Lenovo has already teased the second-gen version of its flagship gaming handheld. However that gained’t be out till a lot later this 12 months, so within the meantime, it’s come out with the Legion Go S, a barely sturdier and extra moveable method to frag whilst you’re out and about. Now the tough factor about this machine is that it will likely be out there in a bunch of various configurations together with one which comes pre-installed with SteamOS — a primary for any moveable PC not made by Valve. Frankly, that’s the model we’re most serious about. Nevertheless, the one working Home windows 11 is out now, so it’s an excellent time to get acquainted with it and see if it’s definitely worth the cash or should you ought to simply look forward to the variant that comes with Valve’s OS as an alternative.
Design and show: A mid-cycle streamlining
No matter what platform they’re primarily based on, each fashions characteristic the identical design with the one distinction being that the Home windows 11 model is available in white whereas the SteamOS variant incorporates a darkish purple shell. Nevertheless, in contrast to the unique Legion Go, the Go S doesn’t have removable controllers. However except for that, most of the spotlight options from its predecessor are nonetheless there. It sports activities a 1,920 x 1,200 show with a 120Hz refresh fee. At 8 inches, that’s bigger than most handhelds, although it’s a slight downgrade from the 8.8-inch panel on its predecessor. You additionally get joysticks with exact Corridor impact sensors, an assortment of face and shoulder buttons, twin USB 4 ports (which each help energy and knowledge), 3.5mm audio and a microSD card reader.
One other small tweak is that as an alternative of 4 paddles in again, you solely get two, with Lenovo buying and selling out the second pair for a set of toggle switches that allow you to alter how deep you need the hand held’s triggers to go. It’s a pleasant contact for individuals who get pleasure from issues like racing video games the place a bit of additional analog sensitivity can go a great distance, however nonetheless need the liberty to have a shorter pull when enjoying stuff like combating video games, the place longer triggers harm greater than they assist. And whereas the touchpad on the Legion Go S is way smaller than the one on the unique, I’m actually glad Lenovo didn’t axe it altogether because it makes navigating by settings and menus in Home windows a lot simpler than relying strictly on the joysticks or contact help.
The one characteristic I want Lenovo had included is an onboard fingerprint sensor. With out it, you might want to use a PIN or password to get into Home windows 11. On a system with out a keyboard, meaning each time you decide up the system, it’s important to shift your fingers away from the joysticks and faucet the center of the touchscreen, as a result of the tiny touchpad doesn’t even work for this. Frankly, it’s simply sort of awkward and will have been prevented completely if Lenovo had opted for an influence button with a built-in finger scanner like most of the Legion Go’s rivals together with the ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Lastly, whereas the Go S does have a built-in rumble motor, the vibrations it places out are hilariously one-note, particularly when it’s set to buzz anytime you utilize the touchpad. So I ended up turning it off completely.
Efficiency: Not as quick as you may count on
The Legion Go S will finally help a handful of processors and configurations, however proper now it comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip together with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. And should you’re evaluating it to its predecessor, you may assume this factor would supply higher efficiency. In spite of everything, the unique Legion Go has much less RAM and an older Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, and two is larger than one, proper? Effectively not so quick, as a result of the Z1 Excessive incorporates a base clock of three.3GHz with eight cores and 16 threads in comparison with the Z2 Go’s base clock of 3GHz with simply 4 cores and eight threads. Moreover, the older Z1 Excessive additionally has a GPU primarily based on AMD’s newer RDNA 3 structure in comparison with RDNA 2 for the Z2 Go. So in truth, the Legion Go S with this chip is about 10 to fifteen p.c much less highly effective than the mannequin that got here earlier than it.
This turns into much more apparent when benchmarks the place the Legion Go S delivered 45 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 800p and medium settings with FSR upscaling set to efficiency, whereas the unique Legion Go hit 51 fps with each programs set to the identical 15-watt efficiency mode. In the meantime in Returnal, we noticed the same sample with the Go S reaching 23 fps on medium graphics at 800p in comparison with 34 fps for the older Legion Go, as soon as once more with each gadgets set to fifteen watts.
Seeing poorer efficiency on the brand new mannequin may set off alarms for some individuals, however earlier than anybody panics, take into account this: The Legion Go S is meant to be a extra streamlined and reasonably priced tackle the unique, so in some respects not with the ability to obtain the identical or larger framerates is to be anticipated. To me, the actual concern is that 32GB of RAM is kind of overkill for this chip, which suggests you’re paying extra for reminiscence that may’t be absolutely utilized. And keep in mind, whereas the Go S’ launch config comes with a Z2 Go, there are different variations which can be anticipated to get a Z1 Excessive and probably a vanilla Z2 sooner or later sooner or later.
After all, if you would like larger framerates, you possibly can at all times alter how a lot energy you’re sending to its processor. Lenovo’s default balanced setting makes use of 15 watts, whereas efficiency mode pumps issues as much as 30. However if you would like extra exact management, the customized mode can go from as little as 5 watts all the best way as much as 40, although you’ll need or must be plugged into the wall to make the most of its full TDP (thermal design energy).
Battery life: Adequate
Naturally, no matter efficiency mode you select will in the end influence your battery life. I discovered that when enjoying Metallic Slug Ways utilizing the 15-watt balanced setting, the Legion Go S lasted for round two and a half hours, which is fairly stable. When enjoying extra demanding titles, longevity wasn’t fairly pretty much as good, with runtimes nearer to an hour and a half. Although, with the Go S that includes a 55.5WHr battery in comparison with one thing just like the 80WHr pack within the ROG Ally X, that sort of discrepancy isn’t completely surprising.
Software program: Higher, however nonetheless clunky
Lenovo has finished so much to enhance the Legion House app because it got here out a pair years in the past. Not solely is it a lot better as a basic place to launch video games from, it’s so much simpler to regulate settings or obtain new drivers or software program updates. Even the UI is extra spacious and intuitive. Nevertheless, on the finish of the day, the handoff between Legion House and the remainder of Home windows 11 nonetheless feels awkward. Relying on what you’re making an attempt to tweak, it’s important to bounce between menus from Lenovo and Microsoft whereas switching between joystick and touchpad to navigate. I additionally observed some bugs like when making an attempt to put in Steam from the Legion House app. It failed each time, which meant I needed to obtain the app instantly from Valve and do issues manually. In numerous respects, that is the place Home windows-based handhelds lag behind essentially the most, so it’s a disgrace it’ll be one other few months earlier than the SteamOS mannequin goes on sale someday in Might.
Wrap-up
The Legion Go S has all of the makings of a stable moveable gaming PC. It’s bought a simple design with good ergonomics, Corridor impact joysticks and a smart button format. Lenovo additionally consists of some good perks like twin USB-C ports, a decent-sized battery and a useful little touchpad for navigating Home windows. I simply want there was a built-in fingerprint scanner too. And whereas its 8-inch OLED show is a contact smaller than the one on its predecessor, there’s not a lot to dislike about it. You even get extra storage (1TB) than a base Legion Go (512GB).
The arduous factor to come back to phrases with is that proper now a Legion Go S prices $730 for worse efficiency, no removable controllers and the dearth of bonuses like an included carrying case or vertical mouse performance like on the unique Legion Go, which will be had for $30 much less ($700). Usually, that might be a dying sentence for a brand new system as a result of that worth proposition merely doesn’t make sense.
However on this case, the problem is that Lenovo hasn’t absolutely rolled out all of its variations. I nonetheless assume 32GB of RAM on this machine is extreme; not even the ROG Ally X has that a lot. However extra importantly, the Legion Go S’ different configs aren’t out there but. So even should you aren’t holding out for the SteamOS variant, you’d be foolish to not look forward to cheaper variations to come back out with beginning costs nearer to $600 (and even $500 for the one with Valve’s platform), which is able to immediately make this handheld much more enticing.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/laptop/lenovo-legion-go-s-review-windows-version-not-so-fast-140002828.html?src=rss
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