Topher
Identifies as young
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Lenovo is working on a Windows PC gaming handheld called the 'Legion Go'
- Thread starter Gamezone
- Start date
TheSHEEEP
Gold Member
Not at all.
The trackpads are exactly what makes the difference. Where else in that setup would you put the dpad and the XYAB buttons?
I could imagine a version without the trackpads and that version could be smaller, about Switch size even, but it would also limit what you can play on the Deck.
Right now, you can play a lot more different kinds of games than on any other handheld or any console really - and that's due to the trackpads enabling surprisingly precise mouse-like input.
Not suitable for all games, but something like Baldur's Gate for example suddenly becomes very much an option without having to resort to analog sticks as a shitty mouse replacement.
And the additional space at the bottom for your wrists is extremely welcome, too - after all, what do controllers have there for a very good reason? Exactly.
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
The trackpads are a bit of a difficult issue to solve. One solution i've seen was to move them further down the handheld so you can spread the dpad and analog stick out vertically. This reduces horizontal size which is good. an example of this is the newly announced Ayaneo Kun because Ayaneo seems to come up with a new handheld every time one of their employees breathe.
I'm not much of a big fan of the circular shape, here. I wish they were bigger and square shaped for maximum comfort.
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Klosshufvud
Member
You're still omitting the quite substantial amount of bezel dead space present on Deck. Regarding the track pads I agree that they are great. But personally I've never used more than one in my games. I feel like movement of character is best controlled with stick whereas of course mouse movement or aiming is superior with the track pad. Maybe controversial but I would be all up for a Deck v2 with slimmer bezels and just one track pad just to get rid off some of that sheer width of it.
X-Wing
Member
If only vale would make SteamOS available for download and installation outside of the deck:
store.steampowered.com
Or if only the opensource community would have created a community version of it:
github.com
SteamOS
store.steampowered.com
Or if only the opensource community would have created a community version of it:
GitHub - ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso: SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration
SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration. Contribute to ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Klosshufvud
Member
Isn't that what SteamOS 3.5 is meant to do?If only vale would make SteamOS available for download and installation outside of the deck:
SteamOS
Or if only the opensource community would have created a community version of it:
GitHub - ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso: SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration
SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration. Contribute to ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso development by creating an account on GitHub.
Topher
Identifies as young
If only vale would make SteamOS available for download and installation outside of the deck:
SteamOS
That's not the SteamOS used on Steam Deck. That was the one used for Steam Machines.
Or if only the opensource community would have created a community version of it:
GitHub - ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso: SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration
SteamOS 3 (Holo) archiso configuration. Contribute to ravindrakyadav/SteamOS_holoiso development by creating an account on GitHub.
Somehow I doubt Valve is going to allow anyone to use that for anything other than personal use.
GHG
Member
Well that's all that's needed really considering the open source nature of Linux. ChimeraOS wouldn't exist if not for that as well.
Letting people install SteamOS on any device they want to (without driver issues) would be a big deal. If that were an option then I'd likely trade my Steam Deck for an Ally or something else more powerful, but as it stands there's no way I want windows on a handheld device that's purpose made for gaming.
If Microsoft were to release a lite version of windows that ran the Xbox UI out of the box then that would alleviate a lot of the issues, but they don't seem to be interested in that at the moment for whatever reason.
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Dream-Knife
Banned
The size does seem silly at first, but the Steam deck is the only handheld I know of that has proper controller ergonomics.too big.
This is a comparison with the Deck and the Lite. One is ridiculously large. One is not.
I like the size of the screen and having a handheld that doesn't kill your hands after 40 mins.
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Topher
Identifies as young
I actually installed the Steam Deck OS on a little mini PC and was using it as my main PC for a little while, but I had to return it as the general performance wasn't where I wanted it. Sucks that this ISO only supports AMD GPUs though. I dual boot my PC with Windows and Linux and I'd love to use this instead of Nobara, which is what I'm currently using.
I saw a video from ETA Prime using Steam OS on Ally and it left a lot to be desired. What would be awesome is if Windows and Steam had native handheld versions and people could choose either at the time of purchase. But still early in the handheld space for PCs so maybe that's coming one day.
GHG
Member
If I'm not mistaken that video from Eta prime with the Ally is him running ChimeraOS which is a very unofficial version of steamOS.
The reality is that nothing is completely ready at the moment on the Linux side other than what Valve is developing on the Steam Deck. The AMD vs Nvidia gaming experience on Linux in general is also an issue. Things are rapidly changing now though the appetite and interest in Linux is increasing, especially with DX12 shitting the bed. Give it a couple of years and I think the landscape will look very different, for the better.
X-Wing
Member
It's written in big fat letters:
Steam Deck Image
But again, as someone who games on Linux. You don't need SteamOS.
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Topher
Identifies as young
My mistake. I thought you were linking the their old Steam OS page. Either way, that's the recovery image, not an ISO for installation on non-Steam devices. Granted, that's what the guys on GitHub used to create their ISO, but it isn't like you are just going to copy this image onto Ally and install it.
Not for desktop PC gaming, no, but if you install vanilla Linux on Rog Ally then how are you going to make all the handheld functionality work?
Edit: Watched the ETA Prime video again and there is more out of the box functionality there than I realized so yeah, you might be right here.
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
I get that but at the same time ROG ally is (well, only a tiny bit) smaller and has ergonomics that are not that far off. Ayaneo 2/geek's ergonomics are also very good.
you can definitely have good ergonomics on a smaller handheld. I'm just hoping the next deck variant is sooner than later
X-Wing
Member
A huge part of it will work out of the box since it is in essence still a PC. Controller support will be handled by Steam. So just have the OS boot into Steam big picture mode. This is in a very simplified manner what SteamOS does on the deck, and this is also how a lot of people made "consoles" out of gaming PCs to play in the living room. Manufacturers could absolutely go that route, but I imagine Microsoft partners with them. To be clear, Valve wasn't innocent when they decided to go with Linux and Microsoft took notice.
Topher
Identifies as young
I edited my post above, but this is the video that confirms much of what you are saying.
Klosshufvud
Member
Speaking of small handhelds. Look at this tiny cute thing
Supposedly 7840u performance in the smallest possible form factor. Now we don't know how well it will be cooled, battery size and so on. But it's a nice prototype of a clamshell compact design with a larger display seemingly being viable even on high-end x83 chips. It's fun times being a handheld enthusiasist. So many different design prototypes being tested.
Supposedly 7840u performance in the smallest possible form factor. Now we don't know how well it will be cooled, battery size and so on. But it's a nice prototype of a clamshell compact design with a larger display seemingly being viable even on high-end x83 chips. It's fun times being a handheld enthusiasist. So many different design prototypes being tested.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Air has a 6" screen and terrible ergonomics compared to the Deck. And the latter has a huge plethora of control options that make life a lot easier in quite a few games without good controller support.The Lite is larger than the PSP, Which is large in comparison to the GBA SP. The Lite isn't even that small when it comes to handheld systems, it barely fits in my pocket when compared to a 3DS.
The deck is too large. simple as. You can easily get a big screen on a small handheld through removing bezels. There are a few other PC handhelds which have done a good job of trimming down the size.
Deck vs the Ayaneo Air, another PC handheld. there are newer models of the Air running on 6800u chips and a new model titled the Ayaneo Air 1S is suited to come out soon.
That said, yeah, if Valve could find a better quality screen with smaller bezels and either make the device smaller or screen bigger, that would be great.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
I would love this form factor with 8" screen and larger battery.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
If only vale would make SteamOS available for download and installation outside of the deck:
SteamOS
This is a recovery image for the actual Steam Deck and isn't really a full "Steam OS 3" release.
It's going to assume your hardware/drivers are what a Steam Deck needs not whatever device you have it on.
IS that community edition an attempt to solve the driver issues?
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
I am really not a fan of GPD products for one major reason- their insistence on shoving a keyboard into everything they make.
what would've been an otherwise absolutely perfect handheld design was sullied by a bunch of tiny keys shoving all the real gaming controls up to the top. They really could've used the space better, like giving us a bigger touchpad.
That being said this form fact is the endgame in my eyes. if there were a steam deck mini that were more like this it'd be the greatest handheld gaming system ever made.
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The same Baldur’s gate that’s on consoles, playable with controllers?
You don’t need trackpads for that
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Because Windows sucks without the keyboard at the end. Especially with small screens where virtual keyboard will take half the screen space.
Klosshufvud
Member
I agree that the keyboard is just dead space. Track pads in its place and bigger face buttons would be much more ideal. It feels like on a daily basis, I find another Chinese handheld I feel is a 10/10 design
OneXFly for instance has nice haptic sticks and triggers. 120hz display. 48Wh battery. All in a form factor way smaller than a Steam Deck with a better chip. I am also intrigued by the Aok Zoe 1 Pro. It's a chunky boy but compensates by having a large ass battery (68Wh), nice 1200p 8' display and supposedly quiet and potent fans. I think I'll buy one of these one of these days. This technology is just too exciting not to play around with.
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
i take everything back, you were right, i was wrong, big is beautiful, all hail gaben
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
retro game corps video
Haint
Member
Dude's a dumbass on displays, the ice blue whitepoint of the Go's screen in his comparison is definitely not more accurate than the Deck or Ally's "more yellow skew". Quite the opposite.
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JohnnyPhats
Member
So….this or the Ally?
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Whatever you prefer... I'd go for the ally imo
JohnnyPhats
Member
May I ask why? I know it’s on sale at Best Buy right now
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Higher refresh screen, sales ofc, and moddability that let's you increase the battery.
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Topher
Identifies as young
If you are interested in playing older games then don't get the Legion Go. The screen has been confirmed to be in portrait mode which causes some games to crash.
Here's a video describing the issue (timestamped):
Klosshufvud
Member
They are sidegrades. Ally can be found for pretty cheap refurbished though. It has smaller display and worse battery life.
Watching some reviews of Legion GO, I think it's a few changes away from greatness. And my initial worries were right.
-If they had ditched the detachable controllers, it would've resulted in a better handheld. They could've increased the battery size and probably shrinked it down slightly. Those extra millimeters in width are pretty vital from it feeling like a handheld versus a tablet. I don't find FPS mode appealing, Deck's solution is absolutely better with a trackpad with tactile feedback.
-The screen is great, and I think any PC handheld should be 8' and above. Even the issue with portrait and no VRR, I'd still choose this display over a 7' display with all that. Modern high resolution games simply don't lend that well on smaller displays. And neither does Windows OS. Those bigger displays are just so more pleasant and lenient on the eyes. And it also allows greater distance from the face.
-Cooling seems ok. But no custom fan control which is a bummer, and according to Taki, the fan is pretty loud. Which is a BIG negative for any handheld.
-The 7840U (Z1E) really shines at 18-20W TDP. Neither this or ROG Ally have the battery life to support that kind of wattage. You're losing a ton of performance by them cheaping out on battery. Which is really sad. Despite the 1600p resolution, this device could just as well have been 1200p given the performance you're getting.
Klosshufvud
Member
This video highlights well what a dramatic difference going from 7' to 8,8' makes. He says it feels like playing two completely different games. I'm inclined to agree. There is a superior sense of immersion, clarity and precision. I don't think 7' is sufficient for these high-end handhelds.
Also, the 7840U chipset is so damn good. Look just what massive gains there are on Deck. Sometimes as much as 100% perf gain. Absolutely beastly.
Dream-Knife
Banned
Size is relative. People say the same thing about portables in general vs monitors and tvs.
Klosshufvud
Member
Well that's comparing apples to oranges, isn't it? I was just playing Ace Combat 7 on my 8' handheld and I was barely keeping track of all the information, HUD icons and so on despite the larger display. I think this is worth considering if you intend to buy a PC handheld with the intention of playing fairly fast-paced modern games. But for older or slower games, it's obviously not as important.
Dream-Knife
Banned
Why not get a 12" tablet and bolt controllers to the side sony style?
For around the house I could even see a 24".
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Deep, bro.
Darko
Member
that’s my main issue but I’m sure someone will find a fix for it if not already…
Edit: just watched the video.. guess it can be fixed with some titles and tools
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Topher
Identifies as young
Yeah.....could be. I'd wait for the software a cook a bit more before pulling the trigger. Some of the reviews on best buy have some good info, but not exactly glowing early on.
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Klosshufvud
Member
There was a massive 10' handheld released just recently. Its ergonomics were too poor though and its size made it really unwieldy.
I am personally waiting for an 8' handheld with clam shell design like GPD Win Mini. Would be instant buy for me.
Darko
Member
I got it from best buy so I can return it easy.. until January lol…. I heard this app will fix most issues in gamesYeah.....could be. I'd wait for the software a cook a bit more before pulling the trigger. Some of the reviews on best buy have some good info, but not exactly glowing early on.
GitHub - Blinue/Magpie: An all-purpose window upscaler for Windows 10/11.
An all-purpose window upscaler for Windows 10/11. Contribute to Blinue/Magpie development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
Go has a ton of issues with software that need to be ironed out but I have faith
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Topher
Identifies as young
I got it from best buy so I can return it easy.. until January lol…. I heard this app will fix most issues in games
GitHub - Blinue/Magpie: An all-purpose window upscaler for Windows 10/11.
An all-purpose window upscaler for Windows 10/11. Contribute to Blinue/Magpie development by creating an account on GitHub.
Go has a ton of issues with software that need to be ironed out but I have faith
Look forward to reading your thoughts.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
Topher is a psychic confirmed.