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.
