Lenovo Legion Go

I have a Razer Core X Chroma with one of my 3070s in there though in hindsight I probably wouldn't have bought it, there are some issues you have to work around with it to prevent graphics lock ups and the relatively limited PCI-e bandwidth isn't ideal. As mentioned by Emlyn_Dewar because the Go uses customised AMD drivers it is easier to use an nVidia GPU externally with it. If the Go had 32GB RAM and something more like OCuLink for bandwidth I'd probably use it more that way.

I do use the Go quite a bit as a PC with a USB hub stuck to the back of a tablet stand so I can easily use both USB 4 ports and connected to a portable 2560x1600 monitor.

EDIT: I've seen some people say the IIRC ADT board with a 3060 works quite well albeit the PCI-e bandwidth limit can sometimes hold it back a bit.
 
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Nearly 16 months of fairly heavy use mine is showing nearly 5% battery degradation, be interesting to see how it goes in the longer term.
 
Worth buying over the original GO? tho tbh I don't use it as much as I should I still seem to reach for the Switch is I wana play something in bed.
 
I wasnt going to do this post, infact, I picked up the Lenovo Legion Go Z1 Extreme as an impulse buy inside a bricks and mortar store for 730 EUR.

I did not expect to like it.

I got it home and it booted up Windows and it moaned at me. Urgh.

When I googled on tips to configure it, I spotted, to my surprise, that Valve had realsed an officially certified version of Steam OS for the Lenovo. To my delight, I was up and running with Steam OS in around 30 minutes, goodbye Windows!

I will post up pictures as I go but safe to say, the gaming experience on this machine is totally epic. I know the Z2E version is coming but Lenovo are not good at marketing or, launches outside of China and Taiwan.

Stay tuned for some Lenovo Legion Go Z1 love. 2025 has been a big year of game changers for me, first the Mac Mini M4 and now this machine, what a great time to be alive.
 
Windows definitely takes the edge off how good the device can be and if purely gaming Steam OS is potentially a better bet but for me the all around capabilities of the device means I leave Windows on it (with some heavy curtailing of Windows activity/features) - personally I use it much more plugged in as a PC replacement than as a handheld.

On another note apparently Alienware sold their R&D on the UFO to Lenovo (and licensed some stuff to some of the other handheld makers) which is where a lot of the concept came from: https://www.techradar.com/reviews/alienware-concept-ufo
 
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With SteamOS, I assume it doesnt sit on top of Windows? Its a separate OS?
If so, how does it work with emulators and games which exist outside of the Steam environment?
 
It is a separate OS install - you can even dual boot Windows and Steam OS if you want. Not sure how it works with stuff outside of the Steam environment.
 
Steam OS is generally a separate OS, it can be dual booted if you like but its not something I have ever looked at.

EMUDeck is your general go to for Steam OS (SteamDeck guides available online on how to install etc) and you can run non Steam Games from the likes of GoG and Epic via Heroic launcher. Not done it in a while (don't have it installed on my Go S) but from memory you install in desktop mode and then link it as a non steam app within the main launcher. Clicking on this then launches Heroic which then lets you launch the game. This is how I used to load CP2077 when I played it on the deck. You can mess around with Proton versions and other launch options from directly within Heroic in case you are experiencing issues.

I recently bought a Windows based Legion Go S (Z2 Go - 4c/8t Zen 3+ / 12CU 680M iGPU) and immediately installed Steam OS on it. It was £50 cheaper than the Steam OS version for some reason and if I ever want to go back to Windows I can.

Mainly using it for Indies (either docked or handheld) and EmuDeck. It runs Repo quite well which I am quite happy about. :)
 
Thanks I also use EMUDeck on the ROG Ally, love it to bits.

The Go S is on sales on Amazon for around £350 which is not bad when you think about it... but how does it compare to the ROG Ally...
 
Cavallino said:
Thanks I also use EMUDeck on the ROG Ally, love it to bits.

The Go S is on sales on Amazon for around £350 which is not bad when you think about it... but how does it compare to the ROG Ally...
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The Go S either runs the Z2 Go APU (as I have listed in my post above, its the one I have) or the Z1 Extreme thus the same as the Ally. Z2 Go APU is generally around 10-15% slower in real world use (I used to have an Ally as well so going off of my own results). The Go S is physically bigger, has a larger battery, has dual USB-C ports (I think at least one is USB4 for e-GPU support), lovely ~8" 120Hz VRR display and has a little trackpad if that matters to you (I don't use it personally).. It also uses the 2280 NVME format natively so is arguably easier to upgrade to larger storage sizes (at least above 2TB).

If you already have an Ally the Go S is more of a side move as it basically does the same job with its pros/ cons (vs Ally) being more subjective - i.e. if you want a bigger screen then the Go S is nicer.

For me the larger screen and overall ergonomics sold it over the Ally (in my case getting another Ally).
 
Would have tried steam os on my go but I litterally sold it due to lack of use, have to say the xbox rog is looking tempting with the custom win install
 
I just bought a Go S 16gb and it’s a great bit of kit. I will say the standard one with the Z2 Go with 16gb can be a little underpowered to run games natively at the 1920x1200 but with some tweaks like proton and Lossless scaling it’s running fantastic. I swapped out the 512gb for a 2tb I had and have got the dual boot working. I might upgrade to the Go2 in the future if it’s similar format. It feels lovely and comfortable to hold and play for a decent amount of time. Speakers are a bit weak but they are front facing so bit of a bonus. Buttons feel very nice and the layout works well. For £350 (you can get them for 320 at Costco) it’s a bargain really, oh and you get 3 months gamepass as well.

Windows is a bit clunky on it but hopefully will be better with the windows handheld os.
 
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I just got the Z2 Go S 16gb too, for £330 to dip my toe in. I'm liking it so far.
Installed Steam OS and ditched Windows, easy to do, although it was a bit fussy with the USB drive (or possibly the adapter) I used, so it took a couple of attempts to get to the KDE desktop for the install.
 
Installed Parsec on my Go S yesterday for some local Geforce Now esq streaming shenanigans in CP2077. Something kind of funny about running it absolutely maxed out with PT etc and having it be"playing" in your hands. Bit fiddly getting the Go S controls to be picked up but that just needed the app to be added and run from Gaming mode. That itself took a bit of find tuning as initially it just looped starting and then crashing out. Once I got all that working I had no sound. Turns out the sound option chosen in desktop mode needed switching (for some reason).

:)
 
Nullzzz said:
I just got the Z2 Go S 16gb too, for £330 to dip my toe in. I'm liking it so far.
Installed Steam OS and ditched Windows, easy to do, although it was a bit fussy with the USB drive (or possibly the adapter) I used, so it took a couple of attempts to get to the KDE desktop for the install.
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Funny I had the same issue as well. Could have been the key, the version of rufus I used or the usb-c to usb adapter I was using.

Just fyi for anyone that’s looking for a case, I got the universal one for a tenner from curry’s. It fits the console nicely but not the adapter. I have a slimline one with detachable plug coming to
Or row and will let you know how it fits in the case.
 
ZXSpectrum said:
can be a little underpowered to run games natively at the 1920x1200 but with some tweaks like proton and Lossless scaling it’s running fantastic
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One downside with the other variants and the 2 in my opinion is the screen res - 2560x1600 on the original Go is fantastic for general use and scales perfectly to 1280x800 when needed for performance or visual clarity reasons. 1280x800 is still very useable for gaming more so than 1280x720 and multiples of 1920x resolutions aren't a great compromise. Quite a few games at 1280x800 with FSR quality and/or lossless scaling and/or framegen will actually give playable performance with ray tracing enabled and reasonable quality settings which IMO is a good compromise with resolution.
 
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