Table of ContentsTable of ContentsFrom riches to ragsWindows doesnt workThe Z2 Go is a touch slowerIts becoming clear how spoiled Ive been with handheld gaming PCs. Ive handled most of them, from the original Steam Deck up to the ROG Ally X, and Ive learned to love, hate, but mostly tolerate the different pain points of each device. The new Lenovo Legion Go S immediately felt like an upgrade with its rapid-fire triggers, large 8-inch display, and cozy design that nestled into my hands perfectly. Theres just one problem Windows is awful.There, I said it. Windows on a handheld is a horrible experience and the Lenovo Legion Go S made that abundantly clear after just a couple of days. Im still knee-deep in benchmarking the device and the Ryzen Z2 Go chip inside of it dont worry, I have a few early comparisons for you here but I need to say my piece on Windows.Recommended VideosJacob Roach / Digital TrendsLet me back up for a moment. Ive been a die-hard Steam Deck user since day one. Even with so many competing devices, I never felt the need to switch. Windows offered broader game support, sure, but I much preferred the experience of using SteamOS, even if that meant sacrificing game support and, in some cases, performance. That was until I discovered Bazzite, which I promptly flashed onto the ROG Ally X.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Bazzite is becoming increasingly popular, but if you havent heard of it, its basically SteamOS. Its a fork of Valves open-source operating system, and it behaves almost identically to a Steam Deck. There are a few minor quirks the menu for changing power modes is bound to a rear button, for example but they really arent worth complaining about. Theyre small and very easy to adapt to.Its been a winning combo for me. I get the best performance available in a handheld right now via the Z1 Extreme, and I get a seamless software experience with Bazzite. I knew that I wouldnt enjoy Windows as much on the Lenovo Legion Go S; Ive used plenty of Windows handhelds in the past. I wasnt prepared for just how much worse it would be in 2025, though, and how little Microsoft has done to improve the experience across devices.Before getting to the truly gory details, I want to describe the experience of unboxing the Lenovo Legion Go S to set the stage. I ripped it out of the packaging, plugged it into the wall, and went to boot the system. It took me anhourto get through the Windows setup process, and a decent chunk of that was spent tapping through offers for Office 365, OneDrive, and tailored app recommendations that arent at all relevant to a handheld gaming PC.After all of the Windows updates were installed, I was finally on the desktop. But then there were more problems. Updates from the Microsoft Store wouldnt work until I manually ran another Windows update. The Xbox app wouldnt work because it needed an update, which I couldnt do because the default scaling in Windows pushed theUpdatebutton off the edge of the screen. And while setting everything up, the device went from 100% capacity down to just 60%.Exactly what I want when launching a game a OneDrive notification. Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsYou need to spend some time setting up and updating any new device, but the process on the Lenovo Legion Go S and all Windows handhelds is long, cumbersome, and frankly, annoying. It makes the device feel like its not working properly; like youve hacked some OS on a system that wasnt built to support it. And maybe thats because Windows wasnt built to support this form factor, and it might never be.The OS itself is conflicted about what it wants to do, and in that process, it completely sacrifices the handheld experience. Let me give you some examples. Microsoft offers a default taskbar in Windows 11 filled with its own apps, and its centered on the screen. Not a problem on the desktop, but on the Lenovo Legion Go S, the default icons take up the entire taskbar. If you open even a single additional app like, for example, Steam or the Xbox app, its pushed off to a separate menu that you have to tap to expand before selecting the app you want to focus on.Another example: power settings. Out of the box, the Lenovo Legion Go S is set to sleep after a few minutes regardless of whether you have the device plugged in or not. That was a rude awakening when I plugged the handheld in overnight to download a bunch of games, only to find all of those downloads failed in the morning because the device put itself to sleep. The Steam Deck cant continue downloads while the screen is off, but it at the very least keeps the screen on and the device active while downloads are running.Surely we could make some room here for, you know, useful applications for a handheld. Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsThose are just two examples, and thats not to mention the performance overhead of Windows and the issues with sleeping while a game is running. Performance advantages and game support dont matter. At every turn, it feels like Windows is trying to fight you for using a handheld gaming device.These are all solvable issues, but its completely unreasonable that a USB-C hub, monitor, keyboard, and mouse feel all but required to set Windows up properly before you can install a single game. And even when it is set up properly, youll still run into issues, from greedy notifications demanding precious screen space to crashed games and lost progress when you accidentally tap the power button during gameplay.Itd be one thing if this was the experience all handhelds had to settle for, but it isnt. Lenovo is actually releasing a version of the Legion Go S with SteamOS installed, and its worth waiting for.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsI know there are a lot of questions about how the Ryzen Z2 Go stacks up to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme in the Lenovo Legion Go S. I ran a few preliminary tests, but Ill have a full run-down of performance in my review of the Legion Go S once Im finished with it. But, to give you an idea, the Ryzen Z2 Go is a bit slower than the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, at least in my early tests. Thats not too surprising considering both chips are packing 12 RDNA 3 Compute Units (CUs)You can see my results below for Dying Light 2, Horizon Zero Dawn(not the remastered version), and 3DMark Fire Strike. The Ryzen Z2 Go in the Lenovo Legion Go S is a stones throw away from the suite of other Ryzen Z1 Extreme handhelds, landing just below the base ROG Ally and original Lenovo Legion Go.Horizon Zero DawnDying Light 23DMark Fire StrikeLenovo Legion Go S (Ryzen Z2 Go)34 fps21 fps3,736Lenovo Legion Go (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)35 fps25 fps5,652Asus ROG Ally X (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)50 fps26 fps6,652But theres that pesky Fire Strike result. Theres a problem with the Ryzen Z2 Go, and thats the fact that it only comes with four CPU cores. Worse, theyre based on the older Zen 3 architecture, not the newer Zen 4 architecture available in the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. There are plenty of games where four cores is enough, and it looks likeHorizon Zero DawnandDying Light 2are among them. For other games that scale before four, youll run into issues.This is just an early look at the Lenovo Legion Go S. I plan on running it through all of my normal benchmarks and battery tests, as well as give a verdict on the screen and software. For now, Ill leave you with this.The Lenovo Legion Go S is a fantastic device. But Windows on any handheld right now is lacking. With SteamOS getting broader support for games each day, Im finding it difficult to put up with the hassle. Ill probably recommend the Legion Go S once Im finished with my review process, but with the caveat that you should wait for the SteamOS version.Editors Recommendations