Lenovo Legion Go - The Definitive Quick Look

[@Dumbledumb101]

i love it that a the phawx 'quick look' video still ends up being almost 40 minutes nobody else puts this much effort and goes this in-depth. As someone who loves deep dive-type videos keep up the good work!

[@MalcolmLim]

His "quick look" on the Legion Go is just packed with so much detail that it makes other "reviews" pale in comparison

[@Tsunamisurfer29]

love the fact that it can be used as a tablet. would love to purchase.

[@GSBarlev]

I'm hoping JSAUX or Gulikit provide some cool third-party "Joycons." I would actually love a deep dive into how open the specification is-could I DIY my own with a 3D printer and a QMK controller?

[@lincoln537]

That was actually pretty cool to see. It did not cross my mind to be honest, so I am pretty surprised

[@teejstroyer]

In this moment I just realized these are all just gaming tablets with controllers attached. I wonder If we will ever see a surface pro gaming edition

[@Splackavellie85]

@@teejstroyerYou mean something like the Asus ROG Flow Z13?

[@jjayala]

​@@teejstroyerI really like the cloud so I do a lot of tablet gaming when I have time. One thing (when these handheld PCs work right) positive about windows is when again it's working you feel the difference. It can act as a tablet but it's a computer.

[@villamagua]

That comparison graphic with the TDP modes was wonderfully put together. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do the test.

[@Harvey2Tall]

Literally the only reviewer giving positives and negatives

[@VanBurenPhilips]

Retro Game Corps too. Happy to hear recommendations for other good handheld reviewers, most of them are just ads :c

[@BestGirlsBiggestFan]

Many "reviewers" are usually paid to say good things and gloss over the bad. This guy seems more legit than 95% of them, though I'm sure he'll have to buy his own for review in future instead of having them sent for free before retail launch from many of those companies who pay for positive exposure.

[@LegionIscariot]

What are you talking about? Ive yet to see one reviewer say its perfect. The reason why they are overall positive about it is because maybe...its a good product.

[@Harvey2Tall]

@@LegionIscariot not denying it being a good product. I think a lot, if not most reviewers are too afraid to bring up it's faults. No handheld PC is gonna be perfect. Legion go, just like steam deck and ROG ally have a lot of issues. No one device is better than other, they each have their pros and cons and depending on the use case, will be better for different users.

[@dunkuk]

Literally not the only reviewer giving positives and negatives

[@jontechie]

For all the reviewers of this handheld you're the only one that gives indept technical review that I like

[@jwill7998]

"inept" or "in-depth" 🤔🤔🤔

[@95szn]

I agree 100%

[@redcrimson1028]

That's not true. Seen a similar video where this guy went into details

[@marco.pereira]

That's because most reviewers only did first impressions and clearly started that ..... 🤔

[@jontechie]

@@jwill7998 oh sorry didn't notice the grammar police here 😂

[@OpoSai]

I can appreciate an honest review that doesn't just say "everything about it is great" clearly some things are great like the screen size but there's still so many bugs. Definitely will follow the progression

[@piercewiederecht5135]

Just like the Ally, by the time everything is fixed, a new generation will be out. I’ll just hold on the Ally and hope a Strix Point model will have a bigger screen.

[@NerdblurbSteve]

First video i've seen that's worth a damn and not just giving the info we can get off the box art.

[@JoelWants2Live]

Really loving how the first frame of your videos now are the thumbnail. Super nice touch :)

[@RushTechSuplex]

Came here to say this. Lol. First time I've seen it. Very cool!

[@cirmothe9]

"Quick look" 40 minute video Oh yeah~ This is the coverage I was waiting for.

[@Spacer8D]

Are you still planning on releasing the additional videos on the legion go?

[@hazzehummuz6688]

Thank you for a great video! We need a updated Legion Go review regarding drivers, portait modes. quick accesses, AMD information and workarounds etc...! Great vid though!

[@metaldiceman]

Phawx ranting about vertical mouse mode with the hockey puck add-on actually ended up selling me on this thing. That looks awesome. Real PC gaming with mouse input without having to attach peripherals.

[@kuricosmos]

Thank you for the commitment to speaking about the Native Portrait issue and highlighting the landscape screen, VRR, etc. I love that there is competition in this space but I'm sad that I don't have a solution that does both. I.E Rog Ally's Screen, Lenovo's True Strike Controllers. Perhaps I should wait and see what the 3DS like handheld PC will do next year.

[@DeckWizard]

Been waiting for this, thanks so much Phawx!

[@hagenhallgard8619]

Rpcs3 Twisted Metal?

[@baldsealion]

Fantastic work, thank you for an in-depth review, very rare right now.

[@FoamyKeiko]

Best review yet. Hope you make a killing from the views. Can’t wait for more coverage on the Go!

[@slickrounder6045]

Legion Go is so flexible and versatile, it's insane. Hopefully all the kinks that can be worked out with software and drivers are perfected in the coming weeks.

[@piercewiederecht5135]

Lack of VRR is just a deal killer after experiencing the Ally. I’d love that massive screen but not without VRR.

[@zomg346]

@@piercewiederecht5135I have had mine for a week now and had ally and I don’t even notice no vrr on go.

[@Ludecan]

"A quick look". Hahaha this was so in depth thanks for sharing. I didn't about the cpu bias of the performance mode. That's a very cool finding

[@talalmh]

For us who moved from a lifetime of PlayStation and this is our first PC ever not just a handheld, can we get a video explaining all the graphics settings and what do we need to change/adjust for general gaming and what’s needed to be changed for certain games to get the best performance out of this over both battery and plugged in? Since because of your enthusiasm and reviews I got one and I love it. But I’m so overwhelmed with how much I need to do/learn just to using it especially coming after 20 years of Sony PS plug n play.

[@TVsBen]

Thanks for explaining the AMD eGPU issue here. I was trying to get up and running with an Akitio Node Titan and an RX 6700 XT and just couldn't get it to work without removing Lenovo's drivers. Thanks for confirming that this was the only solution. Guess I'll have to return this card for a 4060 (same price) or spend more for a 4070. Really want my Legion Go to be an all-in-one solution for TV and on-the-go gaming, and this will have to be the way it happens.

[@furanshisasuke15]

The one we've all been waiting for! Cant wait to dig in!!

[@xoredG]

I love the technical focus of this review (and channel), I was curious about what you said about tuning the ally, wonder if you can leave some info (doesn’t necessarily have to be a vod) on the steps taken (for EDP and saving mode)

[@youruberhasarrived2081]

Been refreshing youtube at work for the past 4hours waiting for a Phawx video xD

[@HealyHQ]

You're always the best for these sorts of things. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@adminnimda8632]

This is why I love the Phaux. Whenever a new handheld comes out he’s one of my favorite KZbinrs to get data from. Thanks again!

[@J0hnnybg00d]

First time I'm seeing/hearing from this dude and he states the exact frustration I've had with the AMDs 'Adrenalin Edition' within the first 4 mins. Subscribed.

[@tappersreviews4677]

This is such a cool design. The ability to use it as a tablet is pretty unique.

[@TurningKhan]

Not really unique, the ONEXPLAYER 2 Pro works like this too, joycons and all.

[@Jee9106]

Thank you, some great information in here! Wasn't expecting to get a lecture on APUs in handhelds and Windows power modes but that was great! Always good to get recommendations with solid knowledge to back it up. My Go hasn't been delivered yet but I'm looking forward to more videos. Also you confirmed my concerns about the dpad. Doesn't seem optimal for me but hopefully it won't ruin the experience.

[@zhezhou2754]

This is great. However in the next in-depth review video, we need The Phawx to provide some insights into the speakers, and screen tearing w/o VRR. Personally I haven't experienced any tearing on the Go, as an existing rog ally user. However as a lot of people mentioned, the speakers on Legion Go suck. This is the main reason that I haven't decided to keep the Legion Go but not the ally.

[@FoxbatStargazer]

Vsync solves screen tearing, that’s not the main reason for VRR. VRR gives you maximum smoothness at an unstable framerate. Non-VRR makes frame fluctations far more noticible, which is why devs shoot for caps like 30, 60 etc.

[@DavidPalacioLópez]

​@@FoxbatStargazer I think you are wrong. Vsync solves screen tearing but in doing so it adds latency, especially with triple buffering and also produces inconsistency in the frequency with which frames are displayed (we can also call it a lack of smoothness) especially with double buffering. VRR, nothing more and nothing less, solves the tearing problem without adding these problems. Which is very good but does not help with the lack of smoothness produced for other reasons. With displays with a high refresh rate, as is the case, using Vsync and triplebuffering (or render ahead) adds little latency and is constant. The frequency at which the frames are displayed, at least for its part, is also regular so the final result subjectively should be very close to VRR. The problem is that refreshing the screen at 144Hz wastes somewhat more power than doing it at 60Hz.

[@nanamin7298]

for speaker just use software to fix it like dolby atmos or fxsound

[@IsaacFromHK]

So far this is the most comprehensive and technical review that we all want to see, great work! Now I am looking forward to your comprehensive review especially to demystify whether the lack of VRR can be compensated by the 144hz high refresh rate. Looking forward!

[@SWOTHDRA]

It can

[@TornadoBarrage]

I find the legion go the most confortable because of the detachable controllers, I use it with my xreal airs and I don't have to hold the whole device while playing

[@81Riel]

There's a protective foil on your trackpad. Great video 👌

[@calebks]

I think Octopath Traveler 2 is another example of the portrait handheld screen issues. Never ran full 1080 on AYN Loki Max (Windows) but could get it full 1080 on Ayaneo Air Plus (Chimera OS/Linux). Super frustrating.

[@Corybander]

I appreciate the candor, the depth, and the opinions.

[@elmo5345]

Best review on youtube so far 👌

[@emilioriofrio7858]

This is not even the review yet. 😂

[@elmo5345]

@@emilioriofrio7858 actually yeah lol

[@Vesk]

Fantastic video, thank you. One piece of constructive feedback is that while you were filming the hands-on parts I assume you are recording your audio in some kind of "stereo mode" and I found it a bit distracting at times when listening through headphones when your voice switched between channels a bit. Not a big deal, just would be more comfortable in forced mono I think. Have a good one!

[@thehalfbloodginger2256]

I have a steamdeck and honestly I mostly use it around the house for playing comfortably, but anytime I take it out of the house it's in its case so the puck wouldn't really be a problem to me

[@2LoudTech]

Really look forward to getting a video pushing the tdp and overall performance of this thing. Thank Phawx your a stud broski.

[@aydenscott7924]

awesome video love the attention to detail and cant wait to see the optimization video

[@vxvicky]

@ThePawx the problem about the resolution is NOT ABOUT NOT HAVING A LANDSCAPE PANEL, it's due to improper/missing edid information! This is like the old times, with the 16:10 screens (1680x1050) or exactly the same as with the steamdeck in windows: As there are no proper 16:9 resolutions added to the EDID information of the screen (and probably in drivers too), any old game (or with an old/strange engine, like visual novels) will crash, display rubbish or show a black screen. It's exactly the same thing that happened to me with the SD in windows. The same thing: LACK OF RESOLUTIONS ON THE PANEL. It should have all 16:9 and 5:4, simply for compatibility, showing black bands. Lenovo... those guys are just idiots.

[@Honeybadger007-hklrkch]

Excellent 👌👍 review you have surpassed your peers !

[@BigZesusTekken]

Literally the first game I went to play after installing a TB of games was Red Dead 2 and I was losing my mind. After trying Hellblade my faith was restored in my purchase. But thank goodness for this video!! Of all the games I downloaded, the first one I try is Red Dead 2 lol. Go figurev

[@Finnedsgang]

I followed your suggestion on the Performance / efficiency setting, but it’s still valid after all the bios and legion space updates? Still waiting for your final review, the only competent one on this device (and it was only a Quick Look! ) I would like to see also the differences between different uma configurations, I think there’s a lot of confusion and you are the man that can clarifies definitely which configurations is the best !

[@SiliconDrifter]

Indeed, update pls

[@Tyler-hs9eu]

What a huge difference from other reviews that only focus on features but not on the actual real life user experience and how it feels to actually use it, all the while going into detail on some specs along the way. Very well done! I hope in the full review you can really stress test it as a lot of the issues the Ally had reviewers didnt highlight until ppl had already spent money

[@Jakcoon]

At this point I just hope ROG do a revision of the Ally and move the SD card slot and would would happily take it over the Go

[@Fizggig]

Too small for me.

[@tykendrick800]

I read in discord that the never ones have motherboard revisions. Claimed the sd slot have no complaints on them

[@Misfit626]

@@Fizggiga revision would probably be bigger

[@Fizggig]

@Misfit626 maybe and if there is a better device out there for me in the next few years I'll for sure sell my legion go and get that. No biggy.

[@monkeymonk4976]

That and adding Thunderbolt support would literally make me buy it right now

[@l0rdpelvis]

Curious to see benchmarks after applying the 780M driver. I did that and got WAY better performance

[@SWOTHDRA]

Exactly

[@LCrossJr]

Excellent review of your initial thoughts Sir. Thanks for sharing!

[@GSBarlev]

I really like the fight-mouse-leave it to the folks who continue to supply the world with TrackPoints to provide a unique pointer implementation. Can't wait to see how well the Legion works with Linux (in terms of its input modes).

[@V3ntilator]

Lenovo already announced multiple bug fixes as good as weekly.

[@piercewiederecht5135]

What this review shows me is a 7840u/z1e is what it is regardless of RAM and landscape panels are even more important than I thought they were

[@AtiCrossfireX]

Very informative thank you for all the critical information I still look forward getting one.

[@Spacer8D]

Great video! Could you do a comparison between the Legion Go, Ayaneo Kun and other large display handhelds in your full review? Thank you for the great content.

[@mkedzier123]

Hmm, must try this driver problem with AMD eGPUs once my Legion Go gets here (it is delayed in Europe). It should be possible to manually install latest AMD Radeon 780M drivers for the SoC and proper drivers (i.e. 7600M XT for GPD G1) for eGPU.

[@GSBarlev]

It never fails to crack me up how graphics driver support for these devices is better in Linux-I just checked, and Phoronix reports the Z1E on the Ally working fine in Mesa 23.0 (amdgpu or RADV), which means most Linux distros will work out of the box

[@DuplexCherry]

Finally, a proper review!

[@mykindofgaming7345]

I listened in to this man because he really knows what he’s talking about. Listen to him. I bought a Lenovo go. Even though I have an ASUS ROG STRIX G15 and I love my go.

[@npcimknot958]

Good review and honest about the positives nad negatives.

[@curtismaximus123]

Ive been excited to hear your early opinion on this

[@land_walker]

Why did you leave the protective film on the track pad? I have a Go too and once you peel the film off, the track pad is matte and not reflective at all.

[@senpailonestarr2787]

Only content creators got them early however people who preordered were delayed!

[@robone9978]

great video phawx....

[@goyorbison6917]

11:22 you say using power saver mode. Do you have a post or another video where you explain how and why that is useful

[@水彩咖啡廳]

another good honest review about Legoin Go. I own a ROG Ally, it's not perfect but I love it. When I watched Dave2D's review on Legion Go when he bash Ally so hard and went over the moon for Legion Go.. something felt off for me. You and Russ from Retro Game Corps are doing great job. Thank you for the hard work and giving out a good objective review

[@johnstyles7037]

So how do you fix the issues with the portrait display causes game issues?

[@carltonleboss]

Is the display the same one Lenovo use for the Legion Y700? It would explain why it's a native portrait display.

[@RuptorTempor]

I’ve been waiting for this, thanks so much for putting in the time to make it! Also, looks like your trackpad cover is still on

[@Poteven]

4:00 , I didn't think about the issue between AMD Z1E drivers VS AMD eGPU drivers, I wanted to buy a 6700XT + OneDock for my ROG Ally, I guess I'll go Nvidia 😢. The 6700XT was such a good price for 12Gb VRAM, perf similar to 4060 Ti 16Gb, etc.

[@bigge2win]

I asked about the Red Dead Redemption 2 window issue on Reddit, and so glad it got addressed in this video. Now I can’t play with my Legion Go or OneXFly so much anymore, and I’ll stick with ROG Ally from now on.

[@Majorzigzag]

It would be a great video idea to do an in depth test with the legion go and G1 egpu with multiple games and list the pros and cons

[@ZBB415]

That uses an AMD graphics card, so I think he was saying it would cause issues. Hopefully updated drivers for the z1e would fix it

[@teejstroyer]

Seems like this is the best on the market purely because of features like eGPU, but it’s still quite buggy

[@kalosmani127]

Do you have a video guide for your tuned up Ally settings

[@CentauriSatoko]

Phawxing hell! Been waiting for this 😅

[@Amin_2k]

I love that thumbnail to video transition. Never seen it before. I might steal that idea if you dont mind :)

[@overoula]

never thought of tablet mode.. really nice

[@PJthePlayer]

I am surprised at how much trouble you are having with detaching/reattaching the controllers. On my Go they seem to pop off and on very easily with no issues.

[@robhiro]

oh damn. im using an amd egpu. that's a bummer. I might just go with aya neo :( damn. I was looking forward to this. thanks for sharing that

[@Teremei]

This is the first windows handheld that meets my requirements. Must be windows, check. Must have right side touchpad for mouse control - check. It's a bit bulky but it does have what I need for my gog point n clicks, and my pinball emporium virtual pinball tables, and a nice option if I want to sign up for gamepass from time to time.

[@bobdole6889]

My must have was VRR so I went with the Ally today. Open box for under $500

[@Teremei]

@@bobdole6889 The FPS mode on this thing is a huge plus to me.

[@e2rqey]

Why do they use non-native horizontal panels in the first place?

[@LazyFaux5656]

What really sold me on not liking the Go was when I loaded into Fallen Order and the playable screen was dead ass half an inch centered on the panel.

[@niclasneziru1854]

Definitely made the right choice on skipping the 6800u gen of windows handhelds, everything was underwhelming and overpriced It finally feels like we're getting decent competition and alternatives I'm pretty happy with my Steam Deck but the Legion Go seems very very tempting

[@Ambient_Hub]

It just needs some sort of a keyboard cover, then it can be a very well rounded device to carry around.

[@SWOTHDRA]

Yup

[@MrMayex]

Legion GO would benefit hugely from support for Chimera OS. Windows doesn't make sense at this point

[@SWOTHDRA]

Windows has never made sense for gaming

[@DoubleDragon5180]

Absolutely great review and very insightful. Weird that the CPU takes up to 65 watts to maintain all cores at 4ghz while a 7950x in eco mode can do 4ghz on all cores at 88 watts and that’s on 5nm

[@JoeChip]

Basically, the Steam Deck, the Ally and the Legion Go all have their pros and cons. On balance I think the Ally comes closest to having everything I need but it still isn’t perfect. I was hoping the Go would solve any issues I had with the Ally but it seems to have introduced more problems than it solves. Still a cool device but not quite perfect.

[@SWOTHDRA]

Not more, it solves a lot issues too. It only needs VRR and landscape, and change the select and start buttons

[@MoondustOverdose]

Man, I am just torn between getting this or the Ally. I think the Go's bigger screen, 800p interger scaling, trackpad, apparently better performance, FPS mode and detachable controllers are super cool... but Ally is more portable, has better speakers, quieter fans, VRR, more mature software and a landscape screen (I heard the Go's portrait display is problematic for older games, which I plan on playing a lot). I've heard mixed things about ergonomics, build quality, controls and battery though. I think I might be leaning towards the Ally, especially since I can find it second hand for about 3/4 of the price of a new Go. Any suggestions?

[@griever3195]

I would say go for the ally, I used to be a steam deck owner and went ham on the ally when I purchased it which is a really cool device, the screen is fantastic! Most of the games you'll be playing will look super smooth due to the VRR. I ended up selling my deck too. Also the ally doesn't look laggy when you play, the FPS on the legion go doesn't look impressive at all. Only time will tell.

[@steveybiggunzgaming8118]

I had that problem with the ally. I had the xg mobile 6850, completely took out my internal gpu, what a mess.

[@Cody-ho8ox]

They fixed that issue a while ago. Been using my 6850 without any issues.

[@Bhlisse]

Thank you for this great and honest review 😊

[@nninjacow9]

Has anybody else got weird storage capacities in their countries? Here in Australia, we only have the option of a 256gb version for $1300 or the 512gb for $1500. I really wish we had a 1tb option.

[@carltonleboss]

1TB option isn't available in the UK right now

[@GordonGordon]

Hehehehe. That mouse mode is looks awesome. I carry my stuff in a bag. That mouse puck just fits in a pocket on the bag, no problem.

[@TurningKhan]

I wish someone made similar joycons for just any handheld, that fps mode that turn the controller into a wrist mouse is great.

[@BrandonGiesing]

Hell, Lenovo themselves should just sell these separately (with a dock to charge them without needing the full handheld), presumably since they work wirelessly it's just Bluetooth or essentially a USB dongle built in (like a Logitech Unifying receiver) so it likely wouldn't be that hard to package it separately as long as they made an alternative way to charge them.

[@trevorbrent5092]

I'll wait a month before i go and buy one. I will stick with the ally for now.

[@wendywatch3386]

Im waiting a month too. But i only got The SD.

[@ReIigionlsForIdiots]

I love my Ally. What would be potential upsides from this?

[@TheEntzy]

No reason to upgrade imo- same chipset 😂

[@pandabearmadness6263]

I own both and I wish I could return my rog the legion is so much better

[@kysierkevin]

​@@TheEntzyLegion Go has a way better screen, better ram, better battery life, has better ergonomics, perform much better than the ally

[@LAdeThatFeel]

i remember hearing it was landscape? could it be that the early ones are portrait? according to Google it says that the pre production go's have portrait and the final launch are gonna/supposed to have landscape

[@SWOTHDRA]

They have to change itv

[@DeepStone-6]

These devices are gonna insane once they get to using RDNA5 but for now theyre just shy of what kind of performance some of us are looking for.

[@iaskcaasim7634]

Do they not test for the portrait mode use cases? This should not be this broken out the box

[@Donfrasl]

Best Buy has my Legion Go arriving 9 days late so not so good job by them lol

[@blastu2fool]

I got mine at launch, from Bestbuy not understanding why so many people getting it on different dates...it's gotta be supply and Lenovo wasn't prepared

[@joeschmoe5009]

If this has vrr, and landscape, i would have sold my ally for this, but looks like im keeping my ally sadly. Really wanted to try the interesting fps mode

[@blastu2fool]

Vrr is overrated. that's an excuse folks say to justify themselves from buying the Legion...

[@jasuparis]

Are you able to use framerate cap from adrenaline ? I can’t. Trying 40/50 it never cap

[@lordhighbinary2006]

Phawx - We are doing a technical "quick" review Me - , suuuuuure it is.... Also me -

[@pauliwall1986]

I'm still waiting on mine

[@srvuk]

I can see a lot of breakages being reported when attaching and detaching those joycons.

[@blackpanthertchallalem8522]

Great review as always