The moment you touch the new Framework 13 Pro laptop you know it's different to what's come before. Despite the bubblegum pink USB Type-C ports I've jammed in either side of the machine, this is a serious laptop for serious work. But it's also still instantly recognisable as one of the company's eminently upgradeable and repairable notebooks. This is the true beauty of Framework's new machine, a laptop that at once exists as the pinnacle of its hardware journey, but also steadfastly refuses to compromise on the core principles that has made it one of my favourite PC builders.

Though, it must be said, that refusal to compromise here comes at a hell of a cost because of the focus on ultra expensive LPCAMM2 memory.

This is a next-generation Framework laptop, but is still completely compatible with every Framework 13 device the company has shipped in the past five years or so. That is a hell of an achievement, meaning that you could have an ageing 13-inch laptop and pick and choose from the company's Marketplace store whichever parts of the new machine you wanted. If all you wanted was the beautiful new CNC aluminium chassis and input cover, go for it; if you just wanted the new touchscreen, be our guest.

But it's the full package here, with the Panther Lake-based Core Ultra Series 3 mainboard at its heart, that has made this hands down the best Framework machine you can buy or build. Every detail of the new laptop feels exquisite… bar one. And I know it's a familiar refrain from me now, but I wish there was a more premium display option. I've been spoiled by OLEDs and Retina displays, and if Framework wants to truly own its 'MacBook for Linux' tagline then that's the only place it falls down. And even then, only slightly.

Otherwise, I'm in love with what Panther Lake offers this device—almost silent operation, super-long battery life, and outstanding gaming performance—as well as how it feels, both in terms of that new chassis and this vastly improved keyboard and haptic touchpad. The Framework 13 Pro represents the idealistic young company all grown up, and it's a machine that's an absolute delight to use.

Framework 13 Pro features

From a pure performance and efficiency point of view, it's the Intel mainboard sitting inside the Framework 13 Pro which makes this such a powerful and usable laptop. The Core Ultra X7 358H chip baked into it comes with the magnificent Arc B390 integrated graphics core that has made the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ such an outstanding gaming handheld, and that gives the 13 Pro some impressive gaming chops, too.

One other interesting thing to note about the new mainboard is its use of LPCAMM2 modules. Interesting… and expensive. When the design choices were made—with the goal of maintaining high memory bandwidth and throughput for the Panther Lake CPU without soldering on LPDDR5X and losing upgradeability or repairability—Framework would have known it was a more expensive option, but the memory crisis has made that exponentially worse.

There is also a level of fear to dropping in a new memory module that I've not experienced before. When you add in the LPCAMM2 module you need to line it up on a whole load of pins. Pins which, like motherboard socket pins, are very much incompatible with an errant thumb brushed across them. Too casual installation will kill a new mainboard real quick.

That new Intel SoC has been wrapped in a new cooler, which along with the efficiency gains of the Panther Lake architecture, allows for regularly silent operation. Combine that efficiency with the increased battery capacity of 74 Whr (compared to 61 Whr in previous versions of the machine) and you're getting stellar battery life out of the machine.

To cope with that increased battery girth Framework has redesigned the CNC machined aluminium bottom cover to have less of a taper to the front of it. The actual thickness of the frame hasn't really changed, but it's more uniform now. Which is no bad thing, and really does give it that MacBook/Razer Blade feel to the chassis. Impressively though, it is still backwards compatible with all the other Framework 13 laptops the company has ever released in that you could order the chassis on its own and drop your existing system into it without an issue.

Also getting the CNC aluminium treatment is the top cover for the rear of the display and the input cover housing the keyboard and the new haptic touchpad, both of which are excellent. The increased travel on the keyboard makes it a joy to type on, and the responsive trackpad is a real improvement over the original, and was designed especially for Apple folk coming across the divide to a PC laptop. My only concern is that multi-finger gestures too easily actuate a press, which is difficult to configure on the Fedora distro I'm using at the moment.

Finally, the Framework 13 Pro comes with a new touchscreen panel. It's a 120 Hz display, with a 2880 x 1920 native resolution that runs impressively bright (up to 700 nits) if you want it to. What it isn't, however, is a responsive OLED display. It's not a gaming panel, as CEO Nirav Patel explains to me when I speak to him on the show floor at Computex, but there is still a level of ghosting to the display which doesn't feel as premium as everything else about the device.

Framework 13 Pro value

The concept of 'value' for the Framework 13 Pro is a tricky one. On the one hand you have the fact that the best version of this machine comes with the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, and they demand the fastest LPDDR5X memory you can give them. And, to ensure Framework sticks to its upgrade/repair ethos, it is using LPCAMM2 modules to deliver that fast LPDDR5X memory.

These are not common, and they are not cheap. There are few suppliers, and Framework recently admitted that its current supplier for these Micron modules has increased the cost by "more than double". You only have to look at the configurator on the Framework website for the 13 Pro to see what that means. A 16 GB LPCAMM2 module costs $239, while the 32 GB version adds another $800 onto the cost of the laptop. That makes the cost of the Framework 13 Pro rather prohibitive for most mere mortals.

Even a 16 GB 13 Pro config will run you well over $2,000. And even if you switch to AMD, the HX 370 Framework 13 Pro configs of the same spec costs just shy of $2,500.

The other side of this, however, is that Framework has been walking the walk on long-term upgradeability for its devices for many years over many different generations of PC hardware from different manufacturers. That means the initial premium outlay for a Framework system can be offset by the fact that you may not have to buy another whole laptop again for a very, very long time given the level of granular upgrades on offer.

I will grant you that this is a very high bar to get over, however. When the cost of an initial Framework 13 Pro purchase is this high you're going to have to keep hold of this thing, upgrading piece-by-piece for many generations, to even get close to breaking even with someone who just bought a new machine every time, and hang the ecological consequences.

Framework 13 Pro sound

When it comes to the actual audio experience, Framework has added new side-firing speakers to the design, rather than the original down-firing ones. They deliver impressive clarity and will go pretty loud, too, but they are still just laptop speakers. Basically, do not expect real room-filling audio with thumping bass.

But it's the other sound production side of the Framework 13 Pro that has me truly impressed, and that's the fan noise. It's long been an issue for me and Framework laptops; there's no way to control the fan levels unless you hack in some third-party tools made by the community, and they noise has often trended far too far to the unpleasant for my liking, especially when under serious load.

That was a concern for me as someone who wanted to use the B390 iGPU at the heart of the Core Ultra X7 CPU inside this machine for gaming. I shouldn't have been worried, however, as even when I'm pushing the Arc GPU the system is tuned to rein it back in a little (but not too much) and keep it running at a genuinely quiet level. There is fan noise, but it's slight at worst.

For most of the time I've been using the Framework 13 Pro outside of gaming, though, it's been all but silent. And often actually silent.

Framework 13 Pro performance

When I first started benchmarking the Framework 13 Pro, with its Intel Core Ultra X7 358H chip, I'd come off the back of testing the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ with the very similar Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor. And there was a slight level of disappointment at seeing the performance not quite hitting those levels or the levels of our initial Panther Lake performance tests when the architecture first came out.

But I've already mentioned just how quiet a device this 13 Pro machine is, and that's as true when doing CPU rendering as it is when I'm pushing it with Cyberpunk 2077. On a machine such as this I'll take a few missing frames per second in exchange for an actual experience that doesn't make me want to stab myself in the ears to get away from the sound.

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1080p gaming performance

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High)F1 24 (1080p Medium)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

29

22

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

33

16

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

22

18

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

27

19

010203040

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	29 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	33 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	22 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	27 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

49

38

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

51

33

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

33

25

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

33

20

015304560

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	49 Avg FPS, 38 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	51 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	33 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	33 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

49

31

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

61

32

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

42

28

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

58

16

020406080

Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	49 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	61 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	42 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	58 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

40

25

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

41

15

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

23

13

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

32

19

015304560

Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	40 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	41 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	23 Avg FPS, 13 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	32 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

93

39

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

107

64

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

72

41

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	93 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	107 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	72 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	N/A

For the most part, the Framework 13 Pro is able to keep up with the most powerful handheld gaming PC of today thanks to that Panther Lake iGPU.

1080p upscaling performance

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original)F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

44

28

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

50

28

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

33

27

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

38

25

015304560

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	44 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	50 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	33 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	38 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

64

48

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

73

50

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

44

30

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

36

24

020406080

Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	64 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	73 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	44 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	36 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

60

41

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

66

51

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

59

35

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

70

7

020406080

Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	60 Avg FPS, 41 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	66 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	59 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	70 Avg FPS, 7 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

104

43

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

124

88

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

83

58

037.575112.5150

F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	104 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	124 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	83 Avg FPS, 58 1% Low FPS
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	N/A

With the Quality upscaling preset you're getting very playable performance out of the Framework 13 Pro at 1080p.

Synthetic gaming performance

3DMark Time Spy3DMark StorageFFXIV Shadowbringers

Index score

GPU index score

CPU index score

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

5766

5275

12220

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

6499

6091

10487

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

3480

3114

10469

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

4366

3935

11534

03,7507,50011,25015,000

3DMark Time Spy Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	5766 Index score, 5275 GPU index score, 12220 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	6499 Index score, 6091 GPU index score, 10487 CPU index score
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	3480 Index score, 3114 GPU index score, 10469 CPU index score
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	4366 Index score, 3935 GPU index score, 11534 CPU index score

Index score

Avg bandwidth (MB/s)

Access time (ųs)

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

2089

353.96

85

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

2152

366.66

83

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

2117

359.34

84

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

1900

323.75

94

07501,5002,2503,000

3DMark Storage Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	2089 Index score, 353.96 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 85 Access time (ųs)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	2152 Index score, 366.66 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 83 Access time (ųs)
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	2117 Index score, 359.34 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 84 Access time (ųs)
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	1900 Index score, 323.75 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 94 Access time (ųs)

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

19.175

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

10.952

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

21.9

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

23.24

07.51522.530

Total load time (seconds)

FFXIV Shadowbringers Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	19.175
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	10.952
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	21.9
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	23.24

The synthetic gaming performance does highlight the power of the Panther Lake architecture, and the solid game loading speeds, too.

You can see in the CPU benchmarks that the chip is bouncing off 100 °C and thermally throttling, and it's the cooling limitations necessary to maintain the chilled experience which are slightly holding back the gaming frame rates, too.

System performance

Cinebench 20247-zipThermal performance

Single-core index score

Multi-core index score

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

114

893

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

111

794

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

115

988

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

151

1391

03757501,1251,500

Cinebench 2024 Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	114 Single-core index score, 893 Multi-core index score
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	111 Single-core index score, 794 Multi-core index score
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	115 Single-core index score, 988 Multi-core index score
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	151 Single-core index score, 1391 Multi-core index score

Compression (GIPS)

Decompression (GIPS)

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

95.053

78.763

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

92.318

78.753

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

109.33

115.42

Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90

113.69

108.62

037.575112.5150

7-zip Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	95.053 Compression (GIPS), 78.763 Decompression (GIPS)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	92.318 Compression (GIPS), 78.753 Decompression (GIPS)
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	109.33 Compression (GIPS), 115.42 Decompression (GIPS)
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	113.69 Compression (GIPS), 108.62 Decompression (GIPS)

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max CPU package power (W)

Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390

100

43

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390

97

37

Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M

89

50

0255075100

Thermal performance Data

Product	Value
Framework 13 Pro | Core Ultra X7 358H | Arc B390	100 Max CPU temp (°C), 43 Max CPU package power (W)
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ | Arc G3 Extreme | Arc B390	97 Max CPU temp (°C), 37 Max CPU package power (W)
Framework 13 | Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Radeon 890M	89 Max CPU temp (°C), 50 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus Zenbook A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme | Adreno X2-90	N/A

As soon as you see the thermal performance of the X7 358H inside the Framework 13 Pro you can see why the 16-thread chip is only marginally ahead of the 14-core G3 Extreme version in multi-core performance.

Even if we are talking about a slight tempering of the performance of the Arc B390 iGPU compared with other devices sporting Intel's top integrated graphics, it's still the most powerful that you will find and places this machine head and shoulders above the best that AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 can muster.

And I was already pretty impressed with that.

Framework 13 Pro aesthetics

With its graphite black, CNC milled aluminium chassis the Framework 13 Pro is the most effortlessly stylish laptop the company has ever produced. It feels like the culmination of everything Framework has been working towards for these six years. The slightly chunkier styling, necessitated by the bigger batter sitting underneath the touchpad at the front of the device, makes it feel far more solid than before.

And actually makes it feel far more like the MacBook it's trying to ape, and the Razer Blade 14 that it's potentially going to replace as my daily driver.

It actually is more solid, too, as you can pick it up by the corner and the extra structural rigidity afforded by that new aluminium frame means there is zero give. The same is true of the keyboard as well which betrays no movement bar the extra travel of the keys Framework has deliberately introduced into this version.

But then you've also got all the other Framework touches that has made its 13-inch laptop such a pleasing device for years. You have your choice of coloured and translucent bezels as well as a plethora of colours for the USB Type-C input modules. For this layout I've gone for a pair of bubblegum pink ports and a translucent grey bezel for that extra techie feel. But that's my preference and you can make your own choices at the point of purchase yourself.

Framework 13 Pro software

There is no bloat, because there doesn't have to be any software included at all.

If you just want to stick a Linux distro onto your device the SSD will be shipped blank, likewise if you want to use your own copy of Windows rather than spend $200 on a needless Windows Pro license.

There is a driver bundle for Windows you can download from the Framework support site, and you will need Wi-Fi drivers in hand when you install Windows ('cos that's still a thing), but Linux support is largely there out of the box when you install your distribution of choice.

The slight downside of this, as I noted before, is that there is no system control software. That means there is no granular control over power options beyond the OS options, and there are no fan controls, either. The fan control issue isn't a thing for Panther Lake, however, thanks to its quiet operation straight off the bat, but I wish I could control the SoC's TDP as easily as you do on a gaming handheld, but that's a relatively minor gripe in a world that is often replete with too many different bits of control software fighting each other.

Framework 13 Pro battery life

Of course this is not a gaming laptop, but the level of gaming performance you can get out of this ostensibly productivity laptop is excellent. Development by day, gaming by night. Or on the go, because the battery life of the Framework 13 Pro is also very, very good.

Stick it on balanced mode in Windows and boot up a game and you'll find the battery drains in a little under two hours, but the latest Arc drivers include the same Endurance mode I loved so well in the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. It doesn't quite get you the same five hours of gaming that handheld delivers, but you're still not getting far off a doubling of the gaming uptime of the standard mode.

That does try and stick you to 30 fps as a rule, but when you're trying to keep gaming as long as possible when you're on the move—or trying to make sure that when you're done playing you have some power left for some actual work—then it's a worthy compromise.

That, however, is a Windows thing, requiring the latest Intel Arc drivers and isn't necessarily something you can replicate within a Linux environment. Almost all of Framework's impressive 13 Pro battery life numbers are recorded from a Windows installation, with only its seven days of standby measured with Ubuntu.

That doesn't mean it's bad in Linux, not by a long shot. I'm using a Fedora Cosmic Atomic distribution at the moment, and have been running it all day long today, without it going into standby once, playing music, downloading games, and having video meetings, as well as writing this review, and I've only gone through half the battery capacity in six hours. It's all-day battery life for sure, though I think Panther Lake's optimisations are probably going to be felt more keenly in a Windows environment.

Have you ever been sick of your family using your electronics without asking, and thought 'boy, I should put spikes and a taser on this thing'? If the answer is yes, then you're like Redditor ConroyyJenkinss (presumably no relation to Leroy), who has done just that.

Taking to the Steam Deck subreddit, they recently announced "I Built a Security System for My Steam Deck", and it is one heck of a security system.

steamdeck from r/SteamDeck/comments/1v6osor/i_built_a_security_system_for_my_steam_deck

"I got sick of my family always draining my Steam Deck's battery and not recharging it", ConroyyJenkinss said, so they decided to 3D print a spiky case they made in Blender to snap onto the side of the device. That makes it tough to hold.

From there, they rigged up a Raspberry Pi with a speaker to an object detection camera, and wrote a Python script to "play a goofy audio clip" and set off a taser fitted to the top of the Deck after a few seconds. No, they don't say what the audio is. As far as I can tell, the taser is just there to scare would-be battery thieves, as it can't make contact from its perch above the Steam Deck.

You might be wondering why the Redditor didn't simply put a password on the Steam Deck and leave it at that. Jenkinss says, "This minimises the risk of them touching my Steam Deck at all, they are forced to ask for permission now."

Naturally, this defense mechanism isn't designed to actually serve its purpose. It's a goofy experiment that is done just to see if it can be done. Jenkinss even acknowledges in the comment section that disarming the taser and taking the spike case off is a hassle. I suppose there's more justification to keep the device safe, with it recently seeing a huge price increase.

One redditor in the comments section calls it "hostile architecture for gadgets", and now I'd love to see a tournament of the most abrasive and over-the-top defence mechanisms against the painful experience of having your family waste your battery life.

ConroyyJenkinss says it is "easily the dumbest thing I've ever built but it works, and nobody touches my Steam Deck anymore."

Yeah, I can see why.

I must say, I didn't expect to see an RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC for this cheap any time remotely soon. Over the last few months we've seen prices for components (especially RAM) rise across the board, and over the last few weeks I've noticed gaming PCs have started shooting up in price, suggesting cheaper backstock is finally running dry. But here we are, an RTX 5070 Ti rig for just $1,699 at Walmart.

That price is about the same as we saw RTX 5070 Ti rigs go for on sale during last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which was prior to the RAMpocalyptic price hikes. I also highlighted this very same PC back in June when it was $50 more than it costs right now, and it was a good deal even at that price.

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Saying that, there are definitely big caveats to this build, making it far from an equal comparison. However, even with those caveats in mind, I think the price here is just so far below other RTX 5070 Ti rigs we're seeing right now that if you want something purely for high-end gaming, it's still a great shout.

Let's be clear on the caveats though: the trifecta of RAM, storage, and CPU. Firstly, you're getting just 16 GB of DDR5, and given MSI doesn't seem to list its speed anywhere, this could be slow DDR5, too. Then there's the storage, of which you're only getting 1 TB—that in itself isn't too unusual below $2,000 these days, though. And finally the CPU, which is basically a repurposed mobile chip that has just half the L3 cache (16 MB) of standard AMD desktop CPUs.

Gaming performance

Black Myth Wukong (1440p High)Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p RT Ultra)F1 24 (1440p Ultra High)Homeworld 3 (1440p Epic)Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1440p Ultra)The Talos Principle 2 (1440p Ultra)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

84

74

RTX 5070

68

60

RTX 5080

95

83

RX 9070 XT

82

73

0255075100

Black Myth Wukong (1440p High) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	84 Avg FPS, 74 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	68 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	95 Avg FPS, 83 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	82 Avg FPS, 73 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

61

48

RTX 5070

45

36

RTX 5080

71

57

RX 9070 XT

52

43

020406080

Cyberpunk 2077 (1440p RT Ultra) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	61 Avg FPS, 48 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	45 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	71 Avg FPS, 57 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	52 Avg FPS, 43 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

108

84

RTX 5070

78

60

RTX 5080

124

82

RX 9070 XT

105

66

037.575112.5150

F1 24 (1440p Ultra High) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	108 Avg FPS, 84 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	78 Avg FPS, 60 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	124 Avg FPS, 82 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	105 Avg FPS, 66 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

119

59

RTX 5070

112

64

RTX 5080

126

61

RX 9070 XT

111

62

037.575112.5150

Homeworld 3 (1440p Epic) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	119 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	112 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	126 Avg FPS, 61 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	111 Avg FPS, 62 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

129

89

RTX 5070

100

68

RTX 5080

151

96

RX 9070 XT

120

54

050100150200

Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition (1440p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	129 Avg FPS, 89 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	100 Avg FPS, 68 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	151 Avg FPS, 96 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	120 Avg FPS, 54 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

RTX 5070 Ti

81

35

RTX 5070

64

42

RTX 5080

95

59

RX 9070 XT

84

44

0255075100

The Talos Principle 2 (1440p Ultra) Data

Product	Value
RTX 5070 Ti	81 Avg FPS, 35 1% Low FPS
RTX 5070	64 Avg FPS, 42 1% Low FPS
RTX 5080	95 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
RX 9070 XT	84 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS

This last point in particular is worth noting because games like to chew through cache—that's what makes X3D chips so great, because they stack extra cache on/under the chip. And here it's not getting a full 32 GB of fast DDR5 RAM to pull from, either. That being said, for games that aren't particularly CPU-intensive, it should serve the RTX 5070 Ti fine.

If you want an all-round high-end rig, then, it's probably best to look elsewhere. But if you mainly care about gaming, this MSI rig should be well worth it as the RTX 5070 Ti will still be able to pump out some frames with that included CPU and RAM combo.

There's something else to note about the CPU too, which is that it's socket AM5. That means you should be good to upgrade the CPU to a current-gen or even next-gen X3D CPU whenever you're ready, without having to upgrade your motherboard too. So there's some longevity there for upgrades if you decide you need more processing horsepower.

In the end, though, the main allure here is that GPU in a build for just $1,699. That's a genuinely great deal for 2026.

👉 Check out all of Walmart's gaming PC deals 👈

My favourite hardware news stories lately have all followed a similar line of logic: 'Why? Well, why not?' But when it comes to the laptop MSI just unveiled as part of its 40th anniversary, I can't move past 'But why though?'

The sticking point for me is the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition's ludicrous $7,000 price tag. Sure, you're getting an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU with a pretty face-melting 24 GB of GDDR7, plus an Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor. And, sure, some versions of the RTX 5090 will set you back a couple grand all on their own, but not usually the slimmer laptop kind. Anyway, 7,000 smackers is still a lot of money for the power.

I hate to say it but the oodles of SSD storage and the whopping 96 GB of DDR5 might have something to do with it (thanks, memory crisis). Hey, at least if you buy directly from MSI, you also get a free code for Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.

This very pricey gaming laptop also enjoys an 18-inch MiniLED screen, which features a maximum resolution of 3840×2400. The refresh rate is a not too shabby 120 Hz, but at this price point I was kind of expecting something fast enough to make my eyes roll back in my head.

Joking aside, I'm struggling to understand who this gaming laptop is really for, beyond an MSI super fan (or a scaly fan with deep pockets and terrible taste in dragon art).

It's far from the only spenny anniversary hardware we've seen this year. For instance, the Asus' ROG sub-brand celebrated two decades, launching a shiny, aluminium-dressed-up-as-copper motherboard back in May. The Astral ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 and a China-exclusive DRAM kit also got anniversary editions. Again, it's all a bit too rich for my blood, but I'll admit that those glistening gold designs are almost tasteful.

I've been playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on the rather beefy Asus ROG Xbox Ally X without upscaling and things aren't looking pretty. Well, they are looking quite pretty, but they certainly aren't running pretty. You'll definitely want some upscaling to do that, and in my testing, FSR Medium is the best way to go.

Strangely, there isn't an option to disable upscaling altogether in Halo Campaign Evolved as of the time of writing. There are instead 'native' modes with TSR, FSR or DLSS. This essentially acts like anti-aliasing, without any of the performance benefits of upscaling.

With TSR set to native, I saw an average fps of 20 and 1% lows of 14.3 fps.

With FSR set to native, I saw a similar 22 average fps and lows of 19 fps. I would have assumed these would be identical, but they are similar enough to be within some degree of variance. Either way, FSR might be a better shout if it's taxing the silicon a little less.

I've been testing with the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X in performance mode, whilst plugged in, running at around 17 W. This is arguably the best mode for the handheld, being decently performant without being too loud. The ROG Xbox Ally X is no slouch in specs, kitted out with the Zen 5 AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme and 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory. It's on the higher end of the gaming handheld market right now.

There are some handheld-specific settings for Halo: Campaign Evolved. For instance, it has a very low graphical mode, which I couldn't access outside of the plucky ROG Xbox Ally X. This tones down the graphics quality but gives you better performance in return.

My money would be on TSR between the three available upscalers. Over three separate gaming tests, I saw an average fps of 31 and lows of 25.6 fps on TSR Ultra, which is a bit higher than native. Personally, I'd like lows in the 30s for smoother gameplay, and FSR can get you that… at a cost.

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Very LowHalo: Campaign Evolved | LowHalo: Campaign Evolved | Medium

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

FSR Low

49

39

FSR Medium

43

34

FSR Ultra

33

27

FSR Native

22

19

TSR Low

33

30

TSR Medium

32

28

TSR Ultra

31

26

TSR Native

20

14

015304560

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Very Low Data

Product	Value
FSR Low	49 Avg FPS, 39 1% Low FPS
FSR Medium	43 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
FSR Ultra	33 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
FSR Native	22 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
TSR Low	33 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
TSR Medium	32 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
TSR Ultra	31 Avg FPS, 26 1% Low FPS
TSR Native	20 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

FSR Low

32

27

FSR Medium

26

22

FSR Ultra

23

27

FSR Native

16

14

TSR Low

29

23

TSR Medium

29

25

TSR Ultra

29

25

TSR Native

16

14

010203040

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Low Data

Product	Value
FSR Low	32 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
FSR Medium	26 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS
FSR Ultra	23 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS
FSR Native	16 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS
TSR Low	29 Avg FPS, 23 1% Low FPS
TSR Medium	29 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
TSR Ultra	29 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
TSR Native	16 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

FSR Low

28

24

FSR Medium

24

23

FSR Ultra

21

18

FSR Native

14

12

TSR Low

29

24

TSR Medium

28

25

TSR Ultra

27

24

TSR Native

15

14

07.51522.530

Halo: Campaign Evolved | Medium Data

Product	Value
FSR Low	28 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
FSR Medium	24 Avg FPS, 23 1% Low FPS
FSR Ultra	21 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
FSR Native	14 Avg FPS, 12 1% Low FPS
TSR Low	29 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
TSR Medium	28 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
TSR Ultra	27 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
TSR Native	15 Avg FPS, 14 1% Low FPS

With FSR set to low, and using the Very Low graphical setting, I saw an average of 48.6 fps and lows of 38.6 fps. I'd call this 'perfectly playable' on the little 7-inch 1080p display. FSR Medium gave me an average fps of 42.6 with lows of 34 fps.

From my time so far, I reckon FSR Medium with very low graphics is the absolute sweet spot. That's what I stuck with as I have continued playing the game after I got all my testing stats.

FSR Low offers better performance, but it gives up too much clarity for me. FSR is genuinely really tough to justify on a bigger screen, so I wouldn't bother on my main gaming PC, but FSR Medium with very low textures looks perfectly fine on the ROG Xbox Ally X.

And, most importantly, the difference between Low and Ultra graphics settings is surprisingly subtle here. It's still more or less the same game: it's just a little less pretty, and, with upscaling, has a slight bit more of a sheen to it in motion. Make sure to turn off motion blur, too. It's awful.

Nvidia's Arm-based processor for laptops was unveiled after much waiting at Computex back in June. RTX Spark is Nvidia's first proper go at a consumer chip, combining CPU and GPU, and while it is of course targeted at AI workloads, it's also targeted at gaming. Now, Nvidia has confirmed which will be the first brands of RTX Spark laptop to come to market this fall and which will follow those.

According to Nvidia, "RTX Spark systems will be available this fall from Asus, Dell Technologies, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft Surface and MSI, with models from Acer and Gigabyte to follow."

The initial few aren't a big surprise given these are the exact companies that were announced as partners when RTX Spark was revealed. Of note is Acer and Gigabyte following the initial six, though.

As Chinese news site the Commercial Times points out (via VideoCardz), MSI and Asus will be the first Taiwanese companies to launch Spark lappies. But given it was the Surface Laptop Ultra that RTX Spark was most commonly shown running on at Computex, it'll be surprising if that's not the first one to market.

That being said, I'm looking forward to RTX Spark laptops other than the Surface. Back when it was announced, I reported just how much I liked the look of the thin MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI+.

If laptops as thin as this can really pump out 100 fps at 1440p like Nvidia claims—and our Dave's hands-on experience gaming on RTX Spark certainly does make me hopeful—then getting that kind of power out of such a thin laptop is an exciting prospect. Though I guess that will depend on the TDPs and cooling in question, too.

The other big announcement from Nvidia at SIGGRAPH 2026, at least as far as we gamers are concerned, was a closer look at how DLSS 5 works. For now, the AI filter looks to be controllable with just a couple of sliders, though Nvidia says it's working on building more controls for devs. And I can't deny that cranking up the subsurface scattering on masked-off environmental objects looks pretty damn good to my eyes, even if the controls are limited.

That technology will launch this fall, too, so the end of 2026 might be an interesting time for PC gaming. Setting aside the usual affordability provisos given the current state of the market, of course.

The Steam Deck was once a budget champion, but no longer. Ever since the price hikes earlier this year, Valve's handheld has become difficult to argue for as a value proposition—and according to recent sales estimates by Boiling Steam, it appears that consumers may agree.

The site has attempted to estimate the number of Steam Deck units sold by tracking its position on the Steam Top Sellers listing, and extrapolating data in relation to the entries above and below it (via XDA).

This back-of-the-napkin maths is hardly definitive, but it suggests that when the Steam Deck dropped from around fourth and fifth on the chart position to between tenth and fifteenth after the price adjustments in May of this year, the drop in weekly units sold would equate to roughly 80-82%.

Boiling Steam suggests that a slip to fourteenth on the Top Sellers list from its previous top five position represents a drop in gross revenue of approximately 72%, something the outlet characterises as a "complete collapse in total sales."

Presuming Boiling Steam's earlier estimate of between 11,000 and 18,000 units sold a week pre-price increase is correct, the figures would equate to between 1,400 and 3,000 units sold weekly in mid-2026. "The effect could not be clearer," says the outlet. "A 72% revenue contraction combined with a 54% price increase has completely shut down the demand for the Steam Deck."

Immediately after the price increases, replenished stock was reportedly sold out in North America, so it seems that some well-heeled buyers bit the bullet—at least initially. In fact, it's worth pointing out that regional shortages in Steam Deck supplies may have had their part to play in the Deck's position in the Top Seller rankings, which could skew this data significantly.

There's also a fair amount of guesswork here, as the outlet has made assumptions about the average Steam Deck price across the range for 2025 sales data, and extrapolated estimated weekly revenues for the positioning of the surrounding top-selling games. All of which is to say, a pinch of salt may well be required.

Still, it's been a grim 2026 in general for handheld gaming fans. While there's been plenty to get excited about on the hardware front, including Intel's Panther Lake-based Arc G3 and G3 Extreme offerings and the magnificent MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, the memory crisis-induced pricing has tarnished what was once an excellent entry point into PC gaming.

And the Steam Deck really was the entry point to beat all entry points. The cheaper LCD models have since been retired, the OLED models are hugely expensive given the performance you receive for your cash, and we're left wondering if the form factor will survive as anything other than a niche category for the very well-off.

I recently reported on a $5,299 handheld offering from Ayaneo, a 128 GB beast that I can't possibly see selling in large numbers for that sort of price. But, like Valve and countless other hardware providers, the company has felt the need to increase the pricing to cover memory and storage costs. Never mind global shipping uncertainty and a whole host of other contributing factors.

Those of you who picked up a Steam Deck back when it was cheap are probably feeling pretty pleased with yourselves right now, and rightly so. But, if these estimates are correct, I'd imagine Valve may be beginning to ask itself whether the hassle—combined with dropped sales figures—makes the whole endeavour worth it. And that, for PC gaming on the go, would be a sad state of affairs indeed.

A couple of months ago, Intel announced a couple of new chips for handheld gaming PCs, the Intel Arc G3 and G3 Extreme. It was certainly exciting to have something new on that front, given we've been seeing mostly the same silicon crammed inside such devices for a very long time. But at the time I warned that signs pointed towards yet more prohibitively expensive price tags. And now we're seeing Acer's pricing for its new Predator Atlas 8 handhelds, it's safe to say I was unfortunately right.

As spotted by KitGuru and confirmed by yours truly, the UK pricing for these handhelds, containing new Intel Panther Lake chips and expected to launch in October this year, ranges from £1,000 to £1,500. The cheapest has a regular G3 chip, 16 GB of memory, and a 512 GB SSD. You can up the memory to 24 GB for another £100.

A G3 Extreme version with a 1 TB SSD and 24 GB of memory will be able to be nabbed for £1,300, and bumping that up to 32 GB of RAM will get you up to the top £1,500 price tag.

Converting those figures to dollars, that makes for a handheld that ranges from (roughly) $1,300 to $2,000. Though of course prices don't usually track exchange rates exactly.

Yep, that's pretty expensive. But it's also par for the course for handhelds now, it seems. Our Dave has actually just reviewed an MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM featuring a G3 Extreme chip and that, too is in this ballpark. It's $1,800, a figure I noted as being likely back in May, given currency conversions of EU/AUS retailer listings.

At Computex in June, MSI told us that it was targetting $1,500 for the Claw 8 EX AI+, but that also came with the caveat that was depending on market forces. And those market forces have not been kind, as evidenced by the subsequent price change. Again, not unexpected, but as with memory prices in general, just an unfortunate reality of the industry right now.

To be clear though, the G3 Extreme chip is incredibly performant, with its 12 Xe cores helping the new Claw handheld handily beat others like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X in the games we tested at 1080p. So it's not quite as bad as paying so much for a non-G3 Extreme handheld. And it's certainly not as expensive as, erm, some options we're seeing surface.

But it's still mighty expensive. When the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X launched we thought that was expensive at $1,000, and now we reckon it's the best handheld gaming PC on the market because all the rest are just so damn expensive. It's a shame, given the handheld market for a while was looking like a decent entry into PC gaming. Now the market is looking more like an ultra-niche luxury one.

The Steam Machine is a pricey piece of hardware. Which is why UK redditor mdumtshali must have been heartbroken (or very annoyed) when theirs was stolen from their doorstep after the Royal Mail dropped it off while they were at work.

The delivery driver sent a picture of the Steam Machine box to prove it had been delivered, and even tried to cover it with a plastic bag (via Notebookcheck). But alas, when mdumtshali returned home, porch pirates (my new favourite term) had already absconded with the ill-fated mini PC.

However, mdumtshali says they eventually contacted Steam Support, which duly agreed to send out a replacement Steam Machine free of charge. "Honestly, kudos to Steam Support," says the redditor. "[I] thought I was going to be out £1000, which I really can't afford."

Steam Support initially asked mdumtshali to check with neighbours to see if the parcel had been taken in, which they duly did to no avail. As the Steam Machine is a high-value item, it's surprising that a signature wasn't required by the Royal Mail for delivery confirmation, which would have likely prevented this whole fiasco in the first place.

Royal Mail Left My Steam Machine Outside from r/steammachine

As Notebookcheck points out, the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 stipulates that sellers must ensure that items reach buyers, so this is less a case of good-guy Valve and more "Valve follows the rules"—which is still pretty pleasing to see in this "screw-you-got-mine" world of ours.

In other countries, however, the consumer protections aren't quite so clear-cut. Chalk one battered, bruised, and broken point up for this silly little country of mine, and kudos to Steam Support for quickly coming to this redditor's aid in their time of need.

It's clear the new MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM is the best gaming handheld in terms of almost all the metrics that count. It's the most powerful—delivering gaming performance well beyond that of the ROG Xbox Ally X with its AMD-powered Z2 Extreme APU—and it has an absolutely killer battery life, too. But these aren't the only metrics that count. Sure, they're the key ones if we're talking about what it's like to actually live with the MSI Claw 8 etc. but there's a large hurdle to get over before then. And it's a hurdle built out of pure cash.

The Claw 8 etc. is a handheld that's become as much of a casualty of the current memory and hardware crisis as the Steam Machine. To the point where, here at launch it's just looking like a near $2,000 toy for the really rather rich.

And this is a real failing for a handheld gaming PC. These aren't devices that are meant to be your sole machine; they're complementary systems for when you're travelling around, or just want to sit on a sofa instead of at your gaming desk. Which is why the Steam Deck was such a success. It understood the balance of price and performance was vital in this burgeoning market, and that it needed to be something additive to your gaming experience, not exclusory. And other players, such as Asus and Lenovo, were able to use their buying power to keep costs relatively low for their own subsequent devices.

That's all out of the window now, because there is no way to produce an affordable version of a handheld rocking the outstanding Intel Arc G3 Extreme silicon, whatever your buying power is. Which is a huge shame, because it really is the best gaming handheld I've ever spent time with. The chip at its heart is almost the entire reason behind that; because of its mix of extreme power and extreme Panther Lake efficiency it nails what I've always wanted a handheld gaming PC to be.

The level of compromise over the visual quality and frame rate of your games is impressively light, and while range anxiety is not necessarily a solved issue, the Endurance mode battery life is a bit of a revelation. But it's not all about Intel's silicon, because the enhanced MSI Claw design also plays its part. The weight is beautifully distributed, making it feel far lighter than it should, and the extended controller grips make it far more comfortable for a long session.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ features

The key feature for the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM is its Intel Arc G3 Extreme silicon. This is the first chip from Intel that is explicitly designed for a handheld ecosystem, and the fact that it is denoted as an 'Arc' chip highlights its gaming credentials, and the focus on its integrated GPU. In fact, Intel's Tom Petersen went so far as to pitch his claim to actually call the chip a GPU with an integrated CPU when I spoke to him at Computex earlier in the year.

Though I'm pretty confident his pitch didn't get very far with the Intel leadership.

The integrated graphics are the same as those sitting in the top-end Panther Lake processors, the Arc B390. That's a 12 Xe core chip and one that's impressively capable at 1080p gaming, especially at low wattage levels, but the chip as a whole contains some interesting optimisations dedicated to handheld gaming specifically.

The most obvious is how the split between Performance, Efficient, and Low Power Efficient cores lines up in the new chip spec. Where your standard Core UItra 9 or 7 Panther Lake chip comes with four Cougar Cove Performance cores to give it that extra processing grunt, Intel has cut that in half, with only two Performance cores in the G3 series of chips.

Alongside that pair, are eight Darkmont Efficient cores and a further four Darkmont LP Efficient cores. That then gives you a 14-core processor, so you can have some decent multi-core performance in there without dedicating too much silicon to the highest-performing—and most thirsty—cores Intel has in the whole Panther Lake stack.

And the Darkmont cores are plenty versatile and powerful enough in this form, and not the weakheart cores you might have in your head from the first flush of Intel's big/little core design. This isn't a mobile workstation after all, this is a gaming chip, and everything is focused around that.

To that end the G3 chips come with the latest version of Intel's Intelligent Bias Control software (IBC v3.5). This is a piece of software designed to balance power between CPU and GPU tiles, and here it allows for the complete parking of the more power-hungry Performance cores when the chip is operating at a low power level, below 14 W. It also affects the Windows scheduler and points more work towards the Efficient cores; it's almost the entirely opposite way the original scheduler was designed when Intel first brought the hybrid core layout to the PC.

But, having played with a couple of other Arc G3 Extreme handhelds—the OneXPlayer 3 and the Acer Predator Atlas 8—there is a lot that MSI is bringing to the table here, too. And much of it is a vast improvement over the previous Claw handhelds. MSI has been making Intel-based handheld gaming PCs for a couple generations now and they've been decent, but never class-leading. That's changed here with the Claw 8 EX AI+, where it's focused on nailing the design in terms of ergonomics and the ephemeral feel of a device, as well as supporting the efficient Intel architecture with a fat 77.8 Whr battery.

The flared design of the grips mirrors the Xbox controller and therefore the comfort of the Xbox Ally X, and all the buttons feel far more definite than the slightly woolly, imprecise controls on the previous Claw devices. We also have Hall effect sticks and triggers to give you more accuracy and remove the issue of stick drift over time, too.

The 8-inch IPS-like panel taking up the front of the Claw—and oddly slightly jutting out at the bottom—is a really solid 1920 x 1200 screen. With VRR support, you're getting a refresh rate from 48 - 120 Hz and an impressively bright display, too. It's rated for a typical luminance level of 500 nits, which means you don't have to have it anywhere near 100% to get a very playable level of brightness on the thing.

It's not all on the outside, either. The internals have been given an upgrade, and arguably the most important is the one you'll barely notice. The cooling. MSI has used taller fans in the twin cooling array inside it, and there is an impressive amount of clearance between the outer shell and those li'l spinny things. All told, you're getting an extra 5 W of cooling capacity compared to previous Claw designs, and apparently 9% more airflow.

Combine that with the noted Panther Lake/Arc G3 efficiency, and you get a cooling system that stays mercifully quiet, but still impressively effective when you're really pushing the graphics silicon to its fullest.

Another internal feature that pleases me is the SSD. It's super easy to unscrew and pry the back off the Claw—without breaking the plastic shell—and you're immediately presented with the SSD. This makes it simple to replace or upgrade the standard 1 TB of storage it comes with, but MSI has also ensured compatibility with full-size 2280 SSDs as well as the smaller designs.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ performance

If you've seen anything of our coverage of Intel's Panther Lake you'll know we're big fans of its gaming performance, and that hasn't changed with my testing of this new MSI Claw and its Arc G3 Extreme processor. In fact, it has only been enhanced because of its effectiveness at low power especially.

Our standard handheld gaming PC benchmarking suite sees the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ topping the table with only one exception, the ageing Horizon Zero Dawn upscaling benchmark, which relies on an older version of AMD's FSR technology. It's an impressive display, with it not being at all close in most games compared with the current pinnacle of AMD's own dedicated handheld silicon, the Ryzen Z2 Extreme in the ROG Xbox Ally X.

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1080p gaming performance

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium)F1 24 (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

33

16

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

26

19

MSI Claw 8 AI+

20

15

Lenovo Legion Go S

15

11

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	33 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	26 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	20 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	15 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

51

33

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

41

34

MSI Claw 8 AI+

37

31

Lenovo Legion Go S

22

19

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	51 Avg FPS, 33 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	41 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	37 Avg FPS, 31 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	22 Avg FPS, 19 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

107

64

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

84

76

MSI Claw 8 AI+

68

59

Lenovo Legion Go S

45

34

F1 24 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	107 Avg FPS, 64 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	84 Avg FPS, 76 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	68 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	45 Avg FPS, 34 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

61

32

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

48

15

MSI Claw 8 AI+

48

11

Lenovo Legion Go S

36

3

Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	61 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	48 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	48 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	36 Avg FPS, 3 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

41

15

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

27

15

MSI Claw 8 AI+

25

17

Lenovo Legion Go S

14

8

Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	41 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	27 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	25 Avg FPS, 17 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	14 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS

The Arc G3 Extreme chip in the Claw 8 EX AI+ shows how dominant it is over AMD's best handheld chip, and the last generation Intel iGPU in the previous MSI Claw 8 device.

1080p upscaling performance

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

50

28

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

39

30

MSI Claw 8 AI+

33

25

Lenovo Legion Go S

22

18

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	50 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	33 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	22 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

73

50

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

53

44

MSI Claw 8 AI+

48

40

Lenovo Legion Go S

29

25

Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	73 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	53 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	48 Avg FPS, 40 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	29 Avg FPS, 25 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

124

88

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

97

88

MSI Claw 8 AI+

85

75

Lenovo Legion Go S

57

21

F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	124 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	97 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	85 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	57 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

66

51

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

70

18

MSI Claw 8 AI+

54

23

Lenovo Legion Go S

51

8

Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	66 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	70 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 AI+	54 Avg FPS, 23 1% Low FPS
Lenovo Legion Go S	51 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS

The Arc G3 Extreme chip in the Claw 8 EX AI+ shows how dominant it is over AMD's best handheld chip, and the last generation Intel iGPU in the previous MSI Claw 8 device.

Synthetic performance

3DMark Time Spy3DMark StorageFFXIV Shadowbringers

Index score

GPU index score

CPU index score

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

6499

6091

10487

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

4033

3663

9462

MSI Claw 8 AI+

4460

4125

8266

Lenovo Legion Go S

2244

2072

4246

3DMark Time Spy Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	6499 Index score, 6091 GPU index score, 10487 CPU index score
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	4033 Index score, 3663 GPU index score, 9462 CPU index score
MSI Claw 8 AI+	4460 Index score, 4125 GPU index score, 8266 CPU index score
Lenovo Legion Go S	2244 Index score, 2072 GPU index score, 4246 CPU index score

Index score

Avg bandwidth (MB/s)

Access time (ųs)

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

2152

366.66

83

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

1163

199.98

155

MSI Claw 8 AI+

1889

323.51

95

Lenovo Legion Go S

1582

272.24

114

3DMark Storage Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	2152 Index score, 366.66 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 83 Access time (ųs)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	1163 Index score, 199.98 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 155 Access time (ųs)
MSI Claw 8 AI+	1889 Index score, 323.51 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 95 Access time (ųs)
Lenovo Legion Go S	1582 Index score, 272.24 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 114 Access time (ųs)

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

10.952

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

18.91

MSI Claw 8 AI+

15.15

Lenovo Legion Go S

20.56

FFXIV Shadowbringers Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	10.952
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	18.91
MSI Claw 8 AI+	15.15
Lenovo Legion Go S	20.56

The Arc G3 Extreme chip in the Claw 8 EX AI+ shows how dominant it is over AMD's best handheld chip, and the last generation Intel iGPU in the previous MSI Claw 8 device.

As soon as you start twiddling the upscaling knobs you're getting to never less than fully playable on all the games in our tests. And that's without even going down the frame generation route. If you find a game, such as Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, which has Intel's own XeSS FG baked into it, you are laughing. It pairs so well with the Arc G3 Extreme chip that Intel believes it should become a vital part of your gaming experience, and I have to agree.

From spending time playing Batman on the device, with multi frame gen enabled, it really does make a huge difference to the smoothness of the game, without hugely impacting the input latency. It's one of those times where I completely forgot what I was testing because all of the tech and frame gen faded into the background as I just spent time playing a great PC game without thinking about anything else.

Thankfully, that's how Intel is talking about frame gen with regards to the G3 Extreme series. It's all about making the experience smoother, not necessarily about winning people over with explicitly higher measured frame rates. That is what frame generation is good for: smoothing out gaming performance, not for giving you a veneer of higher performance.

Previous

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Endurance mode performance

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

37

29

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

50

28

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

39

30

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	37 Avg FPS, 29 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	50 Avg FPS, 28 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	39 Avg FPS, 30 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

51

32

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

73

50

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

53

44

Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	51 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	73 Avg FPS, 50 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	53 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

87

59

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

124

88

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

97

88

F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	87 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	124 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	97 Avg FPS, 88 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

47

36

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

66

51

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

70

18

Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	47 Avg FPS, 36 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	66 Avg FPS, 51 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	70 Avg FPS, 18 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

20

15

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

41

15

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

27

15

Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	20 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	41 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	27 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS

With the MSI Claw running in its Endurance mode you are getting impressively close to the full performance of the AMD Z2 Extreme chip in Xbox Ally X.

Battery life

PCMark 10 | Battery life (gaming test)

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

308

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

153

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

125

MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Default)

129

Lenovo Legion Go S (Default)

126

0100200300400

Battery life (minutes)

PCMark 10 | Battery life (gaming test) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	153
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	125
MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Default)	129
Lenovo Legion Go S (Default)	126

With Endurance mode you are literally doubling the battery life of the MSI Claw compared with its already impressive standard showing.

But one of the things that really stands out to me is the efficiency of the new Intel silicon when it comes to Endurance mode. When you enable Endurance in the MSI quick settings it turns on efficiency mode, which theoretically locks the frame rate to 30, 40, or 60 fps. Well, I'm not entirely sure about that, given the variety in average fps I've measured in my benchmarking, but it certainly pulls down the peak PL2 performance down to a maximum of 20 W, with PL1 stuck at 15 W.

This effectively doubles the battery life of the device, but delivers gaming performance that, to all practical purposes, feels about the same as you would get from running the Xbox Ally X at its top settings. There are times where the full power of the Z2 Extreme does edge out the 15 - 20 W performance of the MSI Claw, but those aren't all that common.

This performance and efficiency one-two punch is a hell of a double-whammy.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ value

Value? In the current handheld gaming market, surely you jest? This is where all my positivity about the new Intel Arc G3 series architecture and MSI's re-design of the Claw evaporates up against the molten heat of the memory crisis, because there is no getting away from the fact that we're talking about a gaming handheld that costs $1,800.

As soon as the AI/datacentre market started hoovering up all available DRAM and subsequently NAND memory the writing was on the wall for consumer technology. The laws of supply and demand meant prices were only going to spiral upwards and this has arguably hit the MSI Claw harder than many others.

That's because Panther Lake and the Arc G3 series chips' performance targets were designed around the bandwidth of high-performance LPDDR5X memory. Intel reportedly mandated at least LPDDR5X-7467 for a system to be classed as having either the top B370 or B390 iGPUs, otherwise they would just be noted as 'Intel Graphics'. The G3 Extreme here sits alongside 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8533, which costs a pretty penny and is likely a big reason for the high price of the device itself.

I spoke to Intel's Tom Petersen at Computex earlier this year specifically about whether we'd see any machines using the non-Extreme version of the two G3 chips the company announced, and he was sceptical precisely because of this.

"I don't know the answer to that one," he says. "It's a great question. I think we're in a weird time with the whole DRAM thing going on right now, where the pricing difference between the two chips is small, and small relative to what's going on with DRAM.

"So, if you're going to spend the money on DRAM, why not just get the best one? I think there's some of that going on. As DRAM prices come down and the market starts normalising a little bit, then the differentiation of price that you can get by picking different SKUs will be a more important differentiator than the end user. That's my guess."

Which kinda sucks. The memory just costs far more than the difference between the two G3 processors, making that saving largely irrelevant for anyone looking to try and create a cheaper option.

You only have to look at the Acer Predator Atlas 8, which is also using the G3 series of chips and is releasing a straight Arc G3 version. But that's looking to be priced around $1,500 despite using the cheaper chip. The equivalent Atlas 8 compared to the MSI Claw 8 etc. is running to over $2,000. However you cut it, the mix of CPU and memory silicon is expensive.

So, the price is understandable then, but that doesn't change the fact that at this level it's impossible to recommend the Claw 8 etc. to anyone who makes their purchases with any form of value judgement in mind. If you're just after the best/fastest, and hang the expense, all power to you, but for the rest of us there's little by way of a value proposition here.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ sound

When it comes to the actual sound reproduction of the speakers in the MSI Claw EX AI+ they're fine. Nothing more, nothing less. Arguably there's not a whole lot you can do with the sort of space you have to jam a set of speakers into, but they still do an admirable job anyway. Though I will say that I'd still advise you to use a set of earbuds or headphones with the device for the best aural experience.

But the other side of this equation is the sound the device's cooling makes when you're pushing the silicon to its limits. And in that I'm far more impressed.

It's not that the device is silent under load—you will still hear those fans when they're really blowing—but the tone is as unobtrusive as they get and the work MSI has done to improve the cooling array of the latest MSI Claw has really paid off. If you're rocking Endurance mode and playing some relatively lightweight games you will barely hear the whoosh of air carrying off the heat from the silicon.

And even if you are hammering the G3 Extreme, I never felt the same sort of loathing I get from a really egregious gaming laptop's turbine roar under gaming loads.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ thermals

This is an Intel CPU, so when we really put it under sustained load, such as with a ten minute Cinebench 2024 run, then yes, we're going to be hitting high temperatures. But it's also no different to the sorts of temperatures you'll see from AMD's own handheld chips when put under the same processing pressure.

There's a solitary degree in it, which could easily be passed off as variance in testing, but the Arc G3 Extreme in the MSI Claw measured 97 °C as its maximum temperature, while the Ryzen Z2 Extreme in the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X hits 96 °C.

Cooling

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max CPU package power (W)

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM

97

37

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

96

55

Lenovo Legion Go S

99.2

38

Thermal performance Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM	97 Max CPU temp (°C), 37 Max CPU package power (W)
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X	96 Max CPU temp (°C), 55 Max CPU package power (W)
Lenovo Legion Go S	99.2 Max CPU temp (°C), 38 Max CPU package power (W)

The thermal performance of the MSI Claw is impressive, however the Xbox Ally X is doing more work with higher power draw.

But at no point do either of these handhelds ever get to the point where they are too hot to touch. The cooling design vents the hot air out of the top of the MSI Claw, while drawing it in from twin fans oriented to pull in from the rear of the device. This means you're never hit by the hot air when you're using it in a normal way, with the screen out in front of you.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ software

We're still talking about a Windows-based handheld, and even with the Xbox Mode operating to full effect, the MSI Claw remains a device that feels like it's got a bunch of software snakes writhing around under the surface all fighting to control what happens in there. The simple, unified nature of SteamOS is what has drawn people to Valve's Linux-based operating system, and why a bunch of other Linux distributions have co-opted it as the front-end for their own handheld versions.

But Windows is still very much a desktop OS, and one that still has some roots in the aging operating systems of its past that it cannot escape. There are still Windows 2000-era menu systems lurking inside Windows 11 if you look not very hard at all. And even with the Xbox mode layer cleaning things up for handhelds it's still not entirely unified.

Yes, you can have Steam boot into Big Picture mode, but I found Xbox mode seemed to block that from loading immediately after booting. So you're still going to boot into either MSI's own game and system launcher or the Xbox app. Either way is clunky and requires you to jump through a few more hoops, click a few more buttons, to get to the game you want.

Then there's the overlay. Pressing the menu button on the Claw brings up what's essentially the Gamebar menu as an overlay, just like with the Xbox Ally X. Except here, after maybe a one second delay, it will jarringly flick you over to the MSI quick menu. I will say this is probably where you want to land when you hit that button, as it gives you all the necessary control over performance, controls, and recording, but it's not a slick experience.

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ battery life

If gaming performance is the attention grabbing metric for most PC gamers when it comes to handheld PCs, battery life is the one that will have the biggest impact on your overall experience with the device when you get it in your hands.

I was already impressed with the MSI Claw EX AI+ CG3EM when I first ran my battery life benchmarks on its default, AI Engine power mode. This gets you running up to 37 W and I am getting another half an hour of solid gaming time over and above the Xbox Ally X, and that's all while performing at a much higher level.

But the joy for me of the new Arc G3 Extreme chip is its performance when you're not throwing that much power down its throat. Switch on Endurance mode in the MSI quick menu, which puts you in the Efficiency preset in the Intel Graphics Software app, and my measured battery life literally doubles.

Battery life

PCMark 10 | Battery life (gaming test)

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)

308

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)

153

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)

125

MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Default)

129

Lenovo Legion Go S (Default)

126

Asus ROG Ally X (Default)

128

OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro (Default)

82

0100200300400

Battery life (minutes)

PCMark 10 | Battery life (gaming test) Data

Product	Value
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Endurance mode)	308
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3EM (Default)	153
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (Default)	125
MSI Claw 8 AI+ (Default)	129
Lenovo Legion Go S (Default)	126
Asus ROG Ally X (Default)	128
OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro (Default)	82

We use PCMark's Gaming battery life test, which loops through older 3DMark tests, continually hammering the battery until it gives out and the system goes into shutdown. And with Endurance mode enabled I've seen the Claw go from two and a half hours in that test to over five hours. And, remember, that will give you essentially the same actual gaming performance as the ROG Xbox Ally X across most games I've tested.

Now, that doesn't mean battery life is a solved issue, but this is you playing games without worrying about what that little percentage indicator in the top right of your screen says. And if you're playing something like Olli Olli World or Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, you can expect to bat well above that five hours average, too.

In fact, Intel actually measured the battery life of the Claw with the classic Team Fortress 2 running on it, and managed to get a healthy 11 hours of game time out of it. Actually, nearer 12. That's more than enough TF2 for anyone.

Ayaneo said it was suspending pre-orders for its Next 2 gaming handheld earlier this year after rising storage costs and the ongoing memory crisis made it "no longer sustainable." Well, it's now listed on Ayaneo's website—with an asking price for the top model of $5,299.

I'll wait for you to pick up your jaw. Back with us? Good. The top-end Ayaneo Next 2 comes with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, which is a Strix Halo beastie that's damn expensive no matter the device you find it in.

Storage wise, you get a 2 TB SSD. Sheesh, I know NAND prices are silly right now, but surely a single NVMe drive can't be entirely to blame. As for the RAM? Well it's... oh. Oh I see. The top spec model comes with, brace yourselves, 128 GB of LPDDR5x-8533.

Yep, that would account for the super-silly price tag. I know the the Next 2 is positioning itself to be the handheld to end all handhelds, but 128 GB of RAM? For what, exactly?

It's a Windows-based machine, so I suppose you could get up to some AI-based tomfoolery with it. Other than that, though, I cannot see a world where a 128 GB gaming handheld makes any sense.

Of course, there are cheaper models available. The 64 GB version will run you *gulp* $3,699, whereas the entry level model (and I use the term very loosely) with 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage is a mere $2,999, with shipping said to begin at the end of this month.

No matter which way you look at it, each of these prices is simply too much to pay for most mere mortals. And those with the cash to splash will still likely wince a little at this pricing.

Remember when I said the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X was kinda good value now at $1,000? Yep, that's the world we're living in in 2026, folks. And unfortunately, it's probably only going to get worse from here.

Just last week I was touting the Thermaltake LCGS NE as the same great option it has been for months at a discounted price of $1,400, given the state of the current market. Well, clearly Thermaltake heard me because it now costs $1,550 at Newegg. That's still reasonable for (unfortunate) mid-2026 prices, but now it's up against stiffer competition such as this RTX 5070 ABS Cyclone Aqua for $1,600 at Newegg.

The main decision will come down to whether you want a better and more efficient CPU with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, or a previous-gen CPU with a full 32 GB of DDR4 RAM. But it's not quite as simple as this, because that DDR5 is in a single-channel configuration, too.

Quick links

• Thermaltake LCGS NE - Core Ultra 250K Plus | 16 GB DDR5-6000 - $1,550 @ Newegg
• ABS Cyclone Aqua - Core i7 14700F | 32 GB DDR4-3200 - $1,600 @ Newegg

The deals

The first thing to say is that both of these PCs should perform roughly the same in most games, provided you're keeping background app use low. 16 GB of RAM is still mostly fine just for gaming, and in fact the Thermaltake with the 250K Plus will likely net slightly higher frame rates in more CPU-intensive games.

If you're just getting the PC for straight-up gaming then that might be a good shout, especially because you'll probably not want or need to upgrade your CPU for a long time. And if and when you do want to upgrade that RAM to an (expensive) 32 GB DDR5 kit, you'll not have to upgrade your platform to do so.

However, after a bit of flip-flopping I think I've settled on thinking that, for my money, I'd probably opt for the ABS Cyclone Aqua. That's not only because we've had a decent experience with that line-up, but because the build gives a lot more wriggle room for more activities right now. Using DDR4 rather than DDR5 memory will probably mean a hit to frame rates but it won't be massive, and whether you're multi-tasking or doing productivity tasks, the extra 32 GB of wriggle room will be a relief.

Plus—and here's the crucial bit—with RAM prices being what they are right now thanks to the global memory shortage, you might not want to upgrade for the next couple of years anyway. So when it comes around to upgrading, it might be worth upgrading your entire platform anyway... in which case, you might as well have opted for the one with DDR4.

It's a toughie, though, and I don't think there's a 'correct' choice. Importantly, both are respectable prices for a mid-range gaming PC in the current market.

👉 Check out all of Newegg's gaming PC deals 👈

As the AI boom gobbles up graphics cards, SSDs, memory sticks, and more, building a gaming PC has become eye-wateringly expensive (and it's never exactly been cheap). If, like me, you've been holding out in the hope those prices will drop to more sensible levels soon, I'm sorry to say that's looking unlikely.

Earlier this month, research showed that memory prices are predicted to rise sharply between now and 2027, with no reductions expected until 2028. Now, Valve has shared its own view of the hardware market, and it's equally glum. Speaking to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier about the company's long road to the Steam Machine, Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat said the company only sees prices going up in the short to medium term:

"Honestly, it's still getting worse," Aldehayyat explained. "Just in case people are not aware. What people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging what we're seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months."

Oof. Valve also provided some insight into how the memory crises affected the Steam Machine's launch. Unsurprisingly, initial supply of the Steam Machine was impacted by memory availability. "We're basically building everything we can," fellow engineer Pierre-Loup Griffais explained. "We're limited by memory capacity, for sure."

Valve didn't go into detail about how many Steam Machines have been produced or sold up to this point. But according to Bloomberg, Valve does not view the success of the device in terms of raw sales figures. Rather, it's about providing players with a viable option for open-source PC gaming in their living rooms.

"We suspect that the Steam Machine is a really good way to solve a very real problem that people have," Aldehayyat said. "If that's borne out to be true, from our opinion, it's a success."

In addition, Griffais said the memory crisis hasn't altered Valve's plans for the future of the device. "Users are getting their machines," he said. "For a lot of the experience, the work starts. We'll be doing that for years to come."

The memory crisis wasn't the only subject Valve addressed during the chat. The company also discussed why it opted against launching an exclusive game for the Steam Machine. I had vaguely hoped the launch of new Steam hardware might coincide with the reveal of a certain Half-Life sequel, but Valve said that it's much more interested in "having the whole PC catalog" as its "'launch exclusive'".

15 July, 2026: The original Steam Deck launched with an LCD screen back in 2022. Four years later, and Valve is apparently sunsetting replacement parts for this older model. A Redditor reached out to iFixIt to query the availability of a replacement battery for their LCD Steam Deck. Unfortunately, iFixIt responded that it was looking "less and less likely" that it would receive more OEM batteries for this model (via VideoCardz).

Another iFixIt representative chimed in on the comment thread under the Reddit post, writing, "To add clarity: it’s not that we’re choosing to not stock these anymore. Unfortunately, Valve is just starting to sunset these parts. We’re looking at alternatives!"

If the battery in your own LCD Steam Deck looks not long for this world, you're not completely out of luck as iFixIt said it was "actively evaluating aftermarket options." Currently, the company does not have a "confirmed timeline for when either OEM or aftermarket stock would be available" for the LCD model.

iFixIt already sells an aftermarket replacement battery for the Steam Deck OLED. Though this could physically fit inside the LCD Steam Deck shell, the OLED battery isn't really an option for a number of technical reasons.

You can no longer buy the more affordable LCD model of the Steam Deck directly from Valve, as these were quietly discontinued last year. That said, sunsetting replacement batteries four years post-release—you know, when a handheld gaming PC is likely to start to show its age with dwindling battery capacity—still doesn't feel fantastic. Such a truncated lifespan for OEM replacement batteries also seriously undermines the longevity of Valve's promises of repairability across its other hardware offerings.

iFixit Customer Support response for LCD Steam Deck batteries from r/SteamDeck

We have reached out to Valve for an official comment, and will update if we hear anything concrete.

So, what can you do? Besides re-visiting Valve's own Steam Deck teardown or reading iFixIt's handy-dandy battery replacement guide in anticipation of aftermarket stock, I would also advise treating your Steam Deck better than I've been treating mine recently.

Admittedly, I've been feeling pretty dour about the whole handheld gaming PC thing lately, but I do still love having the option to take big games on the go. What I love a lot less is just how chunky modern handhelds have to be in order to contain and cool all of their internal hardware. Perhaps I'm just yelling at clouds but if you ask me, the Switch Lite and the PlayStation Portable had the right idea when it came to a portable form factor.

Well, an enterprising modder has apparently heard my cloud-yelling. Developer Yifeng Wang has created OpenStrike, a Counter-Strike clone that apparently enjoys a tiny 12 MB RAM footprint and runs at 60 FPS on Sony's 22-year-old PSP handheld (via Tom's Hardware).

Though described as only being a proof-of-concept, the developer still went incredibly hard on this project; Wang built his own Rust-based 3D engine called Pocket3D, plus a JavaScript engine called PocketJS. We're still a ways off from seeing the OG's buying stages find their way into OpenStrike, but all eight of Counter-Strike's original maps have been tested, and you can try your hand at elimination matches against bots in the current build.

If you're interested in noodling with this project yourself, either on your own original hardware or via an emulator, you can check out the GitHub Distro here. However, you'll need to supply your own copy of the Counter-Strike asset data.

OpenStrike makes the most of some fascinating technical limitations. For instance, the original PlayStation Portable features a teeny-weeny 4.3-inch display with a 480 x 272 resolution. OpenStrike runs at this native resolution at 60 fps thanks to some very neat technical know-how.

For one thing, non-visible areas of the map are still culled via Binary Space Partitioning, rather than a more modern, and potentially hardware intensive, algorithmic solution. For another, graphical assets are pre-processed, baking lightmaps into vertex colors rather than relying on any realtime or on-startup calculation shenanigans. So, no, this is not the most dynamic or shiny these maps have ever looked but it gives the decades old hardware room to catch its breath.

OpenStrike also works on 2011's PS Vita handheld console with native graphics. This slightly more sprightly hardware enjoys a display that is a whole 5-inches big, offering a resolution of 960 x 544. Okay, I admit it—I'll happily take the Steam Deck's 7.4-inch OLED display with its 1280 x 800 resolution over that dinky little canvas. If you're less keen on the whole Sony hardware dimension, you could alternatively take a look at Counter-Strike 1.6 right here in your browser.

Games on Steam have already been enjoying the various shades of the Steam Deck Compatibility check mark for some time now. Well, now you can check a title's compatibility on both the Steam Machine and SteamOS right there on its store page.

A few beats after the Steam Machine's June release, you can now check whether Valve's funky game box is up to the task of playing the depths of your backlog at a glance. On Steam, just click 'learn more' next to the Steam Deck compatibility rating for a brief breakdown of what works and what doesn't across Valve's various hardware and software platforms.

However, not all games enjoy a full Steam Machine compatibility rating; as spotted by Ars Technica, Black Myth: Wukong's compatibility is still listed as unknown, accompanied by a message that says "Valve is still learning" about the 2024 game, and that it doesn't "currently have further information regarding Steam Machine compatibility." In the case of Wukong, this could be because the game is too GPU and/or CPU intensive, causing the title to fail to reach a minimum threshold of, say, FPS while in-play on Valve's game box.

Otherwise, the game is listed as running "successfully on SteamOS". That means you're not limited to the Steam Machine's hardware specs (or indeed its disappointing price point or availability). You could instead opt to enjoy Wukong plus all the benefits of SteamOS on hardier hardware from someone other than Valve, such as the Lenovo Legion Go S.

Swapping to SteamOS on your home machine, for example, can come with its own share of drawbacks, however. For just one thing, Valve's Linux-based OS is known to often not play well with the kernel-level anti-cheat systems you'll increasingly find in competitive games nowadays.

Anyway, Valve is apparently "still learning" about a number of games when it comes to Steam Machine compatibility, including but not limited to Dragon’s Dogma 2, Elden Ring Nightreign, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and Resident Evil Requiem. That said, a number of games that are just about 'Playable' on Valve's handheld—such as 007: First Light—make the most of the Steam Machine's more powerful hardware and get bumped up to 'Verified'.

Personally, I've been jumping between much less graphically demanding titles. Level-based diorama builder Shanty Town enjoys 'Verified' status on both Steam Deck and Steam Machine, plus SteamOS compatibility. My other favourite this month has been Magical Princess (I feel like the title says it all), which instead enjoys the caveat-laden rating of 'Playable' on both the Steam Deck as well as the Steam Machine due to some text input and button glyph display shenanigans.

For now, you can't filter store results via Steam Machine or SteamOS compatibility, though that feature will likely soon follow. After all, the Great on Frame category was recently introduced, likely heralding the Steam Frame's imminent release. When that VR headset drops, we'll potentially see a similar compatibility category arrive too.

Prime Day came and went, and this morning I almost wept when checking out what gaming PC prices are like right now: it's far from pretty. But this absolute trooper of an RTX 5070 machine is still hanging in there at an eminently reasonable price of $1,400 at Newegg. It's been at this price for quite some time, and is somehow still holding out against the memory crisis storm.

Admittedly, that's a little easier when you're only rockin' 16 GB of memory in what looks like a single DIMM slot, but at least that's fast DDR5 memory. For this price with an RTX 5070, I'll take it.

We weren't too keen on the RTX 5070 at launch, but that was all relative to its pricing and the pricing of its competitors. The picture now is a lot different, and especially when it comes to pre-built gaming PCs, RTX 5070 rigs can often offer some of the best bang for your buck.

With the 5070, you're getting something capable of achieving playable frame rates in most new games at 1440p, even without frame gen and upscaling. And with the latter enabled, you can expect frame rates decent enough to even make good use of a high refresh rate monitor in all but very demanding games.

That's what's on offer here, and it makes it worth the sacrifices you're making when it comes to RAM and CPU. The former will do just fine powering the RTX 5070 for gaming, though you'll have to go steady with background apps and not expect too much outside of gaming—for, say, multitasking or productivity tasks. The latter is a previous-gen budget processor, but again, it will do just fine for gaming.

All this being said, there are a couple of alternatives if you're not keen on the single 16 GB stick of RAM.

Alternatives

The first of these will obviously not perform as well as the RTX 5070 rig. And the caveat here is DDR4 rather than DDR5 RAM, which not only performs a little worse but importantly, you lose out on some longevity, because you'll have to ditch that RAM if you want to switch to a new processor down the line. But for now, it's fine for gaming, and actually gives you more wriggle room for multitasking (for instance) than 16 GB of DDR5.

The second option with the RTX 5060 Ti is actually more expensive than the RTX 5070 option, and it won't perform as well in games because the GPU is less performant. But for that compromise you're getting a better CPU and, more importantly, a full 32 GB of fast DDR5 RAM. That means no compromises on the memory front at all, either for performance or longevity. Which is not something to turn our noses up at during a global memory shortage.

For my money, I'd be tempted to go for that last option, to be honest, but I only really play Counter-Strike at the moment, which is more CPU-intensive than GPU-intensive. If I were wanting to play more graphically intensive games, though, I'd be opting for the RTX 5070 rig if I could afford it. And if both are out of budget, there's the RTX 5060 option.

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The idea of taking serious hardware horsepower on the go was always the dream of my misspent, console-gaming youth. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved how older handheld systems made a calling card out of their limitations (and in the case of Nintendo, offered a hardware gimmick or gaming experience you couldn't find anywhere else). The fact that now you can play many of the same games on a portable device that you can also play in your gamer den would've blown my younger self's mind.

Unfortunately, the dream-come-true of handheld gaming PCs feels like it is coming to an end.

Our Andy updates our handheld gaming PC deals each week and recently shared a shocking revelation: 'Somehow, the $1,000 Asus ROG Ally Xbox X is the best value gaming handheld I can think of right now.' If you've got the cash then, sure, the Asus ROG Ally Xbox X with its AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, 24 GB of RAM, and 1 TB of onboard SSD storage makes sense for the asking price. But where does that leave you if you're on a much tighter budget?

The memory supply crisis has raised the pricing floor of all handhelds. Case in point, the device that we still rate as the best budget handheld gaming PC is the Steam Deck. The more affordable LCD models were quietly discontinued last year, leaving those looking to buy a Steam Deck new with only the very shiny OLED models to choose from. Years after release, the price for the base 512 GB OLED model has increased from $549 to $789. The 1 TB model has seen an almost 50% price increase, jumping from $649 to $949. The answer, then, to where that leaves the more budget-conscious? Without a paddle.

Despite this price hike (and the handheld's aged internals), both models of the Steam Deck sold out in North America shortly after the increase was announced back in May. The 1 TB model, which is going for £779 where I'm based in the UK, appears to be out of stock again at the time of writing. But I doubt this is a sustainable trend.

Let's zoom out a smidge. I update our best SSD deals every week, so I've not had the luxury of ignoring how storage prices have been climbing since the tail end of last year. Research suggests that memory prices are likely to rise as much as 50% in Q3 alone. Recent analysis by Bernstein suggests prices won't dip until 2028, when major manufacturers are expected to complete a number of capacity-increasing builds.

But here and now in 2026, it's not just gaming PC components that have seen price increases as a result of the memory supply crisis. For example, the Playstation 5 has seen three different price increases over the last six years and now costs a minimum of $650. I've written about it before but, despite buying a launch day PS5, it's becoming increasingly unlikely I'll pick up a PS6 day one. After all, if the PS5 Pro costs $900 today, how much more will the PS6 cost?

Hey, maybe Bernstein's predictions will bear out and hardware pricing will look a lot more sensible by the time Sony's next-gen console drops in 2028 or even 2029. But in the here and now, handheld gaming PCs remain in an arguably much more difficult position within the consumer market.

For those who don't already have a gaming PC, there's little doubt that a $650 base PS5 is going to look like the more economical option (particularly as Sony won't be bringing its handful of exclusives to PC in future, but maybe it's just me mourning the loss of, like, four games). If you already own a gaming PC, you'll likely want to save your pennies for increasingly expensive component upgrades. Where would a handheld feature in either budget?

The data suggests gamers generally are still willing to part with the cash for new hardware—though they aren't necessarily picking up a handheld gaming PC. A recent Circana report shared that the handheld of choice was overwhelmingly the Nintendo Switch 2, with the hybrid console largely credited for a year-over-year hardware spending increase that grew by 69%, climbing to $500 million this past March.

The Switch 2 saw its own price increase announced back in May, so it's worth pondering how much of this recent consumer clamour was motivated by a desire to scoop the console before it became more expensive. Even so, Nintendo's handheld is set to cost $500 from September 1 in the US.

There are plenty of PC gamers who have no interest in what the big N is doing these days, but a broad-view of today's gaming audience suggests a lot of gamers are more platform-agnostic. For instance, a 2023 Comscore report found 76% of gamers play across multiple platforms. Therefore, it's hard to ignore handheld gaming PC's most obvious competitor, even if the Switch 2 is underpowered compared to many of the available portable gaming options.

In short, the most performant handheld gaming PCs ask a price that's far too rich for my blood, and the best budget option is arguably not quite as compelling as Nintendo's offering (even after the price hike comes into effect later this year).

To paraphrase Andy's point, there's a chance gaming handhelds eventually revert to occupying a boutique niche for gamers with especially deep pockets. That's how they were in the before times prior to the Steam Deck's launch, with smaller Chinese outfits, such as OneXPlayer, releasing expensive, weak, poorly optimised devices. That's not really the future I want for handheld gaming PCs, but it's a strong possibility. However, given the state of, well, everything, I find myself taking a bleaker outlook.

In the longer term, it doesn't feel like handheld gaming PCs are the most economical proposition for brands or manufacturers either. For example, back in March Ayaneo suspended pre-orders for its uber-powerful Next 2 gaming handheld after costs approached 'twice the price we originally set'. To be clear, I strongly doubt Valve is going to pack it in with the Steam Deck any time soon. However, smaller companies with a much less diverse portfolio than, say, the company behind one of the largest storefronts for digital games, are likely to struggle.

What seems certain is that prices will continue to rise and meaningful chunks of the devices' audience will be priced out. My concern is that the maths may simply no longer math, and hardware companies will increasingly decide that handheld gaming PCs specifically just aren't worth it. For my wide-eyed younger self, I hope I'm wrong.

When Qualcomm released its first batch of ARM-based Snapdragon X processors two years ago, they worked well enough, but failed to set the PC gaming world on fire. It's not really what they were meant for, and if decades of buying computer parts have taught me one thing, it's never to buy into the first generation of a new product. I still do it, of course, as the Oculus Rift sitting unloved in its box shows, but I'm always left with the feeling that I should know better.

The main downside of the OG Snapdragon, once software compatibility issues were smoothed out, was its GPU. The Adreno cores buried somewhere in the chipset felt underpowered for anything heavier than Stardew Valley, and while DirectX and Vulcan compatibility was high, and driver updates refined the process, some games just didn't work.

With the release of the Snapdragon X2, a few things have changed. The main one is that the CPU package now comes with a lot more processing cores—18 on the Elite Extreme model we've got here—but the GPU is also a lot better. It's now putting out the sort of benchmark results you'd expect from Intel iGPUs, and in some tests can even produce better results than Panther Lake.

The ASUS ZenBook A16 we're looking at here is one of the first Snapdragon X2 laptops on the market. It boasts the Elite Extreme version of the chip, a name that makes you wonder where they're going to go next if they release an even better one. Elite Extreme Pro Max Gold Caviar Truffle Edition, perhaps. This one has 18 cores, and according to CPU-Z 12 of those are Performance cores running at 4.4 GHz, with the other six being Efficient cores running at 3.6 GHz. That's a lot of cores, and with ARM chips' ability to produce exceptional single-core performance (as shown by Apple's M5 last year) I had high hopes for this one.

And I was right. The X2 doesn't hit the same Geekbench 6 heights as the M5, but it's close, and beats the desktop Core Ultra 7 265KF and mighty Ryzen 9 9955HX in the single-core test. It beats those chips in the Geekbench multi-core test too, along with the Core Ultra 9 275HX from the Alienware 16 Area 51, and roughly the same as the 14-core M4 Pro in a 16in MacBook Pro.

The elephant in the room here is Panther Lake, which is going to be appearing in new laptops at the same time as the X2. And in Geekbench, the X2 and Core X9 388H both score over 3,000 points in the single-core test, with the X2 marginally in front, but in multi-core the gap widens, probably because the Intel chip only has four of the full-fat performance cores and 16 in total. It scores 17,924. The X2: 22,785. That's a difference of almost 24%.

Moving over to the Cinebench single-core CPU rendering test, which has been known to bring laptops to their knees and in which 100 is a respectable score, the X2 scores 151. A laptop running the X9 388H scores 130 in this test, and the multi-core rendering workout goes the same way, with the X2's 1391 beating the Panther Lake chip's 1173.

All this is assuming, of course, that the same tests applied to different CPU architectures can be directly compared. Geekbench has been designed for this, though as more of a tool for plotting broad relationships rather than a perfect one-to-one comparison between PCs.

All that single-core performance makes the ZenBook A16 very responsive, and if Microsoft's new Low Latency Profile makes its way to Windows on ARM it should make things even better. The fact that Asus has paired Qualcomm's X2 with 48 GB of fast RAM certainly helps too.

Things are looking quite good for the ARM chip until you remember it still uses an integrated Adreno GPU, and we have yet to see one that's paired with a discrete graphics chip. Still, it's not bad for an iGPU, supporting DX12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, and putting out enough frames to play games in 1080p as long as you don't mind medium to low settings. Cyberpunk 2077 looks surprisingly good on medium, and while there are some shimmering textures in Blackmyth: Wukong, it doesn't struggle too badly as long as you remember to switch FSR upscaling on. Older titles such as Horizon: Zero Dawn look like what they are: PS4 games (albeit ones running at nearly 60 fps in this case, rather than the locked 30 fps of the console version). But it's great to see the Adreno is capable enough to play them as they were originally meant to be seen.

There are still some issues with the occasional game—F1 2024, for example (and this might be a different story with a more up to date release), putting up a notice that it's not compatible with ARM processors. This could also be because it's a fairly new processor at the time of writing, and a few software patches and driver updates will sort it right out.

On the outside, this is an unassuming laptop, though as a 16-incher it has a presence that you just don't find in smaller models. It's a kind of beigy grey, which isn't utterly unpleasant but certainly stands out from all the black and silver casings out there, and is made from Asus' Ceraluminum material that's some sort of unholy amalgam of aluminium and ceramics. It has a matte feel, and makes the A16 extremely light, but it's also stiff enough to handle by the corner without the trackpad becoming non-functional.

That trackpad is a big one, too, smoother than the surrounding casing but the same colour, and a better experience than the keyboard, which doesn't have much travel and is the worst aspect of this particular package. The screen, however, might be one of the best. It's a 2.8k 16:10 OLED, not a touch-sensitive one, with a 120Hz refresh rate. It's sharp, bright (500 nits), colourful and all the things a laptop screen should be. Battery life is exceptional—at least it is if all you're doing is looping a video, at which it kept going for almost 17 hours. Make it work a bit harder and that's going to drop, and there's a fan to keep it cool when it's under load.

So once again, Qualcomm has released a capable chip with a bit of a weak GPU, though it's nowhere near as bad as last time. Asus has then put it into a laptop with an excellent screen, though it is a little bit expensive when you could pick up something with a low-end GeForce chip for less, and have a superior gaming experience.

I can't help thinking though, that if someone could teach the X2 to talk to an RTX card, even as an eGPU, then we could have something truly fearsome on our hands.

You saw it in the Steam Machine reveal, and now it's finally happening: E-Ink faceplates. The twist in this tale though is that Valve isn't the one making it.

Instead, that honour goes to Shenzhen-based peripherals and accessories brand Jsaux. If you want to be near the front of the queue for Color E-Ink, Mono E-Ink, or Color Dot Matrix faceplate, you can drop your email here.

Jsaux also shared a better look at all three designs via X. Beyond that, neither pricing information nor a release date has yet been announced (via The Verge).

Besides the plain black panel that comes standard with every Steam Machine, the 2 TB model also enjoys 'red fabric and solid walnut' faceplates. But despite showing off a bunch of funky options in the run-up to the Steam Machine's launch, Valve has said it doesn't currently have 'any specific plans' to make more.

Instead, Valve plans to release the CAD files for the Steam machine's housing so you can make your own. It has also already released the necessary files for its own internally developed 'inkterface'—though this may still not be the most beginner-friendly project (via Digital Foundry).

Despite Valve's pretty chill approach to DIY hardware customisation, that hasn't stopped some brands from getting ahead of themselves. For example, Dbrand touted a Companion Cube-inspired case for the Steam Machine that it ultimately had to cancel as the company never actually got Valve's permission to make it.

If the memory supply crisis would only ease up, and Valve were able to make its funky game box cheaper, I could be persuaded to have a go at making my own faceplate monstrosity. Now, where did I leave that ancient Decoden kit…?

Honestly, I want to like the Geekom A9 Max, I really do. From a pure design perspective, the hardware, the engineering behind it, the connectivity bundled into this thing, it's on another level. And it's just a bloody pretty thing at that, at least as far as Mini PCs go. You'd think it'd be a shoo-in for our best SFF PC list, without question. But there's a catch, because of course there is.

I may as well rip the band-aid off right now. It's the memory. I can already see the PR team squirming as they read that sentence, and it genuinely does pain me to say it, I promise. Geekom has decided to ship the A9 Max AI with a single stick of 32 GB DDR5 @ 5600 MT/s. And that is a decision that has effectively starved AMD's Radeon 890M of any modicum of the performance it can actually generate. I know this because I have extensively tested this hardware most recently, in Acemagic's Mini PC Retro X5, which, like-for-like, practically has the same spec, bar a smaller SSD, and a slightly older CPU.

The performance impact that this one tiny decision has had on the overall architecture is nuts, and combined with the wildly high price tag being what it is, it's by far the thing that's decimated that review score. If Geekom turned around tomorrow and popped 2x 16 GB sticks in this config instead of this single-channel nonsense, I can happily tell you right now, the score would bounce up by a good 15%, because in almost every other way, the A9 Max is excellent.

And, breathe. I'll get back to that in a minute. Still, for £1,600 in the UK or $1,800 US, it's generally not a bad offering (memory aside). You get that 32 GB RAM capacity, a 2TB Kingston PCIe 4.0 SSD (it's not the best), AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 CPU, A Radeon 890M iGPU, and a hell of a lot of connectivity.

The chip itself is relatively new on the scene, only really landing with us in January of this year. Though it's effectively a refreshed Strix Point (HX 370 series) chip, still built out of the same silicon architecture as its predecessor. You get those four Zen 5 cores, and eight Zen 5c cores for a fat 12/24 multi-threaded config, and it's all still built on the back of TSMC's 4 nm process as well. What's different? Well… clock speeds have been bumped ever so slightly up (with an extra 100 MHz on boost), oh, and the "biggest" update comes in the form of the NPU, which has seen its performance flick up to 86 TOPS versus its predecessor's 80 (huzzah, our AI datacenter worries are finally solved).

Connectivity is wild, too. There's so much here if you're looking for a lightweight workstation that's not brimming with a dedicated GPU and full-fat processor. There's no less than five USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, two USB 4.0 Type-Cs, twin 2.5 Gbe, along with support for twin HDMI 2.1 ports, as well as the other bells and whistles you'd expect. No Thunderbolt, of course, but you do get WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Alright, I'm going to give you some numbers now, and they're quite clearly bad. But, it's important that we all collectively have context on this before I act like a wailing harpie and impale this memory situation into the dirt with my shiny shiny words (honestly, it's a miracle I get paid for this).

So, we test our SFF PCs (with iGPUs) at 1080p on the medium graphical preset. For this little wee dissection, I'm going to be using that Acemagic X5 I mentioned earlier for comparison. It has the same Radeon GPU, the same memory speed, memory capacity, a better SSD (albeit smaller), and practically the same CPU for what it's worth (technically, the A9 Max has a better chip here). On average, across all our test titles, with and without upscaling, across five separate games, separate engines, separate developers, the A9 Max landed just 23.1 fps. The Retro X5, with its dual-channel memory, 47.6 fps.

Previous

1 / 3

Next

1080p gaming performance

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium)F1 24 (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original)Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

9

7

Acemagic Retro X5

20

16

Black Myth Wukong (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	9 Avg FPS, 7 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	20 Avg FPS, 16 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

22

15

Acemagic Retro X5

38

22

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	22 Avg FPS, 15 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	38 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

30

24

Acemagic Retro X5

73

59

F1 24 (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	30 Avg FPS, 24 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	73 Avg FPS, 59 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

23

13

Acemagic Retro X5

43

32

Horizon Zero Dawn (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	23 Avg FPS, 13 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	43 Avg FPS, 32 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

14

5

Acemagic Retro X5

23

8

Metro Exodus Enhanced (1080p High) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	14 Avg FPS, 5 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	23 Avg FPS, 8 1% Low FPS

You can clearly see how a memory bandwidth starved iGPU is hobbled by having single channel memory here.

1080p upscaled gaming performance

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium)Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original)

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

14

11

Acemagic Retro X5

30

22

Black Myth Wukong | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	14 Avg FPS, 11 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	30 Avg FPS, 22 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

30

20

Acemagic Retro X5

52

27

Cyberpunk 2077 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	30 Avg FPS, 20 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	52 Avg FPS, 27 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

30

26

Acemagic Retro X5

86

75

F1 24 | Upscaling (1080p Medium) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	30 Avg FPS, 26 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	86 Avg FPS, 75 1% Low FPS

Avg FPS

1% Low FPS

Geekom A9 Max

36

21

Acemagic Retro X5

63

44

Horizon Zero Dawn | Upscaling (1080p Original) Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	36 Avg FPS, 21 1% Low FPS
Acemagic Retro X5	63 Avg FPS, 44 1% Low FPS

The performance gap between the system with dual-channel memory and the one with single-channel memory doesn't get any better with upscaling enabled.

Synthetic gaming performance

3DMark Time Spy3DMark StorageFFXIV Shadowbringers

Index score

GPU index score

CPU index score

Geekom A9 Max

2301

2035

8948

Acemagic Retro X5

3532

3153

11109

3DMark Time Spy Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	2301 Index score, 2035 GPU index score, 8948 CPU index score
Acemagic Retro X5	3532 Index score, 3153 GPU index score, 11109 CPU index score

Index score

Avg bandwidth (MB/s)

Access time (ųs)

Geekom A9 Max

1306

226.22

139

Acemagic Retro X5

2460

415.65

72

3DMark Storage Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	1306 Index score, 226.22 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 139 Access time (ųs)
Acemagic Retro X5	2460 Index score, 415.65 Avg bandwidth (MB/s), 72 Access time (ųs)

Geekom A9 Max

38.96

Acemagic Retro X5

20.45

FFXIV Shadowbringers Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	38.96
Acemagic Retro X5	20.45

Contrary to what Geekom says, the synthetic performance difference is actually less than real-world in-game benchmarks.

It's not a limitation that sits solely with gaming, either. In 7-Zip, compression and decompression were markedly slower, multi-core performance in CineBench was down too, and the only times it did beat out the HX 370 was in single-threaded tasks, where memory bandwidth is less of a thing. Not exactly a riveting score sheet then. Even 3DMark's Storage benchmark came out significantly slower, which I can't believe even for a second is entirely down to the drive being just that much sloppier than the EXT X200E found in the X5 is.

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Synthetic CPU performance

Cinebench R247-zip

Single-core index score

Multi-core index score

Geekom A9 Max

119

1101

Acemagic Retro X5

107

1169

Cinebench R24 Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	119 Single-core index score, 1101 Multi-core index score
Acemagic Retro X5	107 Single-core index score, 1169 Multi-core index score

Compression (GIPS)

Decompression (GIPS)

Geekom A9 Max

98.88

130.12

Acemagic Retro X5

110.45

131.4

7-zip Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	98.88 Compression (GIPS), 130.12 Decompression (GIPS)
Acemagic Retro X5	110.45 Compression (GIPS), 131.4 Decompression (GIPS)

This is likely where Geekom's claims about limited performance difference ring true, as you can see both systems performing well.

Cooling performance

Thermal performance

Max CPU temp (°C)

Max CPU package power (W)

Geekom A9 Max

86

64.98

Acemagic Retro X5

85

69.98

Thermal performance Data

Product	Value
Geekom A9 Max	86 Max CPU temp (°C), 64.98 Max CPU package power (W)
Acemagic Retro X5	85 Max CPU temp (°C), 69.98 Max CPU package power (W)

This is likely where Geekom's claims about limited performance difference ring true, as you can see both systems performing well.

Just to be doubly sure, I re-ran the whole benchmark suite, and triple-checked GPU frequencies, temps and power draw throughout that process too, noting down average frequencies as well (not typically something we report on for these machines). The X5 maxed out at 2,764 MHz and 2,100 MHz on average, at 60 degrees and with 50 W on max draw. The A9, 3,100 MHz at max, 2,300 MHz on average, with a top temp of 63 degrees and 55 W of power usage. By all accounts, then, the GPU itself was running at full tilt, but was just starved of memory bandwidth.

Geekom knows about this, too. In fact, I was pre-briefed that this was a decision it had made in advance. The justification being that it provides end-users with the option to expand their memory solution later down the line with an additional stick of 32 GB. Which, yeah, okay, I don't necessarily disagree with.

Geekom also notes that, actually, the performance drops are only in synthetic benchmarks, and don't affect real-world performance. Which I do disagree with.

You can quite clearly see that this does massively impact real-world results. In fact, more so than in the synthetic tests, by my calculations. What's particularly frustrating about all this is that nowhere on the product pages (at least at time of writing) does it suggest that the A9 Max ships with a single stick. It's all "dual-channel compatible", "up to 128 GB", or "32 GB RAM", "High-speed memory".

It's a difficult thing to just accept, because the truth of it is the A9 Max is an outstanding piece of design. It's cool, quiet, and it's clear that the CPU in particular is seriously potent, particularly in localised AI applications if that's your jam. The sad reality is, we've already seen what this hardware can do; it just came in a beige box at half the price.

There's something almost endlessly endearing about the wee Steam Machine box. It's beautifully designed, beautifully small, and it's a gaming PC that you wouldn't mind sticking in/on whatever furniture your TV sits on. But it's also hard to buy, was manufactured in small numbers, and commands an incredibly high price for a PC with a weak last-gen GPU and single-channel memory.

But, bless 'em, Valve is still trying to carry on as though it's all fine. And to that end, it has now listed the Windows drivers for its Steam Machine so users can easily switch from the installed SteamOS software to Microsoft's more-pervasive operating system. The drivers are all listed on the support pages for Steam Hardware, sitting just underneath the options for the different Steam Deck SKUs.

In the interests of choice and customisation, that's great. Having the option to switch from Linux to a more widely supported OS means that all the games which are blocked from SteamOS (such as most online shooters) are now available to you if you commit the sin of an operating system switch.

Okay, that's maybe a little harsh, but it does feel like one of the boons of the Steam Machine is innate support for SteamOS—something that's still not all that widespread for desktop PCs—making for a particularly ideal living room/TV-connected experience. Though I will say that the Steam Controller itself takes much of the pain out of using Windows from a sofa, which also kinda undermines the SteamOS positivity.

Anyways, if you're one of the (lucky?) few who managed to get hold of a Steam Machine, or at least have a golden ticket for the reservation queue, then you can download the latest Windows drivers ready for a clean install of the MS OS right now.

There are a few caveats, however. The first is that it's a binary choice, as currently there isn't a clean way to dual-boot both SteamOS and Windows on one Steam device. Valve says that it will release an installer with a dual-boot wizard "for SteamOS once it's complete" whenever that is. Though I would say you could easily just add in another Linux OS which will boot into the SteamOS gaming frontend, such as Bazzite or Nobara; that will allow you to dual boot.

You will also need to connect your Steam Machine via Ethernet to enter a Windows product key, as the Wi-Fi drivers don't get installed until later. I'm sure there would actually be a way to install the supplied Wi-Fi drivers during Windows installation, but you could also create your Windows install drive using Rufus and have it create a local account automatically to get around that.

I like handheld gaming PCs. Note that I've carefully used the word "like," rather than love. In all honesty, I wish they were faster. Or more portable. Concessions need to be made if you want to play demanding games on the go, it's true. But, in recent months, it's the price that's really put the tin lid on the whole handheld gaming affair for me.

The Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS, a handheld we fell in love with last year at its $830 MSRP, is now listed for $1,332. Or how about the MSI Claw 8 AI+, a mega handheld I personally gave a 90% score to (while admitting it was rather expensive) at $900? Now you'll be lucky to find one for under $1,200. Its recently-announced, Panther Lake-powered successor? That'll rack you up $1,799 at pre-order prices.

I know, I know. It's another article from me complaining about pricing, and I realise I probably sound like a stuck record. But I cannot think of a PC gaming hardware category more screwed by the memory crisis than the handheld market right now. I update our handheld gaming PC deals every week, and recently I had to make an admission:

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, a machine we rightly criticised for having a "super-high price tag" on its release just eight months ago, is now what I'd call the best value proposition on the market. For one thousand smackeroonies. A cool grand. Serious cash.

That's the price of a budget, yet soul-affirming, weeklong beachside holiday for two. And yet, if I were to recommend you buy any gaming handheld under today's ridiculous pricing conditions, it'd be this one.

It's properly fast, for a start. With an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU furnished with RDNA 3.5 graphics tech and 24 GB of LPDDR5x-8000, it's got a specs sheet that allows it to monster pretty much every other handheld we've ever tested.

You get a 1 TB SSD as well, which should allow room for plenty of modern games. There's also the ROG Xbox Ally (non-X) to consider at $600, but the Ryzen Z2 A chip at its core feels a little underpowered—although it's still worth some thought at that price.

Compare and contrast either with the Steam Deck OLED, which now runs you $949 for the 1 TB model. Sure, it's got a nicer screen. But the now-aging internals simply don't make any sense for this sort of money. A bit like the Steam Machine, now I come to think of it—although I digress.

Plus, the ROG Xbox Ally Xs Windows Xbox full screen experience (what a horrible mash-up of terms) is pretty darn good. It's no SteamOS, but it's nevertheless a pretty seamless way of interacting with the system via the medium of thumbsticks. And Steam's Big Picture Mode is still an option for sorting through your games library, of course.

It's quiet, comfortable, and—again I can't believe I'm saying this—reasonably priced given what you receive compared to the competition. Somehow, the Xbox handheld has managed to place itself within the market at the right price, at almost the right time.

Which makes me wonder how much longer it'll be before that MSRP jumps. Given the state of *gestures wildly* everything else in the consumer electronics industry right now, I'd imagine that within the next few months, this column will become defunct.

I'm kind of astonished that the ROG Xbox Ally X is still sitting at its $1,000 MSRP as we speak, and something deep in my bones tells me that won't be the case for much longer.

This isn't a call to action, I should stress. Honestly, if I was curious about buying a gaming handheld right now and already owned a PC, I would probably save my money instead.

But if you're dead set on buying a portable gaming machine to shove in your shoulder bag for your next flight, this is the one that makes the most sense in the current market.

And that's a wild state of affairs. With reports indicating that the memory crisis, and the associated tech price increases will continue (and likely worsen) throughout 2027, and possibly 2028 as well, I genuinely can't fathom what sort of price/performance metrics I'll be using to write handheld reviews over the next couple of years.

How do I score what are essentially hobbyist devices, pleasurable adult frivolities, when they all command such eye-popping amounts of cash? How do I square any real concept of "value" with devices that I know damn well would cost much, much less, if it wasn't for AI holding us all over a barrel?

Gaming is already an expensive hobby. Even more so when you want handheld convenience combined with high performance. But pricing seems to be rising at such a rapid rate, I wonder whether handhelds will survive as anything other than boutique devices for the very well-heeled.

They're very difficult to wholeheartedly recommend in 2026, I'll tell you that much for free.

Despite its high price and somewhat disappointing gaming chops, Valve's Steam Machine appears to be selling well, with lots of buyers showing off their new purchase on social media. And in what seems to be the first published instance, the consumer coverage also includes a console-like Red Ring Line of Death.

Well, the Steam Machine was pretty cool for the 20 minutes that it worked from r/steammachine

Reddit user me_hill posted a thread on how they were enjoying playing No Man's Sky on their new Steam Machine, but got an RLoD after applying a software update. Just as with the Xbox 360's notorious Red Ring of Death, Valve uses the LEDs on the front panel to indicate the operational status of its little PC box.

Anything white or blue is fine and dandy, but if it's red, then something's not right. In me_hill's case, half a line of slowing pulse red LEDs points to a GPU failure. Hopefully, since this occurred after a software update, it's not an actual hardware bail-out, but rather something not booting correctly and then reporting the error.

That's not to say that the Steam Machine is going to be immune to hardware failures, because the mass production of any product is going to result in something initially passing quality checks, but popping its clogs later down the line.

And the Steam Machine uses a lot of mass-produced stuff, despite claiming to have 'semi-custom' chips from AMD. The CPU and GPU might be unique to Valve's box of underwhelm in terms of production code, but the chips themselves are physically no different to the Ryzen 5 7540U and Radeon RX 7600M.

The Redditor has indicated that they've contacted Valve for support, so hopefully there's a solution for them. If not, then at least they've got something that can do a passing impression of KITT or a Cylon Centurion. Just a completely mute impression. And one that's cost them $1,000.

Previously serving as the president of SIE Worldwide Studios for Sony and then becoming the head of PlayStation Indies in 2019, Shuhei Yoshida retired last year. He has since taken to giving industry analysis over on X. With the Steam Machine and its mighty price tag serving as a big discussion point, Yoshida has had a couple of hours with the machine. So far, he doesn't seem mighty impressed.

Yoshida recently said on X, "3D performance is just…meh", going on to add, "The system recommends to default to 1080p—am I going back to PS4 days?"

This middling performance is something our Andy said of the device in his review. We saw performance sitting at significantly less than even comparably priced mini PCs, with the Atomman G1 Pro handily beating it. The Steam Machine's RDNA 3-era graphics hardware seems to particularly struggle with ray tracing, but it's not particularly pretty across the board when you consider the price.

Yoshida is critical of this, saying, "But the price was very unfriendly. Hard to recommend to people unless for research." He also finds that games take a "loooooooong" time to boot.

Yoshida also had thoughts to share on the new Steam Controller. Though he likes the notion of having touchpads in a controller, he does complain that they are very "touchy" and hard to use.

He also finds the sticks are looser than he'd like. Assuming the ex-PlayStation head of indies likes the PS5 controller, these two complaints make some sense to me. I lament the lack of stick drift protection in the DualSense, but they do have tactile, snappy sticks, and the touchpad is pretty out of the way (unless you play with a claw grip like I do).

Still, not all is bad, according to Yoshida. The ex-Sony president likes SteamOS as a UI, enjoys that you can turn on the system through nothing but the Steam Controller, and he praises the changeable face plate. He also enjoys the boot-up videos. Ultimately, he says, "It allows me to play Steam games on my living room TV, which is a reason enough to keep it."

Yoshida does clarify he has only gotten a few hours with it so far, but I suspect his observations will be fairly common for Steam Machine owners, considering our own testing. It's a pricey and underpowered device. Yoshida does offer one bit of praise to finish out his thoughts, though: "The small form factor and quietness is super good."

Categorically, I cannot afford to buy my own Steam Machine. Much to my chagrin, the most basic 512 GB model still costs $1,049. Even Valve's own engineers wish their game box was cheaper. Thankfully, a French retailer is stepping in to try and do what even Valve could not: offer a compact PC for very slightly less than a grand.

LDLC has unveiled its own compact gaming PC, even going as far as to initially dub it the 'Stim Machine.' The retailer has since dropped this name in favour of the less ire-tempting 'LDLC PC box' (via VideoCardz). Though no longer available to buy, the 500 GB model used standard PC components and went for €1,000 as a kit you would need to assemble yourself.

A pre-built model was also briefly available. This went for €1,040, a price point directly comparable to how much the Steam Machine is selling for in Europe. The compact desktop even came with a tutorial on how to install SteamOS, though obviously that's not a hoop you would have to jump through to get the Steam Machine up and running.

So, what was the 'Stim Machine' offering beyond a potentially sub-1,000 euro price tag with some assembly required? For a start, the specs sheet includes a more recent RDNA 4 GPU in the cheap and (mostly) cheerful AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT. This GPU has a few extra compute units (and a much newer architecture) compared to the Steam Machine's semi-custom RDNA 3 card.

The LDLC PC Box has a Ryzen 5 8400F processor, whereas Valve's offering enjoys a similar, semi-custom AMD Zen 4 6C / 12T chip. So far, so comparable. Thanks to its standard Mini-ITX motherboard, the LDLC PC Box also has 16 GB of upgradeable DDR5 memory, as well as 500 GB of NVMe storage with two additional SATA slots on top. The Steam Machine also features a single 512 GB internal SSD, plus a MicroSD slot.

While achieving such comparable specs for less than a grand is impressive, that's still a whole lot of Euros for a relatively low amount of gaming horsepower (thanks, memory supply crisis). In other words, even if LDLC's PC Box was still available to buy and I was based in France, it's still a little rich for my blood. Ah well, I'll just hit repeat on Daft Punk's 2005 banger—that's almost just as good, right?

As post-Prime Day price tags find their way back up to pre-sales prices, I'm happy to see at least some deals that haven't scarpered. This is most definitely one of them, as you're getting a laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti (mobile) GPU for the eminently reasonable price of $1577 at Walmart.

For reference, that's about the price that we're seeing RTX 5070 laptops go for right now, even when on sale. The RTX 5070 Ti mobile is significantly faster, so it's no small thing to see this lappy in the same price bracket as RTX 5070 models.

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The 32 GB version was on sale last week for Prime Day, but here you're getting a cut-back 16 GB one, with only half of the storage (512 GB) to boot. It's therefore not as good of a deal as last week, but the good news is the SSD and RAM isn't soldered in. There are even two SSD slots, meaning you can upgrade whenever you feel like it. If it were me, I'd be whapping in another TB of storage, or at the very least another 512 GB, ASAP. The RAM can wait.

The main thing to keep in mind with the Vector 16 HX AI 16 is that it's a bit of a throwback to the old guard of laptops. It's bulky (see the image below), loud, and not as much of an amazing proposition when unplugged. Otherwise, it's very performant when plugged in. In other words, it's more of a desk-body than a modern pack-it-and-go machine.

In his review of the RTX 5080 version of this laptop, our Dave found it to be pretty noisy in its Extreme Performance mode, but he was impressed with its performance while in the much quieter Balanced mode. When it already beats a bunch of similarly specced laptops, dropping into a more efficient mode doesn't seem too bad of a proposition.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX in this laptop is an Arrow Lake chip, meaning it's not the most recent, but it should do just fine for gaming. Notably, you're still getting eight Performance cores, which is the same as higher-tier laptop chips of the same generation like the Core Ultra 9 275HX.

Dave found battery life to be far from amazing on the RTX 5080 version, and with the RTX 5070 Ti mobile not being substantially less power-hungry, battery life likely won't be amazing here, either. It's a pretty thick machine, too, in the style of more traditional gaming laptops and unlike many thin ones you see these days.

Both of those things mean you'll probably want to keep the laptop as a plugged-in, top-of-the-desk affair. Of course, it will still perform nicely and won't immediately die when unplugged, especially if you drop it into that Balanced mode.

It's also not the comfiest for typing over long periods thanks to its scratchy edges, though that's just one more thing lending favor to my characterization of this lappy as a bit of a throwback. If you know that's what you're in for, and you're okay with that, I doubt you'll be disappointed in what you're getting here for the price—especially if you're happy cracking the thing open and upgrading that SSD before long.

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Arm chips are making increasing inroads into the realm of PC gaming. Valve is already all over the chip architecture, and is planning to launch an Arm-specific version of SteamOS alongside its Snapdragon-based VR headset, the Steam Frame, later this year. But what about the Steam Machine?

We asked Valve engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais whether Arm was in consideration for the Steam Machine 2. "Definitely, yeah," Pierre-Loup answered, "[In addition to our work on] things like FEX, we're just trying to be able to support everything, right?"

For those unfamiliar, FEX is a translation layer that allows games built for x86 architecture to run on Arm chips, similar to how Proton gets games made for Windows to run on Linux. Pierre-Loup adds, "If we have more options to pick from, and if users have more options to pick from [...] to play all the latest games in their back catalog library, they'll have a better outcome in terms of finding something that is cheaper for the horsepower that they need."

Arm chips are an enticing alternative to x86 CPUs for gaming PCs specifically. So, we may see something of a chip architecture slap fight before long (especially after Nvidia went all-in on a custom Arm architecture for their RTX Spark lineup). Many game developers are also already working on Arm game ports, and wholly Arm-native versions; our Dave was especially impressed to see an Arm-native version of Alan Wake 2 running on a pre-release model of Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra earlier this year.

On the subject of the Steam Machine and potential follow-ups in an Arm-based future, Pierre-Loup says, "When we're designing a system like that, we're just like users: Picking parts, trying to figure out what makes sense. So for us, yeah, things like FEX and the work that we've done on SteamOS and Proton are more like catalysts to get to a better outcome in terms of price performance, and all that—for sure, we would consider any platform."

Mind you, don't expect an Arm-based follow up any time soon. Though Valve has said that the Steam Machine won't have "as long of a timeframe" as the Steam Deck, new models are constrained by "a matter of when it makes sense to [upgrade], at what price point, at what time, on what games are available."

The memory supply crisis has had a significant impact on more things than the game box's price, with Valve even unsure whether it was gonna have any Steam Machines to sell at the start of 2026. Bearing in mind the RAMpocalypse likely won't ease until maybe 2028, we're unlikely to see a sequel any time before then.

Cards on the table, the first thing that piqued my interest about the Steam Machine's initial reveal were the interchangeable faceplates. After all, I am but a simple hardware creature with a penchant for the aesthetic. Unfortunately, Valve has no plans to release a whole slew of custom plates for their tiny game box.

We caught up with Valve engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais to talk all things Steam Machine, including customisation options. "Right now the two plates that come with the two terabyte SKU are what we're doing," Pierre-Loup explains, "And we don't really have any specific plans around what else [we might do]."

The 2TB Steam Machine comes with the 'red fabric and solid walnut' faceplates but, just because Valve has no plans to make more, that doesn't mean fresh faceplates are no-go from other sources, though. "We want to make sure that third parties can do everything they need to there, and that people tinkering at home can also do that," Pierre-Loup adds, "So, like usual, we'll be releasing all the CAD [3D files] and the dimensions for the outside, the attachment points for the magnets and the sizing of all that so that folks can make their own stuff."

Valve has already released the new Steam Controller's CAD files for easier customisation, though at time of writing we're still waiting on these files for the Steam Machine. That hasn't stopped some from taking matters into their own hands though.

Perhaps most notably, peripheral and accessory maker Dbrand teased custom Companion Cube housing for the Steam Machine last year. Unfortunately, they've had to start issuing refunds since the game box's release as it turns out the company had never actually got Valve's permission to make it.

To be clear, this was a third-party customisation being sold commercially, hence why Valve asked for it to be taken down. Fresh faceplates made for fun and not profit are unlikely to attract the same ire. So, yes, if you wanted to make your own Companion Cube inspired housing, you could—you just couldn't sell it like Dbrand attempted to.

I'm no 3D modelling wiz, so a single swappable faceplate appeals more to me anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to gather a bunch of cute Decoden bits, clear my schedule, and make my Steam Machine look like a tasty little snack (complete with fake whipped cream, my temps be damned).

Hardware development, much like games, is all about iteration. So, it's fair to say we wouldn't have the Steam Machine without the Steam Deck. We recently spoke to Valve engineers Yazan Aldehayyat and Pierre-Loup Griffais, and asked them whether they felt Valve's ongoing work on the Steam Deck meant there'd be less to fix with the Steam Machine.

"Oh, for sure, yeah." said Pierre-Loup. He goes on to acknowledge that the Steam Machine required a lot of focus on specific aspects Valve didn't have to worry about for the Steam Deck—things like the "discrete GPU, VRAM management, ray tracing performance, all this stuff."

But those unique features aside, the foundation of the two platforms is very similar. He says, "The other 99% of the work [on the Steam Machine was] already done in a sense."

Yazan also highlights that the way many people were already using their Steam Decks presented a compelling use case for the Steam Machine. "People were using their Steam Deck docked to their TV, and they're having a great experience without us doing any specific work," He says, "So, it was almost proven before we even started working on it in some ways."

Though our Wes rated the Steam Deck when it debuted back in 2022, the handheld gaming PC didn't enjoy the smoothest launch due to stock issues. The platform itself also had its share of teething troubles, including but not limited to a whiny fan, stick drift caused by a software problem, and a buggy dock. Valve continues to support the device and these kinks, plus a number of other quirks, have all been significantly ironed out. In other words, much of the foundation was already laid for whatever Valve would do next.

"We tend to want to work like that—incremental steps that always add up. When we worked on Steam Input, and just input stuff in general, the [original] Steam Controller, we were solving and kinda thinking around a lot of the same issues that we were trying to solve with Seam Deck," Pierre-Loup adds, "And we just kinda kept working on the same thing, just adding a little bit to it every time, right? It was very incremental and I think we're still working towards more increments, towards completing the experience overall."

None of that is to say it's been clear skies for the Steam Machine. For one thing, Valve feared stock issues would strike again at the start of this year. The impacts of the memory supply crisis on the Steam Machine cannot be understated, with 'Making it cheaper' sitting top of the list of things the engineers wish they could change about the hardware.

Getting back to Valve's further iterations, what can we expect from a Steam Machine sequel? According to Pierre-Loup and Yazan, the Steam Machine won't have as long of a timeframe as the Steam Deck, but new models are 'just a matter of when it makes sense.' In other words, with no end in sight for the RAMpocalypse until maybe 2028, don't expect to see a Steam Machine 2 (or a Steam Deck followup for that matter) any time soon.

I've wanted to revisit Dragon Age: Origins on PC for years. I played the PS3 version back in 2009, which isn't as bad as people say it is, though it does lack the PC version's tactical view and, of course, mod support.

Origins has been on my wishlist for well over a decade, but I finally scooped it up during the current Steam Summer sale. It's a negligible $3 for the Ultimate Edition, which bundles in the Awakening expansion and a bunch of other stuff (there's no Standard Edition on Steam anyway). I probably would have gotten around to revisiting Origins earlier had it not been for the Steam Deck 'Unsupported' badge warning me off.

There's a decent enough reason for this, I suppose: when I bit the bullet and downloaded Origins on my Deck, the first thing I saw was a very unpromising, antiquated 4:3 game launcher. After I tinkered with the graphics settings here, I had no option to save my changes and back out. In other words, pending the results of any troubleshooting, I needed to make do with a 800x600 display, with graphics detail set to low.

But wait! Origins isn't one of those long-in-the-tooth PC games that makes you back out to its launcher to change graphics settings. From the game itself I was able to change the resolution to the Deck's native 1280x800, and turn graphics and texture detail up to "very high". At those settings I'm getting an unwaveringly locked 60 fps, though if you must have 90 fps you can do that too, though it's not as consistent.

The next obstacle is the fact that Dragon Age: Origins for PC doesn't have gamepad support like its console versions obviously have. Thankfully, there's an amazing Community Layout for that. Khar's Dragon Age: Origins marries the immersive control of a third-person action game while retaining the essential mouse controls. Movement is mapped to the left stick, while the mouse pointer is mapped to the right track pad (it's also mapped to the right stick but that feels really bad). As I'm moving around I can use the mouse pointer to activate objects, trigger conversations, or make selections from the hot bar at the bottom of the screen.

The only problem I've found with this config is that, for some reason, it maps quick load to L4. I was accidentally pressing this instead of L5 (which serves as a right mouse click) and that is obviously problematic. So to be safe, I changed it to open the map instead, and then mapped quick save to to upper D-pad button.

I've been loving my return to Origins, and despite the 'Unsupported' badge it's absolutely perfect on Steam Deck. It takes far less tinkering than some 'Playable' games I've booted. Who knows, now I may even get around to playing Dragon Age 2. That one's meant to be good, right?

With the PC market being more than a little underwhelming this year thanks to the global memory shortage, I went into Prime Day last week with a bit of an attitude of looking for the best of a bad bunch. But I was quite pleasantly surprised to find a couple of genuinely impressive gems. So color me double excited that I've now found an RTX 5070 gaming PC that beats anything I spotted last week (including a rather nice $1,400 mainstay) .

It's currently going for $1,349 at Walmart, which puts it right in the middle of a bunch of RTX 5060 Ti gaming PCs that simply cannot compete with it when it comes to gaming. Judging by our RTX 5060 Ti testing, the RTX 5070 nets significantly more frames per second—about 30% more, very roughly—than even the 16 GB version of the lower-end card.

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In fact, $1,350 is pretty good even for last year's pricing, before the memory crisis reared its ugly head.

That being said, there are some telltale signs of that memory crisis: most prominently, just 16 GB of single-channel DDR5 RAM. 16 GB is fine for gaming if 32 GB is too expensive, but having just a single stick of ram isn't great, depending on the CPU, as our Nick found in his testing.