw A8 BZ2EM is comparable to the MSI Claw 8 AI+ in many ways. They both feature 8-inch displays that support up to a 120Hz refresh rate and 1920 x 1200 resolution while offering up to 24GB LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1TB M.2 SSD.

Most visually striking, is the fact that the Claw A8 BZ2EM will be available in either a white or what appears to be a lime green. This vibrant color, alone, helps it to stand out amid the sea of mostly black or white portable PC gaming systems.

Unfortunately, we don't yet know when this handheld will release, nor do we know how much it will cost. However, it will likely have a similar MSRP to the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which currently sells for $999.99 at Best Buy (although it originally had a $899.99 price point).

As seen in my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review, I was really impressed by the performance of this Intel-toting device. It's easily the best premium choice for any gamer that wants to see the highest FPS (frames per second) possible on a handheld. It's just been really hard to get ahold of.

Another upcoming Z2 Extreme handheld

Handheld enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to the release of Z2 Extreme portable gaming devices, which are expected to largely improve performance over the Z1 Extreme.

The Z2 Extreme is expected in upcoming ASUS ROG Ally 2 and Lenovo Legion Go 2. Now, the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM joins their number. However, the Z2 Extreme hasn't released yet and it doesn't have an official release date either.

As of right now, the only chip available from the AMD Ryzen Z2 line is the Z2 Go, found exclusively in Lenovo Legion Go S.

But, as you can see in my colleague Zachary Boddy's Lenovo Legion Go S review, this Z2 Go chip is rather unimpressive, only providing similar performance to the now outdated (although beloved) Steam Deck.

Thankfully, the Z2 Extreme is supposed to be a far more powerful offering compared to the Z2 Go and should also be better than the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V found in the MSI Claw 8 AI+.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V offers eight cores, eight threads with eight graphics cores, a 4.8GHz max clock speed, 12MB cache, and a TDP range of 15W to 35 W. Meanwhile, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme features eight cores, 18 threads with 16 graphics cores, a 5 GHz max clock speed, 24MB cache, and a TDP range of 17W to 37W.

We'll have to conduct our own testing when the chip launches to see exactly how well it performs, but based on its specs, it should offer better playing experience than the Intel Core Ultra.

Handheld gaming is about to get even better

I personally am very excited to get my hands on Z2 Extreme handhelds like the MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM. Over the course of the last couple of years, MSI has greatly improved its handheld presence and is currently the only company to have both an Intel and an AMD configuration in its handheld line.

While I'm looking forward to the power that Z2 Extreme will likely provide, I also hope that other companies producing handhelds take a cue from MSI and start producing handhelds with more interesting color schemes.

This week, MSI revealed a special Polar Tempest Edition of its powerful MSI Claw 8 AI+ PC gaming handheld, but that's not the only MSI handheld news — a new (non-AI) Claw 7 A2HM has seemingly leaked (thanks VideoCardz).

I personally wrote an MSI Claw 8 AI+ review and can attest to its amazing Intel Core Ultra gaming performance that outdoes the AMD Z1 Extreme-toting ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go.

From what I can glean from the official specs page, the main differences are that this edition has a white and black color scheme instead of the usual Sandstorm coloring, and it also has a larger 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD.

I love this white and black design more than the Sandstorm option, but the problem is, the normal MSI Claw 8 AI+ is already hard enough to get a hold of. As such, it's probably going to be insanely hard to get your hands on the Polar Tempest Edition.

As hard as finding a polar bear in a snow storm

Little is known about the leaked Claw 7 A2HM spotted by @94G8LA on X (formerly Twitter). But the "7" in the title and lack of "AI" tell us that, if it is real, it will have a 7-inch screen and won't use an AI processor.

As such, this could mean this rumored device is more powerful than the original Claw A1M, but less powerful than the Claw 7 AI+.

Meanwhile, MSI hasn't listed a price for the Claw 8 AI+ Polar Tempest Edition, but it's easy to say that it will cost more than $1,000 if it ever gets to the US.

Due to the current tariff situation, I've specifically been keeping an eye gaming handheld prices in the US to see if they go up from their initial MSRP.

Unfortunately, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of the devices that has seen a $100 increase. It started at $899.99 MSRP, but is now up to a staggering $999.99 at Best Buy.

As such, the Polar Tempest MSI Claw 8 AI+ with a higher 2TB SSD, will definitely cost more than $999.99 if it ever finds its way to the US. At the time of writing, the MSI website doesn't list any US retailers for the Polar Tempest Edition.

But the pricing isn't going to be the thing that keeps the MSI Claw 8 AI+ Polar Tempest Edition out of people's hands. No, it's going to be availability issues.

Even though I'm quick to sing the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s praises when it comes to performance, the gaming handheld's launch was messy.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ officially launched in the US on January 15, 2025, but many US retailers only received limited units, while others didn't receive any. Some stores still have the handheld marked as "Coming Soon."

So, really, only a lucky few have been able to get their hands on the base Sandstorm device. It will likely be even harder to get hold of the special Polar Tempest Edition.

Still, I wish good luck to those who try.

Amazon Gaming Week kicked off on Monday, April 28, and I've been keeping a close watch on gaming laptop sales.

While I've dug up quite a few great Gaming Week RTX laptop sales, the best deal spotted so far isn't actually available at Amazon.

Walmart is home to the MSI Thin 15.6 for just $699, down from the regular $1,000. This is the most affordable RTX 4060 gaming laptop I've seen this week, but it's only available for a limited time.

Why is this the best gaming laptop deal of Gaming Week?

Since Monday, when Gaming Week kicked off, I've been keeping a close watch on the best gaming laptop deals.

From the very start, it's been Walmart — not Amazon — that has what I consider to be the best price on a gaming laptop that's actually worth buying.

The MSI Thin 15 that I'm highlighting here has an NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, an Intel Core i5-13420H CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

Memory and storage can both be upgraded after purchase, but as-is, this is a laptop that will handle any games out there at 1080p.

👉 Forget Amazon — I found 10 hot gaming deals from other retailers during Gaming Week

The 15.6-inch display with a 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution is a perfect pairing for this hardware, and the 144Hz refresh rate provides plenty of space for high frame rates.

Best part? It's down to just $699 at Walmart. That's $301 off the regular $1,000 price.

The only other laptop that comes close to the MSI Thin 15's discount price is the Acer Nitro V (ANV15-51) on sale at Amazon. It's down to $699.99, but it comes with an NVIDIA RTX 4050 Laptop GPU that's not nearly as powerful.

Walmart+ memberships are 50% off right now

The MSI Thin 15 deal at Walmart is available to all shoppers, but I want to call out another deal on the go.

Walmart+ memberships are currently 50% off for returning and expired members, knocking the yearly price down to $49.

Members get access to perks like free delivery and shipping, early access to exclusive deals, gas discounts, Paramount+ streaming, and much more.

I knew I wanted to write our MSI Claw 8 AI+ review as soon as this new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 Windows gaming handheld was revealed.

I've previously reviewed the ASUS ROG Ally, ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go, and several other Windows 11 gaming handhelds. As such, I wanted to see how the MSI Claw 8 AI+ matches up to these rival devices.

Now, if you're familiar with gaming handhelds, then you know that the original MSI Claw A1M, which was released in March 2024, didn't really match up to its competition.

It was the only mainstream handheld powered by Intel's Core Ultra Series 1 AI CPUs (central processing units), but it failed to keep pace with the performance of AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme devices like the Legion Go and ROG Ally.

With all this in mind, I took to using the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ as my main gaming device for two weeks. I also ran it through several benchmark tests to see how it compares to ROG Ally and Legion Go.

It's a much-improved device over the original, but is that enough to make it worth buying? And what's with the delayed launch? Let's dive in and discuss.

This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by MSI. The company had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Pricing and specifications

• The MSI Claw 8 AI+ launches at $899.99 with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and an 8-inch display.
• MSI is also releasing a 7-inch display $799.99 model (could be $829.99 in U.S.) that offers a lower 512GB SSD.
• These devices are more expensive than other handhelds on the market.
• Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Windows 11 gaming handhelds are expensive, and that's especially true of the new MSI Claw AI handhelds.

MSI actually announced two Intel Core Ultra Series 2 gaming handhelds for this year.

First, there's the larger black and sandy-brown "Sandstorm" MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM, which has an MSRP of $899.99 at Best Buy. Then, there's the smaller all-black MSI Claw 7 AI+, which originally had an MSRP of $799.99 at Amazon.

However, it seems the smaller MSI Claw 7 AI+ has been affected by recent tariffs, with some U.S. retailers increasing the price. For example, it's now $829.99 at Best Buy.

I haven't noticed a price increase for the MSI Claw 8 AI+ yet, but it is very likely that the cost of this handheld could go up in the U.S. due to tariffs.

These newer MSI handhelds are notably more expensive than the original Intel Core Ultra Series 1 MSI Claw A1M, which has a starting price of $649.99 at Best Buy.

Outside of MSI devices, the most similar handheld to the Claw 8 AI+ is arguably the ASUS ROG Ally. It costs $100 less and offers a 7-inch display, AMD Z1 Extreme, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 80Whr battery, and sells for $799.99 at Best Buy.

That said, part of the reason why the Claw 8 AI+ is so expensive is that it is one of the only Windows handhelds that uses Intel AI processors with AI-boosted NPUs (Neural Processing Units) rather than AMD's handheld-centric Z-Series chips.

Additionally, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ has some really nice next-gen handheld specs compared to other lower-configured rivals, which is part of what makes it more costly. Additionally, Intel chips also tend to cost more than AMD chips.

• MORE AI INFO: NPU guide | TOPS guide | Copilot+ PC guide

Because it has this Intel AI chip, this handheld is technically an AI PC, unlike ROG Ally and Legion Go. MSI even goes as far as to label it a Copilot+ PC, although it doesn't have a dedicated Copilot button to meet this classification.

The biggest problem with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at the time of writing is availability. It still isn't actually available for purchase yet at many major retailers, even though it was supposed to hit the market already.

I have no idea when this handheld will actually be widely available for purchase, but a Best Buy listing (and listings at other retailers) has been up for a few months now with no changes.

When I asked MSI about Claw 8 AI+ availability, I was told that the handheld is expected to get restocked sometime in April.

You can check out our MSI Claw 8 AI+ restock alert page for more info.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Design and build quality

• The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is a major improvement over the original Claw A1M.
• It's well-balanced and offers ergonomic grips, but the indentations on the back feel unpleasant on my fingertips.
• Design rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

While this device's "Sandstorm" coloring stands out from the usual sea of white and black handhelds, the design can be pretty divisive.

Some of the Windows Central team loves the color scheme and see it as an 80s futuristic throwback, while others don't particularly like the look. You'll just have to decide for yourself.

Design-wise, the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers some nice improvements over the original MSI Claw A1M. For one thing, the back buttons have been flattened, preventing them from getting in the way of the grips as much.

Overall, the handheld has a balanced and ergonomic design, but I don't like the hard plastic indentations on the back, which feel unpleasant on my fingertips compared to the flatter, less-textured back casings of Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and Legion Go devices.

Connectivity-wise, the new Claw now offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which means you can actually charge the handheld up with one port and have an accessory connected to the other at the same time.

To further add to this device's conveniences, it offers the latest Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, as well as a microSD card slot for quickly expanding storage.

Despite my aversion to the Claw's back texture, the handheld is well-balanced, provides good grips, and offers plenty of helpful connections for accessories.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Display quality

• The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has an 8-inch IPS touchscreen with VRR and 120Hz.
• This screen size is larger than ROG Ally but smaller than Legion Go.
• Colors, contrast, details, and motion clarity aren't top-tier, but they're good for an IPS gaming handheld.
• Display rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

While the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s 8-inch IPS touchscreen isn't the best handheld screen out there, it's large, responsive, and offers crisp details, a good color gamut, and a pleasant overall viewing experience.

After playing games on it for a few hours, I connected a colorimeter and ran a color gamut test. The touchscreen produced 99% of sRGB, 76% of AdobeRGB, and 77% of P3, making it just slightly better than the respectable results produced by the ROG Ally X IPS display (see our ROG Ally X review for more details).

Obviously, these results aren't nearly as good as what you'll get on a handheld with an OLED display (see our Legion Go S review for an example), but having an IPS screen rather than OLED saves on the device's overall cost.

• RELATED: IPS LCD vs OLED vs QD-OLED vs QLED vs AMOLED vs Mini LED

The device supports VRR (variable refresh rate) at up to 120Hz. Motion clarity in games is decent on the Claw 8 AI+ display but not always perfect; that's pretty typical with VRR-supporting handhelds.

I'll talk more about gaming and performance in the next section. For now, let's continue talking about the display.

I also conducted a brightness and contrast test while the colorimeter was in use.

This revealed that the display's max brightness is 469 nits, which is decent but doesn't get as bright as ROG Ally X's max brightness of 536 nits. However, contrast is slightly better on MSI's handheld than ASUS' handheld.

In the end, the Claw 8 AI+'s display is more than good enough for handheld gaming, with great details, good coloring, and a responsive touchscreen. It would just be nicer if it got a bit brighter, though.

How does the MSI Claw screen compare to ROG Ally X and Legion Go?

I arranged my 8.8-inch display Legion Go, 8-inch display MSI Claw 8 AI+, and 7-inch display ROG Ally X on my table by screen size to conduct a visual comparison between the three.

Aside from size differences, each of these handheld screens offers tradeoffs.

The Legion Go produces the very best color gamut of the three, as evidenced by its much higher AdobeRGB and P3 results.

However, I found that the glass used on the smaller ROG Ally X didn't tend to reflect as much as the MSI Claw and Legion Go glass, which makes it easier to see contrast and dark details in person on ASUS's handheld where dark areas on the other devices tend to look more gray.

Overall, the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s display is not top-tier, but it's plenty good for handheld gaming.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Performance and thermals

• MSI Claw 8 AI+ and its Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor provide much better performance than AMD Z1 Extreme handhelds like ROG Ally and Legion Go.
• The MSI Claw was able to more than double the average frame rate that the ROG Ally earned in the same game benchmarks.
• Performance rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Over the past two years, I've toted the AMD Z1 Extreme ROG Ally as the best Windows handheld performance-wise and motion-clarity-wise. But now, my testing has helped me see that the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers a significantly smoother playing experience than it.

To test the Claw 8 AI+, I spent over 12 hours playing several CPU and/or GPU-straining video games, including Baldur's Gate 3, Ashes of the Singularity, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Cyberpunk 2077, and more.

Overall, it played much more smoothly than ROG Ally and Legion Go, with less pop-in and significantly higher frame rates.

To further drive this point home, I've also included the graph above comparing the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark results of the Claw 8 AI+, Legion Go, Ally X, and Ally when these devices are at max TDP and running the same graphic preset settings.

During testing, I also put the Claw handheld at its max 30W TDP and ran it through various benchmark tests. The Claw 8 AI+ provided a fantastic playing experience overall.

• Ashes of the Singularity — 66 FPS (Normal preset, 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, V-sync enabled)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider — 76 FPS (Lowest preset, 1080p resolution, V-sync enabled)
• Cyberpunk 2077 — 59 FPS (Low preset, 1080p resolution, 120Hz, V-sync disabled, Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.3 set to "Auto," frame generation disabled)

As you can see in the benchmark results, the Claw tended to produce around 60 FPS or even higher when playing these more straining titles, which is significantly better than what you get on ROG Ally and Legion Go.

Fantastic performance to rival a laptop

Since the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is basically a laptop but with controllers attached instead of a keyboard, I ran the device through the same gauntlet of benchmark testing as I would a laptop.

Starting with CPU analysis, the handheld produced a multi-core score of 10,446 and a single-core score of 2,718 in Geekbench 6. While not the most impressive results for an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, these scores were very similar to other devices with the same processor.

It's worth noting that ASUS ROG Ally X, ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go all got higher Geekbench 6 multi-core scores than Claw 8 AI+, but the Claw 8 AI+ got the highest single-core score of them all.

I also ran Cinbench R24 to check CPU rendering abilities. In this test, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ only got a single-core score of 120 and a multi-core score of 483, which is a bit lower than we'd like to see for this processor.

For perspective, the ROG Ally X and its AMD Z1 Extreme currently hold the highest Cinebench handheld multi-core score of 724, but it also has a lower 100 single-core score than the Claw 8 AI+.

Since the Claw 8 AI+'s Intel Core Ultra 7 258V is an AI-boosted processor with an integrated NPU (neural processing unit), I also ran some additional AI PC testing on it.

In Procyon's Windows ML Float 32 CPU test, the handheld got a pretty low score of 60. However, the device faired better in Procyon's Intel OpenVINO float 16 NPU test, earning a score of 837.

My previous video game benchmark testing showed that this device offers better game performance than other handhelds. The fact that the Claw doesn't match up with other AI PC devices isn't a huge problem, given that this has a very different end-goal design from other AI PCs we've tested.

I then moved to 3DMark to test the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s integrated Intel Arc 140V GPU (graphics processing unit).

Here, the handheld got a score of 3,882, which is the lowest Intel Arc 140V score we've seen in Time Spy so far. That said, this was a higher score than the ROG Ally X's 3,506 score and Legion Go's 3,247 score.

I also ran 3DMark's integrated graphics test, Night Raid, and here, the handheld got a good score of 28,499, but it is lower than this processor's 34,451 average.

With those results in, I used CrystalDiskMark to analyze SSD performance. The Claw's SSD produced a read speed of 6,068 MB/s and a write speed of 5,324 MB/s, which is better than the Legion Go's 5,016 MB/s read speed and 1,620 MB/s write speed, and the ROG Ally's 4,337 MB/s read speed and 1,812 MB/s write speed.

What this tells us is that the Claw is faster than other handhelds at the important gaming tasks of accessing, loading, and saving data.

To top everything off, I ran CrossMark to gauge the MSI Claw 8 AI+'s overall system performance. It earned a score of 1,665, which is higher than Legion Go's 1,588 score and ROG Ally's 1,508 score.

TL;DR — While it didn't always get the highest scores in every benchmark, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and its Intel processors dominated overall when compared against ROG Ally and Legion Go. In other words, it is an excellent handheld AI-boosted computer that provides smoother gaming performance than its rivals.

Thermals and fan noise

This handheld doesn't get very loud when playing games or running certain programs. In fact, when I had my decibel meter right next to the vents the sound level only ever peaked at 52.9 dB during a CPU stress test.

You're not likely to sit with your head against the handheld, so I also took a reading with the decibel meter next to my ear while I held the Claw at a normal distance from me. The sound level peaked at 38.0 dB, which isn't loud at all.

Nearing the end of the 20-minute CPU stress test, I pulled out my thermal camera and took pictures of the Claw 8 AI+.

Unsurprisingly, the hottest areas of the handheld are the main vents, which peaked at 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). The second-hottest area is the bottom center of the screen, which peaked at 99 degrees F (~37 degrees C).

The back center of the Claw did reach a peak of 98 degrees F (~36 degrees C), but the areas that you actually grip and hold don't ever get overly warm to the touch.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Battery experience

• It has the same-sized 80Whr battery capacity as the ROG Ally X.
• When playing intensive games, it gets about 2 of battery life.
• Battery rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Gaming handhelds all have one major weakness, and that is battery life.

As it stands, the longest-lasting Windows handhelds only tend to run for about two hours when at max TDP and playing intensive games — this device doesn't break any new ground in this area.

As with the ROG Ally X's 80Whr battery, the MSI Claw's 80Whr battery only lasted two hours and 10 minutes when playing Cyberpunk 2077 with max TDP and the screen at roughly 200 nits brightness.

There were also times during my testing when the handheld only lasted about an hour and 47 minutes, depending on the games I was playing.

Honestly, unless you only play quick gaming rounds, you'll likely want to use the Claw 8 AI+ while plugged into a charger or connected to a TV docking station if you want longer play sessions.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Software experience

• It comes with Windows 11 and the MSI Center M software.
• Windows can be divisive on handhelds, but it can also give a lot of freedom.
• MSI Center M doesn't have as many customization options as some other handheld software.
• Software rating: ⭐⭐⭐½

Since this is a Windows 11 device, it works like a laptop that has connected controllers instead of a keyboard. You can access the internet, run games, and open programs that are accessible on a normal computer.

This, of course, means you can open other game launchers, including Steam, Ubisoft Connect, Xbox app, Epic Games, Battle.net, and more.

The Claw 8 AI+ comes with MSI Center M installed, a software that functions as a game launcher, gives access to customer service, and provides settings adjustments, among other things.

Like its Claw A1M predecessor, the Claw 8 AI+ doesn't have as many setting customization options as competitors like ASUS ROG Ally. For instance, there is no way to adjust VRAM on this handheld, which will be frustrating to people who want to tailor the system.

However, going into the manual mode does let you change TDP between 8W, 17W, and 30W. Additionally, fan speed can be set to auto or can be manually adjusted via sliders.

Since this is an AI PC, I can put the handheld in AI Engine mode, which automatically adjusts settings based on my usage of the device. This AI Engine mode works well and is especially useful for people who don't want to personally fiddle with settings.

One of the other main functions MSI Center M provides is RGB lighting adjustment.

The Mystic Light tab lets me choose between five effects and provides a color picker. I can create up to three profiles or presets to swap between.

I like how vibrant the colors look around the joysticks, but I also appreciate that MSI Center M lets me turn the RGB lights off completely when I don't want colorful lighting aimed at my face.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Controls and other hardware

• The MSI Claw 8 AI+ buttons and joysticks offer great responsiveness.
• This handheld also offers a really good mic and Hi-Res speakers.
• Other hardware rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Compared to the original Claw A1M, the Claw 8 AI+'s D-Pad, buttons, triggers, and Hall Effect joysticks all seem similar, if not the same. The only big difference I can see is that the joystick tips have more texture on them for better grip control.

As I mentioned earlier, the back buttons have been flattened compared to the original device, but they click in nicely and are responsive like everything else.

As with some competitors, this handheld's power button doubles as a fingerprint reader. It doesn't always work on the first attempt, but it can make the login process a lot more convenient.

Since there is no built-in camera on this handheld, the device cannot take advantage of Windows Hello facial login.

I'm happy to report that the two 2W speakers with Hi-Res support and the built-in mic are much better than is necessary for a handheld.

There was a stretch where I was playing Baldur's Gate 3 co-op with friends, and my headset stopped working for some reason. Thanks to the mic, I was still able to effectively communicate with my teammates for several minutes until I got my headset sorted.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Alternative handhelds

I've mentioned ROG Ally X and Legion Go so often in this review that my recommending them as MSI Claw 8 AI+ alternatives should come as no surprise.

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Score card

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MSI Claw 8 AI+ review: Final thoughts

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want a handheld with longer battery life

Of the gaming handhelds on the market today, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ does have one of the largest battery capacities that can last up to 2 hours and 10 minutes when playing intensive games at max TDP. It would be better if it could last longer, but this is peak for where Windows handheld tech is at right now.

✅ You want a handheld that offers great gaming performance

As far as gaming handhelds go, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ offers some of the very best performance we've seen so far. It's not as good as the best gaming laptops or desktops, but it can usually reach around 60 FPS or higher in more demanding games. Plus, VRR support and a 120Hz refresh rate work together to provide good motion clarity.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You want the best value handheld for your money

As it currently stands, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is one of the most expensive gaming handhelds out there. You can find other alternatives that don't cost as much but still provide good game performance.

❌ You'd prefer a handheld that offers more setting customizations

There are other gaming handhelds on the market that provide more setting customizations, such as the ability to adjust VRAM. If you care to have a more tailored playing experience, then the MSI Claw 8 AI+ might not be a good fit for you.

It's rather pricey, but if you're willing to pay for it, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ provides the very best gaming performance available on handheld right now.

Of course, it would be better if this device offered more customization controls, but the automatic AI mode keeps the system running effectively without you needing to manually change things.

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A monitor arm mount like the MSI MAG MT201D isn't a particularly exciting or revolutionary accessory. But if you were to ask me, now that it's installed and working in my office, which piece of hardware makes the most difference in my workflow, I'd have an easy answer.

The MAG MT201D ranks alongside a standing desk as the best investment I've made as someone who spends countless hours in an office every week.

Not only does the dual-monitor mount promote proper ergonomics, but it also makes using two monitors a relative breeze.

I can position the screen(s) directly in front of me at eye level no matter if I'm standing or sitting, and the previous limitations on desktop space no longer apply. The MAG MT201D has helped me create the ultimate office setup for work and gaming.

Is it the right accessory for you? Here's what I love about the MAG MT201D, as well as a few quirks that might make you reconsider.

I purchased the MSI MAG MT201D dual-monitor arm for use in my office. MSI had no input on the contents of this review, nor did it see the review before publishing.

MSI MAG MT201D: Pricing and specifications

• MSI's MAG MT201D has a $129.99 MSRP.
• The best price I spotted for MSI's MAG MT201D dual monitor mount is $99.99 at B&H and at Amazon.
• Newegg's $99.99 listing is backordered at the time of writing.

There are many monitor arms and mounts available, with a wide range of prices and features to consider. Finding the right one for your desk can be a challenge.

A quick search on, say, Amazon, reveals single- and dual-monitor arm mounts typically starting at around $30.

However, the quality at this price leaves something to be desired, and the cheaper options also don't offer the same support for large and ultrawide screens.

Enter the MSI MAG MT201D. It's a dual-monitor arm mount that launched with a $130 MSRP, now cut down to about $100 at Amazon.

I also spotted the MAG MT201D at Newegg for the same $100 price, though it's back-ordered at the time of writing.

Even at the full $130 price, I'd argue that the MSI MAG MT201D is worth a buy. It's the sturdiest, most versatile, and easiest to assemble monitor mount I've ever used, complete with a three-year warranty to protect your purchase.

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MSI MAG MT201D: The Good

• Support for monitors up to 45 inches covers a majority of popular office and gaming displays.
• Dedicated channels along each arm make cable management a breeze.
• The stand can be attached with a C-clamp or by drilling holes in your desk; both options provide ample stability.

I've used monitor arms and mounts in the past, but after I made the switch to an ultrawide display, I went back to using regular stands.

Part of my problem was a lack of support for wide screens with the mount I previously used. The MAG MT201D solves that issue, with support for up to dual 45-inch screens weighing 44 pounds each.

In my case, I've attached a 34-inch BenQ Mobiuz EX3415R ultrawide and a 27-inch Dell UltraSharp U2723QE to the arms, leaving plenty of space for easy reconfiguration as I work.

Were I to have a third or fourth display, swapping out the monitors would be relatively easy thanks to the quick-release VESA mount. After attaching the plate to the monitor via the built-in screws, it slides onto the arm and is attached with a large thumb screw.

In fact, the entire MAG MT201D setup is straightforward and has clear instructions. I had everything together — including the monitors attached — within 45 minutes.

I went with the semi-permanent C-clamp fastener option, mainly to see how firmly the mount attaches to a desk. You also have the option to drill holes in your desk for a more permanent setup, though it doesn't seem necessary.

Even with the C-clamp hand tightened using the included Allen wrench, I don't see any risk of the mount coming loose. Shaking the base results in no movement whatsoever, and I can move the screens around on their arms with confidence.

I love that the base of the mount hardly takes up any space on my desk, despite its sturdiness.

Moving up from the base, each monitor arm is made up of two parts. The lower sections of the arms are fairly simple pieces of what feels like magnesium, strong but not too heavy.

The upper halves of the monitor arms are a lot more complex. Each piece has a built-in spring that allows for easy height changes. You can adjust the tension with an Allen wrench on each arm based on how much your monitor weighs.

This allows you to dial in the perfect resistance for each monitor, ultimately preventing drooping over time. With the right tension, monitors are easy to move and remain in place.

The head of each arm has a separate piece that attaches directly to the VESA mount, allowing for pivot, swivel, tilt, and rotation adjustments. The hardware makes it extremely easy to position the monitors any which way.

I've been primarily using the ultrawide in an off-center position, with the smaller 27-inch monitor in a portrait mode next to it. When I need to edit photos, I pull the 4K screen down to landscape mode, taking advantage of the extra pixels and better color reproduction.

The setup also works well for gaming. I can sit back comfortably in my chair, pull the ultrawide gaming monitor in front of me, and put my feet up on the uncrowded desk.

While I still have some work to do regarding cable management — I need to attach a power bar to the bottom of my desk to better suit the cable length needed when the desk is raised — the MAG MT201D provides everything I need.

Both portions of each arm have slideaway covers that make it easy to run cables inside. This significantly reduces clutter, and the only cables visible are those directly next to the mount stand before they hit the channels.

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MSI MAG MT201D: The Bad

• The MAG MT201D mount requires a sturdy desk for secure mounting.
• Those with limited space behind a desk might find the arms don't have enough room to operate properly.
• Want RGB? The sibling MPG MT201DR has customizable lighting and a more stylized design.

One thing that quickly became apparent when using the MAG MT201D is that the arms need space behind your desk to operate properly. I pulled my desk out from the wall by about a foot.

While MSI's instructions clearly state that you should not position any monitors out beyond the back of the desk, past the mount, the arms can safely operate beyond the limit.

In fact, it's almost a necessity for the scissor-like arms; otherwise, the screens would be too close to your face for comfort. If you're short on space in your office — with no room to spare behind your desk — you might want to check out a less feature-laden mount.

You also want to be sure that your desktop can support the mount properly. MSI recommends having a desktop that's between at least 0.39 inches (10mm) and 1.37 inches (35mm). Although it's not stated, I'd also recommend the desktop be solid wood for maximum safety.

Those are about the only quirks I've discovered so far, and they're relatively minor.

Digging deeper, those who want RGB lighting on their monitor stand should avoid the MAG MT201D. The flat black finish looks great, but if you want something flashier with similar quality and functionality, the $160 MSI MPG MT201DR adds stylized arm coverings complete with customizable RGB lighting.

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MSI MAG MT201D: Also consider

MSI MAG MT201D: Final thoughts

You should buy this if ...

✅ You have two monitors on your desk

This arm mount isn't worth the cost if you don't use two monitors on your desk.

✅ Your monitors are oversized

The MAG MT201D can hold two monitors, each up to 45 inches in size and each weighing 44 pounds.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ Your desk isn't equipped to handle the weight

The MAG MT201D requires a desktop to be at least 10mm thick to support the mount, whether you use the C-clamp or drill permanent holes. I recommend not tempting fate with anything thinner, and I suggest using it with as thick a desk as possible (up to 35mm)

❌ You want to spend as little as possible

There are plenty of monitor mounts that don't cost as much as the MAG MT201D. However, you likely won't get the same quality and features; MSI's mount is priced competitively.

As someone who doesn't need RGB lighting or a particularly stylish mount — I'm here for functionality and ease of use — the MSI MAG MT201D is the ideal accessory for my desk.

Now that it's set up and working to improve my workflow (and gameflow, if such a thing exists), I don't know how I managed without it.

Gone is the crowded desktop with two monitor stands. Gone is the mess of cables exiting the back of each monitor. And gone is the pain in the back of my neck from having to make ergonomic concessions.

When I began my search for the ultimate monitor mount, I was hesitant to spend the $100-$130 on the MSI MAG MT201D. I'm glad I took a chance and didn't spend less on an inferior product.

I'm here to firmly recommend the MAG MT201D for anyone using two oversized monitors and who has the space to let the mount's arm operate properly.

With a three-year warranty and a quality build, I'm certainly satisfied with my purchase, and I'm confident you will be, too.

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For this MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ review, I've been using the mini PC as my work computer for the last week. I've also run the compact computer through the usual gauntlet of benchmark tests to see how it compares to similarly configured devices on the market. While it isn't a stand-out mini PC, the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ is a solid computer. Here's where it excels and where it could do better.

This review was made possible thanks to a review sample provided by MSI. The company had no input nor saw the contents of this review prior to publication.

MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Pricing and specifications

• The MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ is a rather costly mini PC, given the configuration options.
• It's difficult to find the exact configuration that I reviewed, but there are a few different options to choose from.
• Value rating: ⭐⭐⭐

The exact MSI mini PC configuration I reviewed features an Intel Core i7-1365U vPro CPU (central processing unit) with an Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU (graphics processing unit), 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It's also covered by a 24-month (2-year) warranty. According to MSI, this mini PC has an MSRP of $1,279 but isn't currently available on the market. That said, there are other configurations available starting from $667, including barebones options.

At the time of writing, there are very few listings for the Cubi NUC 13MQ. The closest configuration I found to the one I reviewed features the same CPU, GPU, and SSD but had 32GB RAM instead of 16GB. However, this configuration sells for a whopping $1,229.00 at B&H, which is extremely costly for what's inside this device.

This is one of the biggest problems with the mini PC, it's too expensive. You can easily find less expensive alternatives on the market.

MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ — What's in the box?

In addition to the mini PC, the box included the power adapter, power cable, VESA mount, and an external power button. Unlike many other mini PCs I've reviewed, no HDMI cables were included with the Cubi NUC 13MQ. As such, you will need to supply one yourself in order to connect this device to your monitor or TV.

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MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Design and build quality

• The black casing is simple and professional-looking.
• A good range of ports make it easy to connect accessories.
• Design rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

There are a number of mini PCs on the market that try to grab your attention with flashy RGB lighting or a futuristic design. Those have their place for people who want them, but it can also make them look awkward in professional settings. Meanwhile, the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ fits into both casual and business settings thanks to its simple black casing.

Desk-space-wise, it only takes up as much room as a bagel, and it easily fits underneath your monitor. Alternatively, the included VESA mount makes it simple to connect the mini PC to the back of a compatible monitor or under a desk for a more clean look.

MSI includes an external power button on the end of a cable, which plugs into the side of the mini PC. The button even has adhesive on the underside, so you can stick it somewhere that it won't move. That way, you can easily turn it on and off regardless of where it is mounted instead of fumbling for the power button on the mini PC itself.

As far as accessories go, there are plenty of ports to accommodate displays, headphones, keyboards, a computer mouse, and more. In total, there are 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 2x HDMI ports, 1x microSD card reader, 2x LAN ports, 1x headphone jack, and 1x external power switch slot. What's more, the Cubi NUC 13MQ can support up to four displays, so you can have a decent workstation.

Component access and upgradability

To open the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ, you simply unscrew the four screws within the rubber feet on the bottom of the device. From here, pull off the metal shield, and you'll be able to view the inside. Users can upgrade two SO-DIMM, two M.2 SSDs (2280 & 2242), and one 2.5" HDD/SSD.

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MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Performance and thermals

• The Cubi NUC 13MQ scored lower than expected in certain benchmarks.
• A high-pitched whine is heard from the mini PC at all times.
• Performance rating: ⭐⭐⭐

I had to be very patient during my time with the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ since it frequently took longer than expected to complete certain tasks. For instance, there was a decent amount of waiting between clicking on Photoshop and the program actually showing up. Then, while working with Adobe's editing software, I frequently had to wait while the program performed edits at a slower rate than I was accustomed to. That said, the mini PC never crashed or was unable to complete an action I gave it.

As I always do, I started testing the mini PC's performance by opening Geekbench 6 and running a CPU test. The Intel Core i7-1365U got a single-core score of 2,298 and a multi-core score of 8,217. These scores are where we'd expected this processor to be. I also opened Cinebench and had the mini PC do a CPU rendering stress test. It earned a single-core score of 100 and a multi-core score of 426, which is very low.

After checking out the CPU, I turned my attention to the GPU by running 3DMark Time Spy. The mini PC got a score of 1,669, which is good for the Intel Iris Xe Graphics. However, I also ran the integrated graphics benchmark, Night Raid, to which the mini PC got a great score of 15,940.

To analyze the SSD, I ran CrystalDiskMark's sequential read and write test. The Cubi NUC 13MQ earned a 6,387 MB/s read speed, and a 5,653 MB/s write speed, which felt higher than I expected, given how often I had to wait for the mini PC to respond to certain commands. As another way to test the SSD, CPU, and GPU, I also had the mini PC transcode a 4K version of Tears of Steel in Handbrake. The Cubi NUC 13MQ took 4,725 seconds (1 hour and 18 minutes), which is a lot longer than several other mini PCs I've tested lately. It's really not a good result.

Finally, to round everything off, I opened CrossMark to check the overall system performance. At 1,518, the Cubi NUC 13MQ scored lower than desired but still within a reasonable range.

Thermals and noise

After running a CPU stress test in Cinebench for 20 minutes, I pulled out my thermal camera and took readings of the Cubi NUC MQ13. The top back of this mini PC peaked at 95.4 degrees F (35.2 degrees C) while the back vent area peaked at 128.7 degrees F (53.7 degrees C), which isn't too warm.

While the CPU stress test was still running, I pulled out a decibel meter and took measurements. Much like other mini PCs, this one doesn't have a fan, but air passing through the vents still makes noise. The Cubi NUC 13MQ registered at a peak of 49.8dB, which isn't very loud. However, a constant high-pitched whine that comes on as soon as the device gets powered on does make it hard for me to concentrate at times.

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MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Alternatives

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MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Score card

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MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ: Final thoughts

You should buy this if ...

✅You are limited on space and want a small computer

Only taking up the desk space of a bagel, the MSI Cubi NUC 13MQ doesn't clutter up your work area. You can even use the included VESA mount to attach it behind your monitor.

✅You want to be able to mount your mini PC somewhere out of sight but still have an accessible power button

This MSI mini PC's included external power button makes it easy to turn the device on and off, even if it's mounted somewhere out of sight.

You should not buy this if ...

❌You specifically want a fast device that can handle gaming and graphically intensive programs

This mini PC does not have the power necessary to handle demanding games or software.

❌You would rather buy a less expensive mini PC

There are plenty of less expensive mini PCs on the market that offer solid performance.

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Whether you're looking to upgrade your current gaming PC or want to pick up components for a new one, Black Friday is one of the best times to buy things like expensive high-end graphics cards since you can get them for discounted prices. The newly released and graphically stunning STALKER 2 has many gamers hunting for good deals on parts right now, and if you're in the market for a new GPU, this STALKER 2-themed one from MSI might be right up your alley.

The STALKER 2 edition of MSI's NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G GAMING SLIM card is $819.99 on the MSI Store for Black Friday — a cool $30 off the GPU's normal $849.99 MSRP. That alone is a nice little deal on a limited edition card like this one, but MSI has sweetened it even further by throwing in a copy of the $79.99 STALKER 2 Deluxe Edition and a preorder of the upcoming $69.99 Xbox and PC exclusive Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for free. That's $150 of value you're getting on top of a discount for a unique variant of one of NVIDIA's best GPUs, which is awesome.

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This is the graphics card I use, and it rules

MSI actually sent me a sample unit of this STALKER 2 RTX 4070 Ti SUPER earlier this month ahead of the game's recent November 20 launch, and ever since I replaced my RTX 3070 with it, I've been very impressed with the massive performance improvements it's brought to my PC gaming experience. It's perfect for gaming at 1440p or ultrawide resolutions with extremely high triple-digit framerates and settings — ideal for my 34-inch ultrawide setup — but also has plenty of headroom to overcome the challenge of 4K gaming, too. It's often neck and neck with AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XT in terms of raw performance, but while Team Red's offering is generally a bit less expensive, Team Green's is far superior for ray tracing and also has better-looking upscaling and frame generation tech in DLSS 3.

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is positioned as a replacement for the now-discontinued RTX 4070 Ti, offering horsepower that falls between that GPU's and the original RTX 4080's for the same $799.99 MSRP. Most partner-produced versions are between that price and the $900 mark; at $849.99, this one is priced in the middle of the spectrum, though this deal brings it down to $819.99.

Aside from its top-tier performance, you're also getting the unique STALKER-themed design of the card itself you can view above with this RTX 4070 Ti SUPER. Featuring an olive drab color scheme with black and yellow accents, a radiation symbol, and STALKER 2 markings on one of the fan casings and the backplate, the GPU does a great job of evoking the overall style and imagery of GSC Game World's popular FPS series.

And hey, speaking of STALKER 2, let's not forget the fact you'll get a free copy of the $79.99 Deluxe Edition of it when you purchase this RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, along with a preorder for the upcoming $69.99 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle scheduled to release on December 9, 2024. STALKER 2 has reviewed very well (I gave it a 4/5 in my own review, with many of my criticisms now having been addressed in a new patch) and sold over 1 million copies in just a few days, while Indiana Jones looks to be one of 2024's greatest action/adventure titles. Both Xbox and PC exclusives are some of the biggest games of the year overall, and while you can play them both on Xbox Game Pass, there's a lot of value in owning games permanently and not having to stay subscribed to a service to access them.

At the end of the day, you're getting a fairly priced RTX 4070 Ti SUPER with a unique design and two free games with a combined value of $150 for just $819.99 on the MSI Store, which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me. I know this isn't the biggest graphics card deal you can find this Black Friday, but it's still a great one, and I think many will agree that it's definitely the coolest.

Sometimes, gamers want a dedicated gaming laptop so they can continue playing their favorite PC games while traveling rather than waiting until they get home to play on their PC rigs. One such laptop is the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop by MSI, a powerful piece of tech capable of playing high-end PC games at high graphical settings.

This PC typically has an MSRP of $699.00, but the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop is currently on sale for $599.00, courtesy of this 15% discount deal from Walmart.

• Shop all of Amazon's October Prime Day deals

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Why should you buy the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop?

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of gaming laptops out there with all kinds of specs and features that cater to certain needs depending on the audience. Some folks want a simple and cheap laptop to write work documents on, while others want expensive, technological powerhouses capable of running the most graphically demanding PC games with ultra-high visual fidelity.

MSI's Thin Gaming Laptop (model: B13UC-1000US) falls somewhat into the latter category while having elements of the former. This PC contains many tech specs that will help it run some of the best PC games like Elden Ring, Diablo 4, and Cyberpunk 2077 at high graphical settings and run productivity apps to help users complete homework, office work, video editing, and other computer-based activities efficiently. 

For starters, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop has an Intel Core i5-13420H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card that will allow it to run a wide variety of PC games at high HD 1080p resolutions and 60FPS framerates. To complement this, the laptop has a 15.6" Full-HD display with a refresh rate of 144Hz, so it can help maintain framerate and keep visuals smooth while playing games or even watching videos.

In addition, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop has 16GB DDR4 RAM and a 512GB SSD to help it improve the speed of load times while booting up apps or when a game is loading. To top it off, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop is easy to carry due to its light weight of 4.1 lbs, and it can connect to the internet wirelessly with fast and reliable connections thanks to its built-in Wi-Fi 6 tech.

That being said, there are some bugbears you must be aware of before you decide to purchase this laptop. After all, ALL gaming laptops have their downsides, and this one is pretty typical, where being thin is prioritized. Its battery life is a tad shorter than most other gaming laptops (10 hours, to be exact, for regular use), so you will need to charge it frequently. Finally, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop can get hot under heavy CPU/GPU stress, like prolonged bouts of gaming, reducing its performance and making it warm to use until it has cooled down (or you have cooler weather or a laptop cooler handy). However, these are all trade-offs for being a thin and light gaming laptop. 

If you can look past these faults, you will have a great time with the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop. While it may not have the most powerful graphics cards and processors in the world, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop has plenty of power to run PC games with crisp visuals and smooth framerates without costing you thousands of dollars, as the best gaming laptops with the latest cutting-edge tech tend to do.

In fact, the MSI Thin Gaming Laptop's MSRP of $699.00 has gotten even cheaper now thanks to Walmart's Anti-Prime Day deal, which has reduced it to $599.00. With this deal, you can spend $100 and purchase a new PC game to test your new gaming laptop.

More Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals

We at Windows Central are scouring the internet for the best Prime Day deals and anti-Prime Day deals, but there are plenty more discounts going on now. Here's where to find more savings:

• Xbox controller deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Xbox SSD storage deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming headset deals: Walmart | Dell | Target | Best Buy | Amazon 
• MicroSD storage deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming handheld deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Laptop deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Copilot+ AI laptop deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Monitor deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Mini PC deals: Walmart | Target | Best Buy | Amazon | Newegg 
• Gaming keyboard deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell | Newegg 
• Gaming mice deals: Walmart | Best Buy | Amazon | Dell | Newegg

What you need to know

• MSI is teasing a new graphics card themed after STALKER 2. 
• There's no date, but the teaser indicates that more details are coming soon.
• After multiple delays, many due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is slated to arrive on Nov. 20, 2024 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass.

It looks there's a new special edition GPU on the way. 

MSI Gaming is teasing a team-up with STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, with a new video showing a line of products including a new graphics card. You can take a look at the teaser video below:

It's not clear exactly when the fruits of this collaboration will arrive, but MSI's video notes that more details are coming soon.

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STALKER 2 is finally launching soon

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been through a number of delays, with particularly turbulent development.

That's been primarily due to the circumstances the developers at GSC Game World are in, with Russia invading Ukraine, causing widespread condemnation, including from across parts of the gaming industry. The nature of how this war has affected the studio and its workers is the subject of an upcoming documentary, which will be hosted on the official Xbox YouTube channel on Oct. 3, 2024.

Facing down this pressure, the developers have finally closed in on completion, and STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is currently slated to launch on Nov. 20, 2024 across Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. It'll also be included in Xbox Game Pass at launch.

What you need to know

• ASUS and MSI have both released motherboard BIOS updates aiming to fix Intel's 13th and 14th Gen microcode issues. Expect to see other motherboard manufacturers roll out updates soon.
• Intel's problems started in 2022, and only recently was the problem acknowledge by the company; a fix was stated to begin rolling out mid-August.
• The microcode issues affecting "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh" desktop CPUs (including any that pull 65W or more power) can lead to crashes and degradation.
• The BIOS update won't fix CPUs already damaged, but it will hopefully prevent issues with so-far untouched chips.

Intel isn't having a good summer, but a bit of light just appeared on the horizon with ASUS and MSI announcing motherboard BIOS updates to fix 13th and 14th Gen microcode issues.

Spotted first by Videocardz, ASUS ROG Forum member SAFEDISK announced that the company has prepared Beta BIOS updates for its Intel Z790 motherboards. These include ROG Maximus, Strix, ProArt, and AYW boards. The microcode 129 update is expected to fix Intel's instability issues, and there are download links available for individual boards.

MSI wasn't far behind ASUS with its own motherboard BIOS update announcement. In an official press release, MSI revealed that the first round of 0x129 microcode updates is headed to these boards:

• MEG Z790 GODLIKE MAX
• MEG Z790 ACE MAX
• MPG Z790 CARBON MAX WIFI II
• MPG Z790 CARBON WIFI
• MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI
• Z790MPOWER

MSI also says that the BIOS for all of its Intel 700 and 600 boards will be updated "by the end of August." The updates appear to be pushed through official channels, and you can find the updates on MSI's hardware support page.

Unfortunately, the BIOS update won't fix any Intel CPUs that have already degraded due to the issue. It's a preventative measure going forward, and anyone with an Intel CPU that they expect has taken damage is urged to reach out to Intel customer support. 

Intel announced last week that it's extending 13th and 14th Gen CPU warranties by two years to help gain back favor with its users. 

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Intel's downward trajectory

The company's downward trajectory arguably began in 2022 when some adopters of the 13th Gen "Raptor Lake" desktop processors reported frequent crashes and BSODs. Intel investigated the issue for months, only recently announcing that it had discovered the root cause. A microcode bug, which resulted in the chips pulling more voltage than healthy, was causing the instability and degradation.

With the announcement came more bad news, as it was revealed that any 13th and 14th Gen chips pulling 65W or more power could be affected. And despite Intel announcing a fix for its microcode — now rolling out to ASUS and MSI boards with other makers expected to make their own announcements soon — it's also now known that damaged chips won't see any improvement with the fix. If your CPU is already experiencing the related issues, there's no going back. This sparked a class action lawsuit investigation by the Abington Cole + Ellery firm.

The bad news for the company continues to pile up beyond the CPU instability. On August 1, Intel announced 15,000 layoffs in an effort to save $10 billion through 2025. Here's what Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger had to say on the matter:

"Our revenues have not grown as expected—and we've yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI. Our costs are too high, and our margins are too low. We need bolder actions to address both—particularly given our financial results and outlook for the second half of 2024, which is tougher than previously expected."

On August 2, just a day after the announcement, the company's stock price had fallen by about 32%, erasing billions of dollars of value.

In more recent news, Intel is now facing a lawsuit from its shareholders. The suit claims that Intel obfuscated issues directly impacting the company's market value.

Meanwhile, AMD just launched its first two Ryzen 9000 desktop CPUs to a warm reception. Windows Central Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Ryzen 7 9700X, calling it the "new mid-range champion" as we await the arrival of Ryzen 9 9900X and 9950X chips next week. 

AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X is a downright awesome CPU that scored a full five stars in our review, but to get the most out of it, you'll want to pair it with a capable motherboard.

While the latest 800-series boards are readily available, the older 600-series boards remain relevant, especially if you want to spend a bit less money.

Gigabyte's X870E AORUS Elite WiFi7 is my top recommendation thanks to its strong performance and feature set, but I've been sure to include more hardware to suit different users and budgets.

Choosing the best motherboard for your new Ryzen 7 9700X CPU

AMD's latest Zen 5 desktop processors from the Ryzen 9000 series were unveiled in June 2024. Despite a short delay due to a misbranding issue, they launched in August. The lineup includes the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with 8 cores, 16 threads, a 5.5GHz boost clock, and a 65W TDP.

At the time of the CPU launch, motherboards with the X870/E chipset hadn't yet hit the market. That's now changed, and the new boards bring some notable improvements.

USB4 connectivity is now standard, PCIe 5.0 is available for x16 and M.2 storage slots, and there's better support for overclocked DDR5 RAM speeds. You don't absolutely need the latest X870 chipset for the Ryzen 7 9700X, but you can set yourself up for easier future upgrades compared to the older models.

With all this in mind, my top motherboard recommendation is Gigabyte's X870E AORUS Elite WiFi7. It comes in at around $315 but is often on sale for a lot less. It's easy to use, it can provide stable power for your CPU, and it'll look great in your PC.

MSI's MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi is another top choice that costs about $280, and it boosts overclocked DDR5 RAM speed support and adds a 5GbE LAN port. If you'd like something slightly more affordable, the ASUS TUF Gaming X870-PLUS WiFi7 is a great pick at about $267.

The X670E-PLUS Wi-Fi is also tempting at about $300. In our ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WiFi review, former Windows Central Senior Editor Rich Edmonds remarked, "For the average Joe, this is one excellent mid-range AM5 motherboard from ASUS."

The ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E HERO is more expensive than its predecessor with a $650 price tag, but it has the new chipset features with the same outstanding performance for those who want to push their PC to the limits.

And if you'd like to spend as little as possible on a capable motherboard for your Ryzen 7 9700X, I recommend having a glance at the ASUS Prime B650-PLUS WiFi that's usually available for about $160.

Does my motherboard need a BIOS update for Ryzen 9000?

Upgrading your PC or building a new system with processors fresh out of the foundry can come with some extra steps. The biggest hurdle is often updating the motherboard's BIOS to support the new processors.

While board manufacturers are usually keen on shipping hardware with the latest BIOS updates, you never know how long the board you buy has been sitting around in a warehouse with an older revision.

If the motherboard you buy has been collecting dust for the last few months, you can almost guarantee that it won't have the right BIOS for Ryzen 9000 chips.

While just a few years ago, it was common to require an older CPU installed in the board to update the BIOS, the prevalence of BIOS flashback — which allows you to update without having a CPU in the socket — has made the process much easier. All the motherboards I've recommended here for the Ryzen 7 9700X have some BIOS flashback feature.

Instead of requiring a CPU in the socket, BIOS flashing only requires a separate USB drive with the BIOS. You download the BIOS from the manufacturer support page, plug the drive into the motherboard, hit the flash button on the board, and let it update. It will receive the right BIOS for Ryzen 9000 chips, and you can go ahead and install the CPU without issue.

Is AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X good for gaming?

Considering even the Ryzen 7 5800X from a couple of generations past remains an excellent option for gaming (and beyond), the Ryzen 7 9700X should prove to be an extremely popular chip to pair with a quality graphics card from AMD or NVIDIA.

Windows Central Senior Editor Ben Wilson reviewed the Ryzen 7 9700X, remarking:

"AMD is delivering a multi-punch knockout with the Ryzen 7 9700X, as it drops the MSRP from its previous-generation 7700X and even returns to the 65W power draw of its 5700X. It comes with caveats, and the generational multi-core improvements are barely worth mentioning. However, its single-core performance is a thing to behold, ranking above most of Intel's comparable chips at 125W. Plus, it matches AMD's own gaming CPU champion, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, while remaining cheaper and more power efficient — it's the new mid-range champion."

The news cycle at CES 2024 is overwhelming, and right now I feel like I'm drowning in laptops. But among the wall-to-wall hardware announcements, our pals at Tom's Hardware have checked out a new monitor from MSI that grabbed my attention. 

But for all the wrong reasons. 

As a gaming monitor, it seems pretty good. It's big, and beautiful, with a QD-OLED panel and screams high-end. But that's not the talking point. That falls on our old friend AI, and in this case, you could argue that AI tech is being used to cheat at League of Legends. 

Or, at the very least, give an unfair advantage to anyone using it versus someone who isn't. It's not necessarily cheating by definition, but it's a little shady and I don't think I agree with it. 

AI is coming for our video games

The monitor uses AI apparently to examine the in-game mini-map and then work out where enemies are coming from, before giving you an on-screen prompt showing you the direction to concentrate on. Or, I guess, the direction to run away from. 

So it isn't technically cheating, but it certainly sounds like an unfair advantage. If it wasn't adding something the game doesn't already do, then would it even be worth doing at all? Admittedly, I don't play League of Legends, but getting a prompt from your gaming monitor on enemy locations feels a little shady to me. It'll also be completely undetectable since nothing is happening on the PC. 

MSI will also be releasing a tool that allows you to train your own AI models on your own games, to recognize health bars, enemies and any other number of on-screen features. The tech is cool as hell, but this is up there with using a mouse and keyboard on your Xbox in unsupported games as a questionable ethical decision. 

The fact the AI is only making use of information already on the display means it isn't an actual cheat, but it's absolutely unfair in a competitive setting. These kinds of games can be toxic enough at the best of times without players having additional visual clues to destroy you faster. 

This won't help AI make a better name for itself

I'm supportive of AI, I use it every day with tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. But for all the good it can do, I'm very aware of the other side of the argument and the ways that AI builds a less positive reputation for itself. 

This just feels like yet another one of those situations. MSI's intentions may well be good, but I'm struggling to see how this is supposed to get positive reception from the masses. Training an AI tool to make you better at a game than someone without access to it feels wrong. 

While not on the same level as someone using wall hacks to show opponent locations, it's close enough in my opinion to be frowned upon. You'll never know if someone you're playing against has AI help like this, and while it may only be one (presumably expensive) monitor right now, that's all it takes to set a precedent. 

What you need to know

• MSI is a consumer electronics brand known for its gaming laptops and computers.
• Today, the tech company posted a video on its various social media accounts that shows off obscured or zoomed-in images of a new device. 
• This post also implies that MSI will officially be revealing the new product during CES 2024.
• While not explicitly stated, it seems pretty clear from the posted video and comments that MSI's new device is a gaming handheld. 
• CES 2024 runs from Jan 9 through Jan 12 this year. 

Today on Instagram and X, gaming laptop manufacturer, MSI (Micro-Star International), posted a teaser trailer that shows quick, close-up flashes of a new device, largely cloaked in a dark setting, so we cannot see full details very clearly. The video is accompanied by the words, "A whole new breed of MSI dragon is coming. Get a grip and stay tuned. #MSIxCES2024 #RGB #Gaming."  

While not explicitly stated, it is pretty clear from various shots in the video that the consumer electronics brand is teasing the reveal of an MSI gaming handheld during CES. We don't have very long to wait for this official news since CES 2024 is just around the corner and runs from Jan. 9 through Jan. 12 in the usual location — Las Vegas, Nevada.

What we do know is that the MSI Dragon logo used for its MSI Dragon gaming laptop line is on the device somewhere and RGB lighting glows around the joysticks like with the ROG Ally and Legion Go gaming handhelds. Additionally, the device's coloring seems to be red and black. However, it is possible there could be multiple color options. 

Now, if you're like me, you're probably thinking, "Do we really need yet another gaming handheld for PC gaming?" After all, over the course of the last year, we saw the release of Asus ROG Ally, Steam Deck OLED, Lenovo Legion Go, and various AYANEO handhelds. 

Honestly, the answer is that it really depends on what MSI's gaming handheld brings to the table. While we don't know the sales numbers for the various handheld gaming devices that came out last year, it seems likely that Steam Deck and ROG Ally have been the most successful of the lot. However, both of these devices have shortcomings that can easily be improved upon. 

As such, if MSI can release a product that offers a better experience than Steam or ASUS ROG's devices, it might be the PC gaming handheld many have been waiting for. So what types of features could elevate an MSI gaming handheld above the Steam Deck and ROG Ally? 

It will help if the MSI gaming handheld offers better battery life than the average two hours while also being lightweight and comfortable to hold for long stretches. Additionally, many of the included apps that come with gaming handhelds can be clunky or limited, so it would give MSI a leg up if its handheld provides a good app with plenty of settings adjustment options. Of course, having a standout feature —whether physical or software-related — that makes handheld gaming more convenient for gamers could also help MSI's gaming handheld to take the lead. 

This all being said, I think it likely that consumers could start feeling gaming handheld fatigue if the market continues to get oversaturated with devices from various gaming laptop companies. But I'm certain that this won't keep additional competitors from entering the ring as the year marches on. 

Stay tuned for MSI's official announcement during CES 2024 where the company will reveal its new gaming handheld. I'll be attending this year's event in person and will try to get more information about it while I'm there. So check back here at Windows Central for CES news next week. 

Gaming monitors are one of the hottest categories this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Walmart and Amazon jumped in on the fun with a $150 discount on the MSI MEG381CQR Plus. That may not be a monitor with a name you recognize, but it has the specs to handle your favorite PC games. With the current deal, it's down to $849.99.

More great Cyber Monday deals

• Alienware: Save over $500 on Alienware PCs
• Amazon: From RTX 3060 gaming PCs to $260 4K screens
• B&H Photo: Save over $400 on gaming laptops and more 
• Best Buy: Up to $800 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones
• Dell: Save on best-selling Inspiron and XPS laptops
• HP: Up to 69% off laptops, headsets, and monitors
• Microsoft: up to $400 off Surface, Xbox bundles, more
• Newegg: Save up to 39% off Nvidia RTX-powered laptops
• Samsung: Up to $2,000 of TVs, phones and appliances
• Target: Up to $100 off laptops, 50% off headphones/speakers

Finding the best gaming monitor

This gaming monitor has a 37.5-inch curved screen with a 3840 x 1600 resolution. The UWQHD+ panel is ultrawide, allowing you to see more when you play your favorite PC games. That display also has a 175Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time. NVIDIA G-SYNC support helps ensure gameplay is smooth as well.

The MSI MEG381CQR Plus features an IPS panel with a 1 billion to 1 contrast ratio. That screen has less image distortion and color shift when compared to other types of screens.

Those specs and its current discount make the MSI MEG381CQR one of Cyber Monday's best 4K and Ultrawide monitor deals.

If you like to stream as you game, or if you need to use your monitor for Zoom calls at work, the top of the monitor has a camera cradle that makes it easy to install a webcam.

A Walmart Plus membership isn't required for this deal, but it's worth grabbing one if you want to get the best deals at Walmart. Members get early access to deals, free grocery delivery, free shipping, and several other perks.

If you're like I was, you might have an older generation CPU that is bottlenecking your entire PC. For me, upgrading my CPU took so long due to having to find the perfect motherboard. Don't worry; the MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI motherboard perfectly fits any 12th, 13th, or 14th Gen Intel CPU using the LGA 1700 socket. Jump on over to Amazon, where this motherboard is a whopping $186 off, coming in at $194.92 

More great Black Friday deals

• Walmart: Early Black Friday deals on practically everything
• Dell: Top deals on laptops, gaming PCs, accessories, and more
• Alienware: Up to $800 off gaming laptops and desktops
• Best Buy: Big savings on video games, accessories, and more
• HP: Up to 84% of select HP Windows PCs and accessories
• Lenovo: Up to 50% of gaming towers, laptops, and accessories
• Newegg: Save on PC gaming accessories, components, and more
• Razer: Up to 43% off laptops and accessories with free gifts
• More individual deals:
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + free $75 Target gift card for $634.99 $449.99 at Target
  • Samsung T9 4TB Portable SSD for $439.99 $249.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Stereo Headset — 20th Anniversary for $69.99 $46.86 at Walmart
  • Xbox Series X + Diablo IV + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for $639.99 $489.99 at Walmart
  • TP-Link Deco X55 Wi-Fi mesh 3-pack for $229.99 $179.99 at Amazon
  • Razer Wolverine V2 Chroma for $149.99 $89.99 at Best Buy
  • Xbox Series X + $50 Best Buy gift card for $549.99 $399.99 at Best Buy for Plus/Total members
  • HyperX Cloud III Wireless for $169.99 $129.99 at Best Buy
  • Lenovo LOQ Tower (17IRB8) + 3-months Xbox Game Pass Ultimate from $1,029.99 $674.99 at Lenovo

What is the best Intel motherboard?

We voted the MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI motherboard the best overall LGA 1700 socket motherboard. If you want more information about this motherboard or other LGA 1700 socket motherboards, check out our best Intel LGA 1700 motherboard guide. 

Earlier this year, I upgraded from an Intel Core i7-4770k to a 12th Gen Core i7-12700k, and I spent hours researching the best motherboard to get. I wish I had known about this deal back then. The MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI motherboard supports 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Intel CPUs, though MSI does state that a "BIOS update may be required when used with some 14th generation Intel Core processors."

The motherboard has all of the features you need. Check out what this beast of a board can do.

• Supports DDR5 Memory, up to 6666+(OC) MHz.
• Lightning Fast Game experience: PCIe 5.0 slots, Lightning Gen 4 x4 M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2.
• Enhanced Power Design: Direct 18+1+1 phases power, dual 8-pin CPU power connectors, Core Boost, Memory Boost.
• Premium Thermal Solution: Enlarged heatsink with heat-pipe, MOSFET thermal pads rated for 7W/mk, additional choke thermal pads and M.2 Shield Frozr are built for high performance system and non-stop gaming experience
• MYSTIC LIGHT: 16.8 million colors / fancy lighting effects controlled in one click. MYSTIC LIGHT SYNC supports RGB, RAINBOW(ARGB), Corsair LED strips, and Ambient devices.
• 2.5G LAN with LAN Manager and Intel Wi-Fi 6E Solution.

New motherboards built with the Gen 14 Intel CPU in mind are coming out, with more bandwidth to take advantage of the speed boosts in the new generation, but those motherboards will put you back a pretty penny. At $250, the MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI motherboard is dollar for dollar, the best motherboard you can pick up this Black Friday. You get DDR5 RAM with support up to 6666+(OC) MHz, two PCIe Gen5 slots, and five M.2 sockets. You won't regret picking up the MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI motherboard, especially not for $250.

Once you grab the motherboard, come back here and check out this deal on a 4TB WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for just $299.99. Also, check out our best deals on DDR4 or DDR5 RAM guide. 

Not sure how to install a motherboard? We have you covered with our motherboard installation guide. 

What you need to know

• MSI has fixed a bug that caused some PCs to crash and see the "Blue Screen of Death."
• The issue appeared on systems with a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor paired with an MSI's Intel 700 or 600 Series motherboard.
• Only PCs running three specific versions of Windows are affected by the bug.
• An upcoming BIOS update that will ship by the end of September 2023 will fix the problem.

Last month a bug affecting MSI motherboards caused some PCs to crash and show the "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD). Microsoft concluded that the issue, which made the error message "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" appear, was not caused by the August 2023 preview update of Windows 11. The root cause of the problem has since been discovered by a joint effort between MSI and Intel, and a fix for the bug will roll out this month.

The bug affects some systems with MSI's Intel 700 and 600 Series motherboards. The root cause of the problem is related to a firmware setting of Intel Hybrid Architecture, as explained by MSI. Only systems with a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 paired with specific versions of Windows will see the Blue Screen of Death. The following versions of Windows are affected:

A BIOS update will ship by the end of September that addresses the issue.

"The new BIOS coming will include an update on the Intel CPU uCode which will prevent any more messages regarding the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” issues. This upcoming update will correspond to both 13th-generation and newer ones," said MSI.

"There will be more BIOS available to download on MSI’s official website for all Intel 700 and 600 Series models this week and all BIOS release will be available by the end of September."

While more BIOS updates will ship by the end of the month, several are already available through MSI. The company has a complete list of BIOS updates available as well as direct links to those updates in its recent news piece.

Labor Day is an excellent time to pick up a PC. It's also the last time that we'll see some of the best laptops on sale until Black Friday. Back to school sales are wrapping up and other promotions are in the rearview mirror, making Labor Day a last hurrah for laptop shoppers.

Right now, you can save hundreds of dollars on a budget-friendly HP laptop, a powerful gaming laptop from Razer, and much more. While many of these discounts were attached to Labor Day, they're still available on the Tuesday after the holiday.

Some of the prices have gone up by $20, such as the HP ENVY 2-in-1 at Best Buy. Others, like the Razer Blade 17 (up $300) have seen bigger price shifts since Labor Day.

Best Labor Day laptop deal

All of the deals above are worth a look and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs. But if I had to recommend one deal out of the bunch, I'd suggest the HP ENVY 2-in-1 15. Finding a great laptop for under $500 used to be almost impossible. With the right deal, however, you can get a solid PC in that price range. That's the case with the ENVY 2-in-1 at $499.99 on Labor Day.

The ENVY 2-in-1 is a convertible PC that's good for schoolwork or general productivity. Its specs aren't spectacular, but they're enough for everyday computing. The laptop also has a nice design, support for fast charging, and can flip around into different positions.

If my friend or family member asked me which laptop to get on Labor Day, I'd recommend the HP ENVY 2-in-1 15. It delivers a solid experience without breaking the bank.

When it comes to shopping for a gaming PC, you have to weigh your options with three factors in mind, portability, affordability, and power. Generally, you can only get two of those elements in a single system, but that's not always the case if you can find the right deal. Right now, you can pick up an MSI Katana 15 for up to $360 off, bringing its price to $1,139.

While that price tag isn't what I'd call cheap, it is a solid bargain for a gaming laptop with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPU. Those specs, plus the 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD are enough to handle the best PC games.

If you prefer something with a newer CPU, you can also get the Katana 15 with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 for $1,422.97 at Amazon right now.

MSI packs a lot of power into its gaming laptops, and that's no exception with the Katana 15. In addition to its impressive specs, the gaming laptop has 4-zone RGB lighting, highlighted WASD keys, and a full number pad.

The 15.6-inch IPS display of the Katana 15 has a 144Hz refresh rate and an FHD resolution (1920 x 1080). That resolution isn't as high as what you'd see on some other gaming laptops. The Katana 15 is more about hitting high framerates on higher settings than cranking up the resolution, so make sure you consider your preference before placing an order.

MSI isn't a brand that's as well-known as Razer or Alienware, but MSI makes quite a few impressive gaming laptops. They're a solid brand that offers a more affordable way to get high-end gaming performance, especially when their gaming laptops are on sale.

What you need to know

• MSI partnered with Mercedes-AMG to create a custom version of the Stealth 16 gaming laptop.
• The PC features red accents and other design elements recognizable from Mercedes-AMG.
• The laptop runs on a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and up to an RTX 4070 GPU.

MSI just announced a new laptop that was made in partnership with Mecedes-AMG. The Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is a co-branded version of the Stealth 16. It features powerful internals, including a 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor and up to an RTX 4070, all within a thin body that weighs just 1.88 kg.

The Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport has a Selenite Gray body and a rhombus pattern that will look familiar to the performance car brand. The laptop features Mecedes-AMG throughout, as do cable ties, a USB driver, a mouse pad, and a postcard that are available for a limited time in a bundle.

Regardless of if you care about the partnership with Mercedes, the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport has impressive specs. The 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900H processor paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 should easily handle the best PC games. The PC is also an NVIDIA GeForce RTX Studio laptop, which means it has a suite of AI tools and is validated for creators.

Despite its powerful internals, the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport weighs 1.88 kg and is 19.95 mm thick.

The laptop features a 16:10 OLED display with a UHD+ (3840 x 2400 resolution). That screen has 100% DCI-P3 color coverage as well. Per-key RGB keyboard lighting and a six-speaker sound system round out what looks to be a solid experience for both gaming and creativity.

MSI has not shared pricing information about the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport yet. The company has not shared pricing details either.

Alongside the Stealth 16 Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, MSI discussed the Creator Z17 HX Studio, Alpha 17, Prestige 16, and Commercial 14 laptops at Computex 2023.

What you need to know

• MSI is a huge manufacturer of laptops, desktops, PC components, accessories, and more.
• During CES 2023, the company revealed a huge lineup of new gaming products.
• The announcements included four gaming laptops, a gaming desktop, four monitors, and much more.
• The company also announced its lineup of GeForce 40-Series GPUs, a new motherboard, and other components and accessories.

CES 2023 is the place to be for the latest developments in the world of PC gaming, and MSI is one of the biggest players in the space. During the tech conference, MSI revealed a veritable avalanche of new products, ranging from high-end gaming laptops to individual PC components and accessories. There's a lot here, so we'll jump right into it.

Many exact details are light on the moment for these products, unfortunately, but here's everything you need to know about MSI's announcements during CES 2023. 

MSI Stealth Studio gaming laptops

MSI's Stealth line of gaming laptops are meant to deliver impeccable creative and gaming performance in a thin and light package. During CES 2023, MSI revealed two new laptops with the Stealth 14 Studio and the Stealth 16 Studio. As you can imagine, these laptops are similar in many ways, but with the former possessing a 14-inch, 240Hz, 16:10 QHD+, IPS display and the latter possessing a 16-inch display with the same resolutions and specs.

Both laptops are powered by the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processor and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. MSI also packed these laptops with RGB-backlit keyboards from SteelSeries, quad-speaker audio setups, and Thunderbolt 4 support. The 16-inch model boasts a 99Whr battery, the largest it can legally be, which will (hopefully) lend it halfway decent battery life for a gaming laptop. The duo certainly looks sleek, but it remains to be seen if they, or any of MSI's latest gaming laptops, have what it takes to compete with the best gaming laptops on the market.

MSI Raider GE78 HX gaming laptop

The MSI Raider GE78 HX is equipped with some of the most powerful and capable hardware you can currently find in a gaming laptop. With up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, the Raider GE78 looks like a truly ridiculous powerhouse of a laptop. MSI also tweaked the laptop's design with a new customizable RGB "Matrix" bar, and threw in a ton of ports, a high refresh rate display, and a physical camera shutter.

MSI Titan GT77 HX gaming laptop

The MSI Titan GT77 HX may look comparable to the previous Raider GE78 HX on the surface, but MSI is positioning this as a true desktop replacement laptop. The Titan GT77 HX, which builds on the previous MSI Titan GT77, is powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13980HX and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, but also brings a massive 17.3-inch, 4K, 144Hz, MiniLED display, a mechanical keyboard, an IR-equipped webcam, a massive 99Whr battery, and an astonishing four fans and eight pipes to keep everything running cool.

MSI desktops and PC components

While MSI's laptops may steal the show for many, the company also announced a multitude of desktop-centric products, including the MSI MEG Trident X2 pre-built gaming desktop powered by 13th Gen Intel Core and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-Series hardware, and an increased integration with MSI's gaming monitors. If MSI's desktop offers great performance at a reasonable price, it could find its way onto our list of the best pre-built gaming desktops.

MSI also announced four new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-Series GPUs, ranging from the 4080 to the all-powerful 4090, which will allow users to upgrade their PCs with the latest GPUs, enhanced by MSI with superior cooling. MSI has long made some of the best overall versions of the best graphics cards, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on these.

Those who desire faster loading speeds can consider the ultra-premium MSI SPATIUM M570 PCIe 5.0 SSD, which offers ludicrous speeds of up to 10GB/s an up to 4TB of storage capacity. Finally, the MSI MEG Z790 Godlike motherboard and MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIE5 power supply make it easy to build the perfect Intel-powered gaming desktop.

MSI monitors

MSI announced four new monitors at CES 2023, including three curved gaming monitors and a creator-focused professional monitor. The MSI Modern MD271UL is a 27-inch 4K monitor powered by USB Type-C with 65W Power Delivery, and features an exclusive MSI app to allow users to customize the display. The MSI MAG 275CQRX, on the other hand, is a 27-inch QHD monitor with 250Hz refresh rate, a 1ms response time, and 1000R curve.

Finally, the premium MSI MEG 342C and 491C QD-OLED monitors feature stunning OLED displays with a 0.1ms response time, great color gamut support, and curved 34-inch and 49-inch panels wide-screen panels. Could these be the next greatest gaming monitors? We'll have to wait to find out.

MSI routers and accessories

Last but not least, MSI announced a handful of new routers, accessories, and more. First, the MSI RadiX series of gaming routers aim to deliver peerless Wi-Fi performance in your home. The AX6600 boasts Wi-Fi 6 support, while the AXE6600 adds Wi-Fi 6e support as well as customizable RGB lighting. Finally, the ultra-premium BE22000 is one of the few Wi-Fi 7 routers available, with incredible range and auto-detecting antennas that can track the exact location of your devices and ensure that you're always getting the strongest signal possible.

There's also the MSI Clutch GM51, a wireless gaming mouse that weighs only 85G, the MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic mid-range gaming keyboard, and the stylish MSI Pen 2 with a graphite tip and wide device support thanks to the Microsoft MPP2.6 protocol.

What you need to know

• MSI is a premiere manufacturer of gaming components, pre-built desktops, gaming laptops, and more.
• On Tuesday, the company announced its two latest gaming PCs, the Infinite RS and Aegis RS.
• Both PCs are equipped with the latest 13th Gen Intel processors and NVIDIA 40-series graphics cards.
• The Infinite RS sits at the top of the line with an updated chassis, while the Aegis RS is optimized for esports usage.

MSI has long been one of the best companies to turn to when in the market for a new gaming PC or powerful components, and the company's selection is about to get a little better. Two new high-end options powered by the latest Intel and NVIDIA hardware are here, with the Infinite RS and Aegis RS pre-built gaming desktops.

Both of MSI's new gaming desktops are powered by 13th Gen Intel processors and NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPUs, and are fully equipped to handle everything that's thrown at them. The Aegis RS installs updated hardware in a familiar chassis, and targets peerless 1440p gaming optimized for esports. The Infinite RS, on the other hand, turns every dial up to 11 with the most powerful hardware available — including a liquid-cooled NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 built by MSI.

The Infinite RS is certainly the most eye-catching of the duo, which follows MSI's other 13th Gen Intel PCs announced earlier this year. The striking chassis features a wing design to improve ease-of-access to the internals, four 140mm RGB-equipped cooling fans, plenty of room for 360mm liquid cooling radiators, and a dedicated LED button to change lighting profiles on the fly. Both the Aegis RS and Infinite RS are built to be customizable by the user.

The MSI Infinite RS gaming desktop is now available to purchase from Newegg with a release date of Nov. 25, 2022, and the newly equipped Aegis RS likely isn't far behind. If you want ultimate performance from a pre-built PC, but still want the freedom to tinker and upgrade as you please, MSI's latest machines may be some of the best pre-built gaming desktop options. The Infinite RS features a price tag to match its hardware, ranging from $4,500 to $5,100.

While the processor, graphics card, and system memory are all important for a working PC, the motherboard holds everything together and acts as the backbone. It's easy to make the wrong choice with a motherboard, so we rounded up the best here to help you make the right choice.

With Intel launching its 14th Gen Core desktop processors, it's the perfect time to upgrade. Deciding on AMD or Intel (or already having one inside a rig you plan to upgrade) considerably narrows the search for a new motherboard. Intel motherboards come with chipsets that work only with processors from the company, likewise with AMD. You cannot physically install an Intel CPU on an AMD motherboard and vice versa.

For most people, the ASUS Prime X670-P for AMD or ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi for Intel will provide high stability and performance, allowing the rest of your PC to perform at their advertised potential. The ASUS TUF Gaming B550-PLUS or ASUS TUF Gaming H570-PRO WiFi will help you save some money, while the Gigabyte TRX40 AORUS Master or ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula is for those with deep pockets and high expectations.

The quick list

If you're in a hurry, check out a quick list of my picks for the best motherboard. Hit the links below to read a full breakdown of any options, with details of the pros and cons for each.

The best motherboards in 2023

Below, you'll find complete breakdowns of why these choices have made my list of the best motherboards. 

Best overall AM5: ASUS Prime X670-P

As one of the most critical components to consider for a modern PC build, you must choose to match the processor and RAM you already own or plan on buying. Starting fresh or wanting the latest from AMD, you will require a motherboard with the 600-series AMD chipset. The ASUS Prime X670-P is one such motherboard.

It's not the best AMD motherboard, but it's also not priced out of this world. X670E boards can hit $500 and beyond, allowing you to save a little at launch and still make full use of the latest processors. As well as supporting AMD Ryzen 7000 processors thanks to the AM5 socket, this ASUS board also has the best chipset you can get in the form of the X670. The X670E is essentially an enthusiast board sticker.

We're looking at a maximum of 128GB of DDR5 for RAM, populating four DIMM slots. Whether you'll require this much system memory is a different kettle of fish, but it's good to know the board supports such a high capacity. Supported speeds top out at 6400MT/s.

Even though this could be considered a slightly more affordable motherboard from ASUS, it's still rocking some high-quality components. The VRM setup and power phase design can handle even the power-hungry AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, so long as you don't go all-out and overclock it with liquid nitrogen.

The rear I/O is pretty good too. We're looking at plenty of USB ports, video output, 2.5Gb LAN, and all the audio connections you'll require for a desk environment. And because we're using the latest AMD chipsets and processors, there's full support for PCIe 5.0.

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Best overall Intel: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi

Likewise, with our top ASUS AMD pick, the ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi motherboard is equally as good. You'll be receiving a PCB with the same high-end, premium components, as well as pretty much all the expansion you'll need for a capable PC setup. There's also pretty good 18+1 phase power delivery, which essentially means you can comfortably push this motherboard to its limit and beyond.

Supporting 12th Gen Intel processors, you can take advantage of Intel's latest high-performance CPUs, throwing in super-fast PCIe 5.0 M.2 NVMe storage drives and enough RAM (up to 128GB) to run Minecraft without issue. It's possible to use the Z690-E Gaming WiFi in a premium PC build with an Intel Core i9-12900K, making this one good value platform choice.

Ports-wise, we're looking at 2.5Gb LAN, DisplayPort, HDMI, one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 (two USB-A and one USB-C), four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, and four USB 2.0. There's also Optical S/PDIF, Wi-Fi, and all the audio jacks you could require. Internally, ASUS made sure you have enough headers for additional components that need a USB interface.

There are also water pump headers for water-cooling setups, making the ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi one capable motherboard. Throw in a solid BIOS and remarkable overclocking potential, and you've got an Intel winner with one of the best motherboards for Team Blue.

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Best overall AM4: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi II

Being one of the most important components to consider for a modern PC build, 

The motherboard is super important, but it's also challenging to get it wrong, so long as you buy one that matches the CPU you intend to install. If we're choosing one that strikes a delicate balance between performance and price for AMD fans, it would be the ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi II. AMD's Ryzen generation of processors is dominating Intel, and the best motherboard for us from ASUS is a perfect match.

This isn't the most capable AMD motherboard, but you likely won't require all the additional features that come with splashing out on the most premium motherboards around. AMD has used the AM4 platform since Ryzen launched in 2017, and the X570 is the latest high-end chipset from the company. This platform will support not only Ryzen 3000 processors but also the new 5000 Series too.

It's possible to install up to a maximum of 128GB RAM, using the four DIMM slots provided, though the likelihood of you requiring any more than 32GB is a stretch since only intensive workstations that handle huge files (video editing, for instance) need such large amounts.

The best part about the ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi II is the high-quality components used throughout. This is one of the more critical factors in choosing a motherboard and a solid power delivery setup. Capacitors and other performance components should be part of a premium batch for enhanced reliability and better support for overclocking.

The rear port selection is pretty good for 2022 too. ASUS included DisplayPort and HDMI (for Ryzen CPUs with integrated graphics), Optical S/PDIF out, 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi, seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, as well as an additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port. You can easily hook up all your favorite gaming accessories and then some.

You've also got RGB connectors, pump headers for water-cooling, two M.2 slots, plenty of SATA, and enough PCI slots to install all your favorite sound cards. It's not a budget motherboard, but you do get a lot for the money here. And because it's using AMD's latest chipset, you'll be able to take advantage of PCIe 4.0.

Read our in-depth non-WiFi ASUS ROG Strix X570-E Gaming review

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Enthusiast AMD: GIGABYTE TRX40 AORUS Master

We heard you have some money to splash on your PC build. Well, this is the motherboard you should go for if you're considering AMD Threadripper. Unfortunately, due to these advanced processors' physical size, you can't throw one into a mainstream motherboard, so enter the TRX40 platform.

The Gigabyte TRX40 AORUS Master has literally everything you need to build an incredibly powerful rig. You've got full support for up to a 64-core Threadripper CPU (with 128 threads), eight DDR DIMM slots for quad-channel RAM, server-class power distribution for stable overclocking, and even an audio ESS 9118 Sabre DAC.

But that's not all; this thing can even support up to four GPUs, because why not? When planning out an enthusiast machine, the "why" doesn't play a part in the decision-making. It's choosing the very best you can afford, and this motherboard will facilitate an insanely powerful AMD PC build.

The only drawback is the price, but if you're planning to buy a Threadripper CPU, this shouldn't be an issue. And with today's obscene pricing for PC components, this TRX40 AORUS Master from Gigabyte can be found as more affordable than top AMD and Intel picks. Go figure.

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Enthusiast Intel: ASUS ROG Strix Maximus Z790 Hero

Like GIGABYTE, ASUS makes some enthusiast-grade motherboards for those with deep products. A motherboard like the ASUS ROG Strix Maximus Z790 Hero is perfect for building the PC of your dreams, rocking a Z790 chipset. Fancy trying out the latest Intel Core i9-13900K? Go for it; this motherboard will be more than happy to come along for the ride.

This board is a serious piece of kit, reflected in the price. You've got water-cooling support for the VRMs, and these are high-quality, premium components. All this allows one to overclock their processor and system to get even more performance from their PC without sacrificing system stability.

For ports on the rear, ASUS decided to go for 2.5Gb LAN, HDMI, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, six USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, Optical S/PDIF, Wi-Fi, and all the audio jacks you'll ever need. It's a little pricey, though. Be sure to check the specifications and decide whether you really require such a platform for your PC.

Read our in-depth ASUS ROG Strix Maximus Z790 Hero

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Budget AM5: Gigabyte B650M AORUS Elite AX

Replacing the B550 chipset (found in our AM4 budget pick below), the B650 adds full support for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors, DDR5 RAM, and PCIe 5.0. The Gigabyte B650M AORUS Elite AX is a solid board that can handle even the AMD Ryzen 7950X with some overclocking to boot.

The impressive power delivery design allows for some overclocking on such a CPU, and it could easily be considered overkill for Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 chips. As well as the latest technologies from AMD, Gigabyte threw in 2.5Gb networking, VRMs with adequate passive cooling, and plenty of rear ports for hooking up all your devices.

While this more affordable board doesn't have some of the highlight features of premium motherboards like quick PCI release, we've got ample fan headers, the ability to hook up AIO coolers, M.2 slots with heatsinks, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and a decent BIOS for configuring your system.

Budget AM4: ASUS TUF Gaming B550-PLUS

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The B550 chipset is what AMD launched to replace the aging B450 chipset. The noteworthy improvements are for Ryzen 3000 series processors, PCIe 4.0 for GPUs and SSDs, and dual-GPU configurations. The ASUS TUF Gaming B550-PLUS is an excellent example with a B550 chipset, rocking some awesome features.

You could easily install a Ryzen 9 5950X without issue, and it would run just fine. There's no room for overclocking since it's simply not designed for enthusiast liquid nitrogen-cooled rigs. Still, you can run an enthusiast-grade system on such a small, budget-friendly foundation.

As well as supporting Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series processors, ASUS added in 2.5Gb LAN for rapid data transfers across your network, and the VRMs do have adequate cooling. This may be a more affordable motherboard, but you're still getting an 8+2 power phase design, meaning it can handle more power-hungry CPUs and some overclocking.

For ports, we're looking at HDMI, DisplayPort, Optical S/PDIF, two USB 2.0, two USD 3.1 Gen 2 (one is Type-C), and four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports. For networking, you have a single 2.5Gb LAN connection. Overall, a great way to move from Intel to AMD without spending too much.

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Budget Intel: MSI MAG B660 Tomahawk WiFi

We're moving just below the Intel range-topping Z690 chipset with the MAG B660 Tomahawk WiFi. The features we're missing out on compared to more pricey Intel motherboards include PCIe 5.0, DDR5 and better power delivery. We do have full support for 12th Gen Intel processors but without the high price tag found with our top Intel motherboard recommendation.

Even though this is an MSI motherboard, we're still looking at an excellent BIOS, allowing you to change a whole host of settings without booting into Windows. There's plenty going for the board on the rear too, including 2.5Gb LAN, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2, four USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and four USB-A 2.0 ports.

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Mini-ITX AMD: Gigabyte X570 I AORUS Pro WIFI

You don't need the most massive motherboard you come across to build a great PC. Smaller form factor cases are handy when you want to keep the PC's overall dimensions low, and a Mini-ITX motherboard will help with this. By using a super-compact Mini-ITX case, it's possible to build a PC that takes up a little more space than your favorite video game console.

As well as being physically smaller than ATX or microATX motherboards, you retain a full PCIe slot with the Gigabyte X570 I AORUS Pro WIFI, can install two M.2 SSDs, throw in up to 64GB of RAM, and the latest Ryzen 5000 CPUs. That all sounds good enough already, but the price will also help as it's not too expensive.

And I said Ryzen 5000 Series processors. That's right; you could install the Ryzen 9 5950X into this motherboard and have a small PC powered by 16 cores and 32 threads, because why not? With built-in Intel Wi-Fi, you can place a PC with this motherboard pretty much anywhere in the home.

For ports, it has the aforementioned Wi-Fi, HDMI, DisplayPort, Optical S/PDIF, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports (one is USB-C), four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, and 1Gb LAN. What you may not like about this motherboard is the single PCIe x16 slot and the lack of any functional heatsinks for the VRM. It can get hot, and you won't want to push your processor much further than factory settings.

Read our in-depth Gigabyte X570 I AORUS Pro WIFI

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Mini-ITX Intel: ASUS ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming WiFi

Small form factor cases usually take Mini-ITX motherboards, which, when compared against ATX boards, are tiny. ASUS managed to pack many features onto the ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming WiFi, including plenty of RGB and even two M.2 slots. This small board comes with support for 12th Gen processors from Intel.

But don't let the small size fool you into assuming you're unable to build a capable PC with it as the foundation. The full-sized PCIe x16 3.0 slot lets you install your favorite GPU, and with up to 32GB of RAM, it'll be ready to handle most games. Just expect to pay out a fair chunk for the liberty of using a smaller platform.

ASUS made available 2.5Gb LAN, DisplayPort, HDMI, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two USB-A 2.0 ports, and the Wi-Fi 6 module. That's quite the array of expansion, especially the rapid 2.5Gb LAN that will facilitate faster LAN traffic on supported networks.

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How to choose the best motherboard for you

Choosing the best motherboard for your PC build largely depends on which processor you wish to use. Intel processors require motherboards with Intel sockets and chipsets, while AMD CPUs only work with respective AMD sockets and chipset-touting boards. From there, you can look at price and chipset features, though so long as you spend a fair amount, you'll be buying an excellent motherboard.

When looking at a motherboard to purchase, you'll want to consider a few factors. The first is which platform you intend to use: Intel or AMD. Next is the chipset. These determine the features (and pricing) the motherboard can have, with the X570/X670 and Z690/Z790 being the best choice for AMD and Intel, respectively. More budget-friendly chipsets like the B650 and B660 offer incredible value.

What about the best value?

Speaking of value, price is a consideration worth making. It's recommended you spend a fair amount on a motherboard. You want to ensure you're getting high-quality components and decent cooling for the voltage regulator modules (VRM), which can get incredibly hot during operation, especially if you plan to push the system further through overclocking. Components like the VRMs come in all shapes and sizes, and it's down to the vendor to pick high-quality electronics for a more stable motherboard.

The right motherboard for your CPU

The processor you plan on using can also be of importance. Our enthusiast pick will be overkill for an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, for instance. On the flip side, you wouldn't want to install an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X on a B550 budget-friendly motherboard since this would prevent you from overclocking the CPU, and the system may encounter stability issues with other components, like activating an XMP profile for RAM. For more information on the AMD Ryzen line of CPU's click here

Motherboards can remain relevant for as long as your processor can keep up with what you require them to do. So long as you do not need to upgrade the CPU, it's usually safe to stick with your motherboard, install some faster, higher-capacity RAM, upgrade the storage, and get one of the best graphics cards. If you tend to only buy motherboards once in a blue moon and would prefer not to buy another for many years, going with our best or enthusiast recommendations provides ample headroom for expansion in the future.

As well as physical socket types, you have specific chipsets from Intel and AMD that work only with particular processors. The X570 is best used for AMD Ryzen 5000 or 3000 series processors. Intel's Z690/Z790 are good for 12th, 13th and the upcoming 14th Gen processors. Take a gander at our full list of the best motherboards to see which one best suits your PC build plan.

Getting the most out of your processor

The two best motherboards for either platform also allow you to get much more from the processor than what's available from the factory, mostly with the included software handling everything for you. Our collection's other recommendations include solutions for enthusiasts, Mini-ITX builds, and those on a tighter budget. There really is a motherboard for almost everyone.

Usually, the more expensive the motherboard, the better the support for stable overclocking and the chance of high-quality components being used.

There are a few essential factors that should sway your decision-making for a new motherboard. So long as you're not buying the lowest-priced boards, you'll generally be okay with the latest Intel and AMD processors. Here are a few things to bear in mind:

• Voltage regulator module (VRM) cooling
• Power delivery if you plan to overclock
• The rear port selection
• Form factor (ITX, microATX, ATX)
• Choosing the right chipsets for AMD and Intel
• Matching said chipsets with the correct, supported CPU generation
• RAM support
• Features like M.2 slots

Other important features to consider

The VRMs and cooling them are both equally important. You want the power being delivered to the CPU to be clean and stable, especially if you plan on overclocking, which requires beefy VRMs for additional headroom. The power delivery with many phases is also ideal, usually reserved for more expensive motherboards.

The rear port selection simply determines what ports will be available to you and your accessories. It's the least important factor in choosing a motherboard since most of the choices come with similar ports. The form factor determines the motherboard's physical size, while chipsets from Intel and AMD are what help provide additional functionality.

It's important to match these to processors that are supported; the same goes for RAM. An Intel CPU won't work with an AMD motherboard and vice versa. Some processors won't play well with slower or faster RAM, so be sure to double-check with Intel or AMD's website for additional details. Other features, like M.2 slots, are optional.

Our recommendations are a great place to start. We rounded up the very best for Intel and AMD processors and options for Mini-ITX, budget, and enthusiast builds.

Can I use this motherboard for Intel 14 generation processors?

While the new Gen 14 Intel chips are "backwards compatible" with any 1700 Intel socket motherboard be aware that some of the older 1700 socket motherboards aren't going to have the throughput or bandwidth to handle the higher end 14th generation CPU's. There are new generations of motherboards coming out soon that will support 5.0 M.2 SSD's and faster bandwidth to get the most out of 14th generation CPU's. 

What you need to know

• MSI has unveiled new MEG, MPG, and Codex pre-built desktop gaming PCs featuring 13th Gen Intel Core "Raptor Lake" processors and NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPUs.
• It also showed off new MEG, MPG, and MAG motherboards using the latest Intel Z790 chipset.
• To power your new builds, MSI has some new MAG and MEG power supplies with 80 Plus Platinum certification and up to 1000W of power.

Shortly after Intel announced its new 13th Gen "Raptor Lake" desktop processors, MSI unveiled a host of new gaming hardware featuring the new CPUs as well as NVIDIA's upcoming RTX 40-series GPUs. New pre-built PCs from MSI's MAG, MPG, and Codex lineups were shown off, as well as new MEG, MPG, and MAG motherboards using Intel's new Z790 chipset. New power supply units that can keep up with the heavy power demands of Intel and NVIDIA's latest offerings were also announced.

Here's a look at the new gaming hardware coming up from MSI.

MSI's refreshed gaming desktop lineup

MSI refreshed six of its gaming desktops, including the MPG Trident RS, MPG Trident 3, MPG Infinite X2, MEG Trident X2, and MEG Aegis TI5. Though details are fairly sparse, MSI did explain some upgrades beyond the new designs and hardware.

MEG-series PCs will feature Intel's 13th Gen processors and NVIDIA's RTX 40-series GPUs, as well as a 2.0 version of MSI's Human Machine Interface (HMI). Yes, these PCs include a 4.5-inch touch display on the case, giving users more immediate control over their hardware.

The MEG Trident X2, specifically, has a new cooling system to keep up with the new hardware's heat output. The CPU will be liquid cooled by a 280mm radiator, plus it will have a new air baffle with different chambers for major hardware components (what MSI calls Silent Storm Cooling 3). The PC will include an ATX 3.0 PSU to best handle the massive power requirements of NVIDIA's new GPUs.

The MPG Infinite X2 has been overhauled with a new look and will feature Intel and NVIDIA's latest hardware. It's liquid cooled with a 240mm radiator, and it features MSI's Silent Storm cooling solution. A full glass side panel (with thumb screws) shows off the internal components, a magnetic dust filter resides on the top of the case, and you will be able to upgrade SSDs without tools.

MSI's new Z790 motherboards

MSI makes a ton of motherboards for different systems, so it's no surprise that it was quick to announce new boards for Intel's Z790 chipset. There are options from MEG, MPG, and MAG lineups to best fit varying budgets and requirements.

The MEG Z790 boards are the top-of-the-line offerings from MSI, with 26+2 power phases and extreme cooling module specifically for the MEG Z790 Godlike. Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports make an appearance, as do seven M.2 slots for expansive storage, onboard Wi-Fi 6E, 10GbE hookup, and a built-in touchscreen.

MPG Z790 boards are a step down from the MEG hardware, but they're still impressive. White and Black color schemes are available, with built-in RGB lighting and headers to connect your own ARGB setup. Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5GbE are included.

Finally, the MAG Z790 boards represent the best value. More specifically, the MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi has an all-metal heatsink, improved PCB, and Japanese capacitors.

Wait, there's more from MSI!

NVIDIA's 40-series RTX graphics cards are enormous and suck up a lot of power, which means many people are going to need a PSU upgrade to go along with the new GPUs. MSI has you covered. New MEG and MPG options were announced, including MEG Ai1300P and Ai1000P, as well as MPG A1000G, A850G, and A750G models.

The MEG Ai1300P is set to handle ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5 builds, with 80 Plus Platinum certification for excellent power efficiency. Its 16-pin connected can handle up to 600W of power. The MPG A1000G is similar with ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5 compatibility, though it's certified for 80 Plus Gold.

Finally, MSI's MEG lineup has some new components for your next PC build. The MEG Prospect 700R is a PC case with built-in screen and room for up to a 360mm radiator for liquid cooling. The MEG CoreLiquid S360 is exactly that, and it also features a built-in display.

What you need to know

• MSI is presenting its new laptops, monitors, accessories, and PC hardware at IFA 2022.
• Highlights include the MSI Titan GT77 gaming laptop (which we've already reviewed), MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD gaming monitor, MSI Modern MD272QPWDE business monitor, and MSI CLUTCH GM31 Series gaming mouse.
• Many of these products are already available, with others expected to launch in the near future.

MSI is taking advantage of IFA 2022 to highlight some of its flagship products, including business and gaming laptops, PC monitors, gaming accessories, and PC build hardware. Many of the products highlighted by MSI have already launched and are available for purchase, though others are still expected to launch in the future.

The products that are available now include:

• MSI Prestige 16 and Prestige 16 EVO business laptops with 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs, 16:10 mini-LED display, NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU, Tobii Aware smart sensor, and Intel Evo platform certification.
• MSI Raider GE67HX gaming laptop featuring a 240Hz OLED display with 0.2ms response time and 100% DCI-P3 color, 12th Gen Intel Core HX-series CPUs, and NVIDIA RTX 30-series Laptop GPUs.
• MSI Titan GT77 gaming laptop with incredible performance from 12th Gen Intel Core HX-series CPUs and NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU. Check out my MSI Titan GT77 review for a closer look.
• MSI GeForce RTX 30 SUPRIM Series graphics cards with TRI FROZR 2S cooling and a truly killer aesthetic.
• MSI Radix AXE6600 Wi-Fi 6E tri-band gaming router with 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz radios with speeds up to 6,600Mbps.
• MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic gaming keyboard with MSI's ClearCaps dual-layer keys, full RGB, and 35gf of actuation force.
• MSI Optix MPG321UR-QD gaming monitor with HDMI 2.1 hookup, Quantum Dot IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate, and 4K resolution.
• MSI MEG Ai1300P PCIe5 power supply as the "world-first" Platinum PSU with ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 abilities.
• MSI MEG X670E ACE E-ATX gaming motherboard for AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs. 

Some new products that have yet to hit MSI's store and third-party retailers include the MSI Clutch GM31 gaming mouse, MSI Immerse GH40 ENC gaming headset, and the MSI Modern MD272QPWDE business monitor.

The Clutch GM31 gaming mouse are available in wired and wireless configs, both weighing in at just 73 grams. The Immerse GH40 ENC gaming headset is the first accessory from MSI to offer environmental noise cancellation, and it also features 7.1 spatial audio with 40mm drivers. They fold down for easier carrying. 

And finally, the MSI Modern MD272QPWDE business monitor, first revealed at Computex 2022, is made to be easy on the eyes with low blue light and anti-flicker panel. It also adds USB-C power delivery at up to 65W.

The MSI Titan GT77 is one of the few laptops that (so far) hosts the new 12th Gen Intel Core HX-Series processors (CPU), designed to deliver desktop performance in a mobile platform. These CPUs are some of Intel's most powerful to date, and understandably the PC built around them has to have a support system that can keep up with the power demands and thermal output. The monster Titan GT77 is one of those laptops.

I already wrote a standalone Intel Core i9-12900HX review to get a better idea of how the CPU performs compared to other high-end options, and it's now time to take a closer look at the Titan GT77 itself. It's big, it's expensive, and it's absolutely brimming with extra features. Is it your next powerhouse laptop?

MSI Titan GT77: Price, availability, and specs

Intel supplied Windows Central with a review unit of the MSI Titan GT77. It has inside an Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop graphics card (GPU), 64GB (4x16GB) of DDR5-4800MHz RAM, three 1TB Samsung PM9A1 PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drives (SSD), and a 17.3-inch display with FHD resolution.

The Titan GT77 is available to buy directly from MSI, and it's also listed at a bunch of major third-party retailers including Amazon, Adorama, Best Buy, B&H, and Newegg. The exact configuration I'm testing is not a common setup and I wasn't able to find it for sale. Models available to the public have an upgraded UHD display and less storage. 

More specifically, a Titan GT77 with Core i9-12900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 64GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, and 120Hz UHD display is listed at about $4,800 at MSI and Amazon. 

If you don't need quite that much power, the most affordable model currently sits at about $3,100 at MSI, Amazon, and B&H. It has an Intel Core i7-12800HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a UHD display.

Here's a look at the exact specifications found in my review unit.

MSI Titan GT77: Design and features

The Titan GT77 weighs in at just more than 7 pounds (3.3kg), but it measures only 0.9 inches (23mm) thin. That's not bad in the world of powerhouse gaming laptops,  but the laptop makes up for it with an extended portion behind the display hinges that houses the extra hardware and cooling system. The laptop is about 13 inches (330mm) deep, whereas something like the XPS 17 Ultrabook measures less than 10 inches deep. Yes, it's a big laptop, but it's still far more mobile than an actual desktop.

The chassis is primarily made up of PC/ABS plastic with a Black Core color scheme. This helps keep the weight down. The bottom panel is notably thin and cheap feeling, but the rest of the laptop is fairly rigid. Fingerprints are an issue, so be sure to pack along a cleaning cloth. The lid sports an RGB MSI logo, some curved lines, and not much else.

Exhaust vents live along the entire rear edge of the laptop, and there's some built-in and customizable RGB lighting to go along with them. There are also exhaust vents on both sides of the laptop, though there's no RGB. The bottom of the laptop has some enormous intake vents, and there's a secondary intake on the top of the chassis just behind the lid.

Due to the exhaust vents taking up so much space along the back edge, all ports are installed on the sides of the laptop. This makes for much messier cable management, but at least there is generous port selection. The right side has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, RJ45 Ethernet, and USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2). The left side includes a proprietary charging port, two more USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), an SD card reader (UHS-I), and a 3.5mm audio jack. As for wireless connectivity, Killer Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are on board.

The Titan GT77 comes with four 2W speakers. Two are set up to flank the keyboard on either side, while the other two are installed in the corners on the bottom of the laptop. Nahimic software is onboard, allowing you to tune sound to your liking with presets and individual sliders. Audio quality is impressive; I could feel the bass in my hand when using the WASD keys, and it volume climbs quite loud without distorting. You'll still be able to enjoy your game's audio whether or not you have a headset handy.

A front-facing webcam lives above the display. It has a 720p resolution, an IR sensor for Windows Hello, and a shutter that can be enabled with a keyboard shortcut or through the MSI Center software. I'd like to see at least a 1080p resolution on a laptop this grand, but the IR camera ⁠— something not usually seen on a gaming PC ⁠— is a welcome addition. Further biometric security is available through a fingerprint reader built into the right-hand palmrest.

MSI uses a SteelSeries low-profile mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches and per-key RGB lighting for the Titan GT77. I love this keyboard. Keys have deep travel, a satisfying click when they actuate, and they're balanced well to avoid misclicks. It's a big step up from the usual gaming laptop keyboard I test out, and anyone who prefers the mechanical feel will love it for gaming and for general typing.

SteelSeries GG software is onboard to handle all RGB lighting. There are a bunch of preset profiles to choose from, and you can also customize everything down to individual keys and zones on the body.

MSI Titan GT77: Display

The FHD display in my review unit doesn't seem to be readily available, at least in the U.S. and Canadian regions. That's not a huge deal, as I'd recommend most people go with 4K UHD at 120Hz to accommodate this level of performance hardware. Nevertheless, it's worth testing the FHD screen for color and brightness.

Out of the box, the FHD display is very washed out. Colors are dim to the point that it feels like I'm using an old VA panel, which isn't something you want from a laptop this expensive. Looking around online, it seems that MSI's built-in color management suite "TrueColor" interferes with Intel and NVIDIA drivers. I reinstalled all drivers as recommended in an official MSI troubleshooting document, and the display finally showed me its true potential. Why is this issue passed on to the user? I don't know.

The display does look great when it's set up properly, and the 360Hz refresh rate that goes along with the FHD resolution helps keep up with the huge performance potential. I ran some tests with my SpyderX Pro colorimeter, getting back 100% sRGB, 80% AdobeRGB, and 82% DCI-P3 color reproduction. The screen also hit 342 nits at max brightness, dropping down to 16 nits for working or gaming after hours.

MSI's TrueColor app, when it's working properly, offers five different display profiles (Gamer, Anti-Blue, sRGB, Office, and Movie) with customizable settings within each.

MSI Titan GT77: Gaming

The Titan GT77 comes with MSI Center software installed, giving you better control over the laptop's performance. It has a Hardware Monitoring page that displays usage, fan speed, and temperatures, as well as a Features page that allows you to set up performance modes for specific games and toggle specific settings like Windows key use, GPU hybrid switching mode, webcam shutter, and more.

The main attraction here is the User Scenario section that lets you choose between Intelligent or Manual performance control. You can let MSI's AI take over completely, balancing heat and power for optimal performance. If you go the manual route, you can choose between Extreme Performance, Balanced, Silent, and Super Battery settings.

Intel recommends I use MSI's Balanced profile for benchmarking, so that's mainly what I stuck with when using benchmarking software and testing in-game performance. I noted below any areas — like testing heat, power draw, and battery life — where I used a different power profile.

I began with a full-system stress test that ran for 20 minutes to see whether or not the system throttles on the Extreme Performance power profile. Surprisingly, the Core i9-12900HX received the cooling it needed to run without any throttling. It sat at about 71 degrees Celsius (159.8 F) at the end of the test, pulling about 75W of power. The GPU hit the same temperature, pulling about 155W. The fans hit a 59-decibel peak from a foot and a half away, about the distance to your head when you're using the PC. That's about the same volume as a regular conversation.

Surface temperatures on the keyboard hit about 41.6 degrees Celsius (106.8 F) above the CPU, while on the bottom the hotspot climbed to about 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 F). You're not going to want to keep the PC on your lap if you're truly pushing the system, but I had no issues using it for general productivity and gaming.

I ran a second stress test with the Balanced power profile to see how it compares. There was again no thermal throttling to be seen, with the CPU sitting at about 74 degrees Celsius (165.2 F) and pulling about 74W of power. The GPU hit about 75 degrees Celsius (167 F) and pulled about 148W of power. Fan noise was quieter, topping out at about 53 decibels. Surface temperatures were really no different than when I tested with the Extreme Performance mode.

I tested one last time, giving MSI's AI Engine control over the system. I didn't notice any major differences in temperature, power draw, or fan noise compared to the other power profiles.

Turning to more focused tests, I ran some 3DMark benchmarks to see how the Titan GT77 compares to other laptops we've recently tested.

To round out the gaming tests, I ran a bunch of actual games on the Titan GT77. I used the native FHD resolution with DLSS and RTX off unless specified, and I otherwise used the highest in-game preset.

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla: 90 FPS
• Far Cry 5: 157 FPS
• Metro Exodus: 62.4 FPS (RT Normal, DLSS Off) — 77.8 FPS (RT Normal, DLSS Balanced)
• Red Dead Redemption 2: 97.8 FPS (DLSS Off) — 110.8 FPS (DLSS Balanced)
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider (DX12): 179 FPS (RT Medium, DLSS Balanced)

Buying a Titan GT77 with UHD display and playing games at the native resolution will see these numbers drop, but you can always lower the in-game resolution for better results. However, the Core i9-12900HX and RTX 3080 Ti should be able to deliver a quality gaming experience even at a 4K resolution.

MSI Titan GT77: Performance and battery

The Titan GT77 packs in a ton of performance hardware, and understandably the cooling system is not small. There are two large fans on the outside, as well as two smaller fans inside; the seven heat pipes are split up between CPU and GPU. Yes, the laptop gets hot, but there's not really any way around it when you have this level of CPU and GPU inside.

There are four M.2 PCIe slots available for storage upgrades after purchase. Three use the PCIe 4.0 standard, while the fourth is PCIe 5.0 with compatibility with PCIe 4.0. The latest PCIe standard isn't a huge deal right now as the best SSDs are just recently moving to PCIe 4.0, but it will set you up nicely for the future. If you buy this laptop, chances are you won't be looking for an upgrade anytime soon. Four SODIMM slots with DDR5 compatibility are also on board for dual-channel memory upgrades. 

I ran a bunch of CPU-specific benchmarks in my Intel Core i9-12900HX review, which you can check out for a deeper look at the chip's performance. For the broader laptop review, I ran some extra benchmarks to test full system performance and battery life. I also took some of the CPU review results and compared them to laptops we've recently tested and reviewed.

I tested battery life using PCMark 10's Modern Office rundown with the MSI power profile set to Balanced and the Windows 11 profile set to Best Performance. Screen brightness was set at about 150 nits. Achieving almost six hours here is a great result; if you need the laptop to handle some general productivity work like spreadsheets, video conferencing, and heavy web browsing, you won't immediately be looking for an outlet.

I played many hours of Rimworld on this laptop, including outdoors with screen brightness at maximum, and I was regularly getting a couple hours of life from a charge. Pushing the CPU and GPU in an intensive game will of course change that result. The highest level of performance available here is impressive, but it's only available with the AC adapter.

MSI Titan GT77: Competition

When it comes to 17.3-inch gaming laptops using Intel's 12th Gen HX-Series CPUs, your options are fairly limited. 

The ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 17 SE G733 comes with up to a Core i9-12950HX (the same CPU but with vPro capabilities), NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 32GB of DDR5-4800 RAM, 4TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, and a 17.3-inch display with QHD resolution, 100% DCI-P3 color, 240Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision. Models with the HX-Series chips seem to be quite rare at the moment, though you can find plenty with the standard H-Series CPUs.

The Gigabyte Aorus 17X is another 17.3-inch gaming laptop that uses the same HX-Series CPUs, though it also seems to be quite rare when searching for online retailers. Models come with up to a Core i9-12900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, two DDR5 RAM slots, two PCIe 4.0 SSD slots, and an FHD display with 360Hz refresh rate.

If you're more interested in a mobile workstation, Lenovo's ThinkPad P16 might be a better choice. It has up to an Intel Core i9-12900HX CPU, NVIDIA RTX A5500 GPU, 128GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to 8TB of M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD storage across two slots. The 16-inch display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, up to a UHD+ resolution, 100% DCI-P3 color, OLED panel, and Dolby Vision.

Be sure to check out our collection of the very best gaming laptops for many more options.

Should you buy the MSI Titan GT77?

Who it's for ...

• Gamers and creators who want near-desktop performance from a laptop
• Those who want a 17-inch UHD display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Those who prefer a gaming laptop with plenty of RGB lighting
• Those with deep pockets

Who it isn't for ...

• Those looking for a casual gaming experience
• Those who want something more portable
• Those who don't have $3,000+ to spend on a laptop

While even the best gaming laptops will still fall behind a high-end custom desktop PC in terms of overall performance, the MSI Titan GT77 attempts to narrow that gap for gamers, creators, and designers who need a ton of power that can fold up and be carried around in a backpack. It absolutely blows away performance in the best Windows laptops, but it'll cost you.

The Titan GT77 raises the old want versus need question. Will most people want the GT77? Despite some of its blindspots, like the 720p webcam, display driver issue, and slow SD reader, most gamers will want this laptop for the insane performance, solid battery life, and excellent mechanical keyboard.  

Do most people need the GT77? No, especially when even base models cost thousands of dollars. You could build your own custom PC for a lot less money and get similar or better performance, but that's not really the point. This is a system you can pack along with you, providing desktop-class performance in a mobile platform. And it's one of the few options out there for enthusiast gamers or creators who absolutely need this much power.

If you’re looking for a thin, light, convertible 13-inch laptop with a powerful Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, then the MSI Summit E13 Flip EVO is for you. Typically priced at $1,600, Amazon has discounted it to just $949.

The 13.4-inch 1920x1200 (16:10) touch display has a decent 169 PPI and all but guarantees excellent battery life due to it not being 4K UHD. Speaking of battery, this thing packs a massive 70WHr one, around 20 more WHr than typical 13-inch laptops.

It has a powerful 11th Gen Intel Core i7-118G7 processor, which is still very popular and not outdated.

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That 16GB of RAM is DDR4, so it will be fast, matching the ample and fast 512GB of PCIe 4.0 SSD (which is upgradeable).

The Summit E13 Flip EVO also weighs just 2.98lbs (1.35kg), making it easy to carry without much heft.

In the box, you get the laptop, charger, MSI Pen (thankfully), pen charger, manual, and even a sleeve to protect the computer when you toss it in your bag. The MSI Pen is MPP 2.0 with USB-C for charging and supports 4,096 pressure levels matching Microsoft’s Surface Pen.

For ports, you get three USB Type-C, two with Thunderbolt 4 (and PD charging), a hidden micro SD card reader, webcam lock switch (kills the cam for privacy), headphone jack, and, graciously, a single USB Type-A port so all your older peripherals and thumb drives will work without a dongle.

Security is here, too, with a Windows Hello IR camera for face recognition and a fingerprint reader as a backup.

Overall, this laptop is the complete package and, as noted by reviews, an excellent alternative to Microsoft Surface, especially regarding the price.

What you need to know

• MSI just announced the Titan GT77, Raider GE77 HX, Raider GE67HX, Vector GP76 HX, Vector GP66 HX, and CreatorPro X17 laptops.
• The new devices run on up to 12th Gen Intel Core i9 processors and powerful NVIDIA graphics.
• The Raider GE67 HX features a display with a refresh rate of 240Hz.

MSI just unveiled several new laptops for creators and gaming: the Titan GT77, Raider GE77 HX, Raider GE67HX, Vector GP76 HX, Vector GP66 HX, and CreatorPro X17. All of the laptops run on 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs and powerful NVIDIA graphics. The Titan, Raider, and Vector devices will come with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics, while the CreatorPro X17 will feature up to NVIDIA RTX A5500 graphics.

The Raider GE67 HX will feature the "world’s first QHD 240Hz OLED display," according to MSI. The Raider GE77 HX has an IPS QHD 240Hz screen.

Based on their specs, the Raider, Vector, and Titan devices should compete with the best gaming laptops.

MSI markets the Titan GT77 as the "ultimate desktop replacement." It features Cherry MX Ultra Low switches. It also has Cooler Boost Titan technology to keep the laptop's temperature down. The 16-core Intel HX series processor inside supports up to 150W Maximum Turbo Power, which MSI claims will deliver double the performance of a last-gen CPU.

Taking things a step further, the Titan GT77 can reach 250W of combined power delivery to its CPU and GPU. At least on paper, the laptop should easily handle the best PC games.

The Raider GE77 HX and GE67 HX also run on 16-core Intel HX processors with up to 150W Maximum Turbo Power. The laptops have the aforementioned 240Hz displays. The OLED screen in the GE67 HX  promises a 0.2ms response time, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

MSI shared fewer details about its Vector lineup, though those laptops can also deliver 250W of power through MSI OverBoost.

The CreatorPro X17 is aimed at creative professionals. It pairs a 16-core Intel HX CPU with up to NVIDIA RTX A5500 graphics. 

The Titan GT77 starts at $3,199 and ranges up to $4,949. The Raider GE67 HX and GE77 HX start at $2,499 and $2,599, respectively. MSI did not share pricing details for its other new laptops. The company did not share release dates for its new hardware. There is a webpage for the new laptop range that will presumably be updated with more information.

The MSI Sword 15.6-inch gaming laptop is on sale today for $799.99 through Best Buy. The sale is part of Best Buy's deals of the day, which means it is only available through the end of the day. Normally this machine is going for something closer to $1,200 and it has a configuration similar to models in that price range. This is a great way to save and get a decent gaming laptop in one fell swoop.

The internal specifications for this laptop are pretty nice. You get an Intel Core i7-11800H processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, a 512GB solid state drive for both fast loading times and storage, and a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. That's plenty of power for your favorite games with room to upgrade if you want.

The laptop also comes with a built-in 720p webcam, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for wireless connectivity, and a backlit keyboard. Play games and watch media on the 15.6-inch display with an IPS panel, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate. That refresh rate is well above the average and will help make your first-person shooters and other games look that much better.

The ports include two USB-A 3.2 ports, one USB-C port, and one USB 2.0 port for connecting a peripheral like your gaming mouse.

Need some more good deals in laptops? Looking for a gaming machine that fits your budget? Check out our roundup of the best gaming laptop deals around right now.

What you need to know

• Some of MSI's MAG CORELIQUID coolers are not properly dissipating heat.
• Affected liquid coolers can cause a blockage due to sediment buildup, which reduces heat dissipation efficiency.
• MSI will replace affected MAG CORELIQUID 240R and 360R coolers.

Two MSI liquid cooler models are running into issues that can prevent them from properly dissipating heat. The MAG CORELIQUID 240R and MAG CORELIQUID 360R liquid coolers can produce sediment that can cause a blockage. MSI notes that affected liquid coolers should not damage a PC since there are protections against overheating. The company is still, however, allowing anyone with a problematic cooler to receive a replacement.

"Our preliminary investigation has identified that a small portion of the liquid coolers produce sediment that can cause a blockage," explained MSI. "This, however, will not cause any damage to your system since the processors are equipped with a protection mechanism against overheating."

To see if your liquid cooler is affected by the issue, you can run its serial number through MSI's website. Any cooler that is experiencing abnormal heat dissipation should be able to be replaced. MSI explained that If your CPU temperature is over 60°C despite being properly seated, your system's cooler probably isn't performing as it should.

The process of swapping an affected liquid cooler appears straightforward. You'll need your cooler's serial number and some personal details to get a replacement part. MSI notes that if your cooler was part of a prebuilt PC, you'll need to use the serial number of your desktop, not the liquid cooler.

MSI will send out a prepaid shipping label along with your replacement unit. When you return your liquid cooler, you'll need to send in its accompanying parts, such as its screws and brackets.

The MSI Prestige 14 is a laptop on the Intel Evo platform that also happens to be on sale right now. You can get it for just $699 through Amazon. It was selling for as much as $850 at the beginning of February, and it has never dropped lower than this. This is part of a larger sale on Intel-powered devices we've been seeing across multiple retailers. Keep an eye out for more great Intel sales, usually in form of larger devices that have Intel parts inside of them.

When a laptop is on the Intel Evo platform, that just means it is hitting a certain number of qualifications that lets you know it's going to be a quality device. In this case, it is fast, with a long-lasting battery, and with just the right amount of power to help you get more done. The Prestige 14 is powered by an 11th-generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, comes with 16GB RAM, and includes a 512GB solid state drive that has NVMe tech so you get plenty of storage and super fast read/write speeds.

Intel Evo laptops also need to have Thunderbolt 4 ports, so the Prestige 14 has that as well for some crazy fast data transfer speeds and connectivity. The ports support Power Delivery, too, so you can charge other devices or add extra screens. There's a media card reader so you can add to your storage.

It is lightweight, portable, stylish, and has a 180-degree hinge so you can easily flip the screen and share your content with others in the room. You can also login with just your face or your fingerprint thanks to Windows Hello and the laptop's security features.

What you need to know

• MSI's Aegis ZS line of desktops is now available with the latest AMD Ryzen CPUs and Radeon RX graphics cards.
• Aegis ZS desktops with AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPUs and Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics can utilize AMD Smart Access Memory, which increases gaming performance.
• MSI emphasizes that since the Aegis ZS desktop is made with non-propriety components, PC gamers can easily upgrade its parts.

MSI's Aegis ZS desktops are now available with the latest CPUs and graphics from AMD. The lineup now has options with 7nm AMD Ryzen processors and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics. The combination of those CPUs and GPUs should deliver solid performance for the best PC games. They also meet the requirements for AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM). The AMD-powered Aegis ZS starts at $2,000.

Smart Access Memory allows systems to fully utilize VRAM. Our Cale Hunt ran AMD Smart Access Memory through its paces last year, including testing it with a variety of popular games. He concluded that the feature does help with gaming performance but that the benefits vary per system.

"There are no doubt games available that will greatly benefit from having SAM enabled, but it's certainly not a selling point on its own," said Hunt. "It's a nice addition to a GPU that is lacking some of NVIDIA's main selling features, but it's probably not going to make as much of a difference as, say, an RTX 3070 GPU in a game that supports DLSS."

Of course, having some of the latest CPUs and GPUs from AMD provide benefits other than Smart Access Memory. The new AMD-powered MSI Aegis ZS should have more than enough power to deliver solid performance for AAA titles. The specs should handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well and be able to dabble in 4K, depending on the title.

Aegis ZS desktops are made with non-proprietary components, so PC owners can easily swap out or upgrade parts.