r/LegionGo

It’s wild AF to see the Lego2 now at basically 2k. Shoot, even at $1400 I’m just like wtf! I’ve had my OG since launch of 2023 ($750). Since then, I’ve gotten the 81wh battery, LEGO 2 controllers and a shell case to offset the controllers for a more flush look. It’s basically a Legion Go 1.5 lol.

We gotta stop supporting these companies robbing us! Let’s be realistic, handhelds aren’t at a state to play AAA titles comfortably at 60+ fps. Lossless Scaling App and fake frames don’t count. Yes, older titles and some less demanding titles can achieve what we want.

Being plugged in to max out TDP is not fun at times. It becomes restrictive having to do that. It doesn’t become a “handheld” at that point. I purely use my OG Go for streaming. Moonlight (from my rig) and GeForce Now have been a gem. With the 81wh battery, I get 5.5hrs of gameplay. If I want to play indie games or emulators, I get 4+hrs.

I’ve been spoiled at the 2560x1600P Res. Screen. It looks way better than 1200P plus OLED. It’s also a factor as to why the LEGO 2 didn’t appeal to me.

Small rant yes. Just wanted my praise my OGs for sticking around lol.

25W TDP, FSR 3.1 Balanced

I've been waiting to jump in until this game was in a place where it wasn't a stuttery, shimmery mess on handheld. I wanted to seamlessly jump back and forth between my PC and handhelds, so it's been hard to wait. With today's 1.02.00 update though, I'm getting great performance at 25W TDP, unplugged on the Legion Go 2.

With a mix of low, medium and high settings at 1600 x 1000 with FSR 3.1 Balanced, I'm seeing stable performance at 75-80 FPS with frame generation on. Before this update, frame gen felt awful, and now it's right up there with Cyberpunk with S-tier implementation of that tech.

On the visual attached, the Legion Space capture is a little blown out as HDR was on, but the main thing to look at is the performance overlay in the upper left.

When I launched Steam it asked me to log in which it never asks me to do and when I tried to play my first game it wasn’t installed anymore. Then I noticed every game that was on my hard drive was gone but those on my Sd card were still there.

What could have happened?

I saw a lot of people trying to do this, I just went through it, was really simple. Just need a laptop:

Runs smooth.

What you need

You’ll want:

•	a USB flash drive, 8 GB or larger, for the Windows installer

•	your external hard drive or a second USB/microSD for Lenovo drivers

•	a USB-C hub or dock so you can connect power and USB storage at the same time

•	your charger connected during the whole process

Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool writes the Windows installer directly to the USB drive you choose. 

Files to download before you start

On another Windows PC, download:

1. Windows 11 installer

Use Microsoft’s official Media Creation Tool from the Windows 11 installation media page. 

2. Lenovo Windows drivers for Legion Go S 8APU1

Lenovo’s support pages list Windows 11 driver support for Legion Go S 8APU1, including the AMD Chipset Driver and Legion Space Application. 

At minimum, download these from Lenovo support for your model:

•	AMD Chipset

•	AMD Graphics / VGA

•	Wi-Fi

•	Bluetooth

•	Audio

•	Legion Space

Step-by-step: make Windows your main OS

Step 1: Create the Windows installer USB

On another Windows PC:

1.	Plug in your 8 GB+ USB flash drive.

2.	Open Microsoft’s Windows 11 installation media page.

3.	Click Download now under Create Windows 11 Installation Media.

4.	Run MediaCreationTool.exe.

5.	Choose Create installation media.

6.	Select your USB drive.

7.	Let it finish.

This will turn that USB into a bootable Windows installer and typically wipes/reformats that USB in the process. 

Step 2: Save Lenovo drivers to your external drive

On that same PC:

1.	Create a folder like Legion Go S Drivers

2.	Put all downloaded Lenovo driver files there

3.	Safely eject the drive when done

Step 3: Power off the Legion Go S completely

On the Legion Go S:

1.	Shut it all the way down

2.	Plug in:

•	the charger

•	the Windows installer USB

•	your external drive with the Lenovo drivers, if your hub allows it

Step 4: Open the boot menu

Lenovo’s SteamOS install instructions for the Legion Go S say to enter the startup menu by holding Volume Up and then pressing Power, then choosing Boot Menu. 

Do this:

1.	With the device off, hold Volume Up

2.	Press Power

3.	When the startup screen appears, choose Boot Menu

4.	Select the Windows USB installer

Step 5: Start Windows Setup

Once Windows Setup loads:

1.	Choose your language and keyboard

2.	Click Install now

3.	If asked for a product key, choose I don’t have a product key if you want to activate later

4.	Pick the Windows 11 edition you want

Step 6: Choose a clean install

When asked which installation type you want:

1.	Select Custom: Install Windows only

That is the option for a fresh install rather than trying to preserve the existing SteamOS setup. Microsoft documents installation media as a way to install Windows on a device that does not already have Windows installed. 

Step 7: Delete the existing SteamOS partitions

This is the part that makes Windows your only OS.

On the drive selection screen:

1.	You’ll see several existing partitions on the internal SSD

2.	Select each internal drive partition related to the current SteamOS install

3.	Click Delete

4.	Repeat until the internal SSD shows mostly or entirely as Unallocated Space

Then:

5.	Select the large Unallocated Space

6.	Click Next

Windows Setup will create the partitions it needs automatically.

Important: only delete partitions on the Legion Go S internal drive that belong to the existing install. Do not delete your external drive or installer USB by mistake.

Step 8: Let Windows install

Windows will now copy files and restart several times.

Just let it run. If it reboots back to the installer once, remove the USB after the first restart or choose the internal Windows boot entry from the boot menu.

Step 9: Finish first-time Windows setup

Go through the normal Windows setup:

•	region

•	Wi-Fi, if available

•	account setup

•	privacy settings

If Wi-Fi does not work right away, that is not unusual before drivers are installed. Use the Lenovo Wi-Fi driver from your external drive once you reach the desktop.

Step 10: Install Lenovo drivers

Once you’re on the Windows desktop, install your saved Lenovo drivers.

Use this order:

1.	AMD Chipset

2.	AMD Graphics / VGA

3.	Wi-Fi

4.	Bluetooth

5.	Audio

6.	Legion Space

Lenovo officially provides at least the chipset package and Legion Space app for the Legion Go S 8APU1 under Windows 11 support. 

Restart when prompted.

Step 11: Run Windows Update

After the Lenovo drivers are in:

1.	Open Settings

2.	Go to Windows Update

3.	Check for updates

4.	Install everything available

5.	Restart as needed

Step 12: Enable the on-screen keyboard

For handheld use, this matters a lot.

To keep the touch keyboard easy to access:

1.	Open Settings

2.	Go to Personalization

3.	Open Taskbar

4.	Turn on Touch keyboard

Microsoft also provides a full On-Screen Keyboard under Accessibility if you want a persistent keyboard option. 

Step 13: Install your apps

Now install what you actually want:

•	Steam

•	WeMod

•	Xbox app / Game Pass

•	Epic, Battle.net, etc.