Three generations across two years with one goal: bringing high-performance handheld gaming to life
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At Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, the world got a glimpse into the first handheld gaming device powered by the all-new Intel® Arc™ G3 Extreme processor.Created by Taiwan-based MSI, the Claw 8 EX AI+ is now available for sale in an eye-catching “void purple” color exclusive to the device.But creating an all-new handheld design isn’t like building a laptop.It took Intel and MSI over two years to conceptualize and design the Claw 8 EX AI+, which incorporates best practices from laptop designs and key learnings from previous generation handhelds. Together, Intel and MSI have crafted a device that’s a fraction of the size and weight of a regular mobile PCHere are three things you need to know about how Intel’s top engineers helped MSI to create the Claw 8 EX AI+.
#1: A multi-generational engineering commitment that builds on past learningsThis isn’t the first time Intel and MSI have worked together on a handheld design: MSI’s previous generations handhelds were based on Intel® Core Ultra Series 1 (codenamed Meteor Lake) and Intel® Core Ultra 200V series (codenamed Lunar Lake) processors.With the Intel® Arc G-Series processor family, Intel took a different approach by creating a purpose-built SoC optimized for handheld gaming.“We distilled everything we learnt from the last two generations of handheld designs into a new category of devices that set a new standard for handheld experiences,” explained Nish Neelalojanan, said Intel’s senior director of Product Management, Client Computing and Physical AI Group.Neelalojanan explained how past experience guided Intel’s engineers to remain laser-focused on creating a handheld device that provided the best gaming experience.To achieve this, engineering teams made use of the unmatched efficiency of Intel Arc G3 Extreme to improve the handheld design and experience.Elsewhere, software optimizations dramatically increased battery life and ensured the device remains cool to the touch under load for user comfort.Additionally, Intel collaborated with key software leaders like Microsoft to ensure a seamless gaming experience via Xbox Mode on Windows 11.The end result?The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is the first Intel-based handheld to offer console-like accessibility, while also improving performance by freeing up system resources and precompiling shaders, leading to smoother gameplay.
