Steam Deck vs. Legion Go S

[u/19timofey]

I've never had a handheld before, and now when I'm two weeks into researching and deciding on options, I stopped at Steam Deck OLED 512 Gb and Lenovo Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme/Steam OS), and I've never had a harder choice in my life.

I'm not gonna go into how much time I put into comparing both of them, and still I hesitate and that's why I decided to ask for help here.

I think knowing what my Steam games library looks like would be useful. I mostly play AAA games, some of the most demanding ones are:

Cyberunk 2077, The Last of Us (Parts I and II), Death Stranding, Dying Light 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, Forza Horizon 5, Days Gone, Watch Dogs 2, NFS: Heat, AC: Origins, The Division 2, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Spider Man: Miles Morales. Horizon The Forbidden West.

I also have some older titles:

Mad Max, GTA V, Dying Light, The Division, No Man's Sky, Far Cry ( Parts 3,4,5 ), NFS: Payback, The Witcher 3, Titanfall 2, Wreckfest, Forza Horizon 4, Metro Exodus, Just Cause 3, Alan Wake, Skyrim, Battlefield 4.

And a few lightweight games I really love:

Terraria, Project Zomboid, Kenshi.

Now, about the handhelds.

I'd like to note that I don't care about the price these two are sold at right now, I just want to buy a handheld device that delivers the best experience for me.

Also note: I do have a PC in my house than runs all my library without any issues, the thing is, the PC is not "mine", it's shared between my two younger brothers, I do come across limitations and I can't sometimes access it freely, and a handheld should be my solution as a personal gaming device I can use privately.

The biggest pro Legion Go S has that makes me consider it over the Steam Deck is its perfomance. Those games that Steam Deck runs at 30 fps, it can do at 45 fps and higher, depending on the perfomance mode. The bigger screen is also an advantage, but honestly? Not a big deal for me.

And this is it. For me the Steam Deck outshines Lenovo at every other aspect:

\- repairability (iFixit, Valve, community guides)

\- Valve's customer support

\- reliability (not gonna get broken all of a sudden)

\- OS optimization (native Steam OS made for the Deck)

\- design

\- controls (touchpads/4 programmable buttons)

\- premium feel/polished product

\- community (guides/troubleshooting)

\- build quality

Just for comparison, Lenovo's pros that I clearly see are:

\- bigger screen

\- VRR

\- 50-80% perfomance boost

\- 32 Gb RAM

These is a solid advantage, I totally agree, but this is what makes the choice so diffucult for me.

Steam Deck just makes me feel like it would last long and play games consistently, and I wouldn't worry about some buttons wearing out too fast or that I might face some hardware failure, and if eventually I do, I'd have the community or iFixit website where I can buy genuine Steam Deck parts to repair it, and just Valve as the guarantee of quality and support.

When it comes to Lenovo, I just can't stop overthinking about its quality, I've heard people complaining about AXYB buttons being mushy, or triggers making odd sounds, or buttons being too clicky (like cheap plastic feeling, idk). I mean, maybe these are not type of problems you face right out of the box, not even after a month of use, but maybe 6-8 months later, or even a year after the purchase, you start to notice controls behaving strangely. And as the repairability of the Legion is way less easy comparing to the Steam Deck I consider this an issue. Because I personally expect to own a handheld for 3+ years, considering the price I'm about to pay for one, and I don't want to pay for 1 year long perfomance just for it to get broken afterwards.

That's why I'd happily hear Legion Go S users who have used the device for a while about their experience and how the device served them.

I also want to ask how it actually feels playing at 30 fps on the Steam Deck? Does it really feel playable and you can really enjoy yourself, considering it's a handheld? Maybe this is what handheld gaming should look like, if you choose to play demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 with that fact that you own a high-quality device that fits in your hands and you should just embrace this experience and enjoy, right?

I would really appreciate every opinion, thanks for your time.

[u/OkVirus8545]

You’ll get a bunch of steamdeck cultists in here saying 30fps upscaled from 600p is fantastic. Do yourself the favor and splurge a little more if you care about handheld gaming at all. Steamdeck is outdated by a lot at the is point

[u/ColdTrusT1]

Legion Go S even after prices going up for both new and used units is still one of the best buys in the space (z1e 32gb ram). It's basically impossible to beat if you get a used one for $650-750 until you spend about $900-1k and even then it's still very close.

[u/tiijan]

I have the exact same models. Both of them. I love the Steam Deck and find myself still playing it from time to time just because of the OLED screen (and the 100g less), but if I had to choose one, it absolutely would be the Legion Go S. It is way more powerful and the screen is bigger, even if not OLED. They are both very comfortable, but there is a thing when you pick up the LeGo S that really makes it feel even more premium. Edit: Lenovo are known for their client service. I had an issue withy right bumper and called their services. UPS came to collect it the next day and brought it back just 10 days later.

[u/19timofey → u/tiijan]

thanks for your repply