Hello, Habre! Contact Idar Tabukhov. Last time I talked about five interesting computer games that will be released this fall. And today we will discuss new game irons. Some consoles can be bought now, others are just being prepared for release.

MSI Claw 8 AI+. Lenovo and ASUS competition

MSI decided to enter the market of portable gaming devices to compete with ASUS, Lenovo and other manufacturers. Meet – a powerful gaming console. The manufacturer positions the device as a miniature PC, sharpened for games.

Inside the device are processors of the Lunar Lake line. They are 30% more productive in graphics applications than the previous generation chips. The display in the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is 8 inches. Apparently, the company decided to increase the screen size after criticism of the first MSI Claw model with a 7-inch screen.

Despite the size, the console is very loaded: from 16 to 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, depending on the version. And up to 1 TB of file space and a battery that is enough for about four hours of autonomous operation. Again, the previous model was criticized for a weak battery, so MSI decided to make amends.

Currently, test gadgets are ready, and mass sales will begin in early 2025. The cost of MSI Claw 8 AI+ is not yet known. The first model cost about 500 euros.

Zotac Gaming Zone: more mini PC than gaming console

Another productive gaming device. More of a mini PC than a portable gaming console. Including because the operating system is Windows. In everything else, the device looks quite familiar: joints, buttons, D-pad, like consoles from other manufacturers.

The screen is smaller than the previous model – 7 inches. Resolution: 1920 × 1080 pixels, refresh rate – 120 Hz. Instead, the manufacturer did not spare LEDs, especially for the back cover.

Processor – AMD Ryzen 7 8840U with 8 Zen 4 cores and Radeon 780M graphics with 12 RDNA 3 cores. The system has 16 GB of LPDDR5-7500 RAM, a slot for M.2 2280 drives and a wireless communication module with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 support.

The manufacturer provided two USB-4 ports, an audio jack and a slot for microSD memory cards. There is also a fingerprint sensor and an IR camera – all this for quick user authorization. You can enter the system by typing or simply looking into the camera. By the way, there are also programmable buttons on the back panel of the console, their functions can be changed.

As an addition to the console, the manufacturer also sells a docking station. It provides several additional ports and connectors at once, including Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and Type-A ports along with USB 3.0 Type-A.

The console will be sold at a price of $799. Pre-order now available.

Antec Core HS: a console with a QWERTY keyboard

Apparently, mini-PCs in the form of game consoles are an upward trend. Antec Core HS model is also from this opera. The device is powerful, but unlike the previous two models, it is equipped with a QWERTY keyboard. It will not work to enter a lot of text with its help: both fingers and eyes will get tired. But as a tool for communication in messengers, it is quite suitable.

The screen in the console is surprisingly small – only 6 inches. The resolution is 1920 × 1080 pixels. The device has an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with Radeon 780M graphics.

Interestingly, the RAM and SSD can be upgraded, for which I thank the manufacturer. After all, nowadays even some laptops cannot be updated, everything is soldered on the board. The console also has two USB-4 ports, a slot for a microSD memory card and a wireless communication module with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The size of the device is 226×90×28.5 mm.

The price of the device is $499. This is the cost of the younger model with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal memory. But there is also a more advanced version with 32 GB of RAM and a terabyte SSD. This version costs $699.

Nitro Blaze 7 from Acer

Acer’s first portable gaming console. And it’s the first device with an AMD Ryzen 8840HS processor: a chip with 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base frequency is 3300 MHz, but support for Turbo Core technology allows automatic overclocking to 5100 MHz. It also has integrated Radeon 780M graphics, the size of the 3rd level cache is 16 MB.

In addition to the processor, 16 GB of LPDDR5x-7500 RAM and up to 2 TB SSD are installed, this is PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe.

The screen in the console is 7-inch, with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The refresh rate is 144 Hz. The developers equipped the console with a fingerprint sensor, two USB-4 Type-C ports, an audio connector and a microSD card slot.

There is also a wireless memory module with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support. The size of the console is 256 × 114 × 23 mm.

The company promises to reveal the price of the device soon. The release date has not been announced, but test samples were shown a month ago. Most likely, it will already be available in late autumn.

Budget AYANEO Pocket EVO

And here we already have a relatively budget console with Android OS on board. The device has a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. The screen refresh rate is 120 Hz. Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2, battery – 8600 mAh.

The size of the device is 261×100×17. There are sticks, D-pad, control buttons – all as we are used to. This console is exclusively for gaming, it cannot be used as a mini PC like the previous few models.

The cost is $389. For this money, the buyer gets a device with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. It will not be possible to buy the device yet: it is only available for ordering on Indiegogo. But we didn’t have to wait long. Already in November, the manufacturer promises to start shipping the first consoles to customers.

As you can see, more and more well-known companies are releasing their own versions of such devices. Now they are available from almost all major manufacturers of computer equipment, including ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, MSI.