Cities: Skylines II on MSI Claw A8

Below minimumEstimate · medium confidence, ±20%

No. The MSI Claw A8 is below Cities: Skylines II's minimum spec (GeForce GTX 970). At its native 1920×1200 we estimate ~23 fps on the low preset (range 19–28, medium confidence, ±20%). Even 40 fps is out of reach at native resolution. Model estimate, not measured; data updated 2026-09-24.

Estimated FPS at native 1920×1200

Preset	Native 1920×1200	Range	Rendered at 1280×800
low	23	19–28	39
medium	18	14–21	29
high	14	11–17	23
ultra	11	9–13	19

Estimate · medium confidence, ±20%

Estimated FPS from our model (v0), based on the game's published requirements and relative GPU/CPU performance. Not measured. Real results vary with drivers, patches, and scenes. Values above 300 fps show as 300+. Data updated 2026-09-24.

Presets for 30 / 40 / 60 fps

30 fps at 1920×1200: not reachable
40 fps at 1920×1200: not reachable
60 fps at 1920×1200: not reachable
40 fps rendered at 1280×800: not reachable
60 fps rendered at 1280×800: not reachable

AMD graphics: use FSR in quality or balanced mode (or the system-level RSR upscaler) before dropping the preset. DLSS is not available on AMD.

Frame cap and power

Screen: 1920×1200, 120 Hz, 80 Wh battery.
Even frame caps for 120 Hz: 30, 40, 60, 120 fps. The low end of our range (19 fps) is under 30 fps, so expect drops below any cap.
TDP: not measured yet. We don't publish wattage advice until we have measured runs.

Steam Deck rating

Valve rates Cities: Skylines II Unsupported on Steam Deck (tested on Steam Deck, not on the MSI Claw A8).

Cities: Skylines II on other handhelds (low preset, native resolution)

Handheld	Screen	FPS at native	FPS at 1280×800	Verdict
MSI Claw 8 EX AI+	1920×1200	34	56	Meets minimum
ROG Xbox Ally X	1920×1080	26	40	Below minimum
ROG Xbox Ally X20	1920×1080	26	40	Below minimum
Legion Go 2	1920×1200	23	39	Below minimum
MSI Claw 8 AI+	1920×1200	23	39	Below minimum
MSI Claw A8	1920×1200	23	39	Below minimum
MSI Claw 7 AI+	1920×1080	24	37	Below minimum
ROG Ally X	1920×1080	23	36	Below minimum
Legion Go	2560×1600	13	31	Below minimum
ROG Ally (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)	1920×1080	20	31	Below minimum
Legion Go S (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)	1920×1200	19	31	Below minimum
Legion Go 2 (Ryzen Z2)	1920×1200	19	31	Below minimum
Steam Deck OLED	1280×800	28	28	Unsupported on Steam Deck
Steam Deck LCD	1280×800	26	26	Unsupported on Steam Deck
ROG Xbox Ally	1920×1080	15	23	Below minimum
Legion Go S	1920×1200	14	23	Below minimum
MSI Claw A1M	1920×1080	15	23	Below minimum
ROG Ally (Ryzen Z1)	1920×1080	12	19	Below minimum

Stronger handheld for 40 fps: ROG Xbox Ally X, ~40 fps at 1280×800 low vs 39 on the MSI Claw A8 (est.).

Native = each device's own screen resolution; 1280×800 compares GPUs at the same render resolution. A faster handheld is the upgrade path here; desktop cards don't apply.