Lenovo Legion Go - The Definitive Quick Look
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- 🕹️🤷♂️ Unfiltered Definitive Take on the Lenovo Legion Go - Hits & Misses 🤷♂️🕹️
Hello everyone! I've spent some quality time with the Lenovo Legion Go, and let's just say it's been... interesting. Got a mix of cool features and some "why did they do that?" moments. Let's dive into what this PC Gaming Handheld has to offer, both good and kinda meh.
👇 Skip Around, I Won't Mind 👇
Chapters
00:00 - Intro: What's This All About?
00:38 - Heads Up on Portrait Mode Quirks
01:15 - Size Face-Off: Legion Go vs. Asus ROG ALLY vs. Steam Deck
01:46 - Specs Rundown: The Good Stuff
03:33 - USB-4 and AMD eGPUs: Proceed with Caution
05:35 - Watt's the Deal: CPU Benchmarks and Power Talk
07:25 - Efficiency Mode: Understanding WHY That's Better
10:12 - TDP Modes: Legion's Balancing Act
10:55 - Benchmark Brawl: Legion Go vs. Asus ROG ALLY
12:20 - More Benchmarks: They're On the Horizon
13:00 - Portrait Panel Drama on the Legion Go
13:49 - Portrait Screen Woes in the PC Gaming World
18:47 - A Tour of Legion Space App
26:30 - Controllers & Bits: A Quick Look
32:00 - Joy Cons How-To: How to Take Them Out?
33:06 - DOOM Eternal Throwdown: Joy Cons vs. FPS Mode
35:47 - Returnal's Gameplay: Controller vs. Joy-Con Showdown
37:37 - It's a Tablet Too, FYI
38:21 - So, Am I Digging It?
🖥️ Visuals Are Pretty Sweet
The 8.8" QHD screen on this bad boy is bright and crisp. Really High Quality Image Output. But it is Native Portrait
🕹️ TrueStrike Controllers: They Did Something Right
Gotta hand it to them, the controllers feel decent and they snap off if you're into that.
🔋 Long Gaming Sessions? Check
50wh battery is nice to see from bigger manufacturers. The battery's got some legs on it.
🚀 Legion Space: So Much Potential
It's trying to be your go-to gaming hub, and it's almost there. Almost. Well actually not quite there at all.
🔧 AMD Ryzen Z1E: Packs a Punch
It's got the power, but does it have the finesse? Stay tuned for my full review video!
🎮 Versatility Is Its Middle Name
Handheld, tabletop, tablet mode-it's like a Swiss Army knife that plays games.
Hit that thumbs up if you're into honest takes, subscribe for more straight talk, and ding that bell to catch all my latest videos. Got thoughts? Drop 'em in the comments-let's chat.
#LenovoLegionGo #pcgaming #GamingOnTheGo - Hry
i love it that a the phawx 'quick look' video still ends up being almost 40 minutes
nobody else puts this much effort and goes this in-depth. As someone who loves deep dive-type videos keep up the good work!
His "quick look" on the Legion Go is just packed with so much detail that it makes other "reviews" pale in comparison
Are you still planning on releasing the additional videos on the legion go?
love the fact that it can be used as a tablet. would love to purchase.
I'm hoping JSAUX or Gulikit provide some cool third-party "Joycons." I would actually love a deep dive into how open the specification is-could I DIY my own with a 3D printer and a QMK controller?
That was actually pretty cool to see. It did not cross my mind to be honest, so I am pretty surprised
In this moment I just realized these are all just gaming tablets with controllers attached. I wonder If we will ever see a surface pro gaming edition
@@titoriano1You mean something like the Asus ROG Flow Z13?
@@titoriano1I really like the cloud so I do a lot of tablet gaming when I have time. One thing (when these handheld PCs work right) positive about windows is when again it's working you feel the difference. It can act as a tablet but it's a computer.
That comparison graphic with the TDP modes was wonderfully put together. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do the test.
Really loving how the first frame of your videos now are the thumbnail. Super nice touch :)
Came here to say this. Lol. First time I've seen it. Very cool!
Been waiting for this, thanks so much Phawx!
Rpcs3 Twisted Metal?
You're always the best for these sorts of things. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
For all the reviewers of this handheld you're the only one that gives indept technical review that I like
"inept" or "in-depth"
🤔🤔🤔
I agree 100%
That's not true. Seen a similar video where this guy went into details
That's because most reviewers only did first impressions and clearly started that ..... 🤔
@@jwill7998 oh sorry didn't notice the grammar police here 😂
Thank you for the commitment to speaking about the Native Portrait issue and highlighting the landscape screen, VRR, etc. I love that there is competition in this space but I'm sad that I don't have a solution that does both. I.E Rog Ally's Screen, Lenovo's True Strike Controllers. Perhaps I should wait and see what the 3DS like handheld PC will do next year.
The one we've all been waiting for! Cant wait to dig in!!
I can appreciate an honest review that doesn't just say "everything about it is great" clearly some things are great like the screen size but there's still so many bugs. Definitely will follow the progression
Just like the Ally, by the time everything is fixed, a new generation will be out. I’ll just hold on the Ally and hope a Strix Point model will have a bigger screen.
Best review yet. Hope you make a killing from the views. Can’t wait for more coverage on the Go!
Literally the only reviewer giving positives and negatives
Retro Game Corps too.
Happy to hear recommendations for other good handheld reviewers, most of them are just ads :c
Many "reviewers" are usually paid to say good things and gloss over the bad.
This guy seems more legit than 95% of them, though I'm sure he'll have to buy his own for review in future instead of having them sent for free before retail launch from many of those companies who pay for positive exposure.
What are you talking about? Ive yet to see one reviewer say its perfect. The reason why they are overall positive about it is because maybe...its a good product.
@@LegionIscariot not denying it being a good product. I think a lot, if not most reviewers are too afraid to bring up it's faults. No handheld PC is gonna be perfect. Legion go, just like steam deck and ROG ally have a lot of issues. No one device is better than other, they each have their pros and cons and depending on the use case, will be better for different users.
Literally not the only reviewer giving positives and negatives
I appreciate the candor, the depth, and the opinions.
First video i've seen that's worth a damn and not just giving the info we can get off the box art.
Fantastic work, thank you for an in-depth review, very rare right now.
Phawx ranting about vertical mouse mode with the hockey puck add-on actually ended up selling me on this thing. That looks awesome. Real PC gaming with mouse input without having to attach peripherals.
"A quick look". Hahaha this was so in depth thanks for sharing. I didn't about the cpu bias of the performance mode. That's a very cool finding
Excellent review of your initial thoughts Sir. Thanks for sharing!
Very informative thank you for all the critical information I still look forward getting one.
I love the technical focus of this review (and channel), I was curious about what you said about tuning the ally, wonder if you can leave some info (doesn’t necessarily have to be a vod) on the steps taken (for EDP and saving mode)
"Quick look"
40 minute video
Oh yeah~ This is the coverage I was waiting for.
I’ve been waiting for this, thanks so much for putting in the time to make it! Also, looks like your trackpad cover is still on
Good review and honest about the positives nad negatives.
awesome video love the attention to detail and cant wait to see the optimization video
Excellent 👌👍 review you have surpassed your peers !
Phawxing hell! Been waiting for this 😅
Ive been excited to hear your early opinion on this
Thank you for this great and honest review 😊
Really look forward to getting a video pushing the tdp and overall performance of this thing. Thank Phawx your a stud broski.
First time I'm seeing/hearing from this dude and he states the exact frustration I've had with the AMDs 'Adrenalin Edition' within the first 4 mins. Subscribed.
Legion Go is so flexible and versatile, it's insane. Hopefully all the kinks that can be worked out with software and drivers are perfected in the coming weeks.
Lack of VRR is just a deal killer after experiencing the Ally. I’d love that massive screen but not without VRR.
@@piercewiederecht5135I have had mine for a week now and had ally and I don’t even notice no vrr on go.
Great review as always
There's a protective foil on your trackpad. Great video 👌
Been refreshing youtube at work for the past 4hours waiting for a Phawx video xD
Thank you, some great information in here!
Wasn't expecting to get a lecture on APUs in handhelds and Windows power modes but that was great! Always good to get recommendations with solid knowledge to back it up.
My Go hasn't been delivered yet but I'm looking forward to more videos.
Also you confirmed my concerns about the dpad. Doesn't seem optimal for me but hopefully it won't ruin the experience.
This is why I love the Phaux. Whenever a new handheld comes out he’s one of my favorite CZcamsrs to get data from. Thanks again!
Fantastic video, thank you.
One piece of constructive feedback is that while you were filming the hands-on parts I assume you are recording your audio in some kind of "stereo mode" and I found it a bit distracting at times when listening through headphones when your voice switched between channels a bit. Not a big deal, just would be more comfortable in forced mono I think. Have a good one!
Great video! Could you do a comparison between the Legion Go, Ayaneo Kun and other large display handhelds in your full review? Thank you for the great content.
So far this is the most comprehensive and technical review that we all want to see, great work! Now I am looking forward to your comprehensive review especially to demystify whether the lack of VRR can be compensated by the 144hz high refresh rate. Looking forward!
It can
This is such a cool design. The ability to use it as a tablet is pretty unique.
Not really unique, the ONEXPLAYER 2 Pro works like this too, joycons and all.
great video phawx....
For us who moved from a lifetime of PlayStation and this is our first PC ever not just a handheld, can we get a video explaining all the graphics settings and what do we need to change/adjust for general gaming and what’s needed to be changed for certain games to get the best performance out of this over both battery and plugged in? Since because of your enthusiasm and reviews I got one and I love it. But I’m so overwhelmed with how much I need to do/learn just to using it especially coming after 20 years of Sony PS plug n play.
Finally, a proper review!
Best review on youtube so far 👌
This is not even the review yet. 😂
@@emilioriofrio7858 actually yeah lol
another good honest review about Legoin Go. I own a ROG Ally, it's not perfect but I love it. When I watched Dave2D's review on Legion Go when he bash Ally so hard and went over the moon for Legion Go.. something felt off for me.
You and Russ from Retro Game Corps are doing great job. Thank you for the hard work and giving out a good objective review
Thanks for explaining the AMD eGPU issue here. I was trying to get up and running with an Akitio Node Titan and an RX 6700 XT and just couldn't get it to work without removing Lenovo's drivers. Thanks for confirming that this was the only solution. Guess I'll have to return this card for a 4060 (same price) or spend more for a 4070. Really want my Legion Go to be an all-in-one solution for TV and on-the-go gaming, and this will have to be the way it happens.
I really like the fight-mouse-leave it to the folks who continue to supply the world with TrackPoints to provide a unique pointer implementation.
Can't wait to see how well the Legion works with Linux (in terms of its input modes).
never thought of tablet mode.. really nice
I love that thumbnail to video transition. Never seen it before. I might steal that idea if you dont mind :)
Like your treadmill idea bro
Why did you leave the protective film on the track pad? I have a Go too and once you peel the film off, the track pad is matte and not reflective at all.
Absolutely great review and very insightful. Weird that the CPU takes up to 65 watts to maintain all cores at 4ghz while a 7950x in eco mode can do 4ghz on all cores at 88 watts and that’s on 5nm
I followed your suggestion on the Performance / efficiency setting, but it’s still valid after all the bios and legion space updates?
Still waiting for your final review, the only competent one on this device (and it was only a Quick Look! ) I would like to see also the differences between different uma configurations, I think there’s a lot of confusion and you are the man that can clarifies definitely which configurations is the best !
Indeed, update pls
Excellent video! Is there any benefit or downside to leaving screen refresh at 144 but limiting FPS to 60 in game?
I think Octopath Traveler 2 is another example of the portrait handheld screen issues. Never ran full 1080 on AYN Loki Max (Windows) but could get it full 1080 on Ayaneo Air Plus (Chimera OS/Linux). Super frustrating.
What a huge difference from other reviews that only focus on features but not on the actual real life user experience and how it feels to actually use it, all the while going into detail on some specs along the way. Very well done! I hope in the full review you can really stress test it as a lot of the issues the Ally had reviewers didnt highlight until ppl had already spent money
oh damn. im using an amd egpu. that's a bummer. I might just go with aya neo :( damn. I was looking forward to this. thanks for sharing that
Hey Phawx! I came back to this review (cause it's unmatched of course) and had a question: Regarding AMD eGPU's like the GPD G1, is this still an issue with drivers on the devices?? Thanks!
I have a steamdeck and honestly I mostly use it around the house for playing comfortably, but anytime I take it out of the house it's in its case so the puck wouldn't really be a problem to me
Do you have a video guide for your tuned up Ally settings
Curious to see benchmarks after applying the 780M driver. I did that and got WAY better performance
Exactly
This is great. However in the next in-depth review video, we need The Phawx to provide some insights into the speakers, and screen tearing w/o VRR. Personally I haven't experienced any tearing on the Go, as an existing rog ally user. However as a lot of people mentioned, the speakers on Legion Go suck. This is the main reason that I haven't decided to keep the Legion Go but not the ally.
Vsync solves screen tearing, that’s not the main reason for VRR. VRR gives you maximum smoothness at an unstable framerate. Non-VRR makes frame fluctations far more noticible, which is why devs shoot for caps like 30, 60 etc.
@@FoxbatStargazer
I think you are wrong. Vsync solves screen tearing but in doing so it adds latency, especially with triple buffering and also produces inconsistency in the frequency with which frames are displayed (we can also call it a lack of smoothness) especially with double buffering.
VRR, nothing more and nothing less, solves the tearing problem without adding these problems. Which is very good but does not help with the lack of smoothness produced for other reasons.
With displays with a high refresh rate, as is the case, using Vsync and triplebuffering (or render ahead) adds little latency and is constant. The frequency at which the frames are displayed, at least for its part, is also regular so the final result subjectively should be very close to VRR. The problem is that refreshing the screen at 144Hz wastes somewhat more power than doing it at 60Hz.
for speaker just use software to fix it like dolby atmos or fxsound
Hehehehe. That mouse mode is looks awesome. I carry my stuff in a bag. That mouse puck just fits in a pocket on the bag, no problem.
Literally the first game I went to play after installing a TB of games was Red Dead 2 and I was losing my mind. After trying Hellblade my faith was restored in my purchase. But thank goodness for this video!! Of all the games I downloaded, the first one I try is Red Dead 2 lol. Go figurev
What version of Legion Space are you running? I didn't encounter any of the problems you mentioned. When pressing the legion button, it does sit on top of the task bar, and my Library shows all titles installed without ever playing anything.
Thanks for the fantastic video.
Just out of curiosity, I tried playing Returnal too and got an error message about the hardware being unsupported, but still the game was playable after that, is it a common issue?
So how do you fix the issues with the portrait display causes game issues?
Is the display the same one Lenovo use for the Legion Y700? It would explain why it's a native portrait display.
Amazing in depth review. The best benchmarking and technical detailed review as usual. Thank you for your hard work! You, retro games corps and the Nerd nest are doing amazing work and complementing each other with many different perspectives to the handheld gaming! Keep up the great work 👏👏
Hi, did you try some low power games? (like Visual novels/rpgmaker games) what is the minimum power draw?
Thanks for such an indepth video. Very informative. I ended up ordering the Lenovo Go after seing your video.
I'm trying to deicde what egpu solution to go with. Maybe you can help narrow down my decision, and probably help out others who are in the same boat?
Is the driver problems with using AMD egpu still a an issue?
I know amd GPUs are a little cheaper priced then Nvidia, but im leaning towards Nvidia aince AMD doesnt handle ray tracing very well.
The GDP G1 is extremely expensive to buy in canada. It is also a laptop based gpu so doesnt perform as well as a desk top one right?
With that has my baseline information, this is what im thinking and need help narrowing down please.
Im thinking of going with a razor core x egpu and a rtx 3080ti. (Both available used locally. ) would cost me 400$less then a GDP G1. Would give me ray tracing and play cyberpunk 2077 at high settings. Would that set up provide more fps at higher settings?
I did also find a 2060, and 3070 for substantially lower price used.
Im lastly questioning the gpu's ability to perform with the usbc constraints . I don't want to be installing a Lamborghini engine in a pinto!
If you could help me with this information, I'd be greatly appreciative.
Thanks
Does the z1e driver issue you mentioned apply if you run Linux or would that allow hot swapping between the z1e internal gpu and a thunderbolt AMD gpu without the same driver reinstallation every time?
Lenovo already announced multiple bug fixes as good as weekly.
11:22 you say using power saver mode. Do you have a post or another video where you explain how and why that is useful
What this review shows me is a 7840u/z1e is what it is regardless of RAM and landscape panels are even more important than I thought they were
I find the legion go the most confortable because of the detachable controllers, I use it with my xreal airs and I don't have to hold the whole device while playing
Does anyone know if the AMD eGPU issues are now a thing of the past?
Hey, did you try to use it in the treadmill ? That's one of the big reasons why I want to buy this one. I tried using a normal joy and I don't like, then I always ended watching some movie, but I want to play some game, and this kind of control I guess is the best for it. Let me know if you did it, I'm interested what was the experience.
Man, I am just torn between getting this or the Ally. I think the Go's bigger screen, 800p interger scaling, trackpad, apparently better performance, FPS mode and detachable controllers are super cool... but Ally is more portable, has better speakers, quieter fans, VRR, more mature software and a landscape screen (I heard the Go's portrait display is problematic for older games, which I plan on playing a lot). I've heard mixed things about ergonomics, build quality, controls and battery though. I think I might be leaning towards the Ally, especially since I can find it second hand for about 3/4 of the price of a new Go. Any suggestions?
I would say go for the ally, I used to be a steam deck owner and went ham on the ally when I purchased it which is a really cool device, the screen is fantastic! Most of the games you'll be playing will look super smooth due to the VRR. I ended up selling my deck too. Also the ally doesn't look laggy when you play, the FPS on the legion go doesn't look impressive at all. Only time will tell.
Are you able to use framerate cap from adrenaline ? I can’t. Trying 40/50 it never cap
i remember hearing it was landscape? could it be that the early ones are portrait? according to Google it says that the pre production go's have portrait and the final launch are gonna/supposed to have landscape
They have to change itv
At this point I just hope ROG do a revision of the Ally and move the SD card slot and would would happily take it over the Go
Too small for me.
I read in discord that the never ones have motherboard revisions. Claimed the sd slot have no complaints on them
@@Fizggiga revision would probably be bigger
@Misfit626 maybe and if there is a better device out there for me in the next few years I'll for sure sell my legion go and get that. No biggy.
That and adding Thunderbolt support would literally make me buy it right now
How much of Steam Deck performance is OS related? How does the Legion Go do on Holo ISO at low TDP?
I'm still waiting on mine
Can it support multiple external monitors? Thinking of using it as a work PC (no photo/video editing). Will it be a bad idea?
Its the honesty and diligence that really hit hard. Man i appreciate this review. Hitting Subscribe right now 🙏🏾
THANKS BUD!
the tablet mode is actually really cool and something i didn't think about conside3riong I dont have a tablet at the moment. and having a win11 one is even better.
Wait, does this CPU cap trick work with the windows efficient mode too??
Hmm, must try this driver problem with AMD eGPUs once my Legion Go gets here (it is delayed in Europe). It should be possible to manually install latest AMD Radeon 780M drivers for the SoC and proper drivers (i.e. 7600M XT for GPD G1) for eGPU.
It never fails to crack me up how graphics driver support for these devices is better in Linux-I just checked, and Phoronix reports the Z1E on the Ally working fine in Mesa 23.0 (amdgpu or RADV), which means most Linux distros will work out of the box
I am surprised at how much trouble you are having with detaching/reattaching the controllers. On my Go they seem to pop off and on very easily with no issues.
"Quick look"!? Great viewing, thanks
I wish someone made similar joycons for just any handheld, that fps mode that turn the controller into a wrist mouse is great.
Hell, Lenovo themselves should just sell these separately (with a dock to charge them without needing the full handheld), presumably since they work wirelessly it's just Bluetooth or essentially a USB dongle built in (like a Logitech Unifying receiver) so it likely wouldn't be that hard to package it separately as long as they made an alternative way to charge them.
is the game launcher properly if we use the steam big picture mode?
Should I keep my ally ? Or return it in this return period for the go ? I know the vrr and landscape is big for people but can I get some non bias comments and opinions so I can make a better decision ? This video helped but it’s difficult lol .
I think this video answers your question. LG is buggy with some quirks. Ally has it's own problems as well (SD card). You want a bigger screen and FPS mouse mode? Go with the Go. Otherwise they are bout the same with trade offs here and there. I just got an ally after seeing initial impressions of the Go, over $200 cheaper than Go so for me was a no brainer.
It just needs some sort of a keyboard cover, then it can be a very well rounded device to carry around.
Yup
Should we still use efficiency mode even on cpu intensive applications like emulators ?
@ThePawx the problem about the resolution is NOT ABOUT NOT HAVING A LANDSCAPE PANEL, it's due to improper/missing edid information!
This is like the old times, with the 16:10 screens (1680x1050) or exactly the same as with the steamdeck in windows:
As there are no proper 16:9 resolutions added to the EDID information of the screen (and probably in drivers too), any old game (or with an old/strange engine, like visual novels) will crash, display rubbish or show a black screen.
It's exactly the same thing that happened to me with the SD in windows. The same thing: LACK OF RESOLUTIONS ON THE PANEL.
It should have all 16:9 and 5:4, simply for compatibility, showing black bands.
Lenovo... those guys are just idiots.
Since it’s in a Windows Portrait mode instead of Landscape will GZDoom work on it? I am into Doom Mods and that’s what I would be playing on it.