Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme, SteamOS) Review

When the Lenovo Legion Go S archetypal launched earlier this year, the lone mentation disposable was powered by an AMD Z2 Go chip, and ran Windows 11 – and it was not great. However, it came with a committedness that a mentation natively moving SteamOS was connected the way, and present it’s yet here. And, well, it’s amended successful each way, proving erstwhile and for each that a large operating strategy tin spell a agelong way.

Lenovo sent america the Legion Go S with the Z1 Extreme this clip around, the aforesaid chipset that powers the handheld gaming PC heavyweights similar the Asus ROG Ally X and the archetypal Legion Go. And portion this mentation of the Legion Go S inactive has comparable show to these devices, SteamOS elevates this handheld to different level entirely. What’s more, the Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS should airy a occurrence nether Microsoft to marque definite the Xbox Ally X is simply a occurrence – due to the fact that I could wholly spot different manufacturers partnering with Valve successful the future.

Design and Features

Just similar the Windows-based Legion Go S I looked astatine backmost successful February, this SteamOS-powered mentation is an all-in-one design, arsenic opposed to the archetypal Legion Go with its removable controllers. The lone quality betwixt this and the Windows version, astatine slightest earlier you crook it on, is the colorway – the SteamOS mentation has a bully ‘Nebula Nocturne’ purple color. It looks awesome.

You inactive get the aforesaid backmost paddles that are bully and clicky, if you’re into that benignant of thing, on with the adjustable triggers that could bash with an other level of control. On the apical of the instrumentality is the powerfulness fastener and 2 measurement buttons. You’ll besides find 2 USB-C ports close adjacent to each different for charging the instrumentality oregon connecting accessories.

The look buttons are besides mostly the aforesaid arsenic the archetypal Legion Go S, but with 1 flimsy difference. The Legion fastener connected the apical near country of the show is present a Steam Button, which volition bring up the Steam Menu, conscionable similar it does connected the Steam Deck. This automatically makes this fastener overmuch much useful, arsenic it gives you the contiguous quality to adjacent your game, oregon get to chat without having to leap done a clump of hoops.

Also similar the Steam Deck, the speedy settings fastener – located supra the commencement fastener adjacent to the top-right country of the show – brings up the aforesaid settings sheet arsenic connected the Steam Deck. This volition fto you set things similar brightness, powerfulness and notifications successful an easy-to-parse display. Most Windows-based handhelds besides connection a speedy settings sheet similar this one, but they person a inclination to shove arsenic galore antithetic options arsenic imaginable into the panel, making it a small harder to navigate than the elemental menus connected the Legion Go S.

Beyond the chipset moving the thing, though, the biggest quality betwixt this and the Steam Deck is astir apt going to beryllium the display. While Valve has released a mentation of the Steam Deck with a beauteous OLED display, it’s inactive locked astatine a 1,280 x 800 resolution, compared to the 8-inch 1200p show connected the Legion Go S. And portion Lenovo’s enactment is conscionable a lowly LCD panel, it’s inactive gorgeous, with fantabulous colour accuracy. Plus, it’s accelerated astatine 120Hz with Freesync Premium support.

It tin beryllium argued that the 800p show connected the Steam Deck is simply a amended acceptable for these low-power mobile chips, but the other solution truly does assistance marque the larger Legion Go S show an implicit beauty. You conscionable mightiness privation to crook down the solution successful immoderate newer games, but much connected that later.

With the Legion Go S’s larger screen, though, comes a larger chassis. While the 2 handhelds person a akin thickness, the Legion Go S is astir fractional an inch taller than the Steam Deck and 0.2 lb heavier. Now, 0.2lbs doesn’t dependable similar a lot, but fto maine archer you, aft holding some for agelong periods of time, it’s noticeable.

The comedically tiny touchpad besides returns, and portion it was a large bugbear with the Windows mentation of the Go S, I didn’t consciousness the request to usage it erstwhile successful the 2 weeks I’ve spent with this handheld. How overmuch this impacts you volition mostly beryllium connected however overmuch you attraction astir having a usable trackpad. I personally ne'er truly utilized the haptic trackpads successful the Steam Deck for thing different than navigating menus and typing connected the on-screen keyboard, truthful the tiny trackpad present doesn’t fuss maine much. But if you play a batch of games that request that other level of control, it could decidedly beryllium a problem.

SteamOS Changes Everything

The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS is the archetypal handheld not made by Valve that natively runs SteamOS. And portion you can instal SteamOS connected the ROG Ally X oregon the archetypal Lenovo Legion Go, having thing that comes with the operating strategy moving out of the box is simply a immense woody for anyone that doesn’t privation to woody with the hassle of re-imaging their handheld.

SteamOS was built from the crushed up to beryllium usable with a controller, and it truly shows. Just arsenic with the Steam Deck itself, it launches consecutive into a mentation of Steam Big Picture Mode. You log into your Steam relationship and you’re bully to go. Compare that to the setup process connected the Windows mentation of the Go S where, erstwhile you get the strategy up and running, it’ll unfastened to the Legion Space app wherever you tin take to download Steam and immoderate different crippled stores.

However, you’re going to person to spell done interaction surface hellhole to really acceptable up those stores, signing successful and adjacent navigating their UIs to instal the games you privation to play. Once you person games installed you can motorboat them from the Legion Space app, but you inactive person to woody with Windows successful a immense way. That’s good with me, to beryllium sure, I’ve been reviewing gaming PCs and laptops for much than a decade, and I person much than capable acquisition dealing with Windows connected a fiddly interaction screen. For a batch of people, though, it was a immense turn-off.

The easiness of usage of SteamOS does person its downsides, though. While you tin get immoderate different launchers moving connected the Linux-based OS, it takes capable effort that a batch of radical are going to consciousness confined to Steam’s library. That’s a immense library, to beryllium fair, but you won’t beryllium capable to usage things similar PC Game Pass unless you’re consenting to bash immoderate tweaking.

Luckily, you tin either conscionable instal Windows 11 connected this happening if you privation to, oregon conscionable bargain the Windows mentation instead, which Lenovo is thankfully present selling with the aforesaid Z1 Extreme APU arsenic the exemplary I reviewed here.

Performance

There are 2 versions of the Lenovo Legion Go S, 1 powered by the Z2 Go and 1 by the Z1 Extreme. And contempt what the numbers successful those names whitethorn suggest, the Z1 Extreme is some much almighty and based connected newer silicon. This spot has a CPU based connected AMD Zen 4 and a GPU based connected RDNA 3, compared to Zen 3 and RDNA 2 for the Z2 Go.

Lenovo sent maine the Go S with the Z1 Extreme, which is importantly much almighty than the Steam Deck, contempt moving the aforesaid operating system. The Go S besides has treble the representation arsenic the Steam Deck with 32GB of LPDDR5X clocked astatine 6,400MHz. By default, the Go S has 10GB of this strategy representation reserved for the GPU, compared to conscionable 6GB for the Steam Deck. That makes much demanding games similar Monster Hunter Wilds a no-go for the Deck, but overmuch much feasible connected the Legion Go S.

So, portion Valve waits for hardware bully capable to warrant making a Steam Deck 2, this small handheld mightiness arsenic good beryllium the Steam Deck 1.5, particularly erstwhile you look astatine the show numbers.

I started with 3DMark, adjacent if it meant going done the slog of installing Windows 11 connected the device. In Time Spy, the Lenovo Legion Go S was astir doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic the Steam Deck, with a people of 3,433, compared to 1,715 from Valve’s handheld. Then, successful Fire Strike, the Go S gets different immense pb with 7,865 points to Valve’s 4,322.

These show leads transportation implicit to existent games, too. For instance, successful Cyberpunk 2077, the Legion Go S got 61 fps astatine 800p connected the High Preset with FSR acceptable to performance, compared to 28 fps from the Steam Deck with the aforesaid settings. That’s much than treble the performance. The Steam Deck held up a small amended successful Monster Hunter Wilds, scoring 19 fps to 31 fps from the Legion Go S astatine the aforesaid solution and settings. But that’s conscionable mean framework complaint – the Steam Deck had moments wherever its show dropped down to the azygous digits, particularly erstwhile determination were a batch of effects connected the display.

At its afloat 1200p resolution, immoderate cracks commencement to show, particularly successful Monster Hunter Wilds. While it’s inactive susceptible of delivering an mean framework complaint of 27 fps, the framework drops go highly obvious, particularly successful analyzable scenes. This is inactive a handheld aft all, and 800p is going to beryllium the solution you privation to enactment astatine if you’re playing much demanding games. However, Hollow Knight gets 120 fps astatine 1200p, conscionable saying.

None of this should beryllium excessively surprising. After all, the Z1 Extreme is not lone utilizing newer silicon, but it has a overmuch bigger GPU, with 12 graphics cores, compared to conscionable 8 successful the Steam Deck. Plus, the Steam Deck has a overmuch much blimpish 15W powerfulness budget, successful the involvement of maximising artillery life, whereas the Lenovo Legion Go S volition pump treble that into its SoC. As with immoderate gaming PC, much powerfulness means amended performance, but it does travel with a deed to artillery life.

Battery Life

Even successful handheld form, artillery beingness for mobile PC gaming is ever going to beryllium a challenge. And portion handhelds similar the ROG Ally X are getting better, you’re inactive lone going to get a mates hours of gaming retired of a handheld erstwhile you’re truly pushing the system.

The Legion Go S is nary different. While it lasts 6 hours and 25 minutes successful the PCMark10 artillery test, it’s a antithetic communicative erstwhile playing games. I booted up Baldur’s Gate 3 and acceptable a timer with the spot going astatine afloat power, and the strategy died aft astir an hr and a fractional of playtime. Keep successful mind, though, that this was astatine 1200p with the afloat 30W TDP. You tin get overmuch amended artillery beingness by lowering the solution oregon limiting the powerfulness going to the Z1 Extreme.

The Steam Deck did past longer successful PCMark, but that’s to beryllium expected. After all, the ‘custom AMD processor’ is lone utilizing fractional the power, but that lone got the Steam Deck an other 2 hours of artillery life.

It truly is simply a crippled of mounting your expectations, then. The lower-power spot successful the Steam Deck volition get you amended artillery beingness astir of the time, but you’re getting way amended show from the Z1 Extreme.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra