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Legion Go S powered by Z2 Go processor is not that far behind the ROG Ally X in these early benchmarks

The new budget handheld is expected to launch in a few weeks
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Legion Go S powered by Z2 Go processor is not that far behind the ROG Ally X in these early benchmarks
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The Lenovo Legion Go is one of the best gaming handhelds out there, competing directly with popular models from other brands like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. After months of leaks and rumors, the company finally unveiled the Lenovo Legion Go S during CES 2025, a more budget-friendly option for those that want a solid gaming experience on the go.

As far as performance is concerned, while Lenovo has not shared any official benchmarks for the Z2 Go processor, a YouTuber recently compared it to the Z1 Extreme, a powerful CPU found in the ROG Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go – and the results are pretty impressive. The Go S will also be the first third-party SteamOS handheld with a newer variant arriving this May.

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Specifications
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen Z2 Go
  • Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics, 12 cores
  • Display: 8-inch, 120Hz, IPS, VRR, 1920 x 1200
  • RAM: 32GB 6400MHz LPDDR5X
  • Storage: 1TB PCIe SSD
SpecificationLenovo Legion Go SASUS ROG Ally X
ProcessorAMD Ryzen Z2 Go / Z1E model expected in AprilAMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
GPUAMD Radeon Graphics, 12 cores / Up to integrated Radeon 700M seriesAMD iGPU 12CU @ 2.7 GHz
Screen size8″7″
Resolution1920 x 12001920 x 1080
Panel typeIPSIPS
Refresh rate120Hz48Hz – 120Hz variable refresh rate
StorageUp to 1TB1TB M.2 2280 SSD
RAMUp to 32GB LPDDR5X24GB LPDDR5X
Battery55.5Whr (3-cell)80Whr
Operating SystemWindows 11 / SteamOS model in MayWindows 11
Dimensions299 mm x 127.55 mm x 22.6 mm / 11.77″ x 5.02″ x 0.88″280mm x 111mm x 24.7-36.9mm
Weight740 grams / 1.63 lbs678 grams

Lenovo Legion Go S (Z2 Go) tested against ROG Ally X (Z1 Extreme)

According to the official specifications, the Lenovo Legion Go S will initially come packed with the Ryzen Z2 Go processor, a less powerful version of the Z2 and Z2 extreme CPUs being offered in the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go 2. It has four cores and eight threads, paired with a max frequency of up to 4.3 GHz. It also has a 10 MB cache size and a cTDP of between 15 to 30W.

Recently, YouTuber FPS Vn tested the Lenovo Legion Go S against the ASUS ROG Ally X in three games. For those who don’t know, the ROG Ally X is powered by the Z1 Extreme processor, which has 8 cores and 16 threads – double what the Z2 Go offers. On top of that, it also has a boost frequency of 5.1 GHz. However, despite having much weaker specs than the Z1 Extreme, the Z2 Go is only 10% slower. Here’s how both handhelds performed:

Lenovo Legion Go S (Z2 Go) average FPSROG Ally X (Z1 Extreme) average FPS
Black Myth Wukong (15W)3640
Black Myth Wukong (20W)30 32
Black Myth Wukong (30W)6064
Cyberpunk 2077 (15W)5054
Cyberpunk 2077 (20W)4547
Cyberpunk 2077 (30W)6166
Ghost of Tsushima (15W)6266
Ghost of Tsushima (20W)4852
Ghost of Tsushima (30W)6266

As you can see in the table above, the difference in performance isn’t that significant, with the Legion Go S being only 9-10% slower on average than the ROG Ally X. For a budget handheld, the Legion Go S delivers solid performance. The initial starting price for the Go S is $729.99 (pre orders recently went live), but a cheaper variant is slated for May starting from $599.99, with the SteamOS version even cheaper at $499.99. With that in mind, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic alternative to the Steam Deck.

Comparively, the ROG Ally X retails at $799. And aside from that, the new AMD Ryzen Z2 series processors also promise to solve battery life issues on ROG Ally and Legion Go handhelds.


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About the Author

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.