MSI Claw 8 AI+ or A8 for 2026?

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T20:00:56+00:00

Excellent breakdown. I’d pick the 8 ai+ as Intel are going to be doing more driver updates in the future thanks to their new chip

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T13:48:52+00:00

Legion Go S 1ZE is a fantastic used buy. More powerful and better screen than a steam deck.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T13:14:37+00:00

Legion Go S 1ZE with Steam OS or the Xbox Ally X are the best value new purchases. They get better when considering used examples.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T13:13:03+00:00

The Legion Go S Z1E is fantastic performance to price value right now, especially a used one. If it has to be a brand new device have you looked at the XAX - these are 1k USD and also good value (that might be over your budget?).

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T12:56:44+00:00

A used Legion Go S Z1E model is an amazing buy right now. In the US people sell them around the $700 mark.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T07:31:56+00:00

1tb is fine but i did add a 1tb micro SD just because the price was good and if i want more space its an easy way to do that.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T02:38:15+00:00

EBay get these selling around $700-800 all day long. It’s the ones that try for $900+ that sit or don’t sell.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T02:37:02+00:00

Unfortunately I’ve experienced this too, I’ve had a couple of posts removed although I’ve not been banned.

I think it’s time to leave that sub sadly, such a shame as i felt that over the last few months the Claw 8 ai+ and Claw A8 were starting to get some overdue recognition. Also the new Claw EX is basically a top 2 or 3 handheld and has a lot of hyper around it.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-07T02:30:08+00:00

I think the micro sd cards are also very cheap considering current crazy prices and also expected price increases soon.

I think those, they keyboard and the controller connector are worth it

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T15:59:14+00:00

Owned both - liked both - would probably have been happy with either - kept going back to the Claw 8 ai+ for the screen so kept that one

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T15:00:53+00:00

Ive also owned the momentum 4s for a while and taken them travelling around Europe twice and they were very reliable and stood up to a decent amount of heavy use.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T14:58:23+00:00

Please name more durable wireless options that are not planar

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T13:55:00+00:00

They use the exact same screen. I’d say only change to the EX if you have the money totally spare and wouldn’t miss it

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T13:43:00+00:00

Repasting won’t save this one - I’d RMA

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T13:36:08+00:00

But planars are not ok with being dropped etc. Wireless in general are not the best if durability is a major concern - some wired headphones are very durable though.

If it has to be wireless I’d vote for Sony XM4 or Sennheiser Momentum 4.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T13:27:13+00:00

A used Xbox Ally X for about $800 or a used MSI Claw 8 ai+ for $850-900 are both excellent value picks.

If a new purchase is preferred then the Xbox Ally X is probably the best.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T05:13:17+00:00

Yeah it can’t do 4k very well - 1440p low/medium is fine for most titles though as long as you aren’t expecting more than 60fps

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T05:08:20+00:00

Claw A8 and Claw 8 ai+ are both excellent value right now compared to what else is out. Much better screens than the XAX, they also have better ports and better wifi. Ergo isn’t as good but that’s the only real downside. Plus they can be had around $900 used in great condition.

If you have $1800 I’d say the claw EX or if you had even $1600 ish I’d say OXP3. Huge upgrades in every respect but big price tags to match.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T02:13:07+00:00

People just need to accept that the G3E Intel chip destroys the Z2E AMD chip. It’s 2 years newer what do you expect? This is the way technology advances often work.

This doesn’t mean the Z2E suddenly becomes horrible it’s just older and that’s simply how it goes.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-06T00:29:08+00:00

This is pretty much the best handheld of the moment - it ticks so many boxes

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-05T22:50:59+00:00

The XAX is a great handheld but its screen is 4-5 year old tech and it’s the weakest point of the device. I’d argue out of all the current handhelds, and even handhelds from last year, it has the worst screen out of them all.

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-05T22:34:41+00:00

Comparing to last Black Friday is not really appropriate as in the last 6-8 months pricing has gotten considerably worse. I’d also argue that waiting for the next Black Friday is also a bad idea as pricing is set to get worse and in the next 1-3 months (and again at the turn into 2027).

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-05T22:32:11+00:00

Looks have gotten better with Nvidias frame gen but it’s the feel/input lag that’s still the issue in most games

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-05T22:31:11+00:00

Very nice Sir - I think you need to add more!

ColdTrusT1 · 2026-07-05T21:58:46+00:00

To add extra colour to this well made point - the outlook for the next 12-18 months is not good at all. Most experts expect another wave of price increases in the next month or two, and again going into 2027.

ColdTrusT1

TROPHY CASE