Z2 Go vs Z1 Extreme Benchmarks (Legion Go S)

Topher

Identifies as young
Legion Go S Z2 Go version is on sale at Best Buy for $499. I got an open box for $475, like new. The Z2 Go came with Windows but I installed Steam OS

Here are the benchmarks using the built in benchmarks for Black Myth Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Run them all with the same settings, varying only the TDP (Simple Decky TDP)

Considering I paid $775 for the Z1 Extreme, I'm pretty sure I'm returning it and keeping the Z2 Go. Just can't justify $300 more for 4-9fps


Here are the results:


ao94YKOPy4O8C2WB.png
<<<<<Steam Deck preset

KoXki36PTXGZwxsY.png
<<<<< Highest setting

5qIR2SiI5BwX43lG.png
<<<<<Lowest settings


Here is the $499 deal for the Legion Go S Z2 Go
 
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Legion Go S Z2 Go version is on sale at Best Buy for $499. I got an open box for $475, like new. The Z2 Go came with Windows but I installed Steam OS

Here are the benchmarks using the built in benchmarks for Black Myth Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Run them all with the same settings, varying only the TDP (Simple Decky TDP)

Considering I paid $775 for the Z1 Extreme, I'm pretty sure I'm returning it and keeping the Z2 Go. Just can't justify $300 more for 4-9fps


Here are the results:


ao94YKOPy4O8C2WB.png


KoXki36PTXGZwxsY.png


5qIR2SiI5BwX43lG.png



Here is the $499 deal for the Legion Go S Z2 Go
I thought you had Ally X for a while, Topher Topher . Wouldn't that be quicker?

Or is that what you are returning? Is Z2 Go all that much faster vs Steam Deck?
 
Legion Go S Z2 Go version is on sale at Best Buy for $499. I got an open box for $475, like new. The Z2 Go came with Windows but I installed Steam OS

Here are the benchmarks using the built in benchmarks for Black Myth Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Run them all with the same settings, varying only the TDP (Simple Decky TDP)

Considering I paid $775 for the Z1 Extreme, I'm pretty sure I'm returning it and keeping the Z2 Go. Just can't justify $300 more for 4-9fps


Here are the results:


ao94YKOPy4O8C2WB.png


KoXki36PTXGZwxsY.png


5qIR2SiI5BwX43lG.png



Here is the $499 deal for the Legion Go S Z2 Go
why dont u just buy the Z2 extreme ?

i mean, you are already spending this much and it seems you are into portable gaming PC / Portable gaming since I remember you also have a switch 2 ( not sure why you need 2 portable devices but as long as it makes you happy who cares )

but yeah if I were you, I would just go Z2 extreme and fuck it. yolo
 
I thought you had Ally X for a while, Topher Topher . Wouldn't that be quicker?

Or is that what you are returning? Is Z2 Go all that much faster vs Steam Deck?

I did have the Allyi X but I returned it for the Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme) when it finally came out. That was an easy choice at $829 vs $729 over the Z2 Go, but at $499....I can't pass that deal. Also, I've gotten used to 8" screens and it is hard to go back to 7"

Any benchmarks for MH Wilds?

I don't have MH Wilds, but I can't imagine how bad that would be. lol
 
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I did have the Allyi X but I returned it for the Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme) when it finally came out. That was an easy choice at $829 vs $729 for the Z2 Go, but at $499....I can't pass that deal. Also, I've gotten used to 8" screens and it is hard to go back to 7"



I don't have MH Wilds, but I can't imagine how bad that would be. lol
Ahh… got it. But seriously is Z2 Go is even that much better vs Steam Deck OLED? Is that the 32GB model?
 
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why dont u just buy the Z2 extreme ?

i mean, you are already spending this much and it seems you are into portable gaming PC / Portable gaming since I remember you also have a switch 2 ( not sure why you need 2 portable devices but as long as it makes you happy who cares )

but yeah if I were you, I would just go Z2 extreme and fuck it. yolo

Oh....I'm not keeping both of these. Returning the Z1 Extreme. I'm going for the best value 8" screen I can get and the Z2 Go fits the bill at $475.

Ahh… got it. But seriously is Z2 Go is even that much better vs Steam Deck? Is that the 32GB model?

It somewhere between Steam Deck and Z1 Extreme. Yeah, 32GB and 1 TB SSD. It is plenty for what I'm using it for, mainly emulation and indie games.
 
The only thing holding me back from going for a Legion GO S is the battery life. Wish it had Ally X's battery...or the Ally X had the Legion Go S's screen size.

Since you've handled both Topher Topher which one would you say has the best ergonomics?

$499 for the Z2 GO is indeed a good deal.
 
Oh....I'm not keeping both of these. Returning the Z1 Extreme. I'm going for the best value 8" screen I can get and the Z2 Go fits the bill at $475.



It somewhere between Steam Deck and Z1 Extreme. Yeah, 32GB and 1 TB SSD. It is plenty for what I'm using it for, mainly emulation and indie games.
Sounds like a great deal for $. You just know they need Z2E handhelds are going to be $1K+, especially with new and improved tariff policy.
 
The only thing holding me back from going for a Legion GO S is the battery life. Wish it had Ally X's battery...or the Ally X had the Legion Go S's screen size.

Since you've handled both Topher Topher which one would you say has the best ergonomics?

$499 for the Z2 GO is indeed a good deal.

Ally X battery is awesome. The ergonomics of the Legion Go is much better than Ally X. However, there are plenty of grips for Ally X that make it more comfortable to hold. But yeah....I went with screen size over battery life.
 
Shadow of the Tomb Raider more demanding than Black Myth Wukong?

Highest settings vs lowest settings. Also, BMW was running at 1200p vs 1080p

Edit: added settings to the OP. Ran SoTR at lowest settings and the frame rate average was 84.
 
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Ally X battery is awesome. The ergonomics of the Legion Go is much better than Ally X. However, there are plenty of grips for Ally X that make it more comfortable to hold. But yeah....I went with screen size over battery life.
Yeah, if I'm pumping that kind of money into another handheld I want an 8" screen. The battery can be recharged/changed, the screen can't get larger. 😁 I'm going to keep my cool for a while yet, thanks for the feedback.
 
Oh....I'm not keeping both of these. Returning the Z1 Extreme. I'm going for the best value 8" screen I can get and the Z2 Go fits the bill at $475.



It somewhere between Steam Deck and Z1 Extreme. Yeah, 32GB and 1 TB SSD. It is plenty for what I'm using it for, mainly emulation and indie games.
Why don't you wait for the rog ally xbox version? Whatever the extreme or the other one. i would think its a better handheld than this no ?
 
That is a nice deal. Z2 extreme devices are gonna have crazy sticker shock. If that z2e Xbox handheld is indeed $799 like that leak said it will be an absolute bargain.
 
That's going to be 7". I prefer 8 inches

Season 3 Nbc GIF by The Office
i guess an inch make a difference lol.

I am actually torn. I do not want to make a new thread about it. but ill ask your opinion or anyone here who read this.

I have been offered an opportunity to give my Switch 2 trade for Rog ally X. no extra money to be added. and I am kinda tempted. mainly because I have like 1k games on PC and many of them I can play on the go without having to pay extra money for Nintendo games ( which are awesome but I mean.. its not like there is a lack of many awesome games there that are not made by nintendo )
 
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i guess an inch make a difference lol.

I am actually torn. I do not want to make a new thread about it. but ill ask your opinion or anyone here who read this.

I have been offered an opportunity to give my Switch 2 trade for Rog ally X. no money extra to be added. and I am kinda tempted. mainly because I have like 1k games on PC and many of them I can play on the go without having extra money for Nintendo games ( which are awesome but I mean.. its not like there are not many awesome games there )

That's a tough one. You'll have a lot more to play, obviously, with the Rog Ally X. Ally X is also worth more on ebay and such. I guess my thing is I have a PC for PC games but giving up the Switch 2 takes away a platform that can't be replaced. But you are limited in what you can play with SW2. Yeah....not sure about this one. I'll let others chime in.
 
Honestly not worth it. Nothing is optimized for the devices which on paper is better than switch2 the fact that switfh 2 games get optimized means more to me than specs.

I'll wait for a true next gen portable
 
I am getting a good deal on MSI Claw. How would that work as retro gaming device, with wireless keyboard/mouse?

Will something like Heroes of Might and Magic 3 Enhanced work or there could be compatibility/ driver issues?

Out of pc gaming for a while so not sure.
 
That's going to be 7". I prefer 8 inches
Hmm I've been told 7" is the goldilocks zone. Seriously though 7" in a handheld is getting pretty small as a general use device that doesn't have games built for the screen size. I imagine even 8" causes issues with some UI's?
 
That's a tough one. You'll have a lot more to play, obviously, with the Rog Ally X. Ally X is also worth more on ebay and such. I guess my thing is I have a PC for PC games but giving up the Switch 2 takes away a platform that can't be replaced. But you are limited in what you can play with SW2. Yeah....not sure about this one. I'll let others chime in.
I think the Rog ally X is worth more now because the Z2E devices are not out for asus . but I am expecting the price of the rog ally x to drop as much as 400$ used when the Z2E devices are out. which is the same price you would get on Switch 2 if you to sell it
 
i guess an inch make a difference lol.

I am actually torn. I do not want to make a new thread about it. but ill ask your opinion or anyone here who read this.

I have been offered an opportunity to give my Switch 2 trade for Rog ally X. no extra money to be added. and I am kinda tempted. mainly because I have like 1k games on PC and many of them I can play on the go without having to pay extra money for Nintendo games ( which are awesome but I mean.. its not like there is a lack of many awesome games there that are not made by nintendo )
I would swap personally.
Emulation will make up for the lost Switch 2 games (you will be losing out on a handful of exclusives max)
 
I think the Rog ally X is worth more now because the Z2E devices are not out for asus . but I am expecting the price of the rog ally x to drop as much as 400$ used when the Z2E devices are out. which is the same price you would get on Switch 2 if you to sell it
I think it will depend if people are willing to upgrade their current Allys, Legions and possibly Steam Decks for these newer Z2E devices and there are more uptake for these premium specced handhelds. There isn't that much difference between Z1E and Z2E with around 10-20% performance uplift (possibly a lot more at lower wattages), but these will be priced significantly higher. Current Allys for example are going for almost the same price as Steam Decks; at least in the UK.

Consider Z2E processors and Strix Point as more of iterative and stop gap until perhaps 2027 when the proper next gen APU's should release.
 
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I did have the Allyi X but I returned it for the Legion Go S (Z1 Extreme) when it finally came out. That was an easy choice at $829 vs $729 over the Z2 Go, but at $499....I can't pass that deal. Also, I've gotten used to 8" screens and it is hard to go back to 7"



I don't have MH Wilds, but I can't imagine how bad that would be. lol
If 8" screen size is what you are after then the upcoming MSI Claw A8 might interest you. Z2 Extreme chipset inside with a 80Whr battery, but naturally it would be way more expensive. $899 at best.
 
I think it will depend if people are willing to upgrade their current Allys, Legions and possibly Steam Decks for these newer Z2E devices and there are more uptake for these premium specced handhelds. There isn't that much difference between Z1E and Z2E with around 10-20% performance uplift (possibly a lot more at lower wattages), but these will be priced significantly higher. Current Allys for example are going for almost the same price as Steam Decks; at least in the UK.

Consider Z2E processors and Strix Point as more of iterative and stop gap until perhaps 2027 when the proper next gen APU's should release.

Yes I did watch the video ( and the original video he was taking screen shots from ). The Z2E is more efficient at 15w or below . But I don't really go below 25w on these devices as I would try to max the best possible performances even if the game is not demanding, I would try to push for 120 frames or higher resolution. So playing below 25w is not something I am interested in.

I just don't know if I should give up a switch 2 is worth it. I get in the rog ally x is more than just gaming console. And I'll be saving lots of money from buying switch 2 games ( super expensive here in Canada wtf a 100$ for a game plus tax ) . But man Mario kart is fun lol.

It's just I don't see my self buying lots of switch 2 games in the future because of the game prices . But otherwise switch 2 is awesome
 
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Legion Go S Z2 Go version is on sale at Best Buy for $499. I got an open box for $475, like new. The Z2 Go came with Windows but I installed Steam OS

Here are the benchmarks using the built in benchmarks for Black Myth Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Run them all with the same settings, varying only the TDP (Simple Decky TDP)

Considering I paid $775 for the Z1 Extreme, I'm pretty sure I'm returning it and keeping the Z2 Go. Just can't justify $300 more for 4-9fps


Here are the results:


ao94YKOPy4O8C2WB.png
<<<<<Steam Deck preset

KoXki36PTXGZwxsY.png
<<<<< Highest setting

5qIR2SiI5BwX43lG.png
<<<<<Lowest settings


Here is the $499 deal for the Legion Go S Z2 Go

Translation:

drunk kristen wiig GIF


;)
 
Patiently waiting until the next generation of these mobile SoC's has been tough. I have almost jumped on a few deals I've come across.

I just got around to getting a Steam Deck a few weeks ago to hold me over but $500 for the Legion Go S is tempting.
 
Ally X battery is awesome.
OK I just looked it up. Apparently someone on reddit was playing BMW (not the car) at a locked 60, 25w, and the thing was only at 67% after an hour. Sounds like a good enough endorsement for me.

I can only imagine how much better it is with SteamOS, 40hz, framegen, etc. We've come a long way since 2022. Not an ASUS doubter anymore

will miss the touchpads and second set of back buttons tho
 
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Buying these now is stupid, wait for the Z2E models, or clearance firesells on the Z1E models. These things sell like dog shit once they start getting up around $1000, the Chinamen been making them for well over a decade and there was no market whatsoever at those prices. They didn't start gaining traction until the $400-$600 Steamdeck and Windows copycats. AMD and the major OEM's understand this, so I don't expect the Z2E's to be much more expensive (if any) than the Z1E's were at launch. Nobody's going to pay $900-$1000+ for a ROG Xbox, and Asus won't find any repeat customers/upgraders coming from ROG Ally 1's at those prices (which they desperately need, as they probably represent like 80%+ of their potential market).
 
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These things sell like dog shit once they start getting up around $1000, the Chinamen been making them for well over a decade and there was no market whatsoever at those prices. They didn't start gaining traction until the $400-$600 Steamdeck and Windows copycats. AMD and the major OEM's understand this, so I don't expect the Z2E's to be much more expensive (if any) than the Z1E's were at launch.
TBF it also helps that chinese manufacturers were making them at a time when the chips for these were pure dogshit. Comparing the Steam Deck chip in the final release to some of those significantly weaker prototypes and you get to properly see why it took until Deck's release for this market to get anywhere.

Price and accessibility is important but no point in buying a handheld pc if it can't even run the games you'd want to play.
 
TBF it also helps that chinese manufacturers were making them at a time when the chips for these were pure dogshit. Comparing the Steam Deck chip in the final release to some of those significantly weaker prototypes and you get to properly see why it took until Deck's release for this market to get anywhere.

Price and accessibility is important but no point in buying a handheld pc if it can't even run the games you'd want to play.
My knowledge and awareness of them was based on the puff piece (and likely sponsored) gaming site articles, Youtube videos, Kickstarters, and forum threads that basically promised the moon and cherry picked all the games that actually did run well. That probably describes the vast vast majority of people, so I don't think that really factored into the broader market's reception/interest/adoption (or lack there of in this case). At the end of the day these are supplementary tertiary devices most people don't use very regularly, or for very low value content, and as such they have a hard cap on the prices peoples are willing to bear. Truth be told the number 1 use is probably people playing indie games on the toilet, from bed, or a rare road trip, and very very few people are going to pay $1000 to constantly upgrade shit to do that.
 
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Why do every YouTuber keep telling that the Z2Go isn't worth it over the Z1E if it's a few FPS difference and a major price difference?
 
Buying these now is stupid, wait for the Z2E models, or clearance firesells on the Z1E models. These things sell like dog shit once they start getting up around $1000, the Chinamen been making them for well over a decade and there was no market whatsoever at those prices. They didn't start gaining traction until the $400-$600 Steamdeck and Windows copycats. AMD and the major OEM's understand this, so I don't expect the Z2E's to be much more expensive (if any) than the Z1E's were at launch. Nobody's going to pay $900-$1000+ for a ROG Xbox, and Asus won't find any repeat customers/upgraders coming from ROG Ally 1's at those prices (which they desperately need, as they probably represent like 80%+ of their potential market).
The MSI with Z2E have already been reviewed in China and translated. There's isn't much of a performance improvement over the Z1E. That's probably why Valve haven't released the Steam Deck 2 yet.
 
Why do every YouTuber keep telling that the Z2Go isn't worth it over the Z1E if it's a few FPS difference and a major price difference?

Because the normal price is $230 more than it is right now. I imagine those poor reviews are a big reason why it is on sale. It is incredibly overpriced at $730. The Steam OS version is regularly priced at $599 but it has half the RAM and SSD space. $499 for 1TB and 32GB is pretty dang good.
 
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