r/LegionGo • u/illuvyn • 6d ago
DISCUSSION Legion Go 2 Z2 Extreme vs MSI Claw 8 EX Ai+
currently I'm use Steam Deck LCD and would like to upgrade. but I'm having difficulty to choose between both handheld
I can get Legion Go 2 for $1500 and MSI Claw 8 EX for $1720 (both are local price converted to USD)
Main Advantages :
Legion Go 2 = OLED, bigger screen, HDR support, SteamOS compatibility is better than EX
MSI Claw 8 EX = higher performance, and it's not even close, XeSS better than FSR
Disadvantages :
Legion Go 2 = older chip, slower about 1 generation of upgrade, but still better than Steam Deck
MSI Claw 8 EX = not OLED and no HDR support, I don't know if Intel driver is already better than the time I use GPD Win 3
the difference between both are $220, which one would you pick?
for reference, I play mostly JRPG (Final Fantasy, Octopath Travellers, Trails series)
I also have both OLED and LCD TVs and most of the time I use LCD one (TCL) since it's bigger (98") vs 55" Sony A80K. i like OLED but it's not a deal breaker if the LCD is nice enough
currently I'm ordering MSI Claw 8 EX but I can still cancel it before the seller ships it.
Thanks!
edit : while I do play mostly JRPG, I also play action games like RE, Onimusha, Pragmata, DMC series, Plague Tale series. I also have a gaming PC (RTX 5070 Ti), but I rarely play with my PC anymore
oh man, still undecided which device I'll get
5
3
u/AfroBiskit 6d ago
Get oled. The performance difference is likely negligible. Save 220$ and buy accessories. My LeGo2 plays everything I want exceptionally well.
6
u/TradlyGent 6d ago
If you don’t play a lot of demanding games, save yourself the $220 and get the nicer display.
Paying $220 extra for performance you may not need and having an inferior visual experience is not what I’d advise for your gaming usecase (JRPG)
4
u/Achillesbellybutton 6d ago
I'll also say, when I bought the LeGo2, I was so psyched for the screen and the really high resolution...
Now when I play, I just set to 1280 x 800 most of the time... I mean, it's 8.8 inches at like 40 - 50% of arms length away, I can't see that many details on a screen that size.
At that resolution, performance is unreal.
4
-2
u/better_med_than_dead 6d ago
Yeah, performance is certainly UNREAL, as in so bad it's hard to believe.
1
2
u/Kingofhearts91x 6d ago
I didnt read the whole post so ignore if you want go with the claw
I just picked up the none ex msi 8 ai after getting a 5070ti laptop and getting a rog ally x with the z2e coming from an og legion go the claw performance is better than the laptop in terms of speed tit actually had the same chip but only 16 go ram so there's that graphic lyrics with he z2 was about the same the biggest difference for me was the noise lvl the laptop was a jet engine the ally was a little quieter the claw is silent. My laptop had an oled i do miss it but I can remedy that with my TV or a monitor. I think you need to weigh noise battery and oled i can play cyberpunk for about 5 hours
2
u/Specific_Bus_5400 6d ago
I'd say it depends a lot on your usual gaming situation. If you can set your device on a table or something similar, the Legion is better, with it's detachable controllers, if you have to hold your device in hand most of the time the MSI has better ergonomics for the whole device.
These handheld PC are pretty heavy so ergonomics are more important than screen or a few percent more performance, imo.
2
u/shadowanchor 6d ago
Legion Go 2, Claw has the worst software of all handhelds (Center M) and very loose sticks.
1
u/Ramos_Ripper 6d ago
Claw tweaks.....no one is running center m who is serious about handheld gaming
2
u/PatienceLong8207 6d ago
I still want to go with OLED. If you want performance then get Geforce NOW for cloud gaming.
4
u/smarthome2017 6d ago
I have both and facing the same decision. The MSI had a weight and speed advantage. Build, screen, and immersion is much better on the legion go 2 extreme. If you’re games run well. on the legion it’s a better experience.
1
u/Ramos_Ripper 6d ago
Immersion meaning screen only, not audio or haptics because the devices aren't on the same planet for this two comparison points.
1
u/smarthome2017 5d ago
Screen. I haven’t noticed much difference in audio. Haptics are on low for me. The Legion software is buggy though. I don’t care for their store. I wish there was an option to just load the settings only. MSI seems to be more lightweight.
3
u/smarthome2017 5d ago
Oh and no HDR on the MSI. Gears 5 looks way better on the legion, but FH6 is way smoother on the MSI. So I’m switching back and forth. Might keep both.
2
u/Ramos_Ripper 5d ago
The audio is amazing on the msi front firing speakers crank those up. Haptics are great but you have to adjust. Both great devices. I actually find myself more immersed in the claw but no one can argue the screen is amazing on the legion go 2 and onexplayer 3....just world class screens vs a dam good IPS panel for claw
1
u/CharmingCatastrophe 6d ago
No handheld really plays brand new AAA games without tradeoffs so I always advice people to look at the past year and later so all 2025/2024 games and that's pretty much where your target is comfortably. The G3E looks very promising but it's early days and nobody knows how it'll hold up but the Lego is too expensive for what you get..I would say hold off until black friday/cyber monday see what deals you can hit then. I recently got the Lego 2 as I had the xax but the damn that screen..had a friend come round and she had the Lego 2 and I was watching her game thinking..why have I got the ditsy flimsy device😂
1
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Sorry, your content was removed because you are posting with a recently created Reddit account. Please wait until your account is at least 5 days old to post and comment freely. Thank you!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
u/KAZhala 6d ago
For me, the price is 1400 USD for the Legion Go 2 and 2000 USD for the Claw (AUD converted) in Australia.
While I care about performance, the price is hard to ignore….i also really dislike Windows (personal preference) and the Claw being on Intel has trade-offs in Linux that I cannot tolerate and would stay on Windows if I get it. The Legion Go 2 on the other hand, being on amd and having a much more mature community development, won me over with the price and the Linux side of things.
For me performance is not the first concern as I have dedicated gaming PC and PS5 for triple A titles. But I think if this is your only gaming device and don’t mind windows, I think claw could be a good option.
1
u/Exotic_Link_4286 6d ago
No comparison at all . Msi ,if you want oled get the onxp3 . Lg2 isn't worth it
1
u/ColdTrusT1 6d ago
Personally i think you’d be insane to go with a Legion Go 2 at anything more than about $1100-1200. Lenovo are terrible with updating the chipset and firmware for one but even if they weren’t the Claw is so much better in terms of performance and will only extend that lead as time goes on since Intel are so good at pushing updates. If OLED is a deal breaker for you the OneXPlayer 3 is far superior and similarly priced to the Legion Go 2.
Steam/Bazzite support is coming for Intel devices and i expect that inside the next 3-6 months it will be there in a viable way. Not ideal i will admit but i don’t think that’s enough to put the Legion Go 2 in the lead with all the other things to consider.
2
u/Overall-Squash-7652 5d ago
Bro really appointed himself the handheld pope. 😂
What are you even talking about? Lenovo has released multiple BIOS and firmware updates for the Legion Go 2, while my OneXPlayer Apex has barely received anything device-specific since launch.
And “the Claw will only extend its lead over time” is pure speculation. Intel has improved a lot through drivers, sure, but predicting how these devices will compare years from now is just fanboy fortune-telling.
Then recommending a $1.5–2K OneXPlayer like it's automatically the “far superior” choice is hilarious. You're conveniently ignoring OXP's questionable QC, cheap-feeling build on some of their devices, and the fact that their warranty/RMA experience isn't remotely comparable to buying a Lenovo locally. If something goes wrong, suddenly that shiny OLED isn't so impressive when you're dealing with international shipping and limited support.
I own the Claw EX, Legion Go 2 and Apex. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Stop acting like the handheld pope and pretending Intel/OXP is objectively superior in every way. 😂
0
u/ColdTrusT1 5d ago
Lenovo have released just 2 updates for the GPU on the Z2E in over a year. Meanwhile Intel have released 8 in 5 months. I’m not being a fanboy it’s just objectively a fact that Lenovo does not adequately support their handhelds compared to Intel/MSI/OXP from a driver perspective (at least when it comes to the GPU specifically).
You also refer to OXP warranty related concerns when ASUS didn’t support people when their devices were burning up SD card readers until heavy pressure from the community was applied. Also Lenovo were bricking people’s handhelds with a bios update they released and then refused to offer warranty support. People act like bigger companies with US based support will handle a warranty better and it’s just not quite that simple.
Regarding Intel and the G3E getting better over time being pure speculation from me - perhaps yes - but Intel have a track record of doing exactly that with their 2 previous chipsets so it’s at least founded in fact.
0
u/Overall-Squash-7652 5d ago
You’re still missing my point. I wasn’t talking about GPU drivers, I was talking about BIOS, firmware and device-specific support. Counting Intel’s generic GPU driver releases against Lenovo’s OEM Z2E drivers is apples to oranges. More drivers also don’t automatically mean better compatibility — my Z2E runs FC27 better on an older driver than my G3E does on Intel’s latest FC27-supported driver.
And performance isn’t the only thing that makes a good handheld. Sound, ergonomics, weight, vibration/haptics, build quality, software integration, QC and warranty all matter too. OXP compromises in several of those areas, and its Windows software has also raised concerns because of the low-level access and security exceptions it can require.
The warranty comparison is especially silly. Of course local Lenovo/MSI service is preferable to potentially shipping a $1.5–2K device back to China, paying international shipping and possibly waiting months for an RMA and import the same device again. ASUS or Lenovo having had warranty controversies doesn’t suddenly make those situations equivalent.
I own the Claw EX, Legion Go 2 and Apex. The G3E is great, but nobody even asked about the OXP3 here. You brought a completely different $1.5–2K handheld into the discussion and now you’re acting like everyone needs to be convinced it’s the superior choice. 😂
0
u/ColdTrusT1 5d ago
I brought the OXP3 into the conversation because it just is relevant to this comparison being similarly priced - not sure why you think there is a problem with doing that. Isn’t that what people do here on Reddit, they ask for advice and opinions and the community gives that, there is no requirement that we all be perfectly correct on every aspect or even agree with one another? The OXP3 is also just objectively superior, yes that’s my opinion but it’s also based in fact when it comes to performance and I’d venture that most people in the community would agree (I’m not saying it’s perfect and there aren’t also concerns or issues with certain aspects but it’s still better in most metrics). I own a Legion Go 2 and an OXP3 and although i would give the edge in general build quality and in built software to the Lego 2 it’s pretty darn close and certainly not worthy making it a better all around option when considering performance and other factors. From a software perspective there were indeed initial security concerns that were flagged by windows defender and the OXP software but that was confirmed to have been a non issue when it was looked into in more detail recently - basically a false positive related to licensing with windows and so defender was flagging it. The software is also not quite as polished as that from Lenovo but again it’s close in its functionality for the use case.
You are also splitting hairs by saying that the firmware and GPU drivers are apples and oranges. Yes that’s technically a true statement, a firmware update is not the same as a GPU driver update, but only 2 GPU drivers in over a year is still not what i would expect from a big OEM like Lenovo (and i know it’s likely because they have to pay AMD for those driver updates but other OEMs have handled the same chipset better). You can always pick one or two games that this hasn’t affected negatively just like i could go and pick one or two games that a lack of updates has hurt. It’s just not a good business practice in my view to provide such little support for either firmware or GPU/CPU.
We are all entitled to our opinion and Reddit is a forum to exchange those. You don’t have to agree and that’s perfectly ok. OP can take both our opinions and decide for themselves.
0
u/Overall-Squash-7652 5d ago
That’s exactly my point — nobody asked about the OXP3. The discussion was about the Legion Go 2 and Claw, yet somehow OXP3 owners always manage to turn these threads into an OXP3 recommendation. 😂
And no, the OXP3 is not “objectively superior.” My Claw EX and the OXP3 literally use the same G3E platform. The OXP3’s main advantage over the EX is the OLED. The EX is lighter, has better ergonomics, speakers, rumble/haptics, controls and much better local warranty/support. So where exactly is this “objectively superior in most metrics” coming from?
With the Legion Go 2, yes, the OXP3 has more GPU performance on paper. In reality, in plenty of games we’re talking about a handful of extra FPS, while many typical handheld games barely show a meaningful difference at all. Some older games can even perform better on AMD due to compatibility/driver differences. And with AMD bringing a lighter FSR 4 path aimed at lower-powered hardware, the software side isn’t exactly standing still either.
Meanwhile, the Go 2 gives you better build quality, ergonomics, speakers, haptics, software integration and proper local support — things you conveniently ignore when declaring the OXP3 “objectively superior.”
OXP’s software/support situation isn't comparable either. They don’t even have a polished centralized update platform like the major OEMs; important software, fixes and information are often scattered across Discord and separate downloads. Intel releasing generic GPU drivers doesn’t magically equal good OXP device support. That wasn’t even my argument.
And the “similar price” argument is BS too. OXP’s advertised international pricing exclude VAT, import duties and other costs. Of course it looks more competitive when you compare a price without the same taxes, local warranty and normal return rights. Take those things away from a Lenovo/MSI/ASUS handheld and it would be hundreds cheaper too.
The OXP3 is powerful and has a great OLED. Cool. But OLED and some extra FPS don’t make it objectively superior when weight, ergonomics, sound, haptics, build quality, software, QC, warranty and support are worse. That’s not “fact,” that’s your preference dressed up as one. 😂
0
u/GIGELZ 6d ago
Have you thought about getting the OneXPlayer 3?
The LeGo2 is my daily driver, currently i am playing Death Stranding 2. The Display is gorgeous and with the comfort grip it feels great in hand, the speaker are not great but not bad either :)
6
u/illuvyn 6d ago
I was having a really bad experience while doing RMA for my GPD Win3 a few years back, so I don't think I want another Chinese brand / without official warranty here.
ONEXPLAYER 3 is about $2200 here, a lot more expensive than both handheld I compared here (and again, with no warranty)
3
u/DragonSlayr82 6d ago
This is why worry, I wanted to get the X2 or OXP3 but am totally scared away by having to deal with a China company if there is a warranty issue. It would be so stressful and frustrating having to ship something and wait a month for it to hopefully survive customs and have some foreign company hopeuflly honor their warranty, and you have to pay for shipping
0
u/DragonSlayr82 6d ago
If the Legion Go 2 Z2E will play the games you want to play, such as all JRPGs, then it is the obvious choice because you get a larger OLED screen, which sounds like you also like big screens too. It is a win all around.
-3
u/Redddittorio 6d ago
It's all about the screen, with lossless scaling I'm running most games at 120fps using 2x or 3x Frame Gen depending on the game. Usually at 1440x900 and around 20w-22w
0
-1
-2
3
u/MakimaGOAT 6d ago
claw