I’m a big PC gamer: These were the three best gaming handhelds announced at CES 2025
If there was a time when gamers could be spoiled for choice in gaming hardware, it looks like 2025 could be it. And that’s because CES 2025 featured PC gaming hardware reveals and previews, with Nvidia’s new RTX 5000 series GPU lineup stealing the spotlight. However, I’d say portable gaming PCs were the biggest highlight of the event.
There’s no denying that Valve breathed new life into the handheld gaming scene when it launched the Steam Deck in 2022, with the competition growing rapidly every year – we’ve seen mid-generation upgrades from Asus with the ROG Ally and Valve’s Steam Deck with an OLED variant.
While we wait for news about successors to the Asus ROG Ally So here’s my pick of the best portable gaming PCs at CES 2025.
1. MSI Claw 8 AI+
Although this was technically announced last December, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ had a significant presence at CES 2025 – and rightly so, because from what I’ve seen so far, this is going to be one of (if not the) best portable gaming PC in recent times.
MSI’s first attempt with the Claw A1M used Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H processor, which was not well received. This time around, MSI is using the more efficient Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (which uses the Intel Arc 140V integrated GPU), which delivers both longer battery life and performance in games, based on MSI’s 17W claims and multiple previews.
ETAPrime showed off the Claw AI 8+ with CD Projekt Red’s graphically demanding Cyberpunk 2077 with the ultra ray tracing preset enabled using Intel’s XeSS upscaling method – and the frame rate remained consistent around 40fps.
It’s available for pre-order from MSI’s US store for $899.99, while there’s unfortunately no news on its availability or pricing in the UK and Australia.
2. Lenovo Legion Go S
The original Lenovo Legion Go is another example of a new portable gaming PC that doesn’t quite get it right the first time. It originally had a 1600p display and used AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor. While that hardware is certainly powerful (the Z1 Extreme is also used in the Asus ROG Ally), it wasn’t enough to handle the 2560×1600 resolution, forcing gamers to turn down the in-game resolution.
In comes the Lenovo Legion Go S, a mid-generation upgrade that now uses a 1920×1200 120Hz VRR 8-inch screen, plus 32GB of RAM. It has multiple configurations, allowing you to choose between SteamOS or Windows 11 – and it comes with the Ryzen Z2 Go or Z1 Extreme chip.
While the lower screen resolution and screen size may seem like a negative, it will serve players well as both processors are likely capable of handling the 1200p resolution with relative ease.
The Windows 11 Z2 Go models (16GB or 32GB) are now available for pre-order at Best Buy starting at $729.99 shipping this month, while the SteamOS models will launch in May. Meanwhile, the Legion Go 2 is slated to release sometime this year with the new Z2 Extreme, but it’s just a prototype for now.
3. Acer Nitro Blaze 8
I would have liked to put the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 here as I think it will be the bigger hit for Acer, but it’s just way too big for a portable gaming PC. The price is also $1,099, which is absurd for a portable gaming PC. Fortunately, the alternative to this is the Acer Nitro Blaze 8, which may still suffer from the same performance issues as the original Lenovo Legion Go due to its ambitious (for a handheld) 1600p display, but it’s much more portable and comfortable to hold.
With the same specs as its larger counterpart, it will use AMD’s Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, which has the same Radeon 780M iGPU found in the Z1 Extreme, an 8.8-inch 144Hz display and 16GB of RAM. This appears to be Acer’s attempt to catch up with current handhelds, but it could lose out to the likes of the Legion Go S and MSI Claw 8 AI+ with their more recent components.
Either way, this will be an impressive handheld option for gamers, available in the second quarter of this year starting at $899, in the middle of what looks to be a great year for all portable PC enthusiasts.