Lenovo Legion Go S With SteamOS Assessment: Linux Gaming On The Go

	Lenovo Legion Go S (Ryzen Z1E / 32GB / SteamOS): $829 as examined, ranging from $499 Lenovo’s second-generation Go handheld is the primary third-party machine to ship with Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS working system.
	Glorious SteamOS Effectivity Corridor-Impact Sticks And Delicate-Really feel Chassis Versatile Twin USB4 Connectivity Massive And Vibrant 8-inch VRR Display screen Robust Combine Of Pace And Battery Life	Bulkier Than 7″ Display screen Handhelds Imperfect SteamOS Compatibility Inefficient Video Streaming Tiny Trackpad

The unique Lenovo Legion Go was an enchanting machine filled with options not discovered on most different PC-based gaming handhelds. It has removable controllers, like a Nintendo Swap, and it additionally helps mouse mode with these controllers, properly earlier than the Swap 2 got here out and borrowed that little trick.

The issue with gadgets like that’s that they get costly in a short time. Lenovo priced the Legion Go aggressively; it was usually solely a bit dearer than the competing ROG Ally. Nevertheless, early software program points and some peculiar design choices meant that it by no means fairly achieved the identical market presence as competing gadgets.

The brand new Legion Go S is a significantly much less esoteric machine than the unique. Gone are the removable controllers, and mouse mode with them. Likewise, the display has been downgraded when it comes to decision, however in contrast to the unique Legion Go, this display is a local horizontal show.

Arguably the most important change from the unique Legion Go on the brand new mannequin is the selection of working system. The unique Legion Go, like most PC gaming handhelds, ran Home windows 11. We love Home windows over right here at HotHardware, however there isn’t any denying that it is sort of overkill for a pure gaming system, and it would not actually have built-in UI for console-like use. Enter Valve’s SteamOS.

Typical knowledge would have it that SteamOS gives higher battery life and efficiency than Home windows 11 regardless of working Home windows video games by way of a translation layer often called Proton. Not solely that, nevertheless it additionally helps a intelligent droop/resume function that’s merely not out there on Home windows 11. We’ll discuss extra about Steam OS on the following web page. Earlier than that, let us take a look at the specs and have an in depth take a look at the machine itself.

The machine we examined is the fanciest configuration of the Legion Go S, with the Ryzen Z1 Excessive SoC, 32GB of RAM, and SteamOS. You will get it with a Ryzen Z2 Go as an alternative, though that chip is older Rembrandt silicon with 4 Zen3+ cores and RDNA 2 graphics. We truly suspect that it’ll carry out very equally to this machine, however have not had a kind of to check, so that is what we’re working with. It gave us a possibility to match Home windows 11 versus SteamOS, anyway.

Different choices embody your alternative of 16 or 32GB of RAM, Home windows 11 or SteamOS, and two colorways: white or “Nebula”, though the colorways are linked to the working system alternative, with the Home windows 11 model coming in white and the SteamOS model coming in Nebula. Our machine shipped with a speedy M.2 SSD in 42mm size, however if you would like to exchange it, there’s room and a screw level for an 80mm SSD.

We undoubtedly assume the 32GB reminiscence improve is price it if you are going to be enjoying superior 3D video games on the system. With simply 16GB, you are restricted to a 12GB+4GB configuration (system RAM plus VRAM), which is not optimum for AAA video games that need gobs of video RAM. With 32GB, you may dedicate as a lot as 16GB of the system RAM to the graphics card and nonetheless have 16GB left over. Happily, you do not have to handle the video RAM; the machine defaults to 4GB, and may allocate extra to the GPU dynamically as wanted.

There are extra fascinating options on the machine, however let’s take a stroll round it whereas we speak about them.

Lenovo Legion Go S Design and Controls

The centerpiece of the Legion Go S is in fact the sharp and vibrant 8-inch 1920×1200 IPS LCD. With the brightness turned up, this display actually does look good, with saturated colours and 120-Hz VRR assist. We wish it if the show had a wider VRR vary, nevertheless it does seem to assist Low Framerate Compensation (LFC), so that you by no means actually lose VRR. The WUXGA decision at this dimension offers us a 283 PPI, which is round 4 occasions a typical desktop PC monitor, and about double your normal laptop computer display.

In fact, being an IPS LCD, it does have reasonably poor distinction, and this annoyance is compounded while you decrease display brightness to avoid wasting energy or loosen up your eyes. Different handhelds with IPS LCDs, just like the ROG Ally, have this similar drawback, although. As a lot as they suck down additional energy, it is arduous to argue towards the necessity for OLED in gadgets like this. Nonetheless, when enjoying shiny video games like Onirism or Zenless Zone Zero, the wealthy colours virtually pop off the display. There’s minimal LCD blur, too.

On the left facet of the display, now we have the left analog stick, a dish-type D-pad, the View button (previously often called “Again”, aka “Choose”) and the Steam button. The analog stick is a Corridor-effect sort, and it feels flawless in use. The D-pad is peculiar; it is the one-piece sort much like a basic Sega Saturn controller, besides the “dish” is remarkably deep. It feels high quality to make use of for typical D-pad issues, however we would not need to play Killer Intuition on it.

In fact, there are additionally the left bumper and the left set off on the highest of the system, after which under the place your hand rests is the left speaker. Sound high quality is unquestionably not excellent on this handheld, nevertheless it’s additionally not inferior. Nonetheless, as with different handhelds, we might advocate enjoying with headphones, each for higher sound high quality and to keep away from disturbing these round you.

Over on the precise facet, issues are a bit of extra fascinating. We have now the same old Xbox face buttons, the Menu and Fast Entry buttons, after which on the highest, the same old right-side bumper and set off. Beneath the face buttons, now we have the precise analog stick—additionally Corridor-effect, fortunately—after which under that, the world’s tiniest trackpad.

Due to the small dimension, it’s almost not possible to make use of the tiny trackpad in any context in any respect. As a mouse, your finger slips off and you must reposition a number of occasions earlier than the cursor will get to its location, and as a gaming enter machine, it is depressing. Somebody tried to use a heavy acceleration curve to mitigate the “finger slips off” drawback, however that simply has the impact of constructing the response actually uneven.

It isn’t an issue, precisely; you may merely ignore the trackpad’s existence. It does make us marvel why Lenovo bothered to incorporate it, although. It is actually a disgrace, as a result of a helpful trackpad might have actually set this machine aside from its rivals. This trackpad is not helpful, although. Happily the remainder of the controls really feel improbable.

On the highest fringe of the machine is the place the vast majority of the I/O lives. Ranging from the left, circled in crimson, now we have the facility button, after which separate quantity up and down buttons. Then you’ve got the three.5mm headphone jack, and eventually a pair of USB4 ports. Each of those assist 45W charging and the total 40-Gbps switch price. By the best way, the three.5mm audio jack is not a combo audio jack; it is only a headphone jack.

Happily, the machine itself has a microphone array inbuilt for on-line coordination or simply chatting on mates with Discord. Oh, and over on the left there are six exhaust ports for the cooling equipment. Strive to not block these, in fact.

The underside of the system is nearly fully featureless. Three of the screws you’d must take away to dismantle the system are right here, together with the machine’s singular exterior storage growth possibility: a UHS-II MicroSD slot. It is the tiniest of bummers that this does not assist SD Categorical, however nearly nobody has a kind of but, so it is in all probability high quality. Most video games play properly sufficient off of an everyday A2-class SD card anyway.

Lastly, the underside of the system. Right here you will discover a large sticker with regulatory data and the serial quantity, two big consumption vents for the dual-fan cooler, two “paddle” buttons that may be re-bound within the Steam controller menu, and a few switches that can be utilized to bodily restrict the ‘throw’ and actuation distance of the triggers; very helpful for sure titles.

It is at this level that I need to discuss in regards to the chassis and the end. It is has a really uncommon feeling; it is plastic, nevertheless it has a end that’s each comfortable to the contact and but additionally sturdy. Lenovo describes the fabric as “ABS + 15% Talc”, and the usage of talc is a standard filler in plastics, however right here it offers the machine a selected soft-touch really feel that we fairly like.

General the Legion Go S is engaging to take a look at and feels moderately comfy to carry. It’s kind of thick and reasonably heavy at 741 grams, which makes it a strong 100 grams heavier than a lot of the different handhelds in the marketplace. Nevertheless, it additionally has a bigger display than most different handhelds. It is nonetheless over 100 grams lighter than the unique Legion Go along with its controllers connected, nevertheless it does lack the kickstand of that system, too. Typically we predict the trade-off is affordable, however you could disagree.

With all of that stated, let’s transfer on to what you are actually right here for: the benchmarks!