MSI appears to be preparing a cheaper handheld with Intel Arc G3

MSI has tacitly confirmed that a cheaper version of its Claw 8 EX AI+ gaming handheld is coming soon. The new model, designated Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3M, swaps Intel's flagship Arc G3 Extreme processor for the regular Arc G3. While both Intel handheld chips use a 14-core CPU with two P-cores, eight E-cores and four LP E-cores, the regular Arc G3 tops out at 4.6 GHz and integrates an Arc B370 GPU with 10 Xe3 cores clocked at up to 2.2 GHz. The Arc G3 Extreme in the existing Claw 8 EX AI+ uses a 12-core Arc B390 clocked up to 2.3 GHz. Intel also caps the standard chip at 30 W, versus 35 W for the Extreme model.

MSI has yet to publish a dedicated product page (Videocardz spotted it earlier) for the CG3M, but retailer information points to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 512 GB PCIe 4.0 SSD. The rest of the hardware appears largely unchanged, including the 8-inch 1,920 × 1,200 IPS touchscreen with a 120 Hz refresh rate and VRR support, as well as the 80 Wh battery

The biggest difference is shaping up to be price. CompSource has listed the US-bound Claw 8 EX AI+ CG3M-072USY for $1,499, although it is currently marked as out of stock. That makes the standard Arc G3 model considerably cheaper than the existing Arc G3 Extreme version. MSI's flagship Claw 8 EX AI+ launched at $1,799 through the company's own US store. The new CG3M will undercut MSI's official price by $300. Whether or not the a weaker iGPU will matter remains to be seen, although the storage nerf is significant. 

MSI has not yet announced when the cheaper Claw 8 EX AI+ will actually go on sale. For now, its appearance in the company's own documentation at least confirms that the CG3M is an official configuration, which seemed inevitable, given that the cheaper Intel Arc G3 is sorely underrepresented in the handheld market and powers only Acer's Predator Atlas 8.