Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam Deck – everything to know about the gaming handhelds
If the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go has been on your mind, then we've considered how it stacks up against the Steam Deck to see if it's worth picking up.
The Lenovo Legion Go will be the latest device to join the gaming handheld market, and now we know the specifications ahead of launch, it has certainly piqued my interest. After being slightly underwhelmed when reviewing the Steam Deck, I'm hoping the Lenovo Legion Go will fill in those missing gaps, especially considering the detachable controllers that mimic the Nintendo Switch.
Despite not having the Lenovo Legion Go in hand just yet, we've taken all of the information we know about the new gaming handheld into account and pitted it against the Steam Deck to see how it would stack up. We've been sure to consider a range of factors including price, availability, specs, and the games on offer.
Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam Deck: price and availability
At the moment, the pricing structure for the Lenovo Legion Go isn't entirely clear, but we do know the pricing will start at £699 / $699 / AU$1399, with different CPU configurations and storage solutions clocking in at different costs. When compared to that of the Steam Deck, it seems like a pretty pricey device, however, it seems to have the specifications to justify the cost.
The Steam Deck comes in at £349 / $399 / AU$599 for the 64GB edition, which doesn't contain an SSD. It's then £459 / $529 / AU$795 for the 256GB NVMe SSD edition and £569 / $649 / AU$975 for the 512GB NVMe SSD version. Australian prices are rough conversations as the device isn't available in Australia and Valve hasn't stated whether this will change any time soon.
Steam Deck could be done for with new Asus ROG handheld PC coming soon
Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam DeckSince the Lenovo Legion Go isn't available yet, it can be hard to predict any stock issues. Lenovo hasn't clarified how many units will be available for sale or if customers will be limited to just purchasing one device per order, as has been the case with some popular gaming consoles in the past such as the PS5 and more recently the PlayStation Portal.
There were major stock issues for the Steam Deck at launch and for a long while afterwards. However, these have since calmed down, with it being much easier to pick up the console straight from the website, although some editions of the device are still sold out fairly regularly especially considering the handheld is often going on sale.
Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam Deck: specs
Although we know the Lenovo Legion Go specs, since we haven't been able to benchmark or test the device for ourselves yet, it's hard to tell how the device will actually perform. And despite having a 144Hz touchscreen which also displays above 1080p, it's still unclear as to whether or not the device will be able to output games at said level.
Lenovo Legion Go specs
- Processor: Up to AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with AMD RDNA Graphics
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Memory: 16GB 7500Mhz LPDDR5X
- Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 22428
- Weight: Controllers Detached:640g & Controllers Attached: 854g
- Display: 8.8 inches, 144Hz, 2560 x 1600p, touchscreen
- Sound: 2 x 2W Speakers
Steam Deck specs
- Processor: CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32), GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
- Operating System: SteamOS
- Memory: 16GB LDDR5 RAM
- Storage: 64 GB eMMC (PCIe Gen 2 x1), 256 GB NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*), 512 GB high-speed NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen 3 x4 or PCIe Gen 3 x2*)
- Weight: 669 grams
- Display: 7 inches, 60Hz, 720p, touchscreen
- Sound: Stereo with embedded DSP for an immersive listening experience
The Steam Deck on the other hand, only outputs at 60Hz and at 720p, which although doesn't look bad on a small 7-inch screen, is still significantly worse than that promised from the Lenovo Legion Go.
Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam Deck: games
The Lenovo Legion Go will be running Windows 11, similar to the Asus ROG Ally, meaning you'll be able be able to run games from any client. This includes Epic Games, EA, Ubisoft, Xbox Game Pass as well as Steam. For those PC gamers like myself who are used to accessing games on a range of storefronts, the Lenovo Legion Go lets you do just that.
The Steam Deck, as the name suggests, limits your options to games that are available on Steam. This means if your main game is an Epic Games exclusive, then you're out of luck. Another issue with the Steam Deck is that not all Steam titles are guaranteed to work either, as some aren't optimised.
Lenovo Legion Go vs Steam Deck: verdict
As similar as the Lenovo Legion Go and the Steam Deck are, both are clearly very different devices and which one you decide to buy will depend on your budget and needs. The Lenovo Legion Go provides a more premium gaming experience and is essentially a portable gaming PC, but that comes with an associated price tag. If you're not concerned about playing AAA titles at the highest frame rate and resolutions and are instead just looking for a simpler gaming experience on the go, you may be better off with the cheaper Steam Deck.
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