Steam Deck OLED vs Legion Go？

[Dweller Beyond the Threshold]

some context
- I would only play this handheld when I'm at airport & on the flight, so don't care about docking, playing at home etc.
- I will almost always have access to power outlet so battery life isn't a big issue for me.

I bought a ROG ally last week but had to return it (as some people here predicted I would LMAO). There were several issues:
- the software really isn't good. Had lots of unresponsiveness and freezing just tinkering and tweaking things around in desktop mode;
- the volume buttons and crate menu controls stopped working entirely until reboot;
- game performance honestly wasn't great despite better specs than SD; Pretty much all the games I've tried (whether recent or few years old) all seem to perform about the same with 15w performance mode. Like a 5 years old game was running ~30 FPS on lowest settings but same with Horizon Forbidden West which is much more demanding. 30w turbo mode sounds like a leaf blower so I would never use it which is a shame.

Originally, I wanted to mod my games like I do on my PC, but given how it's kinda a hassle to navigate windows on the small handheld screen, I think that would be too much of a pain. So the console-like experience of the SD might not be too bad after all, and having a dedicated Steam OS just sounds very smooth and easy to use;
- I fear that the Legion Go would have similar issues as the Ally, plus it's even newer so the software got even less time to be refined and improved, etc.
- But I'm still a bit hesitant about the weaker specs. The Legion Go is actually $100 cheaper than the Steam OLED as there is an ongoing sale. And it just feels weird paying for weaker specs and smaller screen, etc.

Would really love to hear people's thoughts on this especially if you used both of them! Thanks!

[Boblin the Goblin]

The Legion Go will have similar issues since Windows is not optimized for a handheld experience.

Unless you are going to drain your battery by increasing the power, you won't notice the 'weaker specs'. The hardware in the Deck was optimized for SteamOS to have it run very smoothly.

[Drak3]

The Legion Go is worse software wise. Legion Space is worse than Asus’ Armory Crate SE, and they’re both running Windows 11.
Performance wise, the Legion Go has the same chip as the Ally, but a higher resolution screen. You can either get worse performance in 1600p, or set it to 800p and get a performance bump.

[[?]legit]

The legion go is far superior compared to the SD, the only advantage from the SD is the OLED screen. The best part are the detachable controls. Now the fans can get load, high performance requires efficient cooling. You can set up custom curves though. Windows has a butter smooth experience, which is also much better than steamOS. You click on install and play. No tinkering required. Set windows scale to something like 150% or 200% for easy navigation.

[Drak3]

Originally posted by ?legit:

Windows has a butter smooth experience, which is also much better than steamOS.

Windows 11 is as touch and controller friendly as 7. It’s a massive step backwards from 10 and 8. It’s far from smooth.

[ugafan]

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

The Legion Go is actually $100 cheaper than the Steam OLED as there is an ongoing sale.

Who is selling the Legion Go for $100 cheaper than the Steam Deck? These are the lowest prices I'm seeing for the Legion Go vs Steam Deck Oled:

Legion Go: $629.99
Steam Deck Oled: $549

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by ?legit:

The legion go is far superior compared to the SD, the only advantage from the SD is the OLED screen. The best part are the detachable controls. Now the fans can get load, high performance requires efficient cooling. You can set up custom curves though. Windows has a butter smooth experience, which is also much better than steamOS. You click on install and play. No tinkering required. Set windows scale to something like 150% or 200% for easy navigation.

Weird if it's so 'butter smooth' that OP returned it because it was a hassle and didn't work properly.

[Dweller Beyond the Threshold]

Thanks guys. Think I'm gonna watch more comparison videos but I'm definitely leaning towards the SD OLED for now.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

Thanks guys. Think I'm gonna watch more comparison videos but I'm definitely leaning towards the SD OLED for now.

The performance will be similar if not worse due to the higher default resolution. The battery will be better due to how they revamped the OLED.

[Dweller Beyond the Threshold]

Originally posted by ugafan:

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

The Legion Go is actually $100 cheaper than the Steam OLED as there is an ongoing sale.

Who is selling the Legion Go for $100 cheaper than the Steam Deck? These are the lowest prices I'm seeing for the Legion Go vs Steam Deck Oled:

Legion Go: $629.99
Steam Deck Oled: $549

In my country, the Legion Go costs $700, or $780 after taxes; the SD OLED costs $820, or $917 after taxes.

[Dweller Beyond the Threshold]

Originally posted by SlowMango:

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

Thanks guys. Think I'm gonna watch more comparison videos but I'm definitely leaning towards the SD OLED for now.

The performance will be similar if not worse due to the higher default resolution. The battery will be better due to how they revamped the OLED.

Yeah I think having this screen resolution for the specs and refresh rate is really dumb as but you can tweak them down for much better performance.

[Haruspex]

I really depends on what your expectations are. Generally speaking, I would suggest the Steam Deck, but I'm a bit biased in that regard, but I can give you what I hope is an impartial opinion still.

You mentioned not really caring about battery life, which is probably the Steam Deck's biggest strength vs devices running the Z1 extreme like the ROG Ally and Legion go. It's wonderfully efficient, and on average I enjoy about 6-8 hours of battery life on my Deck OLED.

You mention you already had a ROG Ally, but you had to return it. The proprietary software that handles things like the controllers will be different between the Ally and the Legion Go, and I have no experience with either. However, both are running Windows, and both use the AMD Ryzen Z1 extreme chip, so I would expect a very similar experience there. You mentioned you weren't impressed with performance. Expect the same from the Legion Go. The Steam Deck can't push as hard as those Z1 Extreme devices. The Deck caps at 15 watts while the Z1 Extreme can go up to 30 watts, so if you weren't impressed with the performance of the Z1 Extreme, my first instinct is you certainly won't be impressed with the performance of the Steam Deck. I do wonder how much of your performance issues weren't the result of running certain games at higher resolutions and settings though. The Steam Deck has a resolution of 800p, which looks great on the 7.4" display and isn't as unnecessarily high as the Legion Go's 1440p display.

The Deck OLED is very quiet even when running at full blast. The APU is more efficient than the one in the LCD model, and the fan has higher profile blades that allows it to push more air at lower RPMs. Noise is certainly not an issue.

Navigating SteamOS is about as smooth and console-like as it gets. However, if you ever want to go beyond that console-like experience you now need to contend with Linux. This honestly isn't a problem, and there's a ton of community support here, but it is different. If you're used to Windows, you're going to need to throw away what you already know and basically re-learn how to computer. It's honestly not that bad, and you don't need to be some kind of Matrix super-hacker to use it. If you have a little patience and can follow a guide, you won't be held back at all.

The one big thing I always caution would-be Steam Deck buyers on is to do a reality check first. The Deck is running Linux, and the vast majority of your Windows Steam games will run just fine on it. However, it's not quite 100% compatible (yet). If you buy a Deck pinning your hopes on being able to play a game that's not compatible, you're going to be disappointed, like buying a Super Nintendo hoping to play Sonic 2. I recommend you check out ProtonDB[www.protondb.com] first before you make that commitment.

As for my own experience, I bought a Steam Deck LCD right out the gate, and I was very happy with it. In fact, the wife decided she liked it and that it belongs to her now, so I had to buy a second LCD. Then, when the OLED model came out I bought that and gave my LCD to my son. Now the whole household has Steam Decks to enjoy, and the experience has been nothing but positive.

[[?]legit]

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

Originally posted by SlowMango:

The performance will be similar if not worse due to the higher default resolution. The battery will be better due to how they revamped the OLED.

Yeah I think having this screen resolution for the specs and refresh rate is really dumb as but you can tweak them down for much better performance.

It isn't. Anything outside of AAA gaming heavily benefits from this crisp resolution. Watching videos, browsing the internet, etc. Even less demanding games like platformers, card games or just old games are awesome to play in 1440p. Note that you can easily play in 800p as well and switch on the fly. I wouldn't want to go back to lower resolutions anymore.

The legion go is a laptop replacement, the steam deck isn't. For anything outside of games it's pretty useless compared to the go. Low resolution, no kickstand, small display. Apart from the OLED panel it is technically inferior.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by ?legit:

Originally posted by UnhappyLawbro:

Yeah I think having this screen resolution for the specs and refresh rate is really dumb as but you can tweak them down for much better performance.

It isn't. Anything outside of AAA gaming heavily benefits from this crisp resolution. Watching videos, browsing the internet, etc. Even less demanding games like platformers, card games or just old games are awesome to play in 1440p. Note that you can easily play in 800p as well and switch on the fly. I wouldn't want to go back to lower resolutions anymore.

The legion go is a laptop replacement, the steam deck isn't. For anything outside of games it's pretty useless compared to the go. Low resolution, no kickstand, small display. Apart from the OLED panel it is technically inferior.

Neither are laptop replacements. As you've stated, you sold your Deck over a year ago and don't own an OLED. The comparisons listed are nothing but speculation or outright false.

I owned a LCD Deck, I've owned one since they released. 90% of the 'problems' that are constantly listed are non-existent.

[[?]legit]

Originally posted by SlowMango:

Originally posted by ?legit:

It isn't. Anything outside of AAA gaming heavily benefits from this crisp resolution. Watching videos, browsing the internet, etc. Even less demanding games like platformers, card games or just old games are awesome to play in 1440p. Note that you can easily play in 800p as well and switch on the fly. I wouldn't want to go back to lower resolutions anymore.

The legion go is a laptop replacement, the steam deck isn't. For anything outside of games it's pretty useless compared to the go. Low resolution, no kickstand, small display. Apart from the OLED panel it is technically inferior.

Neither are laptop replacements. As you've stated, you sold your Deck over a year ago and don't own an OLED. The comparisons listed are nothing but speculation or outright false.

I owned a LCD Deck, I've owned one since they released. 90% of the 'problems' that are constantly listed are non-existent.

I own a steam deck OLED.

[Boblin the Goblin]

Originally posted by ?legit:

Originally posted by SlowMango:

Neither are laptop replacements. As you've stated, you sold your Deck over a year ago and don't own an OLED. The comparisons listed are nothing but speculation or outright false.

I owned a LCD Deck, I've owned one since they released. 90% of the 'problems' that are constantly listed are non-existent.

I own a steam deck OLED.

So wait.

You bought the LCD, sold it because you didn't like it, then bought the OLED?