MSI confirms that the Claw will have a 48-120Hz VRR display

The MSI Claw will be one of the first gaming laptops with an Intel Core Ultra processor inside – and the second with a variable refresh rate (VRR) display. Until now, the Asus ROG Ally was the only notebook to feature dynamic rendering for smooth gameplay, one of its biggest advantages, and after much debate, MSI has now triple confirmed that the Claw will feature a 7-inch 1080p 48 VRR display. -120 Hz too.

I already posted it today habit After checking with the company directly on Friday and getting a 48Hz refresh rate requires manual setup, or if you prefer less than the full offering if you want to go to 120 Hz get a VRR monitor.

However, MSI insisted that the monitor was VRR and I… starting I have come to believe that the reps exaggerated the truth because VRR no As with manually adjusting the refresh rate, and since VRR isn’t a feature, Microsoft relies on gaming support, which the company told me it does.

VRR This is typical of technologies like Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, which allow your monitor’s refresh rate to dynamically adjust to the frame rate provided by your system’s GPU. This means that your graphics don’t reach 60fps, as the monitor can automatically display 59fps, 50fps or 48fps perfectly fine so you won’t experience choppy images or screen tearing while gaming. .

I explained this, gave MSI 12 hours to respond – and got no response.

But now MSI marketing specialist Anne Lee tells me that product managers have specifically confirmed that it’s a 48-120Hz VRR display, and she’s confirmed over the phone that this means the refresh rate will be dynamic and automatically adjusted, like the Asus ROG ally MSI is capable of changing in Windows. Also provided a screenshot of the refresh rate setting – which MSI appears to be referring to when it describes VRR as a Microsoft feature.

Lee agrees that some of our conversation was lost in translation, and we agree to call each other next time. I apologize for confusing you.

You can often manually adjust the monitor’s refresh rate without VRR. Steam Deck lets you set any manual refresh rate to most of the values ​​supported by the monitor, and the Lenovo Legion Go, for example, lets you choose between 60Hz and 144Hz. But to avoid tearing and screen tearing, your system still needs to deliver the correct number of frames consistently (which may require a frame limiter and some optimization).

The Asus ROG Ally’s VRR display is particularly useful when the game is running at 48 to 60 frames per second, which is within its VRR range. In my experience, a game running at 48fps on Ally looks smoother than running at 59fps on the Lenovo Legion Go. Now it seems the same applies to MSI Clay.

MSI Clay doesn’t have a confirmed release date yet, but rumors say it could arrive in February or March.

Correction, 11:58 pm ET: The MSI Claw will feature a variable refresh rate display. In an earlier version of this story, I wrote that this would not happen. We apologize for this error.