Lenovo Legion Go S Offers Higher Specs Than Steam Deck OLED at a Competitive Price

Image: Lenovo’s fast, comfy SteamOS handheld is hundreds off · Source

Lenovo's Legion Go S SteamOS handheld features a larger 8-inch 1080p 120Hz screen, double the RAM and storage, and a Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, making it a compelling alternative to the Steam Deck OLED, now discounted at Best Buy.

Lenovo's Legion Go S SteamOS handheld emerges as a noteworthy competitor in the portable gaming market, directly challenging Valve's Steam Deck OLED. While both devices run identical SteamOS software, the Legion Go S delivers several hardware advantages that may appeal to gamers seeking enhanced performance and display quality.

The Legion Go S is equipped with a larger eight-inch IPS display boasting a 1080p resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate, surpassing the Steam Deck OLED's 800p screen limited to 90Hz. This translates to a sharper, smoother visual experience when gaming on the go.

Under the hood, Lenovo's handheld uses the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, which is slightly faster than the Ryzen Z2 Go chip found in earlier Legion Go S models shipping with Windows 11. This particular configuration also offers significant memory and storage improvements, featuring 32GB of RAM and a 1TB solid-state drive, doubling the Steam Deck OLED’s typical specs in these areas.

Currently discounted to $999.99 at Best Buy, the Legion Go S represents a middle ground in the portable gaming handheld landscape. It is priced higher than the Steam Deck OLED's $789 but offers additional performance and display enhancements. Meanwhile, it remains less powerful than Asus’s newly launched ROG Xbox Ally X20, which boasts an even faster Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor and an OLED screen, priced at $1,299.99.

The switch to SteamOS and the upgrade in internals with this Legion Go S configuration is expected to deliver an improved gaming experience, making it a strong consideration for gamers evaluating handheld options. For more detailed performance insights, reviews and benchmarks by analysts, such as Sean Hollister’s examinations of various Legion Go S configurations, provide useful context.

With these improvements, Lenovo positions its Legion Go S not just as a competitor in price but also in terms of hardware specifications, potentially appealing to enthusiasts prioritizing screen quality and system memory in portable gaming devices.