Matching the previous lowest price last month for the U5 1TB model https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/883194
Consider combining with discount eBay gift cards for further reduction https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/discounted_egift_cards
most reviewers agree.
How many of those reviews are when it was literally double the price?
And performed 30% worse than it does after all the updates.
Almost triple the price going by current exchange rates.
I managed to get the 512gb rog ally Z1 extreme for $700 odd from amazon UK.
one day people will look at the price before commenting
Yes, most reviewers would agree that a device that's twice the price is probably better (ignoring the price).
I bought the Claw from the Centrecom deal - here are my thoughts for context:
Do note that the Claw can be a bit jank, but I've personally forgiven it's shortcomings (Which I haven't found many of so far post updates) given the price paid.
As always DYOR, but I don't regret buying one as my first handheld.
Apparently with 24h2 installed, more CPU cores are parked when the iGPU needs more juice, I'm yet to test and compare though.
How does it perform with racing games
Most of the update reviews that put it in a positive light don't actually compare the 0.1% lows to the steamdeck which still out performs it most of the time, especially on a low power profile. it is absolutely insane how well the steamdeck performs when you limit the cpu and gpu. it's nice being able to play a lighter AAA title without the fan spinning up. The SD might be old but if you actually plan to use it on battery power it still gives the best frame times on a power budget. The suspend and resume is amazing, the touchads are underrated and have insane utility in games (basically a mini macropad with an OSD).
Agree with this sentiment - I bought the steam deck about 8-12 months ago and love it. The suspend and resume is bloody amazing (honestly it's my fav feature) - and I love how there is a huge active Steam Deck community, which in-turn allows for further modifications of games, which may not occur if the community is small- a good example of this is the community modifying the controls of games, in order for it to be steam deck compatible (and of which can be downloaded).
Another thing with the SD is ease of upgrade / repairability. Claw is a good deal though for this price..
I also got the claw from the same deal! It’s been fantastic and is well worth it at this pricing. I’ve loved playing emulators (Wii, ds), F1 24, GTAV, AFL 23.
How does it handle ps3 emulation?
For $600 nothing else really comes close. It's a great option for those wanting to give handhelds a crack without dumping $800/$1000+ into one for a decent gaming experience
Steamdeck is $649 though, given the choice, which one do you think would be better?
I own lots of games on xbox, epic, EA ect… thats one thing that impacted my decision. Also play GTA-V, which no longer works on the deck due to the anti cheat software. I also valued the higher resolution screen. if you own all your games on steam then its a fine option.
the steamdeck offers the smoothest frames (not always the highest but smooth is better than high) on battery and you can push the power profiles to the extreme. i use a 4 watt profile for 2d games and sometimes forget to set it back before launching more demanding games. i'm constantly shocked by what can run with all the power saving stuff turned on aggressively. imo also the best controls (touchpads can be programmed to be macro pads with an on screen display when you are using them making games that aren't very controller friendly still viable on the deck but not the other handhelds. also having them for fine mouse control is something i couldn't live without and they double as a keyboard. there are community solutions for playing games from other markets on the deck in a seamless manner, you don't have to deal with windows 11, you don't have to do bios updates to get it playable, upgrading the SSD is easier in the SD, the community around the SD is more comprehensive than the claw. The LCD screen isn't the best in the handhelds but i have a few handhelds and while some games standout on an oled screen, i dont mind using the standard SD.
before i got it i never saw myself using it very much but it's now a 50/50 split between my gaming pc and my steamdeck. I use those touch pads quiet a lot, if i was stuck with another handheld i think my handheld time would be more like 30%. i do actually use my steam deck for non gamer things quiet a bit too (i'm quiet surprised how much i prefer the form factor over my laptop when doing stuff around the house. without the touch pads it would be a lot less. Your mileage may vary but the SD is way better value for me.
I have a Steamdeck, and also think you make some good points - I think for this price point its a pretty good buy, theres no real reason to spend over $1K on one for most of us. When its price it came out not a chance.
man i want this but waiting for 499… its the mental barrier lol… hopefully once the new gen of handhelds get announced using AMD chips.. this will drop further
Just HODL, wait for Claw 8 and other 2nd gen ones out first, sure this price is 100% achievable! Bet MSI still got sh\t load of stock around.
For $499 I’m definitely going to get the budget steamdeck for $650
Don't think I can go back to 1280 x 800..
My TV is 4K is all I’ll use it with
Then why bother paying the form factor premium of a handheld if it's only going to be used docked?
@CrispyChrispy: Bazzite isn’t cutting it for me as a console-like OS with my PC. SteamOS is much better.
Your steamdeck is not running on your TV at 4K unless you love playing powerpoint presentations
Pardon my ignorance but why? I searched OzB and the cheapest steamdeck is indeed $649 but with only 256 GB storage compared to 1TB of this?
Steamdeck does have good points. Performance is better, controls are nicer (the touchpads are great), and you can upgrade the storage later.
But personally I'd pick this.
Yes, but that just doesnt come with enough space. Add another $100+ for storage.
How is 256GB not enough space? If you play indie games you can fit over 100. If you like emulation you can also fit over 100 games. I maybe have 2-5 steam games on mine at a time and just uninstall when I’ve finished and download the next one, super simple.
I did a video about it. I like mine.
Fun fact everything in the video is from Ozbargain. Camera, lights, claw etc haha.
It's a bit light on details as I was rushed when making it but I hope it helps
You mentioned stuttering in games, did you experience that during need for speed?
I noticed the worst stuttering during Lego Marvel superheroes 2. Then after BIOS and driver updates those stutters are effectively gone which was surprising. I do notice occasional stuttering in most games that are remotely taxing to the GPU.
Need for speed doesn't seem to play at a very high fps anyway, so I don't notice the stutter in that particular game.
Edit I also made changes in the BIOS as per the video and enabled over boost
What are the changes you made to the bios apart from enabling overboost?
@Mahogany Granger: They're in the video descriptions, namely, disabling hyper threading and CPU p state
Nice mate, subscribed
Thank you 🥺 it's mostly software development on that channel so I hope you enjoy it anyway!
under 500 club
Under 400 club here
Can I join the under 300 club?
Don't think there is a sub 300 club yet. Feel free to be the founding member.
Just be warn that a new unit might not be available at that price.
@User7699: I'd happily take preowned for under $300. Especially now with hall effect sticks being the norm for these devices.
Isn't there's new model coming out soon? This one has heating issue.
yeah. the Claw 8 but it'll probably not be $599 lol
its miles better but i'm not paying double for one
It would be more than double… it's $899USD.
can it run crysis ?
Does this have the VRR screen or is that only the Ally?
Under $500 for me
All I wanna play is the games on get on Epic, GOG and steam for free plus Fortnite. I watched some videos and Fortnite seems to run smooth
This or the U7 tho ?
Its still 649 at Centrecom btw altho its the 512gb Ultra 7 version
https://www.centrecom.com.au/msi-claw-a1m-7-fhd-touch-120hz-…
Would this be better
yeah seems like not much difference between Ultra 5 and 7 so since this has more storage its better
but needs ebay plus
Yer I’m gonna wait for a better deal to be honest
Around $500 or under seems good
Not too sure if I should get the U5 or U7 tho as they seem the same after the posts above after you change settings etc
If the price isn’t a big factor, the 7 might be best?
@Twisty: yeah, if its like 50$ difference might as well
I will wait to see if Centrecom reduces it any further before pulling the trigger, CES annoucements might do the trick
Hmmm, worth it just for steam link and gacha games? Doubt i’d play any heavy games on the go, i like playing with mouse + keyboard on “real” games anyways
It was 529 at Costco a while back
I wanted the MSI Inspector Gadget. when's that coming out?
The new "Claw 8 AI+ & Claw 7 AI+" is said to be released 15 January so the previous models may drop even further when that happens. Personally the price is fine but I'm waiting for newer models to knock as much price as possible (however I'm leaning more of an Asus). This Claw looks decent for the price to me but may not run newer games later.
I sure hope all gaming consoles become dockable handhelds from now on. Personally, graphics and power aren't everything. The Switch is terribly underpowered compared to last gen's consoles, but that gets way more play time. I even play Fortnite on that more than the PS or PC.
Look at video games in general.
Everyone’s boasting about things like Unreal Engine 5 etc being excellent for the future of gaming, yet all it seems to do is increase graphics potential which isn’t say much.
Graphics have reached a point where people don’t care as much, especially when the games themselves either suck or have bad story telling. Graphics don’t fix this in the slightest.
Switch has done some good things but the graphics are extremely poor in some games and low frame rates render a lot of games being hard to want to play.
Steamdeck does well, other handheld PC’s are on par or worse for the most part.
SteamDeck 2 seems promising and may just be the last major improvement we get in this space for a while.
![[eBay Plus] MSI Claw Ultra 5 1TB SSD $599.99 Delivered @ Mobileciti eBay](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/23/887823.jpg?h=c652860c)
The price is low but I’d much rather get an AMD portable system. Apparently the updated Claw that’s coming out is awesome though, basically this is one I’d avoid and most reviewers agree.