I’ve used every major gaming console on the market today, including everything from the old GPD Win to the Steam Deck, to the ASUS ROG Ally and now the Lenovo Legion Go. And for Amazon Prime Day, Lenovo Legion Go is $100 cheaper than usual, making the deal much, much sweeter.
Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally use the same Z1E processor, making gaming performance nearly identical. The ASUS ROG Ally has a VRR display, giving it the appearance of smoother framerate performance in some situations, but I prefer the Lenovo Legion Go overall. Why? Much larger screen at 8.8″ inches, complete with a higher maximum resolution. A kickstand makes the Legion Go almost as versatile as a laptop, giving you the ability to get some work done on the move (and yes, I used For this purpose!) It also has detachable joysticks, one of which can double as a mouse. Unlike the ROG Ally, it also includes a keyboard for many PC games that occasionally expect that an indicator be present.
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Why I prefer Lenovo Legion Go over other gaming PCs
Features of Lenovo Legion Go
maker: AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with integrated Radeon graphics
OS: Windows 11 Home
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 512 GB SSD or 1 TB SSD (reviewed in)
Display: 8.8-inch 16:10 QHD (2560 x 1600) IPS touchscreen
Refresh rate: 144 Hz
Ports: 2x USB-C 4.0 (DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0), 1x MicroSD card reader, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack
BATTERIES: 3 ~ hours (depending on performance modes)
MAGNITUDE: 1.60 x 5.16 x 11.76 inches
Weight: 1.88 lbs. (~0.854 kg)
I’ve used (almost) every gaming handheld on the market, dealing with offerings from Ayaneo, GPD, Lenovo, Valve and ASUS over the past few years. I find this category of devices to be among the most exciting at the moment, as someone who travels a lot and also often fights with the family over access to the TV. The fact that you can connect these devices to monitors and larger displays via USB-C is also a welcome addition and makes couch collaboration even more viable. I often take my portables to friends places to play games like Diablo 4 with a few cans on the side.
I prefer Windows based devices over the Steam offering mainly because of PC Game Pass. A lot of Xbox games sport save and cross-buy these days, and since I do more than half of my gaming on my Xbox, having access to my save files and progress across devices is a help welcome. I also think the Steam Deck is a bit limited in its power. The Z1E chips in the Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally are significantly more powerful than what Steam offers, leading to fewer gaming compromises in practice.
The advantages of Lenovo Legion Go and ASUS ROG Ally is the support of Windows 11, but it is also a downside. Windows isn’t exactly intuitive to use on these devices, but once you get used to it and remember that these are just laptops in a different form, it’s not so bad. They are also extremely powerful, considering their size.
It’s true that the ASUS ROG Ally is smaller, lighter, and has a VRR display that delivers smoother framerate performance. However, I prefer Legion Go overall, having used both extensively. The built-in support on the Lenovo Legion Go seems like a small detail, but it makes it much more versatile. You can basically use it as a laptop and get some work done if needed. The sticks’ modularity also gives it a Nintendo Switch-like usability rating. Being able to mount the screen and use sticks is much more comfortable in some situations than staring at it on your lap for hours. The ASUS ROG Ally also has issues with its SD card slot, if it gets too hot it’s said to have warped some people’s storage cards, although ASUS has adjusted the fan curves to prevent this. Lenovo’s Legion Go has had no such issues to my knowledge, and it also has two USB-C ports for additional docking capabilities.
I feel you get a lot more bang for your buck with Lenovo’s offering, especially at this price point. If you want something fancier, the ASUS ROG Ally is also $599 right now (not on sale), but the Lenovo Legion Go beats it in my opinion, especially with $100 off.
What is Amazon Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is a deal event that takes place several times throughout the year. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get great deals on a wide variety of products, such as those listed here on Windows Central.
Over the years, however, competing sellers have begun aligning their sales events with Amazon. If you’re in the United States, it’s worth considering a My Best Buy membership, Walmart Plus membership or a Target Circle membership as well to get in on the action.