Though affordability was a key issue within the success of Valve’s Steam Deck, its best power lies within the brilliance of its working system, SteamOS. To this point, only some different handheld gadgets have additionally sported the Linux-based software program, however now there’s yet one more: Lenovo’s Legion Go 2.Launched at CES, that is truly Lenovo’s second machine to natively use SteamOS. The primary was the very good Legion Go S, which simply so occurs to be one of the best handheld gaming PC you should buy proper now. That stated, the {hardware} inside is considerably last-gen, and that is one thing the Legion Go 2 provides over the Go S.The newer mannequin sports activities an AMD Ryzen Z2 Excessive, whereas the older machine will get by with a Z1 Excessive. These are APUs—a single chip comprising a CPU and GPU—and whereas they each home eight processor cores (supporting 16 threads), the Z2 Excessive makes use of AMD’s Zen 5 and 5c architectures (three of the previous, 5 of the latter).
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Nevertheless, handheld gadgets are not often held again by their CPUs, as video games are way more GPU-limited than anything. That is one other space the place the Z2 Excessive edges over the Z1 Excessive: its GPU has 16 RDNA 3.5 compute models (CUs), whereas the older chip has 12 RDNA 3 CUs. They’re typically clocked to the identical degree, so the Z2 Excessive provides round 33% extra rendering efficiency.That is match for the Legion Go 2’s 8.8-inch, 144 Hz, 1200p display, although you’ll nonetheless in all probability need to lean on FSR upscaling with extra graphics-heavy video games.Picture 1 of three(Picture credit score: Lenovo)(Picture credit score: Lenovo)(Picture credit score: Lenovo)The remainder of the Legion Go 2 is customary fare for a high-end handheld: 32 GB of LPDDR5x-8000 and as much as 2 TB of PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage. Simply as with the unique Legion Go, the aspect controllers are removable, so you’ll be able to prop up the display on a desk and play it console-style, and you’ll even mount the proper controller in a base so it acts a bit like a gun in FPS video games.Mainly, simply consider it as being just like the sensible Legion Go S, solely slightly bit larger however an terrible lot extra pokier. And now that you can choose one up with SteamOS put in, you can fortunately inform Microsoft to get rekt as you play your favorite video games in bedtime consolation. Assuming, after all, that the ramopocalpyse does not worth it into oblivion.Hold updated with an important tales and one of the best offers, as picked by the PC Gamer group.In Lenovo’s retailer, you should buy the Legion Go 2 with a normal Ryzen Z2 processor (which is only a rebadged Z1 Excessive) and 16 GB of slower LPDDR5x, however it’ll set you again an absurd $1,100. On the time of writing, Z2 Excessive variations aren’t in inventory, although they’re in Lenovo’s UK retailer (the place they value £1,100).The mixture of the Lenovo Legion Go 2’s {hardware} and Valve’s SteamOS is likely to be a transportable PC gamer’s thought of heaven, but when costs proceed to rise (they usually in all probability will), these pearly gates is likely to be shut for everybody.Finest handheld PC 2026All our present suggestions
