Gaming handhelds are expensive, but the price on the MSI Claw A1M is reasonable during Best Buy's clearance sale.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
In this case of handheld gaming PC, this is the cheapest option you can get right now. Even the ROG Xbox Ally with the Ryzen Z2 A and 512GB of storage is $600 . Handhelds with 1TB of storage and the Ryzen Z1 Extreme (the chip Intel originally targeted) will run you north of $1,000.
In both build quality and layout, the A1M is nearly a carbon copy of the original Asus ROG Ally. It sports a 7-inch 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a single USB-C port for charging and peripherals, and a microSD card slot for storage expansion; though, you can replace the SSD inside, as well.
The MSI Claw A1M is a handheld gaming PC with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB of memory, and a 1TB SSD. It comes with a 1080p display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
This is a great deal considering the price of handhelds right now, especially those packing 1TB of storage, but the A1M was glossed over quickly for a reason. The Meteor Lake chip inside wasn't built for handheld gaming, so although it offers decent performance, it does so at relatively high power draw.
In a game like Horizon Zero Dawn, it's able to achieve around 30 FPS at native 1080p with the Balanced power plan, which uses a 30W target. Plugged in with a full 40W power budget, the game can crack 30 FPS in titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with the Steam Deck preset.
It falls between 5% and 10% short of the Z1 Extreme, and with worse battery life. With prices equal, we'd normally recommend the ROG Ally. Considering the price gap, the A1M is worth considering. The software isn't as clear as what you get with an Asus handheld, but MSI has made dozens of updates to its firmware and overlay software since the original A1M launched.
Performance is less of a concern than battery life, with the Meteor Lake chip sucking down quite a bit of power relative to modern PC handhelds. That's not a dealbreaker at this price, but make sure to have a quality USB-C charger at the ready.
Best Tech and PC deals | Best gaming PC deals | Best RAM combo deals | Best 3D printer deals | Best RAM deals | Best gaming laptop deals | Best monitor deals | Best Wi-Fi Router deals | Best GPU deals | Best SSD deals | Best hard drive HDD deals | Best CPU deals | Best gaming chair deals | Best PC building tool deals | Best PC peripherals deals | Best filament and resin deals | Best motherboard deals | Best CPU cooler deals | Best PC case deals | Best Dell and Alienware deals | Best USB charger deals | Best gaming and productivity laptop deals under $1,000 | Best laptop PC deals Also, you can join the Tom's Hardware deals Discord for up-to-the-minute hardware deals.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/handheld-gaming/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/handheld-gaming/get-a-great-deal-on-the-original-msi-claw-during-best-buy-clearance-sale-handheld-with-intel-core-ultra-7-155h-and-1tb-ssd-is-just-usd562-usd187-off-list-price#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
- U.S. suspends green card path for H-1B workers at Microsoft and Adobe — labor certification program blocked due to alleged fraud
- Why Telecom Operators Are Building Their AI Strategy on Open Models
- China allegedly intercepted UPS-shipped F-35 parts after employee missed email warning
- Productive, Durable, Fungible: How NVIDIA AI Factories Maximize Return on Investment
- Best Amazon Prime Day 3D printer deals 2026
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.