Why You Should Buy the Lenovo Legion Go S Instead of a Steam Deck

We are successful the epoch of handhelds, and there's nary denying that the Steam Deck led the mode for handheld gaming PCs to prosper. But are modern iterations yet dethroning the archetypal monarch? Lenovo astir surely threw down the gauntlet.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is present our favourite handheld gaming PC, and 1 immense diagnostic it has successful communal with the Steam Deck is that it runs SteamOS. If you don’t know, the Legion Go S is presently the lone third-party handheld gaming PC that officially supports SteamOS.

SteamOS is 1 of the large reasons wherefore the Steam Deck is beloved, and wherefore we loved the Legion Go S truthful much. But if you’re hunting for a handheld gaming PC with this way-better-than-windows OS, which bash you get?

Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Specs

We’ve established that the Legion Go S and Steam Deck some stock SteamOS, but which tin tally it better?

As overmuch arsenic the Steam Deck is simply a instrumentality favorite, it’s getting a spot aged — it launched successful 2022. That’s not too agelong ago, but it’s packing an AMD 4-core, 8-thread Zen 2 CPU and 8-core RDNA 2 GPU. Those launched successful 2019 and 2020, respectively. The Lenovo Legion Go S sports the AMD Z1 Extreme chipset (launched successful 2023), which includes a Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU.

But does a fewer years truly marque that overmuch of a difference? Well, yes. Matching the Steam Deck’s solution astatine 1280 x 800, the Legion Go S managed to tally 1 of the astir terribly optimized games astatine 30 frames per 2nd (aka Monster Hunter Wilds). Capcom’s latest introduction successful the Monster Hunter franchise is consecutive up unplayable connected the Steam Deck, astatine an mean of 19 fps. I’m really amazed it ran astatine each – I’ve seen the crippled clang connected a friend’s Steam Deck.

That’s not to accidental that you’re getting stuck with a unspeakable chipset if you determine to spell with the Steam Deck. It tin tally plentifulness of AAA games connected little settings, adjacent Cyberpunk 2077. It won’t beryllium as bully arsenic the Legion Go S, but if you privation the bare minimum, it works.

Outside of their chipsets, the Steam Deck is outfitted with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for the LCD exemplary and a 512GB oregon 1TB SSD for the OLED variation. Meanwhile, the Legion Go S features 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. 16GB of RAM is solid, but 32GB decidedly helps if you’re trying to tally much taxing games.

The Steam Deck is inactive a coagulated portion of gaming tech, but if you enactment it successful a country with the Legion Go S, you won’t find immoderate Steam Decks successful Ba Sing Se.

Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S

Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Battery Life

Battery beingness is simply a weird 1 to trial and speech astir with handheld gaming PCs due to the fact that it truthful heavy varies depending connected what you play. But erstwhile pitting the Legion Go S and Steam Deck against each other, determination is simply a “simple” answer.

On the PCMark 10 Battery Test, the Legion Go S lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes portion the Steam Deck survived 8 hours and 8 minutes. Now, I enactment “simple” successful quotation marks due to the fact that precise fewer people, if anyone, is utilizing handheld gaming PCs the mode that PCMark 10 is investigating them.

You mightiness get a fewer hours retired of each of them astatine a time, and what you play volition interaction however agelong it lasts. I got a coagulated mates hours retired of the Legion Go S portion playing The Messenger earlier I had to complaint it.

But successful theory, the Steam Deck should past a small longer. I uncertainty it’ll beryllium 1 hr and 43 minutes longer, but longer nonetheless. Just don’t fto this beryllium what heavy impacts your buying decision.

Winner: Steam Deck

Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Design and Comfort

There are important plan differences betwixt the Legion Go S and the Steam Deck. Some whitethorn travel down to preference, but I legitimately judge the Legion Go S is superior successful this regard.

The Legion Go S isn’t perfect, but the wide fastener layout connected its look resembles a accepted Xbox controller, which is comparatively comfortable. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck buttons are each in… unsocial (wrong) places. All of the accepted buttons are squeezed unneurotic successful the apical corners of the device, and that’s to marque country for the dual trackpads astatine the center. This whitethorn conscionable beryllium me, but you could not wage maine to play games with those things.

Despite my gripes with the Steam Deck’s fastener layout, the Legion Go S is simply a chunky boy. So overmuch truthful that I request to enactment much unit into holding it up, and occasionally my hands volition get tingly from the deficiency of humor flow. I’m not saying that’ll hap to you, but support successful caput that this happening weighs a coagulated 1.6 pounds. That whitethorn not look similar much, but erstwhile you’re holding it up for a fewer hours, you’ll announcement it. The Steam Deck is simply a small lighter, astatine 1.4 pounds. Again, those numbers are deceiving — it will make a difference.

Unless you’re dying to usage a trackpad, oregon you privation the lightest SteamOS handheld gaming PC, past the Legion Go S offers the superior gaming experience.

Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S

Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Display

This is wherever things get a small tricky. The Legion Go S was set up to triumph this circular instantly. It sports an 8-inch, 1920 x 1200, 120Hz display. Those are immoderate coagulated specs for a handheld gaming PC, but there’s arguably 1 flaw: it’s an IPS panel.

There’s thing needfully incorrect with an IPS panel, but I was determination erstwhile the Nintendo Switch OLED launched, and fto maine archer you, it wholly changed however handheld gaming felt. I wasn’t carrying astir a surface anymore, I was holding a window, a teardrop successful clip and abstraction into my favourite worlds… that’s hyperbole, but it was truly freakin’ pretty, okay?

Where Steam Deck shines is its OLED display. Obviously, I love OLED displays, truthful overmuch truthful that I could forgive its little specs, similar its 7.4-inch show size, 1280 x 800 resolution, and 90Hz refresh rate.

But I got to say, I snuggled successful furniture with the Legion Go S 1 night, and I couldn’t assistance but beryllium awestruck by the gorgeous inheritance creation of The Messenger arsenic I suffered a bid of unspeakable deaths astatine the hands of immoderate OSHA-violating Wile E. Coyote traps.

So yes, technically OLED volition look much bold owed to its infinite opposition and self-emitting diodes, but the Legion Go S has truthful overmuch going for it that I mightiness springiness up the OLED, but I’ll weep for it.

Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S

Legion Go S vs. Steam Deck: Price

As you tin see, the Lenovo Legion Go S is sidesplitting the Steam Deck, but if you haven’t already guessed, it’s going to termination your wallet, too.

The Lenovo Legion Go S with SteamOS and the Z1 Extreme chipset costs costs $829 astatine Best Buy. Meanwhile, the astir costly exemplary of the Steam Deck (OLED, 1TB SSD) costs $649 connected Steam. That’s astir a $200 difference.

You tin technically get the worse Legion Go S with Ryzen Z2 Go and 16GB of RAM for . If you spell with the Steam Deck’s LCD model, you tin prevention the astir money, arsenic it runs for $399, which is technically cheaper than a $599 astatine Best Buy ($450).

You tin literally see which has the amended price, but which offers the amended value? It depends connected what you want. Do you just privation a handheld gaming PC with nary frills? Then the LCD Steam Deck is the mode to go. But if you person the disposable income, the Legion Go S is worthy the other $200. You can’t contradict the show summation oregon adjacent the boost to show specs. Yeah, it’s not OLED, but 1080p/1200p is the modular for handheld gaming PCs successful 2025.

Winner: Steam Deck for cheapest / Lenovo Legion Go S for value

The Winner: Lenovo Legion Go S

Handheld gaming PCs are improving each year, and the Lenovo Legion Go S seems similar a earthy improvement of the handhelds that came before, and a monolithic leap for the 2nd handheld to usage SteamOS.

From show to design, the Legion Go S is the amended handheld gaming PC. For its terms and artillery life, the Steam Deck inactive has a batch going for it, and particularly truthful if you’re attached to OLED displays similar I am. Unfortunately, I can’t get implicit the wonky fastener layout. If you’re a console gamer, the Legion Go S volition consciousness similar the smoothest transition.