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日本Lenovo Legion Go review – Surpassed Our Expectations with Stellar Gaming Performance and Unrivaled Display
Verdict
The Lenovo Legion Go is a snappy gaming console that is full of features. The hardware is powerful for that kind of form factor. The optional 8-core AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme and its iGPU are potent enough for light gaming. You can play titles such as CS:GO, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, etc with bumped visuals and good FPS. On the other hand, the high-res display is a challenge for the SoC if you want to have fun with more demanding games such as Far Cry 6 where you have to drop the resolution to 1080p and lower the details to achieve acceptable FPS.
The overall gaming performance of this Lenovo handheld is almost the same or a bit higher (with a few exceptions here and there) compared to the ASUS ROG Ally (2023) no matter the fact that the latter can maintain higher CPU clocks. This reminds us that the cooling of the Legion Go may look modest but the processor temperature under full load is pleasantly low.
The display is the main advantage of this device. This big 8.8″ IPS 1600p unit boasts a 144Hz refresh rate. The panel is also PWM-free and it covers 97% of the sRGB gamut. The max brightness is 473 cd/m2 and the color accuracy can reach an average dE value of 1.9 thanks to our “Design and Gaming” profile. That’s a pretty good improvement compared to the default 5.2 score.
The hefty screen leads to a sizable body. When the controllers are attached, the machine weighs 854 grams and the profile is 40.7 mm which may not sound like a lot at first glance. When you pick up the console it doesn’t feel that heavy thanks to the good weight distribution. After an hour of gaming, the hand strain becomes notable (or at least in our case).
The Legion Go impresses with its two USB4 ports and an adjustable kickstand. That’s great because when the AC adapter is plugged in for full power during gaming, you can connect an external mouse, keyboard, or maybe an XBOX controller. Of course, perhaps you have to buy a USB splitter that offers more ports but in most cases, these products aren’t costly. This is the area where the Legion device has the upper hand compared to the ROG Ally (2023) where you have to buy an expensive ASUS XG Mobile external station to connect more USB peripherals when the single Type-C port is used for charging.
Don’t forget to have a look at the Legion Space app where you have different power profiles at your disposal as well as custom TDP mode and you can also set a custom fan curve. The disassembly of the gadget is a bit more complicated than we expected. You have to disconnect a lot of connectors and pry plastic shrouds before you can remove the cooling to change the thermal paste. Inside, we found a snappy Gen 4 NVMe (that becomes hot during benchmarking) that is faster compared to the QLC NVMe of the ASUS ROG Ally.
The Lenovo Legion Go also offers useful features such as a small touchpad, detachable controllers, and an FPS mode that is actually good for Web browsing. The battery life is okay given the large 1600p panel. At the end of the day, the Legion Go is a console with a high-res color-accurate display, snappy hardware, and a good I/O for the class.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-legion-go/
Pros
- Good performance
- Low CPU temperatures during full load
- Snappy iGPU
- Covers 97% of the sRGB (Legion Go display)
- 1600p resolution, wide viewing angles, and 144 Hz refresh rate (Legion Go display)
- PWM-free (Legion Go display)
- Low fan noise in idle
- Good audio quality
- Detachable controllers + FPS mode and touchpad
- The Legion Space app offers a lot of customizations
- Two power presets + Manual mode for the TDP and the fan RPM
- You can assign up to 8GB of the system RAM to the iGPU
- Solid build quality
- Windows 11 OS
- You can buy games from different online stores
- Two USB4 ports
- Has a fast Gen 4 SSD
Cons
- Heavy
- You have to lower the resolution if you want to play graphically demanding titles
- High NVMe temperature during benchmarking
