MSI Claw A1M vs Nitro Blaze 7: Which Should You Buy?
MSI Claw A1M vs Nitro Blaze 7: both start around the same price ($699), so price should not decide it; our emulation grades differ on 2 of the systems we rate on both. Full spec table and a straight recommendation below.
At a glanceMore powerful Nitro Blaze 7Bigger battery MSI Claw A1MMore pocketable Nitro Blaze 7Smoother screen Nitro Blaze 7
| MSI Claw A1M | Nitro Blaze 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $699–$799 | $699–$899 |
| Brand | MSI | Acer |
| Released | 2024 / 03 | 2024 / 09 |
| Type | Horizontal | Horizontal |
| OS | Windows 11 | Windows 11 Home |
| Performance | ||
| Chip (SoC) | Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS |
| CPU | Intel Meteor Lake 4x P Cores, 8x E Cores, 2x Low Power E Cores 6x P Cores, 8x E Cores, 2x Low Power E Cores | Zen 4 Octa-Core (16 threads up to 5.1 GHz) |
| GPU | Intel Arc | AMD Radeon 780M (RDNA 3, 12 CUs) |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR5 (6400 MT/s) | 16 GB LPDDR5X (7500 MT/s) |
| Storage | Internal 512 GB / 1 TB (NVMe?), External MicroSD | Up to 2 TB M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, MicroSD slot |
| Cooling | Heatpipes Dual Fans Ventilation cutouts | Dual-fan active thermal exhaust |
| Power tier | High-end | High-end |
| Display | ||
| Screen size | 7.0 inch | 7.0 inch |
| Screen type | IPS Touchscreen | IPS Touchscreen (144 Hz, FreeSync Premium) |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 144 Hz |
| Pixel density | 319.26 PPI | 314.7 PPI |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 16:9 |
| Body & battery | ||
| Battery | 53 Wh | 50.04 Wh |
| Weight | 675 grams | 670 grams |
| Dimensions | 294 mm x 117 mm x 21.2 mm | 256 mm x 113.5 mm x 22.5 mm |
| Shell | Plastic | Polycarbonate & ABS Composite |
| Colors | Black | Nitro Black with Red Accents |
| Ports & connectivity | ||
| Wireless | WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 | WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Video out | USB-C video out Top facing | Dual USB4 Type-C (40Gbps, DisplayPort 1.4) |
| Charging port | USB-C Top facing | Dual USB4 Type-C (65W PD) |
| Audio out | 3.5mm Headphone Top facing | 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack |
| Speakers | Dual Stereo Front facing | Dual 1W Front-facing Stereo Speakers |
Emulation compared
| MSI Claw A1M | Nitro Blaze 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Game Boy / Color | A | A |
| NES | A | A |
| Genesis / Mega Drive | A | A |
| Game Boy Advance | A | A |
| SNES | A | A |
| PlayStation 1 | A | A |
| Nintendo DS | A | A |
| Nintendo 64 | A | A |
| Dreamcast | A | A |
| PSP | A | A |
| Sega Saturn | A | A |
| GameCube | A | A |
| Nintendo 3DS | A | A |
| Nintendo Wii | A | A |
| PlayStation 2 | A | A |
| Switch | A- | A |
| Wii U | A | A |
| PlayStation 3 | B | A |
Physical size & scale compared
Footprint (Nitro Blaze 7 18% smaller)294 × 117 mm vs 256 × 114 mm
Thickness (MSI Claw A1M -1.3mm)21.2 vs 22.5 mm
Volume (Nitro Blaze 7 -75cm³)729 vs 654 cm³
Weight675 grams vs 670 grams
Display Mode:Reference Overlay:
MSI Claw A1M294 × 117 mm
Nitro Blaze 7256 × 114 mm
Proportional 1:1 millimetric silhouettes (Retrosizer standard). Toggle Side-by-Side or Direct Overlay to inspect dimensional footprint.
Which should you buy?
Bottom line: price is effectively a tie, so it should not decide this one; the Nitro Blaze 7 is rated higher on our emulation power scale.
Choose the MSI Claw A1M if…
- Nitro Blaze 7's recorded downside — no hall effect thumbsticks — would bother you
- Nitro Blaze 7's recorded downside — battery life under heavy aaa gaming is around 1.5 - 2 hours — would bother you
Choose the Nitro Blaze 7 if…
- a high-refresh panel matters to you (144 Hz)
- you care about Switch, PlayStation 3 — we grade it higher there
- MSI Claw A1M's recorded downside — can't go below 15w tdp — would bother you