Legion Go S 8" 120Hz Gaming Handheld - AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme - SteamOS - 32GB with 1TB SSD

Never owned a handheld before so I did a lot of research before buying one. My analysis led me to this device and my gosh do I love it. Am not a fan of small screens so the 7inch on the Ally devices was just not it for me. The Chinese handhelds are too expensive and the legion go devices are a tad bit heavy for long sessions. The deck albeit amazing is unfortunately a little behind in power. So this device just feels like the sweet spot for everything. Screen not too big and not too small. Really good performance. (I know the z2E devices are out but it’s not an extreme jump in performance) Plus it has steamOS so you get the best out of good performance and a good handheld OS to match. If you’ve never used steamOS you might feel like people are exaggerating when they say it’s good. And that’s how I felt till I used it. Gosh it’s amazing. Battery life is honestly acceptable and with the fans, it’s not as loud as I was led to believe. The speakers are the only bad thing about this device lol but to be fair all the other devices don’t really have amazing speakers. Nothing wowed me when I was trying the devices out. Sadly no OLED but the screen is amazing 120hz plus VRR so yeah! P.s Hall effect thumb sticks. And if you’re not sure what that means. Essentially it means stick drift is something you won’t have to worry about. And on a device that has thumb sticks attached to it. That’s a major reason for concern. Unlike a traditional console you can always just buy another controller when stick drift develops. Rather than having to buy a whole other 900$ device lol.

This Legion Go S works great, and SteamOS seems to work pretty well. I haven't run into any issues with any games, and the sleep function works seamlessly. The device is heavier than a Switch 2, but it isn't cumbersome. The screen is nice, and the colors seem well-balanced. I did not find the fan noise as distracting as some people have, but it can be audible, especially on heavy games or while downloading. The battery life could be better, however it is not a dealbreaker.

The Legion Go S on sale is the best deal anyone could find on the market as of right now, beating even the steam deck in terms of value. The 32GB of ram paired with Steam OS and the Z1 extreme make it a force to be reckoned with. This handheld can pretty much handle any game you throw at it (excluding anti-cheat games). The 32GB of ram allows you to push higher textures on games that wouldn’t be possible on other handhelds, and pair that with Steam OS which manages its ram very efficiently, you could potentially have a much clearer and better viewing experience compared to other Z1 extreme handhelds. The chip on this device has been proven to be an extremely successful powerhouse too, as it can run many AAA titles fairly well. The screen is good on this device, being an 8 inch IPS panel with VRR it is honestly the best choice for a device like this. Just keep in mind the battery on this device isn’t the best, as it’s only 55.5Wh, meaning you’ll reasonably only get around 2 hours of battery life, maybe 2.5 hours if you optimize it right. Overall though, this device is easily recommendable for the ease of use, screen, chip, ram, and ergonomics.

Ergonomics: the device is extremely comfortable despite its very large size. The weight is a little heavy but well distributed. Can absolutely play for long sessions exceeding an hour without fatigue. Performance: the performance of the Z1 extreme is solid and plays nearly all games that could be asked of. Has a high TDP potential especially when plugged in. The 32 gigs of RAM are 7500MT so it may be even faster than other similar Z1 extreme SOC handhelds. Software experience of steamos has been solid. Although there have been a few crashes here and there, it is not a common experience. The most impressive part of about about Steam OS on this hardware is the perfect sleep mode for pause and resume play at any point. Battery: it's not great. On balanced settings for most games it can typically last around 2 hours but not much more. On low power indie or lightweight games, it can be 4 to 5 hours. Screen Quality: it's a pretty good screen overall with VRR down to 48Hz. It's an 8-in screen with 16x10 aspect ratio that has pretty good color. Vibrancy and the black levels are okay. Although cannot compete with an OLED. The touch screen is responsive. Value: at full price of $899 this is too expensive but on sale at $649 it is a very reasonable deal.

This is a really nice handheld but I got it on sale for $750 making it more justifiable, I probably wouldn’t pay full retail for it. Pros: Comfortable, large screen, SteamOS. Cons: The battery life is terrible so expect to bring a charger or portable battery on the go. That’s the only reason I docked a star. The fan is also loud when using max voltage but it doesn’t bother me that much. Some people report terrible screen response time but honestly I don’t notice. No 2tb storage version requires you to upgrade it yourself. Not everyone is comfortable opening a handheld and cloning a M.2 drive to expand storage. If you look up how to download lossless scaling on SteamOS it really helps with FPS on more demanding games. SteamOS feels way more like a console than windows with their gimmick version of full screen mode but it’s not without issue. Installing outside games and launchers requires a bit more work than a windows handheld but honestly I’m happy with just my steam library on the go anyways. I did manage to get BattleNet and Epic on here though. Overall this is comfortable to use and plays most games well enough. It is a handheld after all, don’t expect PC or laptop quality. Overall very happy with it for the amount I paid.