It's summer, and the outside world beckons. On the other hand, the Elden Ring DLC has just come out, Frostpunk 2 is looking rather promising, and later next month we're expecting another couple of heavy hitters in Star Wars Outlaws and Black Myth: Wukong. So how do you balance the seemingly conflicting interests of gaming and fun in the sun?
Don't worry, MSI and Currys have thought about this, and have joined forces to offer two super-portable gaming devices at excellent prices that will keep you locked in wherever you are—whether that's during evening downtime on vacation or lounging under a sun brolly in your garden.
Price £579/£499 (down from £799/£699) | Buy at Currys
First up is the MSI Claw A1M, MSI's foray into the handheld gaming PC space. Powered by the Intel Ultra 7 or Intel Ultra 5 processor, this nifty device packs a 120Hz 7" display, RGB lighting, and Hall Effect Sensors on its joysticks and triggers, making it way more durable than the typical carbon film sensors you'll find on most gaming handhelds.
The Claw's Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU lets you play modern games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Fortnite, Diablo 4, and Dead Island 2, and with XeSS 1.3 (Intel's answer to the framerate-boosting DLSS and FSR technologies) just around the corner, you'll effectively be getting a free performance boost to your handheld gaming experience.
Combine those Hall Effect Sensors with an ergonomic design inspired by anthropometry, and you have a device that remains comfortable throughout long play sessions, while regular GPU and BIOS updates continue to squeeze the most out of its hardware (the recent driver update in May, for instance, boosted in-game performance by up to 30%).
Promotion
Best of all, right now you can grab the Claw at Currys for a discount. The Intel Core Ultra 7 + 1TB SSD model is available for £579 (down from £799), while the Ultra 5 + 512GB SSD variant is just £499 (down from £699). On top of that, you'll get a $50 Steam Wallet code when registering your purchase via the MSI Member website and uploading proof of purchase.
Full T&Cs can be found on the product listing on Currys.
Price: £1549 (down from £1949) | Buy at Currys (Star Blue, White)
If you want to get a bit more heavyweight with your gaming (but still in an extremely lightweight form factor), then MSI's Stealth 14 series of gaming laptops is some of the best value you can get in its spec range.
With a stunning 14" OLED 2800x1800 display (Star Blue model only) capable of up to 120Hz refresh rates, and an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, the Stealth 14 is a powerhouse in a small package. It comes with 32GB DDR5 RAM, and unlike most laptops at this size, you can upgrade this yourself up to 64GB, futureproofing you for years.
The Core Ultra 7 155H CPU will handle all your multitasking with ease, making it perfect for creatives and students, while the GPU will knock out all the latest games nice and smoothly. The 16:10 aspect ratio, meanwhile, offers that bit more vertical space, making it more comfortable for everyday tasks.
So if you're looking for a deceptively powerful, compact sidekick for your gaming this summer, look no further than MSI's Claw and Stealth 14 ranges (just try to grab one before summer's out to get the perks!). To keep up with everything that's cooking in MSI's labs, follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
