Following last week's big SteamOS update rolling out official support for the Lenovo Legion Go S, plenty of users are ditching Windows for the Valve operating system. While the clunky user experience of Windows 11 on a handheld gaming PC was already reason enough to try something else at the first opportunity, it looks like the Steam Deck's operating system has more than just usability to offer when compared to Microsoft's alternative.
According to YouTuber Dave2D, the Lenovo Legion Go S benefits in terms of both in-game frame rates and battery life from the Steam Deck's operating system. In testing, the Lenovo Legion Go S lasted over four hours of Hades at maximum FPS while running SteamOS, which is much more impressive than the under two-hour result the Windows version achieved. That stat alone could see the Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS jump up our list of the best handheld consoles.
In terms of frame rates, the Legion Go S with Steam OS outperforms the Windows version in some of the best Steam Deck games, including Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, and more. However, the difference was most notable in Doom Eternal, with the SteamOS version running at 75 frames per second versus 66 when using Windows. It might not seem like a big jump, but in a fast-paced game like the latest entry in the Doom series, the higher the frame rate, the better the experience.
All this should make for concerning news for Microsoft, as while it's no secret that critics, including myself, have had issues running Windows 11 on handheld devices, the gulf in battery life and frame rates between the Legion Go S running Windows versus running SteamOS makes Valve's software an even more attractive proposition. Put simply, the pressure is on for Microsoft to deliver something better than its current offering if the rumored Xbox-style Asus handheld really is on the cards for later this year.
So, if you've already got a Lenovo Legion Go S, we'd massively recommend installing SteamOS as soon as possible. Or, you could pick up the official version of the Lenovo Legion Go with SteamOS, which is now available to order. For more great gaming hardware, be sure to check out our guides to the best Steam Deck alternatives and the best gaming phones while you're here. Or, if you're more interested in the much-hyped Nintendo Switch 2, see our Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on preview to see how we got on with the console.