Lenovo Legion Go S Review: Held Back By Microsoft

Since the graphical settings present are fundamentally turned each the mode down already, if you privation to play the latest games, you’ll person to compromise by dropping the resolution. I didn’t find the mean enactment of 1,600x1,000 that compelling, and a fewer games didn’t enactment it astatine all. At 1,280x800, I was hanging retired much comfortably successful the 45+ range, which felt playable, but nary of the modern 3D games I tested were capable to interruption 60 FPS to truly instrumentality vantage of the high-refresh panel.

One different callout I privation to make, which I judge is related to CPU performance, is the “Shaders Compiling” process that runs erstwhile you motorboat immoderate caller games takes an highly agelong clip connected the Go S. I noticed it erstwhile I archetypal launched Marvel Rivals, and utilized a well-timed update to clip it. It took implicit 14 minutes to complete, agelong capable that my friends would already beryllium playing without maine by the clip I got to the main menu.

The fans connected the Legion Go S are besides amazingly loud, peculiarly successful show mode, capable that the idiosyncratic sitting adjacent to you connected the autobus volition astir apt support looking implicit to wonderment whether you’re cooking something. They’re a spot quieter connected the balanced setting, but that causes the GPU and CPU temps to rapidly deed 80 degrees nether load.

Battery beingness isn’t excessively atrocious compared to akin systems. I got 2 hours and alteration of runtime playing Marvel Rivals astatine afloat solution and refresh, connected Balanced power, with the surface brightness astatine 35%. I got good implicit 3 hours conscionable jamming games of Balatro with the aforesaid settings. That’s astir the aforesaid arsenic I get playing akin games connected my Steam Deck, but with a higher solution and refresh screen, truthful I’d telephone that a coagulated triumph for the Legion Go S.

A Real Windows Handheld?

I tin spot immoderate of you licking your chops astir a due Windows handheld, and I don’t blasted you. If you’re consenting to enactment successful immoderate effort, the Legion Go S could beryllium the centerpiece of a precise slick portable desktop setup. I tin wholly ideate having a setup for location with an outer GPU and high-end monitor, playing immoderate games connected the mode to the office, past plugging successful astatine my table with much productivity-focused peripherals.

The biggest obstruction present is decidedly Windows, and the chiseled deficiency of enactment for this benignant of device, which whitethorn marque the SteamOS mentation much appealing to casual gamers. Lenovo enactment immoderate effort into making tools that assistance marque the acquisition enactment better, but adjacent those request immoderate polish for usability and responsiveness. Still, the surface is simply a chiseled upgrade from the Steam Deck, adjacent if you won’t get to truly usage it but portion playing Terraria.