In a plot twist worthy of a next-gen RPG, MSI has officially ditched its solo Intel crusade and embraced AMD for the new Claw A8 BZ2EM. Until now, MSI’s Claw handhelds were something of an anomaly – clinging to Intel in a world where AMD dominates the handheld APU battlefield. But times have changed.
Meet the new MSI Claw A8 which comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip under the hood. The same one rumoured to reside at the heart of the upcoming Asus ROG Ally 2.
The new silicon promises beefier graphics, more efficient thermals, and overall smoother performance. Announced at Computex 2025, here’s everything you need to know about the new AMD-powered MSI Claw A8.
MSI Claw A8 features AMD innards
This new AMD-powered Claw doesn’t just switch teams; it aims to level up the entire experience. As mentioned before, it houses the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip with improved graphics and thermals.
There’s also an 8-inch 120Hz 1200p LCD display, up to 24GB of DDR5x RAM (slightly lower than the Intel variant), a beefy 80Wh battery, and dual USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports. Oh, and it weighs around 725 grams, which is lighter than the Intel version.
Style-wise, MSI’s taken some creative liberty here. The Claw A8 rocks a two-tone paint job, larger speaker grills, and just enough angular flair to make it look like a handheld from the future.
If you’re still loyal to the Intel core (pun intended), MSI has something for you too. A refreshed Claw 8 AI+ Polar Tempest Edition. Underneath the “glittering UV coating”, it’s the same hardware – Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, up to 32GB RAM, and 2TB storage, but dressed for a more glamorous apocalypse.
With the launch of the A8 powered by AMD, MSI is officially stepping into the dual-chipset arena for its handheld gaming lineup, giving gamers more choice and greater flexibility when it comes to performance preferences.
MSI hasn’t disclosed pricing or an expected launch date for the AMD version so far. To know when it drops, make sure to stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma.
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Dhriti Datta
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