Good video! 😊But I think reviewers and people have totally misunderstood the vision behind the Lenovo Legion GO and its purpose. I just got a Legion GO about 1 week ago, and have used it quite a bit since then and here are my findings about all the "weaknesses" and what I think Lenovo intended. I was surprised to find that although I was skeptical at first, I basically like almost EVERYTHING about it and I feel like I "get it". Lenovo created a VERY well thought-out device (and sorry for the long post haha but I figured these points may give people a new / different perspective): 1. People say that the "joy con" style detachable joysticks are a kind of gimmick or not really useful... I totally disagree and these are a GAME CHANGER. People don't understand the purpose of this functionality. By being able to detach the controllers and put the device on a table for example using its amazing kickstand that's built into it (on the back), it transforms the Legion GO from the heaviest device to hold to the LIGHTEST. THAT'S the purpose. If you hold the Legion GO, at first you don't notice the weight much but after about 30 mins of play I gotta admit that your wrists start to hurt a bit. Putting it on a table and using the detachable controllers fixes this 100%. Also, the correct way to use the detachable controllers is to have them on your LAP, one controller per hand, propped on your legs - in a fully relaxed position. This is incredibly comfortable and intuitive. The so-called "FPS mode" where the right controller turns into a vertical mouse that can be used as a gun in FPS games, is also more than a gimmick - it's a useable mouse, for when you wanna use your Legion GO as a PC. 2. At first glance, the screen seems to be too high resolution for a small device like this - let's face it, 2560 x 1660P isn't a resolution that this device will be able to deliver at good framerates in most games. The Steam Deck chose 800P as its resolution and it still looks sharp and good for a small screen - agreed. HOWEVER... The purpose of the Legion GO's screen is NOT just for gaming... It's also supposed to be a kind of a media tablet! You're supposed to watch movies and surf the web and use it as a tiny PC! That's why the resolution is 1600P. If you watch a movie at that resolution then it's glorious. Also, people say the 144 Hz refresh rate is too high... again, in terms of gaming - that's true! But because this is also for watching movies (for ex. on Netflix) - guess what... The 24 Hz "cinematic" frame rate of most modern movies divides PERFECTLY into 144 Hz (6 x 24 Hz = 144 Hz)! So this should in theory make watching movies super smooth and a real pleasure with no "juddering" effect that we typically see on televisions for instance. That must be why Lenovo chose a 144 Hz refresh rate. A further point is the fact that thanks to the magic of upscaling, you can try getting to a "1600P" resolution in games anyway and I'm sure a decent number of them (especially simpler titles) will run decently with upscaling to that resolution - for instance using FSR 2.0 or XESS or Integer scaling. 1600P it just so happens, is also exactly 4 times the resolution of 800P! So that means you can perfectly upscale 800P to 1600P using Integer Scaling (each pixel is repeated 4 times for a "perfect" blown up image at 1600P). 3. In terms of frame rate, I have to disagree with what is said in this video. If major consoles like PS5 or Xbox Series X have many games that play at 30 FPS which is considered playable by the industry on those, then the Lenovo playing games at 30 FPS is totally a "playable" experience. The key is for the framerate to be CONSISTENT. If it's steady at 30 FPS non stop and the frametimes are consistent too (how perfectly spaced apart those FPS are) then it will feel good. In fact, on a small screen like the Lenovo Legion GO (or any other handheld) I've found a very pleasant surprise - the fact that a consistent 30 FPS actually looks GREAT! Especially if you enable motion blur whenever you can. I recommend to anyone who has trouble playing a game on a big TV at 30 FPS (cause I agree that 30 FPS can look like a juddery mess on a big TV - for example on my LG OLED TV) then TRY playing that same game at 30 FPS on a small screen device like the Legion GO and voila! It becomes way less noticeable and a very pleasant experience. Of course, 60 FPS or higher is always nice to have and I much prefer that if possible 👍 buuuut, on a handheld a locked framerate of 30 FPS (when in 60 Hz screen refresh mode) or locked 40 FPS (on devices that can divide that evenly into the device screen's refresh rate like on Steam Deck or on ROG Ally with its 120 HZ) is already great. 4. Here's the BAD side in my view about the Lenovo Legion GO... I agree with most reviewers that it's not supported as much as it should be and there is "jank" to be found. The GPU drivers for it release very slowly and are many months apart... The previous one was from December 2023 and the latest one just came out on May 27th 2024, which is crazy... When the GPU drivers release, all sorts of small functions can stop working - for example with this latest GPU driver from May 27th 2024, the FPS counter from the Legion's right-side menu stopped working. Every other metric still works but it just says "0" all the time for the FPS. I also agree that Legion Space is not nice looking and feels clunky so I avoid it usually unless I check if there are any new drivers, but that's it. You can navigate it with your controllers but strangely you can't navigate to the "Legion" logo button at the bottom to be able to shut it down or minimize it hahaha. So you're forced to touch the screen to push that button... Lastly, most games run GREAT on it - if you can accept some weirdness here and there. The weirdness I'm pretty sure is because of slow driver support by Lenovo. For example, when I tried Deep Rock Galactic in Steam on my Legion GO, I can't change it to a higher resolution than 800P... If I do set it to 1600P then it stretches the image side to side, making it look seriously flattened... But again, at 800P with high settings it looks and runs great! So with the Legion GO you have to be willing to accept these... shenanigans haha.
Lenovo already has the legion Y700 in Asian markets, they just used the same screen used in that tablet. Lenovo is known for having shit fuck all updates on everything other than their business laptops.
@@jonwasd Thanks for letting me know man! I didn't use my Legion GO for a week but now I can confirm... Legion Space HAS been updated... big time!! Wow... it's wayyyy better... Now that I've tried it, I can confirm that it actually looks like a professional interface and I won't mind booting into it directly when I log into Windows. The FPS counter is fixed too! And, they put the "Power / Sleep/ etc." button on the bottom of the right-hand button menu (instead of on the bottom of Legion Space where you couldn't click it using your controllers before and had to touch the screen). All the info is displayed way more nicely and with a cool purple and black theme. There is even a little arrow now above whatever option you're hovering over - very cool touch. In general, everything feels more responsive and snappier with the Legion Space interface. There is still the Store selling game keys on the first page of the Legion Space (they make some extra cash no doubt) but I don't mind it since it doesn't look as intrusive now and it's easy to navigate to your library or other tabs. Besides, the game deals in the store aren't bad, so maybe I'll use it one day. They've finally made Legion Space a useable "launching point" for all your games and other launchers - which is awesome... Cheers man 🍺 ps. in case anyone is wondering, the updates checker is now under "Drives" in Legion Space.
If your benchmark for “playable” in modern AAA titles is 60 FPS then you are only setting yourself up for disappointment with these PC handhelds. You are asking a lot from a mobile APU to perform as well as a dedicated CPU and GPU. I’d consider a lot of the games you showed to be playable with frame drops that stay above 30 FPS. In fact, I think you’d have a much better experience capping your framerate to 30 or 48 FPS on this device to avoid the sudden frame drops.
Agree in this point, AAA in portable mode aim for a 30fps target; the nice part is been this a pc you can use thing like frame generation to smooth the experience and also upscale the image from 800p to 1600p. The CPU is quite strong for productivity also, you may have a full blown computer in a ultra small form factor.
I do get a decent amount of fps in most of my games. And that is probably due to the settings I use in-game. Considering i don't really see any difference gaming in ultra/high settings to medium/low/off which most of my settings consist of. In all my years playing AAA games both competitive but also casual 4k/1440p never were my thing, I am relatively comfortable with 1080p 265hz gaming since 4k won't do you any good since 1080p on a oled panel is imo just as smooth as any other higher resolution and don't forget, this is a 8" screen where full resolution won't do much for your gameplay anyway. The only setting that is set to the highest in most of my games is for details & texture. Every single other setting is mostly low/off, and I get a decent 90-130+ fps average.
I've got mine for 6 months and it runs very well and if i want solid 60fps with high settings in games like The Witcher III, GTA III, etc... I'm using Lossless Scaling with frame generation, and it is awesome. Its good to have competition like Rog Ally, SD, Aya Neo, GDP, MSI Claw, etc...because manufacturers will improve these devices with each generation and this is just a beginning.
Running ghost of toshima with 1080p at high graphics camping around 40 to 50 fps. Most times is not the system it's the software. Just like a PC expect to always get your driver's and updates all the time. I even run battlefront 2 with 60 plus mods directx12 all at 1080p with highest graphics 50fps
Great video. I’ve been looking at getting a used ROG Ally (because they are getting CHEAP) to use for handheld gaming and to remote into my work computer when traveling as my college laptop has completely crapped out now. The screen on the Legion Go is far better but I don’t think the Z1 extreme is even close to powerful enough to really show it off in anything even lightly demanding (as you mentioned).
I'm sure Asus ROG Ally is great and it's definitely better supported than the Legion GO when it comes to drivers etc and their "Armoury crate" software is better than "Legion Space". But if you're looking for a device that can do both solid gaming (basically same performance as the ROG Ally) but ALSO double as a portable PC - then hands down the Legion GO is the better choice. The significantly bigger screen and higher resolution + extras, basically turn it into a tiny portable laptop. You can check out my mega comment above haha for my thoughts. I got my Legion GO open box and on sale from Best Buy for just $490 + tx imagine that. Anyway, the ROG Ally will be great too I'm sure especially the fact that it's lighter and more portable, but those are just my 2 cents since I plan to use my Legion GO as a tiny laptop sometimes as well. Cheers!
@@CobraF1 you make some really good points, however I plan on using a portable monitor and peripherals so I should be able to bypass most of the issues with using the ally as a laptop that you mentioned. If I could only use the device itself then yeah the Legion go would be my pick hands down.
ROG ally has Frame generation supported and that takes games from unplayable to perfectly fine, legion go does not support frame gen except for HDMI out.
@@Larry_Owlmann If you plan on using the ROG Ally with external peripherals like a display and mouse etc. then you're absolutely right that it'll make no difference so the ROG Ally is a great choice! And as the other commenter below mentioned, having variable refresh rate or VRR, aka Freesync, (the other guy mistakenly said frame gen) - will make your framerate buttery smooth in most games! ROG Ally is one of the only devices that has VRR, so I'll be jealous of you having that feature 😛 It really can make a big difference, although a bit less noticeable on a smaller screen than on a big one (like an external one). Cheers!
Just brought my legion go a few days ago got a killer deal on it brought it secondhand but it was still in the box and barely used so far i absolutely love it i definitely prefer it over the ally!!!
That’s like saying get a PlayStation portal this was my foot in the door for pc gaming the steam deck now the legion go and tbh I dock to a monitor and it’s been amazing I have a good backlog and collection and I love to travel and play at home not a waste if you want to get into pc gaming coming from console
Got mine a couple months ago as I’m staying out of town, and will be for the foreseeable future and don’t have access to my desktop. Absolutely love it for my usage situation. Really impressive piece of hardware.
Got my Legion go for 400 bucks used, love it and I paired with the onexgpu. It seems I'm using more of my legion go than my desktop. I felt the Ally fell short with all the internal issues and lack of support for other EGPUs on the market.
I don’t know about @sultanAlkaabi but when I play Judgement and Lost Judgement, I finally settled down at 1600p with lowest settings, no scaling, 18W TDP plugged in, locked and stable at 36FPS, it’s as good, if not better, than 1200p needs quality scaling at 18W. 1600p even with low settings just look so amazing!
Been watching a few videos on the Legion go lately and I keep on hearing the same thing over and over - why is the standard on a handheld PC only a single USB socket? I'm sorry but that's a bit of a myth in my experience. I have a GPD Win 4 2023 here (two USB C sockets), a GPD WIn Max 2 (2 USB C, 3 USB A sockets), and an Aya Neo Geek (3 USB-C sockets). Thanks for the video, appreciate the content, but that point's been bugging me a bit
Good video! 😊But I think reviewers and people have totally misunderstood the vision behind the Lenovo Legion GO and its purpose. I just got a Legion GO about 1 week ago, and have used it quite a bit since then and here are my findings about all the "weaknesses" and what I think Lenovo intended. I was surprised to find that although I was skeptical at first, I basically like almost EVERYTHING about it and I feel like I "get it". Lenovo created a VERY well thought-out device (and sorry for the long post haha but I figured these points may give people a new / different perspective):
1. People say that the "joy con" style detachable joysticks are a kind of gimmick or not really useful... I totally disagree and these are a GAME CHANGER. People don't understand the purpose of this functionality. By being able to detach the controllers and put the device on a table for example using its amazing kickstand that's built into it (on the back), it transforms the Legion GO from the heaviest device to hold to the LIGHTEST. THAT'S the purpose. If you hold the Legion GO, at first you don't notice the weight much but after about 30 mins of play I gotta admit that your wrists start to hurt a bit. Putting it on a table and using the detachable controllers fixes this 100%. Also, the correct way to use the detachable controllers is to have them on your LAP, one controller per hand, propped on your legs - in a fully relaxed position. This is incredibly comfortable and intuitive. The so-called "FPS mode" where the right controller turns into a vertical mouse that can be used as a gun in FPS games, is also more than a gimmick - it's a useable mouse, for when you wanna use your Legion GO as a PC.
2. At first glance, the screen seems to be too high resolution for a small device like this - let's face it, 2560 x 1660P isn't a resolution that this device will be able to deliver at good framerates in most games. The Steam Deck chose 800P as its resolution and it still looks sharp and good for a small screen - agreed. HOWEVER... The purpose of the Legion GO's screen is NOT just for gaming... It's also supposed to be a kind of a media tablet! You're supposed to watch movies and surf the web and use it as a tiny PC! That's why the resolution is 1600P. If you watch a movie at that resolution then it's glorious. Also, people say the 144 Hz refresh rate is too high... again, in terms of gaming - that's true! But because this is also for watching movies (for ex. on Netflix) - guess what... The 24 Hz "cinematic" frame rate of most modern movies divides PERFECTLY into 144 Hz (6 x 24 Hz = 144 Hz)! So this should in theory make watching movies super smooth and a real pleasure with no "juddering" effect that we typically see on televisions for instance. That must be why Lenovo chose a 144 Hz refresh rate. A further point is the fact that thanks to the magic of upscaling, you can try getting to a "1600P" resolution in games anyway and I'm sure a decent number of them (especially simpler titles) will run decently with upscaling to that resolution - for instance using FSR 2.0 or XESS or Integer scaling. 1600P it just so happens, is also exactly 4 times the resolution of 800P! So that means you can perfectly upscale 800P to 1600P using Integer Scaling (each pixel is repeated 4 times for a "perfect" blown up image at 1600P).
3. In terms of frame rate, I have to disagree with what is said in this video. If major consoles like PS5 or Xbox Series X have many games that play at 30 FPS which is considered playable by the industry on those, then the Lenovo playing games at 30 FPS is totally a "playable" experience. The key is for the framerate to be CONSISTENT. If it's steady at 30 FPS non stop and the frametimes are consistent too (how perfectly spaced apart those FPS are) then it will feel good. In fact, on a small screen like the Lenovo Legion GO (or any other handheld) I've found a very pleasant surprise - the fact that a consistent 30 FPS actually looks GREAT! Especially if you enable motion blur whenever you can. I recommend to anyone who has trouble playing a game on a big TV at 30 FPS (cause I agree that 30 FPS can look like a juddery mess on a big TV - for example on my LG OLED TV) then TRY playing that same game at 30 FPS on a small screen device like the Legion GO and voila! It becomes way less noticeable and a very pleasant experience. Of course, 60 FPS or higher is always nice to have and I much prefer that if possible 👍 buuuut, on a handheld a locked framerate of 30 FPS (when in 60 Hz screen refresh mode) or locked 40 FPS (on devices that can divide that evenly into the device screen's refresh rate like on Steam Deck or on ROG Ally with its 120 HZ) is already great.
4. Here's the BAD side in my view about the Lenovo Legion GO... I agree with most reviewers that it's not supported as much as it should be and there is "jank" to be found. The GPU drivers for it release very slowly and are many months apart... The previous one was from December 2023 and the latest one just came out on May 27th 2024, which is crazy... When the GPU drivers release, all sorts of small functions can stop working - for example with this latest GPU driver from May 27th 2024, the FPS counter from the Legion's right-side menu stopped working. Every other metric still works but it just says "0" all the time for the FPS. I also agree that Legion Space is not nice looking and feels clunky so I avoid it usually unless I check if there are any new drivers, but that's it. You can navigate it with your controllers but strangely you can't navigate to the "Legion" logo button at the bottom to be able to shut it down or minimize it hahaha. So you're forced to touch the screen to push that button... Lastly, most games run GREAT on it - if you can accept some weirdness here and there. The weirdness I'm pretty sure is because of slow driver support by Lenovo. For example, when I tried Deep Rock Galactic in Steam on my Legion GO, I can't change it to a higher resolution than 800P... If I do set it to 1600P then it stretches the image side to side, making it look seriously flattened... But again, at 800P with high settings it looks and runs great! So with the Legion GO you have to be willing to accept these... shenanigans haha.
Totally agree with you and not the video
Lenovo already has the legion Y700 in Asian markets, they just used the same screen used in that tablet.
Lenovo is known for having shit fuck all updates on everything other than their business laptops.
Great comment
I heard the Legion Space was being or has been updated. Have you tested it, and if so what do you think?
@@jonwasd Thanks for letting me know man! I didn't use my Legion GO for a week but now I can confirm... Legion Space HAS been updated... big time!! Wow... it's wayyyy better... Now that I've tried it, I can confirm that it actually looks like a professional interface and I won't mind booting into it directly when I log into Windows. The FPS counter is fixed too! And, they put the "Power / Sleep/ etc." button on the bottom of the right-hand button menu (instead of on the bottom of Legion Space where you couldn't click it using your controllers before and had to touch the screen). All the info is displayed way more nicely and with a cool purple and black theme. There is even a little arrow now above whatever option you're hovering over - very cool touch. In general, everything feels more responsive and snappier with the Legion Space interface. There is still the Store selling game keys on the first page of the Legion Space (they make some extra cash no doubt) but I don't mind it since it doesn't look as intrusive now and it's easy to navigate to your library or other tabs. Besides, the game deals in the store aren't bad, so maybe I'll use it one day. They've finally made Legion Space a useable "launching point" for all your games and other launchers - which is awesome... Cheers man 🍺 ps. in case anyone is wondering, the updates checker is now under "Drives" in Legion Space.
If your benchmark for “playable” in modern AAA titles is 60 FPS then you are only setting yourself up for disappointment with these PC handhelds. You are asking a lot from a mobile APU to perform as well as a dedicated CPU and GPU. I’d consider a lot of the games you showed to be playable with frame drops that stay above 30 FPS. In fact, I think you’d have a much better experience capping your framerate to 30 or 48 FPS on this device to avoid the sudden frame drops.
Yep absolutely unreal expectations
Agree in this point, AAA in portable mode aim for a 30fps target; the nice part is been this a pc you can use thing like frame generation to smooth the experience and also upscale the image from 800p to 1600p. The CPU is quite strong for productivity also, you may have a full blown computer in a ultra small form factor.
I do get a decent amount of fps in most of my games. And that is probably due to the settings I use in-game. Considering i don't really see any difference gaming in ultra/high settings to medium/low/off which most of my settings consist of. In all my years playing AAA games both competitive but also casual 4k/1440p never were my thing, I am relatively comfortable with 1080p 265hz gaming since 4k won't do you any good since 1080p on a oled panel is imo just as smooth as any other higher resolution and don't forget, this is a 8" screen where full resolution won't do much for your gameplay anyway. The only setting that is set to the highest in most of my games is for details & texture. Every single other setting is mostly low/off, and I get a decent 90-130+ fps average.
Great review, i agree with your criticism.
Id love to get a Legion Go but there's too many new handhelds on the horizon that I can't get myself to pull the trigger.
Do it, you know you want too haha
I have one.. its literally the pc i dreamed to have in my hands absolutely the best hands down.. i cant wait to see what a legion 2 would look like
I've got mine for 6 months and it runs very well and if i want solid 60fps with high settings in games like The Witcher III, GTA III, etc... I'm using Lossless Scaling with frame generation, and it is awesome.
Its good to have competition like Rog Ally, SD, Aya Neo, GDP, MSI Claw, etc...because manufacturers will improve these devices with each generation and this is just a beginning.
Running ghost of toshima with 1080p at high graphics camping around 40 to 50 fps. Most times is not the system it's the software. Just like a PC expect to always get your driver's and updates all the time. I even run battlefront 2 with 60 plus mods directx12 all at 1080p with highest graphics 50fps
Great video. I’ve been looking at getting a used ROG Ally (because they are getting CHEAP) to use for handheld gaming and to remote into my work computer when traveling as my college laptop has completely crapped out now.
The screen on the Legion Go is far better but I don’t think the Z1 extreme is even close to powerful enough to really show it off in anything even lightly demanding (as you mentioned).
I'm sure Asus ROG Ally is great and it's definitely better supported than the Legion GO when it comes to drivers etc and their "Armoury crate" software is better than "Legion Space". But if you're looking for a device that can do both solid gaming (basically same performance as the ROG Ally) but ALSO double as a portable PC - then hands down the Legion GO is the better choice. The significantly bigger screen and higher resolution + extras, basically turn it into a tiny portable laptop. You can check out my mega comment above haha for my thoughts. I got my Legion GO open box and on sale from Best Buy for just $490 + tx imagine that. Anyway, the ROG Ally will be great too I'm sure especially the fact that it's lighter and more portable, but those are just my 2 cents since I plan to use my Legion GO as a tiny laptop sometimes as well. Cheers!
@@CobraF1 you make some really good points, however I plan on using a portable monitor and peripherals so I should be able to bypass most of the issues with using the ally as a laptop that you mentioned. If I could only use the device itself then yeah the Legion go would be my pick hands down.
ROG ally has Frame generation supported and that takes games from unplayable to perfectly fine, legion go does not support frame gen except for HDMI out.
@@Larry_Owlmann If you plan on using the ROG Ally with external peripherals like a display and mouse etc. then you're absolutely right that it'll make no difference so the ROG Ally is a great choice! And as the other commenter below mentioned, having variable refresh rate or VRR, aka Freesync, (the other guy mistakenly said frame gen) - will make your framerate buttery smooth in most games! ROG Ally is one of the only devices that has VRR, so I'll be jealous of you having that feature 😛 It really can make a big difference, although a bit less noticeable on a smaller screen than on a big one (like an external one). Cheers!
Just brought my legion go a few days ago got a killer deal on it brought it secondhand but it was still in the box and barely used so far i absolutely love it i definitely prefer it over the ally!!!
these things are overated unless you travel just get a emulation handheld and stream moonlight and get soooo much better performance
That’s like saying get a PlayStation portal this was my foot in the door for pc gaming the steam deck now the legion go and tbh I dock to a monitor and it’s been amazing I have a good backlog and collection and I love to travel and play at home not a waste if you want to get into pc gaming coming from console
not overrated at all!...you must not have 1 cause you don't know what you're talking about lol
whole timemy device software is broken , even now fps counter not working ! dont buy it guys
You didn't update your software. Of course it's broken
Got mine a couple months ago as I’m staying out of town, and will be for the foreseeable future and don’t have access to my desktop. Absolutely love it for my usage situation. Really impressive piece of hardware.
Got my Legion go for 400 bucks used, love it and I paired with the onexgpu. It seems I'm using more of my legion go than my desktop. I felt the Ally fell short with all the internal issues and lack of support for other EGPUs on the market.
Damn that’s a good deal
I own one, and I finish dark soul 3 with 30-45 fps most of the item with no issue, device is amazing
At 1600p? Why not drop it to 1920?
I don’t know about @sultanAlkaabi but when I play Judgement and Lost Judgement, I finally settled down at 1600p with lowest settings, no scaling, 18W TDP plugged in, locked and stable at 36FPS, it’s as good, if not better, than 1200p needs quality scaling at 18W. 1600p even with low settings just look so amazing!
Been watching a few videos on the Legion go lately and I keep on hearing the same thing over and over - why is the standard on a handheld PC only a single USB socket? I'm sorry but that's a bit of a myth in my experience. I have a GPD Win 4 2023 here (two USB C sockets), a GPD WIn Max 2 (2 USB C, 3 USB A sockets), and an Aya Neo Geek (3 USB-C sockets). Thanks for the video, appreciate the content, but that point's been bugging me a bit
I'm happy with 30fps
lol its only about 6 months old or so...