Lenovo's Legion Go 2 is also available with the slower AMD Ryzen Z2, but SteamOS still takes time
We recently tested Lenovo's current gaming handheld Legion Go 2, which stands out from the competition thanks to detachable controllers as well as the great OLED screen with 144 Hz and VRR support. Our review unit was the high-end SKU with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme and Radeon 890M iGPU for €1499, but Lenovo also offers a more affordable version with the regular Ryzen Z2 SoC. This SoC is based on the Ryzen 7 8840U with Radeon 780M and therefore similar to the first-generation Legion Go with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. Priced at €1249 and a 512 GB SSD, it is still pricey, but at least you do not have to make any compromises in terms of RAM with 32 GB.
Based on our benchmarks, the gaming performance should be around 15-20 % lower compared to the Ryzen Z2 Extreme. This means the more affordable SKU is a good option for gamers who want the gorgeous OLED screen and focus on older titles or retro gaming via emulation. In this case, the performance of the Ryzen Z2 will be sufficient.
This brings us to the next topic: SteamOS. Lenovo's much cheaper gaming handheld Legion Go S is available with Windows as well as SteamOS and after we have tested both versions, we can clearly say that the handheld with valve's operating system offers much more gaming performance (more than 30 %) despite the identical processor. This means you can also expect a nice performance increase when you combine SteamOS with the Ryzen Z2 or Z2 Extreme, but it also means the number of available games is limited to Steam's library.
You can already install SteamOS on the Legion Go 2, but dedicated retail units are not available yet and we will have to wait a couple of months. The price will be interesting as well, because initial rumors suggest a lower price for the SteamOS versions. Considering the growing prices for RAM and storage, however, we are not sure that this will really be the case. Until then, please see our comprehensive review for more information about the Lenovo Legion Go 2.
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