popularSRFNYC posted Nov 06, 2025 01:00 AM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
popularSRFNYC posted Nov 06, 2025 01:00 AM
YMMV: Lenovo Legion GO S SteamOS Z1E - Open Box Excellent - $699.99
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I also think this is a better deal than the Z2E Xbox Ally. Unless you need the sub-15w power efficiency of the Z2E, a Z1E with plenty of fast RAM and a large battery performs very close to the Z2E. The added bonus of SteamOS already being preloaded, and the handheld being designed for SteamOS really adds to the attractiveness of the handheld. We shall see if Microsoft continues to fix the bugs in the Windows Handheld Experience, but SteamOS is polished and reliable.
I also think this is a better deal than the Z2E Xbox Ally. Unless you need the sub-15w power efficiency of the Z2E, a Z1E with plenty of fast RAM and a large battery performs very close to the Z2E. The added bonus of SteamOS already being preloaded, and the handheld being designed for SteamOS really adds to the attractiveness of the handheld. We shall see if Microsoft continues to fix the bugs in the Windows Handheld Experience, but SteamOS is polished and reliable.
The only "bad" experience with an open-box from them was an "excellent" Sony Playstation Portal i went to purchase a few weeks ago. I get to the store and it's a Portal in a clear bag, nothing else, and they hand it to me. This is excellent? By their own definition it was fair because it was missing the cable (Excellent can be missing the box and manuals, but has all "parts"). I handed it back to them and bought it online for $100 in complete packaging with cable.
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There is a reason I didn't over-emphasize the 32GB of RAM, because it's clearly overkill in handhelds. (At this moment) You're misunderstanding my intention. I was merely pointing out the RAM difference, and that both handhelds are very comparable, spec-wise. I think the ideal VRAM setting would be something like 8-12GB for these handhelds at 1080p. That's a little tight, leaving 12-16GB system memory with the 24GB Ally, but it should be fine, particularly in SteamOS. I have personally witnessed this VRAM / System RAM demand in Star Wars Outlaws. It really wants you to have over 8GB VRAM, or it becomes unstable over time, no matter how low your settings are. It also wants over 10GB system memory, even in SteamOS. Call it a one-off example, but UE5 games are all very demanding, and will probably become more so. 24GB RAM is probably the minimum to have a good experience in SWO, as my 16GB Ally struggled to balance VRAM / RAM. It crashes on auto in busy areas until I set it to 6GB manual, and often won't launch if I set it to 8GB.
I was calling attention to the main difference hardware-wise with the Ally X. I consider the Ally X to be the more well-rounded handheld with that large 80Wh battery. Until recently, it wasn't commonly found for $700, but used handhelds are now easy to get from Best Buy in that range with the Xbox Ally X now the Asus flagship.
One advantage the Legion Go series has over the Ally X is native SteamOS compatibility. The Ally X has official SteamOS support now, but just like the original Ally, there are bugs. I don't feel like Asus has been working very closely with Valve like Lenovo has to provide the same ease of use, and there are still random software bugs that don't seem to happen with the native-support Legions.
Just to add my input on wattage levels you can play at with Z1E; I have found with my original Z1E Ally in SteamOS, 17-20w is actually the zone where it seems to feed the GPU enough to really shine, and 25w isn't necessary except with the most demanding games, and introduces unnecessary heat and fan noise. For instance, when I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I was able to get it running very nicely on low preset at 1600x900 with 18 or 19 watts, depending on the game level. My Steam Deck OLED struggles to play the game at those same settings at 720p maxed at 15w, getting something like 25% or more less framerate (28-35 vs 30-40fps) despite driving 50% less pixels. Even worse for the Deck in that title is the grainy bluriness it also seems stricken with no matter the setting, something my Ally never has to deal with. I think it's a forced config setting to allow that old RDNA GPU to run the game without crashing. Robocop Rogue City is another title that is terrible on the Deck, but the Ally at 19w seems to run reasonably well.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the OG Ally needs a 65Wh-80Wh battery mod to replace the original 40Wh, to remain relevant as a mobile device. I opted for the Jsaux 65Wh kit, and it turned the handheld into a great handheld with a few quirks.
There is a reason I didn't over-emphasize the 32GB of RAM, because it's clearly overkill in handhelds. (At this moment) You're misunderstanding my intention. I was merely pointing out the RAM difference, and that both handhelds are very comparable, spec-wise. I think the ideal VRAM setting would be something like 8-12GB for these handhelds at 1080p. That's a little tight, leaving 12-16GB system memory with the 24GB Ally, but it should be fine, particularly in SteamOS. I have personally witnessed this VRAM / System RAM demand in Star Wars Outlaws. It really wants you to have over 8GB VRAM, or it becomes unstable over time, no matter how low your settings are. It also wants over 10GB system memory, even in SteamOS. Call it a one-off example, but UE5 games are all very demanding, and will probably become more so. 24GB RAM is probably the minimum to have s good experience in SWO, as my 16GB Ally struggled to balance VRAM / RAM. It crashes on auto in busy areas until I set it to 6GB manual, and often won't launch if I set it to 8GB.
I was calling attention to the main difference hardware-wise with the Ally X. I consider the Ally X to be the more well-rounded handheld with that large 80Wh battery. Until recently, it wasn't commonly found for $700, but used handhelds are now easy to get from Best Buy in that range with the Xbox Ally X now the Asus flagship.
One advantage the Legion Go series has over the Ally X is native SteamOS compatibility. The Ally X has official SteamOS support now, but just like the original Ally, there are bugs. I don't feel like Asus has been working very closely with Valve like Lenovo has to provide the same ease of use, and there are still random software bugs that don't seem to happen with the native-support Legions.
Just to add my input on wattage levels you can play at with Z1E; I have found with my original Z1E Ally in SteamOS, 17-20w is actually the zone where it seems to feed the GPU enough to really shine, and 25w isn't necessary except with the most demanding games, and introduces unnecessary heat and fan noise. For instance, when I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I was able to get it running very nicely on low preset at 1600x900 with 18 or 19 watts, depending on the game level. My Steam Deck OLED struggles to play the game at those same settings at 720p maxed at 15w, getting something like 25% or more less framerate (28-35 vs 30-40fps) despite driving 50% less pixels. Even worse for the Deck in that title is the grainy bluriness it also seems stricken with no matter the setting, something my Ally never has to deal with. I think it's a forced config setting to allow that old RDNA GPU to run the game without crashing. Robocop Rogue City is another title that is terrible on the Deck, but the Ally at 19w seems to run reasonably well.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the OG Ally needs a 65Wh-80Wh battery mod to replace the original 40Wh, to remain relevant as a mobile device. I opted for the Jsaux 65Wh kit, and it turned the handheld into a great handheld with a few quirks.
If you're outputing to a monitor for 4k resolution, the typical scenario that drives certain games into the 16GB VRAM requirement territory, a gaming laptop or desktop would really make more sense. The 780M and even 890M simply can't run games at 4K in any reasonable fashion, except for older titles that won't even need that VRAM.
I think the purpose of handhelds is often blurred. Even the best Z2E handhelds still underperform an old 3050, except when it comes to VRAM allocation.
There is a reason I didn't over-emphasize the 32GB of RAM, because it's clearly overkill in handhelds. (At this moment) You're misunderstanding my intention. I was merely pointing out the RAM difference, and that both handhelds are very comparable, spec-wise. I think the ideal VRAM setting would be something like 8-12GB for these handhelds at 1080p. That's a little tight, leaving 12-16GB system memory with the 24GB Ally, but it should be fine, particularly in SteamOS. I have personally witnessed this VRAM / System RAM demand in Star Wars Outlaws. It really wants you to have over 8GB VRAM, or it becomes unstable over time, no matter how low your settings are. It also wants over 10GB system memory, even in SteamOS. Call it a one-off example, but UE5 games are all very demanding, and will probably become more so. 24GB RAM is probably the minimum to have a good experience in SWO, as my 16GB Ally struggled to balance VRAM / RAM. It crashes on auto in busy areas until I set it to 6GB manual, and often won't launch if I set it to 8GB.
I was calling attention to the main difference hardware-wise with the Ally X. I consider the Ally X to be the more well-rounded handheld with that large 80Wh battery. Until recently, it wasn't commonly found for $700, but used handhelds are now easy to get from Best Buy in that range with the Xbox Ally X now the Asus flagship.
One advantage the Legion Go series has over the Ally X is native SteamOS compatibility. The Ally X has official SteamOS support now, but just like the original Ally, there are bugs. I don't feel like Asus has been working very closely with Valve like Lenovo has to provide the same ease of use, and there are still random software bugs that don't seem to happen with the native-support Legions.
Just to add my input on wattage levels you can play at with Z1E; I have found with my original Z1E Ally in SteamOS, 17-20w is actually the zone where it seems to feed the GPU enough to really shine, and 25w isn't necessary except with the most demanding games, and introduces unnecessary heat and fan noise. For instance, when I play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, I was able to get it running very nicely on low preset at 1600x900 with 18 or 19 watts, depending on the game level. My Steam Deck OLED struggles to play the game at those same settings at 720p maxed at 15w, getting something like 25% or more less framerate (28-35 vs 30-40fps) despite driving 50% less pixels. Even worse for the Deck in that title is the grainy bluriness it also seems stricken with no matter the setting, something my Ally never has to deal with. I think it's a forced config setting to allow that old RDNA GPU to run the game without crashing. Robocop Rogue City is another title that is terrible on the Deck, but the Ally at 19w seems to run reasonably well.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the OG Ally needs a 65Wh-80Wh battery mod to replace the original 40Wh, to remain relevant as a mobile device. I opted for the Jsaux 65Wh kit, and it turned the handheld into a great handheld with a few quirks.
Mid-tier PC gaming notebooks with discrete GPUs like 5070 mobile are shipping with 8GB of VRAM and consoles are shipping with 16GB total RAM, so shared memory arrangements like Ally X with 8GB VRAM + 16GB RAM = 24GB total are more than sufficient for current generation titles, especially running at 1080p or lower which saves on VRAM.
Yes, some games may require more RAM and next gen titles probably will once they debut, but those games will never work well anyway. I'm running Alan Wake 2 (16GB minimum RAM) on the Ally X but the graphics requirements mean I'm running it at 540p @ 30 fps. Imagining some future game that requires even more RAM, well it's hard to imagine it running playably. Odds are it'll have graphics requirements that increase at a commensurate level and just won't hit playable frame rates.
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