MSI has quietly revealed a new model of its recent handheld on its main site, which features more powerful and beneficial specifications over the Nintendo Switch 2 - and it's coming shortly after the console's launch on June 5.

As highlighted by VideoCardz, the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ Polar Tempest Edition features a new snow-white color scheme and an optional 2TB of storage available at $999 (around £990 / AU$1,890). It will reportedly ship to consumers on July 15.

The base model starts at $900 / £899 / AU$1,799, and provides fantastic performance across several games using Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V processor. It's also worth noting that battery life is key with the Claw 8 AI+; it uses an 80 WHr battery and can still yield high frame rates at only 17W power usage.

This could likely be significantly better than the Switch 2's 5220mAh battery, which should be roughly around 20 WHr. While the Claw 8 AI+ is undoubtedly the more expensive option, it's likely going to outperform the Switch 2 in every region in terms of hardware and game performance.

In a world of inflated GPU prices, consumers looking to dive into PC gaming could potentially be spending over $1,000 for hardware parts alone - and that's without mentioning the cost of a pre-built system - and MSI's handheld seems to be in a league of its own versus competitors like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally X.

The only issue is that the base model already seems scarce in terms of availability in the US, and there's a chance the same could happen to this new Polar Tempest Edition. Even worse, it could see a major price jump due to US tariffs.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ er en high-end gaming hardware-mulighed, der tilbyder imponerende ydeevne, især i forhold til at bygge en tilpasset gaming-PC. Selvom prisen kan være høj—og potentielt stige, hvis amerikanske toldsatser påvirker omkostningerne—kan dens avancerede funktioner retfærdiggøre udgiften for dedikerede gamere. Den nuværende pause i toldsatserne hjælper med at holde priserne stabile, men hvis tolden stiger, kan prisen blive endnu højere.

Sammenlignet med at købe individuelle komponenter til en desktop gaming-PC, kan MSI Claw 8 AI+ være mere overkommelig, og prisforskellen på omkring 3000 kr. eller mere (afhængigt af konfiguration) opvejes af dens overlegne gaming-ydeevne. Desuden er PC-spil generelt billigere end konsolspil, hvor nogle nye udgivelser kan koste op mod 500 kr. Hvis du ønsker et stort spilbibliotek, kan det at investere i denne enhed spare dig penge på lang sigt—selvom du går glip af eksklusive Nintendo-titler, hvilket kan være en ulempe.

Den kommende Switch 2 bruger Nvidias T239-chip, som understøtter DLSS-opskaleringsteknologi, hvilket forbedrer den visuelle kvalitet. Men dette kan stadig være utilstrækkeligt til krævende titler som Cyberpunk 2077 eller til at konkurrere med dedikerede håndholdte spilkonsoller i rå kraft. Switch 2 games could cost as much as $70

Selvom prisen på omkring 6000 kr. (eller 899 GBP / 1799 AUD) er betydelig, virker MSI Claw 8 AI+ mere attraktiv for gamere med et stramt budget, der overvejer en Switch 2 versus at spare op til en MSI Claw 8 AI+—sidstnævnte virker mere tiltalende, hvis ydeevne er din prioritet. Den nye Switch 2 er også using Nvidia's T239 chip.