The Best Value Z2 Extreme PC Handheld?

Pixel response times here are some way off top-class Fast IPS monitors – as well as OLEDs of any description – but given that you’re unlikely to be clutching in Counter-Strike 2 here, this isn’t too disagreeable. Finally, the screen gets bright enough for use in well-lit rooms or overcast days outdoors, maxing out at around 500 nits. That’s some way off the peak figures of recent flagship smartphones, but more than enough for most use-cases, and I had no issues while testing in admittedly British conditions.

MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM – Software

This incarnation of the MSI Claw A8 shares a Z2 Extreme processor with the ROG Xbox Ally X, so it’s perhaps no surprise that the Claw has also been updated with support for the new Xbox Full Screen Experience. I won’t recap its features in full, as Jackie has already done so comprehensively in the Xbox Ally X review, but suffice it to say that the main thrust arrives on MSI’s handheld intact.

You can choose to boot directly into a full-screen Xbox app, with games from multiple sources (e.g. Steam, GOG, Ubisoft Connect, etc) all visible in a unified launcher, and unnecessary Windows services are blocked from starting, potentially allowing for better performance. You can easily drop into the full Windows desktop, a process that takes less than a second, but you need to reboot the machine to regain its full performance potential afterwards.

This all worked smoothly, but the MSI Center M application isn’t integrated as gracefully as the equivalent Armoury Crate software on the ROG Xbox Ally devices. For one, the MSI software pops up over the top of the Xbox interface on boot (until you manually disable it from doing so), and annoying pop-ups appear whenever MSI’s “AI” detects you are entering a game (until you manually disable it from doing so). I appreciate the machine (theoretically) tuning its performance based on what it’s doing, but it’s frustrating to see a “INTELLIGENT GAMING” pop-up literally cover the screen, especially when you’re already in a game and you’ve just clicked on a menu item (something that happened in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6). Once these elements are disabled, the MSI Center M app is relatively barebones in its Game Bar integration, but you do have the option to set custom power limits and fan curves, start games (yup, it’s another launcher) and toggle various settings.

While Windows 11 is now better suited to gaming handhelds, with a better setup process and more relevant features, there’s still a ways to go until it matches what Valve has accomplished with SteamOS. The Steam Deck’s operating system remains significantly more streamlined, and with the Steam Machine and Steam Frame on the way early next year, I wouldn’t expect its development to slow down any time soon. I’d suggest trying SteamOS (probably via Bazzite) on any gaming handheld you end up buying, including the Claw, if you’re not already familiar with it from the Steam Deck.

MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM – Performance

The Claw A8 BZ2EM is equipped with the premiere handheld chipset right now, AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme, which offers a small but meaningful performance advantage over handhelds like the original ROG Ally or Steam Deck OLED. The Z2 Extreme is also found in the ROG Xbox Ally X and the Lenovo Legion Go 2, both of which we’ve tested, so I was interested to see how MSI’s version compares. Despite sharing a chipset, performance can vary significantly depending on power modes, cooling potential and resolution, so how does the Claw fare?

In short, the Claw A8 BZ2EM is an average performer, turning in performances that tie or trail the Legion Go 2 and Xbox Ally X. Starting with the 3DMark synthetic benchmarks, all running at 1080p, the Steel Nomad DX12 ray tracing test has the Claw scoring 597 points, coming in between the 606-point Xbox Ally X and the 588-point Legion Go 2. Time Spy, an earlier DX12 test without RT, has the Claw trailing both rivals at 3711 points; the Legion Go 2 is slightly faster at 3936 points and the Xbox Ally X leads at 4098 points. The Night Raid test is more oriented towards mobile devices, and has the same order with similar margins: Claw A8 BZ2EM at 29.8K points, Legion Go 2 at 31.7K points and the Xbox Ally X at 33.8K points.

Actual gaming benchmarks show worryingly larger margins, with the Claw scoring a 37fps average in the integrated Black Ops 6 while running in the Xbox Full Screen Experience, trailing the Legion Go 2 (39fps) and Xbox Ally X (41fps). Given that the game is running at slightly different resolutions, this sort of five to 10 percent margin for the two 1920×1200 machines against the 1920×1080 Xbox Ally X is exactly what we would expect. Note that we’re testing at extreme settings using FSR 3 quality upscaling, so there’s some latitude here to turn graphical niceties down in case you want to play multiplayer at a solid 60fps.

Moving to Cyberpunk 2077, using high settings and FSR quality upscaling, the Claw again trails, with a 34fps average versus 37fps on the Legion Go 2 and 44fps (!) on the Xbox Ally X. That’s a larger margin of victory for the Xbox Ally X, as it runs around 30 percent faster than the Claw.

The Claw equals the Legion Go 2 in Forza, with matched 65fps averages, with the Xbox Ally X some 18 percent faster at 77fps. That’s under the Full Screen Experience; if we run the same test on the Windows desktop, the Claw scores 59fps. Going the other way, we can boost frame-rates to an impressive 72fps average running under FSE and with the handheld’s maximum power mode engaged.

MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM – Battery Life

Battery life tests used to be easy – you would charge a laptop to 100 percent, unplug it, watch it for a few hours and then go down to the pub. These days, modern chipsets and screens are good at really stretching the increasingly high capacity batteries they’re being paired with, and even on a gaming handheld you can expect more than a full workday of battery life when using it for light office tasks. The MSI Claw BZ2EM doesn’t disappoint, with PCMark10’s battery test concluding after a marathon 11 hours and 31 minutes. That’s a bit more than the ROG Xbox Ally X, which managed 9 hours and 48 minutes, and the Lenovo Legion Go 2, which capped out at 10 hours and 52 minutes.

Of course, testing the battery while gaming is more relevant, and playing through the more challenging DLC areas of Cyberpunk 2077, it took 2 hours and 48 minutes before the battery conked out. For context, the Xbox Ally X managed around 2 hours and 34 minutes in similar testing, a little ahead of the Lenovo Legion Go 2 at 2 hours and 17 minutes. That makes the Claw A8 the best performer of the three, though not by enough of a margin to truly make a difference.

MSI Claw A8 BZ2EM – Price

At £850 in the UK, the Claw A8 BZ2EM is £50 more expensive than the £800 ROG Xbox Ally X. That makes it one of the most expensive gaming handhelds available, though for context the only other mainstream Z2 Extreme handheld is the £1100 Lenovo Legion Go 2, so it’s all relative. I don’t think that there’s much to separate the Claw A8 BZ2EM and ROG Xbox Ally X in terms of hardware, beyond the slightly larger screen on the MSI machine, so the pricing here isn’t too surprising. Of course, you’re still paying a significant premium here for portability, with similarly expensive laptops and desktops offering much better performance, but the Claw A8 BZ2EM is at least in touch with other premium handhelds equipped with best-in-class chipsets.

Will is deputy tech editor for IGN, specialising in PC hardware, sim racing and display tech. He has been publishing about games and technology since 2001 (age 12). Will was formerly Deputy Editor at Digital Foundry. He is currently playing Battlefield 6.