The success of the Steam Deck has created a real handheld PC market, but the majority of today’s offerings run on Windows. If you prefer SteamOS out of the box, there are basically two options: the Steam Deck and the Lenovo Legion Go S. While the Steam Deck is the original, its hardware feels a bit outdated now, and it can feel a bit underpowered depending on the games you want to play. That’s where the Lenovo Legion Go S comes in, available in two flavors. The more affordable one, with the Z2 Go processor, is in line with the performance the Steam Deck offers, while the more powerful Z1 Extreme would be a noticeable upgrade.
Regardless of which processor you choose, the Legion Go S features an 8″ display with a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR, compared to the Steam Deck’s smaller 7″ display. The Steam Deck OLED is larger at 7.4″ and offers up to a 90Hz refresh rate. Unfortunately, the Lenovo Legion Go S doesn’t have an OLED display, so it’s something to consider depending on how much you love OLED. It’s worth noting the Legion Go S has a 1920×1200 display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, while the Steam Deck runs at a native 1200×800. Having used both the Steam Deck OLED and the ROG Xbox Ally X, I’ve decided that the higher resolution offers more benefits than OLED.
Essentially, the Lenovo Legion Go S with the Z1 Extreme is a more powerful version of the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED, with a larger and faster display. Ergonomics mainly comes down to personal preference, but all of these devices run SteamOS out of the box instead of Windows. Keep that in mind if you’re shopping for one, as it’s designed to run games on Steam. It’s possible to get other storefronts on there like Epic Games Store, but it requires a little bit of tinkering. You won’t be able to run certain games that use anti-cheat. Also, Xbox Game Pass only works via Cloud Gaming, which means a streaming experience if you’re a subscriber. You won’t be able to natively launch Game Pass and download games straight to the device. For that, you’ll need a Windows handheld, like the ROG Xbox Ally X.
Currently, at Best Buy, the Z2 Go model, which again offers similar performance to the Steam Deck, is discounted by $200 to $449.99. That model comes with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. Personally, I’d recommend paying a bit extra and getting the Z1 Extreme variant, which has a $250 discount for a $649.99 Black Friday sale price. Not only does it have the more powerful processor, it also comes with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD for additional storage.
