# Valve Steam Deck OLED vs MSI Claw A1M: specs and price compared

A sourced, side-by-side comparison of the Valve Steam Deck OLED (Valve) and MSI Claw A1M (MSI) among game consoles. Valve Steam Deck OLED is the cheaper of the two at $549.

## Side by side

| Spec | Valve Steam Deck OLED | MSI Claw A1M |
| --- | --- | --- |
| US price | $549 | $699 |
| Brand | Valve | MSI |
| Released | 2023-11 | 2024-03 |
| CPU | Custom AMD Sephiroth APU (Zen 2 quad-core @ 2.4–3.5 GHz, 6nm) | Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (Meteor Lake @ up to 4.6 GHz) |
| GPU (TFLOPS) | 1.6 | 4.5 |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 16 |
| Storage (GB) | 512 | 512 |
| Max resolution | 1280x800 | 1920x1080 |
| Max (fps) | 90 | 120 |
| Optical drive | No | No |

## Key differences

- CPU: Valve Steam Deck OLED Custom AMD Sephiroth APU (Zen 2 quad-core @ 2.4–3.5 GHz, 6nm) vs MSI Claw A1M Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (Meteor Lake @ up to 4.6 GHz)
- GPU (TFLOPS): Valve Steam Deck OLED 1.6 vs MSI Claw A1M 4.5
- Max resolution: Valve Steam Deck OLED 1280x800 vs MSI Claw A1M 1920x1080
- Max (fps): Valve Steam Deck OLED 90 vs MSI Claw A1M 120

## What reviewers say

**Valve Steam Deck OLED** — Three whitelisted testers with hands-on lab measurements — Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide and Engadget — agree the Steam Deck OLED is the definitive Steam Deck: the brighter OLED/HDR screen (measured ~597 nits SDR, ~969 nits HDR) and longer battery are genuine wins, but gaming performance is essentially unchanged from the LCD and the chassis stays bulky. (3 sourced reviews.)

**MSI Claw A1M** — Four whitelisted testers (Notebookcheck, Engadget and Digital Trends full reviews, plus a Tom's Guide hands-on) broadly agree the Intel-based Claw A1M is overpriced versus cheaper AMD rivals like the ROG Ally and Legion Go, while praising its ergonomics, Hall-effect sticks and bright 120Hz 1080p display. The three full reviews fault its gaming performance and clunky MSI Center software / immature Intel drivers; Notebookcheck and Digital Trends also flag weak battery life, though Engadget rated battery 'decent'. Tom's Guide found raw performance roughly on par with rivals and blamed the software above all. (4 sourced reviews.)

## Sources

- Valve Steam Deck OLED: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_Deck (en.wikipedia.org, verified 2026-06-15)
- MSI Claw A1M: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSI_Claw_A1M (en.wikipedia.org, verified 2026-06-15)

Canonical: https://frontdeskreview.com/gear/game-consoles/valve-steam-deck-oled-vs-msi-claw-a1m/
Cite: Per The Front Desk Review, Valve Steam Deck OLED ($549) vs MSI Claw A1M ($699) — sourced spec-by-spec comparison at https://frontdeskreview.com/gear/game-consoles/valve-steam-deck-oled-vs-msi-claw-a1m/
License: CC BY 4.0.