Intel\u2019s current handheld chip, the Arc G3 and G3 Extreme<\/a>, deliver today\u2019s best performance in a portable package. The \u201cExtreme\u201d chip demands an even higher cost. The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+<\/a> that features the G3 Extreme costs a staggering $1,800.<\/p>\n This supposed lower-end Intel processor would be much, much less powerful. Jaykihn suggests this unnamed chip would contain four P (performance) cores and four low-power E (efficiency) cores. The Arc G3 makes use of two P cores, eight E cores, and an extra four more low-power E cores. The G3\u2019s integrated GPU includes a whopping 10 Xe3 cores, while the Extreme version has 12 Xe3 cores. This unannounced chip would supposedly slash the number of GPU cores to just four.<\/p>\n This core configuration is equivalent to the lower-end Panther Lake chips like the Core Ultra 7\u00a0355. Still, these chips wouldn\u2019t merely be built for lower-powered handhelds. They would be expressly designed for purpose-built budget devices. Any new Intel handheld chip may have enough horsepower to run older AAA games and indie titles. Depending on how well gamers make use of upscalers like Intel\u2019s own XeSS<\/a>, it may be enough to power some modern titles at low settings. Otherwise, such low-end devices may be better off for game streaming<\/a>.<\/p>\n This supposed Intel processor would still be built on the same Panther Lake microarchitecture that Intel\u2019s been shoving into every laptop under the sun in 2026. Despite their initial promise, few of the laptops with these chips have been anywhere close to affordable. The recent launch of Wildcat Lake<\/a>, another cut-down version of Panther Lake, has allowed for a few more reasonably priced PCs. This reduced Arc G3 chip may try to do the same with handhelds.<\/p>\n No matter what, Intel\u2019s problem is still going to be price. The Steam Deck OLED<\/a> now starts at $790 after price hikes<\/a>. That cost is nowhere worth four-year-old hardware that\u2019s struggling to keep up with current-gen games. If a handheld meets or can barely beat Steam Deck performance, then in an ideal world it should cost less than Valve\u2019s beloved mobile gaming machine. That\u2019s a hard bargain considering the ever-inflating cost of memory. For instance, last year\u2019s Lenovo Legion Go S<\/a> with a cut-down AMD chip started life at $600. It now costs $990 on Best Buy<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Msi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/MSI-Claw-8-EX-AI-Performance-Data-1.jpg\")
Any new \u2018budget\u2019 Intel gaming handheld may use far less system RAM. \u00a9 Kyle Barr \/ Gizmodo <\/p>\n