Legion Go S vs. ROG Ally X: Ryzen Z2 Go appears 10% slower than Ryzen Z1 Extreme

AMD has recently rolled out the Ryzen Z2 Go APU, leaving many eager to see how it stacks up against the more seasoned Ryzen Z1 series. Fortunately, the folks at Fps VN have come to the rescue, providing enticing FPS stats comparing the Lenovo Legion Go S and Asus ROG Ally X across three different games, each tested at various power settings.

The Lenovo Legion Go S took its debut bow with the Ryzen Z2 Go APU, which sports half as many cores as the Z1 Extreme and is based on the Zen 3+ architecture, rather than Zen 4. While it might lag with slightly lower base (3.0 GHz vs. 3.3 GHz) and boost (4.3 GHz vs. 5.1 GHz) clock speeds, Lenovo has faith in it for their latest handheld gaming device. So naturally, we’re keen to see how it measures up against the Z1 Extreme chipset, the crown jewel of the previous generation.

Before we delve into the performance figures, let’s get acquainted with the specs of these two devices. Unveiled at CES 2025, the Lenovo Legion Go S is driven by an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, coupled with 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 RAM. It houses a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD for storage and flaunts an eight-inch display with a resolution of 1920×1200 and a 120 Hz refresh rate. On the other hand, the Asus ROG Ally X, which hit the shelves in mid-2024, is equipped with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip. It comes with a heftier 24GB of LPDDR5 memory and a spacious 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, boasting a smaller seven-inch screen but with a 1920×1080 resolution and the same 120 Hz refresh rate.

When examining the test results, here’s the breakdown: In the game Black Myth Wukong, under the 720p Medium 15W setting, the Legion Go S hit 36 FPS, while the ROG Ally X pushed ahead at 40 FPS. At 1080p Low with FSR and a higher power draw of 30W, the Legion Go S clocked 60 FPS, trailing behind the Ally X’s 64 FPS. Similar trends were noted in Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, with the Asus ROG Ally X taking the lead across most settings.

The pattern across all tests was clear: the Z1 Extreme powering the Asus ROG Ally X took the performance crown, consistently outpacing the Z2 Go in the Legion Go S. This shouldn’t come as a shock since the Z1 Extreme brings double the cores and superior clock speeds to the table, along with double the L3 cache and a more advanced 780M integrated GPU compared to the Z2 Go’s 680M.

Interestingly, the performance gap between the two devices was relatively modest, averaging a mere four FPS. This indicates that the Ryzen Z2 Go delivers about 10% less performance than the Z1 Extreme, according to the benchmarks.

Given the specs, you might have anticipated a larger disparity, especially considering the Ally X’s 8GB additional memory and its slightly smaller, lower-resolution screen which logically would require less computational power. Yet, it seems AMD and Lenovo have fine-tuned the Z2 Go to squeeze out commendable performance despite the constraints of portable gaming.

When it comes to pricing, the Asus ROG Ally X retails at $799, with the Lenovo Legion Go trailing not too far behind at $729. While, on paper, the Ally X may offer superior performance, the Legion Go’s bigger screen and friendlier price tag might appeal to gamers, especially since a 4FPS difference is hardly noticeable in real-world gaming scenarios.