MSI Unveils AMD Gaming Handheld and Enhanced Mid-Range Gaming Laptops at Computex

Alright, let’s dive into the chaos! So, there’s this whole scene unfolding at Computex—MSI just went wild and threw their first gaming handheld, the Claw A8 BZ2EM, into the mix. They’re playing around with AMD chips now, which is a bit shake-up ‘cause they used to be all about those Intel processors, like the Claw 8 AI+. But hey, who doesn’t love options, right?

Oh man, the specs on this thing are something else. You’ve got an AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme in there, and the graphics are integrated with an AMD Radeon—yeah, AMD chillin’ all around. The display’s gonna be this 8-inch beauty with 1920 x 1200 resolution at 120 Hz. Fancy stuff. And, by the way, up to 24GB RAM—that’s not too shabby for a handheld.

Moving on, this Claw A8 setup is sporting an Xbox vibe with the controller layout. The thumbstick’s chilling below the A/B/X/Y buttons. Makes you wonder who figured those positions out. They’ve thrown some Hall Effect joysticks in there—fancy words, but it should keep the sticks from drifting off into la-la land.

What caught my eye—or maybe I should say my hands—were the rounded corners and bigger grips. Feels like they finally heard the cries of all those cramped-handed folks out there. Comfort matters, people!

So, this option to flex up to 24GB of RAM is kinda blowing my mind—like, where does all of it go? It’s speedy LPDDR5x-8000 stuff, though, so who even cares, just get in there. Asus tried 24GB in their ROG Ally X—guess they didn’t want to miss out on the fun—but who’s keeping score? Not me. Battery life? 80 WHr thingymajig—pretty much twinsies with the Ally X.

Ports, ports, ports—there are a bunch up top: headphone jack, microSD slot, couple of USB 4 Type-Cs, you name it. They even managed to squeeze in a power button with a fingerprint reader! Talk about cramming technology wherever it fits.

Now about laptops—MSI dropped some new Crosshair and Cyborg models at Computex, too. You get the RTX 5060 and RTX 5070 upgrades. Nothing groundbreaking, but still worth a nod. Naming conventions are all over the place, though. Like, why is AI Intel here and AMD there? Can’t keep up, honestly…

Anyway, these Crosshairs range from 16 to 18 inches. 18-inch gets two flavors: Intel’s all AI, and AMD’s rocking the A18HX. Lots of shared traits here among the lot—mostly Nvidia GeForce RTX vibes and 90 WHr batteries vibing with those big screens. Starting prices? Intel’s Crosshair 18HX AI kicking off at $1,699 at Costco (fancy shmancy), and $2,049 can double your RAM.

Don’t have all the details on the rest, just a hint towards some nice RGB fun on the 18-inch models. MSI’s like that, though—leaves you wanting more.

Also, there’s a Cyborg refresh happening. Playfully named chips and GPUs across 15 and 17 inches—AI here means AMD? Or was it elsewhere? Lost again. But go figure, the Cyborg A15 AI kicks off at $1,149 at Costco.

And they did announce more—the Stealth A16 AI+, Prestige 16 AI+ following some AMG Motorsport dream. Then there’s a Prestige 13 AI+ with this art stuff on it—‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa,’ now that’s a picture to craft! Catching the waves while computing?

Haven’t even scratched the surface with release dates or prices for some of these, though. MSI’s hanging onto those secrets a bit too tight.