MSI Claw gets major new performance boost thanks to latest Intel drivers

MSI has just refreshed the Claw 8 AI+ with a new edition that adds more storage and a fresh colour option. While the Polar Tempest Edition will only perform as well as the existing Claw 8 AI+, its arrival has coincided with new drivers aimed squarely at improving gaming handheld performance.

On the face of it, the Intel Graphics Driver 32.0.101.6734 targets iGPUs within 11th Gen through 14th Gen Core processors, as well as Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake processors under the Core Ultra family. For reference, the update is also said to improve Arc and Iris Xe graphics cards in various areas.

However, Intel's only highlight of this month's driver release is 'power management optimisation' for Intel Core Ultra 200V handheld gaming devices, of which the Claw 7 AI+ and Claw 8 AI+ are currently the only candidates. Specifically, both handhelds should now deliver superior frame pacing and at lower power modes than they did on older drivers.

Based on early anecdotes, Graphics Driver 32.0.101.6734 significantly improves gaming performance on the Claw 7 AI+ and Claw 8 AI+ at wattages like 17 W. Unfortunately, this means that the older Meteor Lake-based Claw 7 A1M (curr. $454 - used on Amazon) will not benefit from these improvements. Please see Intel's release notes for Graphics Driver 32.0.101.6734 below and its website for more details.