Lenovo Legion Go S evaluate: feels good, performs unhealthy

The Lenovo Legion Go S was supposed to vary issues. It was poised to point out Valve isn’t the one one that may construct an reasonably priced, moveable, potent handheld gaming PC — you simply want the best design and the best OS.

I used to be intrigued when Valve’s personal Steam Deck designers informed me this Home windows handheld would double as the primary approved third-party SteamOS handheld this Might. Once I heard Lenovo had procured an unique AMD chip that may assist that SteamOS model hit $499, I received excited for a real Steam Deck competitor.

However I’m afraid that chip ain’t it.

I’ve spent weeks residing with a Legion Go S powered by AMD’s Z2 Go, the identical chip slated to seem in that $499 handheld. I’ve used it with each Home windows and Bazzite, a SteamOS-like Linux distro that eliminates lots of Home windows’ most annoying quirks. I examined each immediately in opposition to a Steam Deck OLED and the unique Legion Go, anticipating to seek out it between the 2 when it comes to efficiency and battery life. However that’s not what I discovered.

Watt for watt, its Z2 Go chip merely can’t compete with the Steam Deck, and it’s far weaker than the Z1 Excessive in final yr’s handhelds. That’s inexcusable on the $730 value you’ll presently pay for the Home windows model, and I gained’t be the primary reviewer to say so. However with this much less environment friendly chip and a mere 55 watt-hour battery, I fear the Legion Go S isn’t a sensible choice in any respect.

I need to say that the Legion Go S “makes an ideal first impression,” however Home windows 11 nonetheless incorporates a horrible out-of-box expertise. I spent almost 45 minutes ready for necessary updates to put in and dismissing dark-patterned presents for Microsoft merchandise that haven’t any enterprise being on my handheld gaming machine.

Nonetheless, the Go S is constructed much better than the unique Legion Go, whose flat-faced controllers felt awkward in my fingers. The brand new moveable has a few of the best-sculpted grips I’ve felt on a handheld, although their clean texture can really feel a bit slippery. I’d have gone with extra aggressive stippling to assist me maintain its 1.61-pound weight.

However its buttons all really feel exact and safe, if the triggers are longer than I’d like, and its concave-topped, drift-resistant Corridor impact joysticks really feel cozy and splendidly clean to spin. The one weak management is the touchpad, which is so tiny I flick repeatedly to maneuver the cursor an inch at a time.

Audio is way improved from front-facing audio system, and a bigger fan strikes extra air whereas staying quieter than earlier than. And it’s one of many fastest-charging handhelds but — I clocked every of its top-mounted USB 4 ports drawing a full 100 watts of USB-C PD energy throughout precise use. The cooling and charging are so good, Lenovo enables you to crank the chip as much as 40-watt TDP whereas it’s plugged in or 33 watts on battery alone.

However as you’ll see in my benchmark charts, the Z2 Go merely isn’t in the identical ballpark because the Steam Deck OLED’s “Sephiroth” chip. In some video games, it might probably’t beat the Steam Deck in any respect, even if you happen to plug it in and crank all of it the way in which up.

Take Cyberpunk 2077. With the Steam Deck, which runs at 15-watt TDP, I can common 52 frames per second at an upscaled 720p decision and low settings on battery energy alone. However even when I feed the Legion Go S with 40 watts and plug it right into a wall, the open-world sport runs slower at 49fps. And that’s after a brand new set of drivers; the delivery ones had been a lot worse.

In different video games, cranking up Lenovo’s TDP by 5, 10, or 15 watts can provide it a cushty lead over the Deck. However that considerably impacts battery. In Lenovo’s default 25W “Efficiency” mode, I noticed some video games run simply as easily as on the Deck — however with whole system energy consumption of round 36 watts, draining the hand-held’s 55 watt-hour battery in about an hour and a half. The Steam Deck, which drains at round 22 to 24 watts at full bore, lasts two hours on the similar smoothness.

I’ve attainable excellent news about SteamOS: after I put in Bazzite, which might function a good preview of what SteamOS would possibly appear and feel like, I noticed body charges enhance by a median of 16 p.c in early exams (minus Returnal, which appears to hate Linux for some motive), and Bazzite is such a breath of recent air after trying to make use of Home windows. But it surely nonetheless didn’t attain Steam Deck efficiency except I sacrificed extra battery to get it. That works with a handheld just like the Asus ROG Ally X with a giant 80 watt-hour battery, however not a lot right here.

Even if you happen to crank up the Z2 Go, its “turbo” modes are by no means wherever close to as efficient because the Z1 Excessive in final yr’s portables. In my exams, the unique Legion Go together with Z1E runs wherever from 15 p.c to 40 p.c quicker evaluating Home windows to Home windows — lots for a handheld, the place fashionable video games wrestle to achieve clean body charges in any respect.

The Legion Go S does have an ace up its sleeve: its crisp, colourful 1920 x 1200 IPS display seems to be higher at decrease resolutions than its predecessor’s 2560 x 1600 panel, and it runs extra easily at decrease body charges now that it has VRR to regulate its refresh price wherever between 48Hz and 120Hz on the fly. I’d not purchase a Legion Go over a Legion Go S because of this alone.

And if you happen to primarily play video games that don’t require efficiency, the Legion Go S is a little more environment friendly at decrease wattage: by setting TDP, brightness, and refresh price low, I used to be capable of obtain a complete of simply 7.5W battery drain in Home windows and 7W in Bazzite whereas enjoying magic math poker sport Balatro. That ought to internet me seven to eight hours of battery life, and you need to be capable of hit the four-hour mark with out these methods simply by setting the Legion Go S to its 8-watt TDP “Quiet” mode. Once I performed the equally straightforward to run Slay the Spire on the unique Legion Go, pulling out all of the stops, I couldn’t even attain 5 hours.

However once more, the Steam Deck does effectivity higher. Merely limiting body price to 25fps and brightness to 40 p.c can yield over eight hours of Balatro on the Deck, and I’ve gotten 4 hours, 42 minutes in Dave the Diver there. With the Legion Go S, my Dave solely received 2.5 hours to hunt these sushi substances and blow up pretend environmentalists!

I’m comfy saying nobody should purchase the Home windows model of the Lenovo Legion Go S, which prices $730 at Finest Purchase. Even when the efficiency, battery life, and value weren’t disqualifiers, Home windows is a stain on this machine. And like different latest Home windows handhelds I’ve examined, it doesn’t reliably fall asleep and get up once more: I woke a number of mornings to seek out the system scorching with followers spinning, regardless that I’d pressed the facility button the earlier night. I discovered it uncomfortably heat pulling it out of my bag the opposite day.

Even if you happen to favor Home windows to SteamOS, you will get notably higher efficiency and much better battery life from the $800 Asus ROG Ally X, which is value each additional penny, significantly because it doubles as the very best Bazzite machine you should purchase.

However even if you happen to add Bazzite to the Legion Go S, it’s no Steam Deck, and I’m undecided that’ll change by Might. When you’re ready for a $499 Legion Go S with SteamOS, right here’s my recommendation: simply purchase a $530 Steam Deck OLED as an alternative.