Intel, Not AMD, May Be the Secret to Kickass Subsequent-Gen Handheld PCs

Intel is an empire past its prime and is beset on all sides. Simply as Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides of Dune monologued on the numerous futures he perceived, there may be “a slender manner by” for the beleaguered chipmaker. The way in which ahead might be with a newfound gaming concentrate on its next-gen chips. Its desktop CPUs could also be getting a gamer-centric upgrade, however the true shock could also be the way it might win out in a promote it has but to really compete in: handheld gaming.

Handheld gaming PCs want Intel to shake issues up. It’s a thought I couldn’t shake unfastened as quickly as I noticed leaked benchmark figures for the upcoming MSI Claw A8. The hand-held is a sequel to the less-than-stellar MSI Claw 7 and the chunky, although extremely highly effective, MSI Claw 8 AI+. In comparison with the final two Intel-based handhelds, the A8 is working on the upcoming AMD Ryzen Z2 Excessive. That chip is an APU, aka an accelerated processing unit, which is a CPU that comprises graphics processing capabilities. AMD first introduced its flagship chip for handhelds in January this yr. We have now but to get our palms on any gadget showcasing the chip’s capabilities within the many months since then.

AMD Ryzen Z2 Excessive@17W (MSI Claw A8)
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Intel Core Extremely 7 258V@17W (MSI Claw 8 AI+)https://t.co/dN3oqGzzCX pic.twitter.com/JNmPJHCkjs

— HXL (@9550pro) August 3, 2025

Leaked benchmarks stemming from Chinese language-language social media might clarify why we haven’t seen an excessive amount of about AMD’s newest chip. The Claw 8 AI+ used an Intel Core Extremely 258V processor made for light-weight PCs, which meant it supported Intel’s ARC 140V graphics capabilities. These benchmarks present the Intel and AMD chips are almost on par with one another in video games like Far Cry 6 and Hitman 3. The Ryzen Z2 Excessive will get round 5 extra frames per second in titles like Murderer’s Creed Shadows and Monster Hunter Wilds. Certain, AMD’s chip appears higher than Intel’s at this wattage, but it surely’s not that significantly better contemplating the 258V wasn’t explicitly constructed with this way consider thoughts.

Extra leaked benchmarks from the MSI Claw A8 don’t give AMD way more of a soapbox to tout its capabilities. YouTuber ETA Prime showcased how the Ryzen Z2 Excessive compares to the last-gen Z1 Excessive from shut to 2 years in the past. The Z2 is working on the chipmaker’s newest Zen 5 chip microarchitecture and ostensibly has extra cores on the up to date RDNA 3.5 GPU cores to output higher graphics capabilities. Whereas it does significantly better in artificial benchmarks than the earlier gen, in video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the Z2 Excessive solely confirmed a mean of 4 or 5 frames per second greater than the Z1 Excessive. If you have already got a handheld with the older flagship, will probably be laborious to justify dropping much more cash on an up to date gadget. Rumors counsel the high-end handhelds of at present might be very costly.

AMD’s newest could also be disappointing to some, however Intel may very well have an opportunity of beating its main competitor at its personal sport. For one, Intel’s normal supervisor of consumer AI and technical advertising and marketing—Robert Hallock—beforehand confirmed with Laptop computer Magazine (RIP) that Intel plans to make handheld-centric chips. These Intel chips talked about earlier than, that are a part of the Lunar Lake household of CPUs, might turn into much more graphically succesful with the subsequent technology (codenamed Panther Lake). Leaks of a transport manifest posted final week by leaker X86deadandback (through PCGamer) point out the subsequent technology of Intel’s cellular chips may have 50% extra of its graphics cores. The most recent rumors counsel Intel can even improve its graphics cores from Xe2 to Xe3.

We don’t know what which means for practicality’s sake. Extra cores with higher rendering capabilities don’t converse to the chip’s structure. If it might mix higher graphics capabilities with higher AI upscaling capabilities than the current XeSS 2, Intel’s subsequent cellular chips might be a far bigger boon for handhelds than AMD. The one query remaining is whether or not we’ll see a handheld with an “Intel Inside” sticker beaming like a cheerful little one on the aspect of the gadget. We all know the Lenovo Legion Go 2, alongside the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, will home the Z2 Excessive. The opposite lingering difficulty is that Valve’s SteamOS, which is—for the time being—a greater possibility for handhelds than Home windows, solely helps AMD’s Ryzen Z series of APUs, not Intel. There are numerous mountains to climb earlier than “Crew Blue” could make a press release, and it higher make one quickly earlier than AMD can catch up.