MSI Claw Ultra 5 Thoughts

Twisty on 20/04/2025 - 17:43
Last edited 20/04/2025 - 18:16 by 1 other user

Hey, for those who have one or know about it, is the MSI Claw Ultra 5 worth it at $599?

I just want a handheld PC to play Fortnite smooth and all the games I get free on Steam, Epic and GOG. I’ll leave all the big AAA games to my PS5 and XSX but since I don’t own a PC I thought at this price it would do the job I’m wanting

Don’t wanna spend $1k or around that on one for the job I wanna do as I mentioned only the above games I wanna play on it

Also Ultra 5 or should I wait for cheaper 7 prices?

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  c64 on 21/04/2025 - 07:26

  +1

  no, not the craw, the claw!

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  GoldPhoenix0 on 22/04/2025 - 10:44

  +1

  I picked up the Claw Ultra 5 from one of the previous deals, and I dunno, it is such a mixed bag on my experience on it. I would say for general purposes, a Steam Deck is a much better experience than the Claw.

  That being said, the Claw is definitely more powerful than the Steam Deck, and if you are focusing on games with Anti-Cheat, a Windows Handheld is most likely a must, so I can see why something like the Claw is so appealing. At least from my experience, the performance on the Claw Ultra 5 is somewhere between the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally, but unless you can get a good deal on the Ally, it could be worth biting the bullet on the cheaper option.

  Also, take a look at reviews for the system. Now factor in that during those reviews, the Claw was actually more expensive than the competition. Now that the book has flipped and it is a considerably cheaper device, see what comparisons they make and if they are worth it for the price.

  Compared to the Base Steam Deck (not OLED model), here would be my pros and cons list:

  Pros

  • Price - At something like $599, it is a few hundred cheaper than the closest Ryzen competitor
  • Performance - Claw can play some higher end games at a playable framerate, where something like the Steam Deck would struggle (e.g. Marvel Rivals)
  • Screen - It has the same screen as the ROG Ally, and even though it isn't OLED, the 120Hz with VRR does make a difference playing games and feeling like a better experience.
  • Power Profiles - I've found that it is easy enough to swap power profiles, and the customization is there if you want to push the device harder, or less to save battery life
  • Get the Ultra 5 - The cheaper Ultra 5 model in a majority of cases is going to be similar to performance wise to the Ultra 7. The CPU in this device is actually overkill, having 14 cores (4 Performance, 8 Efficient, 2 low power Efficient) vs the Ultra 7 having 2 extra performance cores (and 1 extra GPU Core). In a majority of cases, the GPU on the device is going to bottleneck before the CPU would, and being in a handheld, power constraints are a big factor as well. I see advice for the people getting the Ultra 7 to actually turn off cores to help more power to get into the GPU, so I wouldn't recommend going for the Ultra 7 unless you find it for the same/similar price.

  Cons

  Unfortunately some of these are deal-breakers for me personally on why I wouldn't daily drive a Claw

  • Bumper Buttons - These feel like some of the worst bumpers I have felt on a handheld. You have to click it in from more the edge of the device, but if you wrap your finger around the whole button, you'll struggle pushing it in from the middle side of the console. Try it out at your local JB to see how it feels.
  • Stuttering/Jerking game movement - I found a few games that if they couldn't hit the target framerate you set (e.g. the full 120FPS), then I noticed some inconsistent movements while playing some games. It was honestly frustrating the moment I noticed that a game like Ori and the Blind Forest had inconsistent movement when moving side to side. That being said, I set a framerate cap on the game to something like 60FPS and it disappeared… so depending on the game, you may notice this.
  • MSI Claw Overlay - This did improve when they released the Claw 8, but it is still really clunky. I have found the responsiveness of the overlay annoyingly slow, and I just suddenly lose input on it, meaning I need to use the touchscreen to press the buttons.
  • Driver Support - This is definitely slower than the AMD Ryzen on rolling out updates. They have definitely made improvements, but I haven't noticed too much performance wise between versions.
  • Windows - It is bad using Windows on any handheld… but I'm sure after your first setup, you should be able to boot directly into a better launcher.
  • Battery Life - It is definitely worse than the Steam Deck, but is probably on par with the base ROG Ally?

  I don't know if this helps or not, It is probably best bang for your buck if you want a Windows Handheld for the moment, but you will definitely have concessions using it.

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    Twisty on 22/04/2025 - 12:03

    Hey thank you soo much for the big reply. As mentioned I get a lot of free games on Steam, Epic and GOG. Being a Prime member I get games for Epic and GOG plus epic give out free games all the time but having no PC means I can’t play any of them.

    So I’ll thought the claw might would for me. I do t wanna have stutters tho I’d like them to play smoothly. Plus having the option to play Fortnite smoothly would be good too