AMD recently rolled out its Ryzen Z2 Go APU, and it’s no surprise that gamers are buzzing with questions about how it stacks up against the Ryzen Z1 series. Luckily, our friends at Fps VN have satisfied our curiosity with some insightful FPS test results, comparing the Lenovo Legion Go S and the Asus ROG Ally X across three different games with various power settings.
The Lenovo Legion Go S, equipped with the Ryzen Z2 Go APU, caught our attention. While it features half the cores of the Z1 Extreme and is built on the Zen 3+ architecture (as opposed to Zen 4), and even though it runs at a lower base (3.0 GHz compared to 3.3 GHz) and boost speeds (4.3 GHz versus 5.1 GHz), Lenovo still opted for this processor in their new gaming handheld. Naturally, we’re intrigued to see how it measures up against the heavyweight AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip from the previous generation.
Let’s get the lay of the land with the specs of each device. The Lenovo Legion Go S, unveiled at CES 2025, is packed with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 memory, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD for storage, and an eight-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1200 IPS display. In contrast, the Asus ROG Ally X, which hit shelves in mid-2024, sports an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, 24GB of LPDDR5 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a slightly smaller seven-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1080 IPS screen.
Diving into the performance data, the Asus ROG Ally X consistently edged out the Legion Go S, which is not too surprising given the former’s beefier specs, including double the cores, higher clock speeds, double the L3 cache, and a newer integrated GPU (780M compared to the Z2 Go’s 680M).
Interestingly enough, the performance difference across all three games was slight, averaging around a 4 FPS advantage with the ROG Ally X over the Legion Go S. Benchmark results suggest that the Ryzen Z2 Go delivers about 10% less performance than the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.
It’s intriguing that the performance gap wasn’t larger, given that the Ally X boasts 8GB more memory and runs on a slightly smaller screen with a lower resolution, naturally demanding fewer pixels. AMD and Lenovo appear to have optimized the Z2 Go efficiently, wringing the best possible performance within the compact confines and power limitations of handheld consoles.
When it comes to pricing, the Asus ROG Ally X sits at $799, whereas the Lenovo Legion Go is priced slightly lower at $729. On paper, the Z1 Extreme in the Ally X might seem like the better pick due to superior performance. However, the larger screen and more affordable price of the Legion Go could tempt many gamers, especially since the 4 FPS difference is barely noticeable for most players.
