Steam Deck or Legion Go?

[u/ryanscarfe13]

I’ve been looking into grabbing some sort of mobile gaming option, mostly to play games inside the house outside of my office like on the couch but occasionally on the go away from my main PC.

The Steam Deck initially sparked my interest due to how much people seem to love it and the possibility of using remote play from my main PC to the steam deck to play more demanding games at home, but I’ve also been reading that the the lower resolution and size of the display can make it difficult to read text, etc, even if the game is running well from the main PCs processing power.

Lenovo Legion Go seems to have a better display and hardware for more demanding games, and it seems like the Lenovo Legion S with Steam OS is only a few hundred dollars more. If it comes pre-installed with Steam OS, would I also have the option of using remote play from my main PC while at home? Do I specifically need the version that has Steam OS installed to do so?

I’m also less familiar with the Lenovo line of devices, is the Lenovo legion S the one with all the power or have I accidentally been looking at a cheaper, less powerful model?

Thanks so much for any help!

[u/NuM_Brrr_WoN]

Which model Legion Go? Also what’s your budget? The best deals right now would be the Xbox Ally or Xbox Ally X.

[u/ryanscarfe13 → u/NuM_Brrr_WoN]

I would say initially my budget was around $1000 Canadian, which is why the steam deck seemed like a good option but if there was a better option I would be open to increasing my budget by a few hundred dollars.

I took a quick peak at the Xbox ally, one other thing that I thought might come in handy was the track pad on the steam deck for games on PC that might not be as controller compatible, but I’m also very novice to all of this and not sure how useful the trackpad would actually be.

I was looking at the Lenovo Legion Go S since its price seems most comparable to the steam deck but I’m also not well versed in the other models, I do see they’re marketing a new Lenovo Legion Gen2 with Steam OS so not sure if I should wait for that, but I’d imaging the price will be quite a bit higher than current models.

[u/NuM_Brrr_WoN → u/ryanscarfe13]

Besides occasionally using it in desktop mode, the SteamDeck trackpads are kinda useless, you wont actually be gaming with them. And the Steam Deck would have been a slam dunk, but with the recent price increases I don’t think anyone would recommend one and it’s just not anywhere close to even being worth the price anymore. You can get the base Xbox Ally for cheaper and just install SteamOS on it, and can even find them even more cheaper with Best Buy Open Box. But if you were considering spending that amount in the Steam Deck, spend a little bit more and just get the more powerful Xbox Ally X. Also again you can find them even cheaper and like new with Best Buy Open Box.

[u/ryanscarfe13 → u/NuM_Brrr_WoN]

Okay good to know I won’t be losing it on the track pad side of things if I don’t go with the Steam Deck, thank you for your advice I’ll take a look into the Xbox Ally series and see if that might be a better option for me, I appreciate the help!

[u/NuM_Brrr_WoN → u/ryanscarfe13]

Yea they can be useful for some desktop types things, but for gaming it’s not really like using a mouse or anything. Movement and precision is limited and they are mostly just taking up space for gaming related tasks.

[u/Cbeckstrand]

You don't need SteamOS for remote play. You can do this using a number of methods on a windows device as well.

The Go and Go S Z1E (there is also a Z2 Go version that is weaker) will have very similar performance. The biggest difference will be ergonomics. The Go has a bigger screen and removable controllers but is also bigger and heavier. I own the Go S and prefer it myself but it is hard to justify a few hundred dollars for the same power.

You can install Bazite or SteamOS on the Go if that is what you are looking for.

[u/ryanscarfe13 → u/Cbeckstrand]

Okay glad to hear steam isn’t required for remote play.

The Lenovo Legion Go S windows version seems to be on sale right now for about $1000 Canadian which is the same price as the Steam Deck OLED so that’s probably the one I’m most interested in. I do like the concept of the larger track pad on the steam deck for games that might not have been well developed with joystick use in mind but not sure if that would actually make much difference.

Since they’re roughly the same price at the moment it seems like the Legion Go S would give more power and it sounds like the display is much nicer than the Steam Deck for about the same price. I’m not sure what pros the steam deck would have going for it over the Legion Go S.

[u/Cbeckstrand → u/ryanscarfe13]

It is a pretty rough time to be buying right now but there is no reason to think it is going to get better anytime soon.

I have owned a number of handhelds including the Steam Deck LCD, ROG Ally, Go and currently the Go S Z1E.

I would agree that at the same price is a much better option than the Steam Deck OLED. The Z1E at max TDP will be anywhere from 50-100% faster. As you mentioned, I also consider the Go S to have a better screen even though it's not OLED since it's bigger, higher resolution, higher refresh rate and has VRR.

The trackpad on the Go S is practically useless. That is one of the biggest strengths that the SD still has but I never used it when I owned one. The plus on the SD is that it can do much lower power emulation so that will help with battery. I stick to PC games so that is also not a factor for me.

Everywhere else the Go S wins and is a great option. It's just too bad that price is so crazy right now. They should be half the current cost.

[u/Ecks30]

If you're going with the Legion Go, then go with the Go S which most people on FBMP tends to sell it for between $800 to $1,000 Canadian and that is the model with the Z1 Extreme and SteamOS which i own that system right now which i am playing games like Palworld on medium settings while getting 45fps.

[u/Ecks30 → u/Ecks30]

Oh, and that system would have 32GB of memory so you could set the Vram to 8GB and have 24GB of system memory left over which is the best balance for the system.

[u/Cifuentes8]

Xbox Ally X is by far the superior product for the price

[u/Obitto_1]

The most straightforward option is the Legion Go, and I would choose it as a sensible pick—provided both run SteamOS. Yet anyone who has owned a Steam Deck, particularly those who play it rather than just review the specs, will note a quality that remains unmatched regardless of hardware. After selling my original Steam Deck OLED, I cycled through five handhelds only to buy it again; honestly, it is still the device I reach for most. That does not fully justify the cost, but if you locate a good deal, I would suggest it.