Not sure if this is a boxing day deal, but just the usual checkup and found the z1 extreme model on sale for launch price. AU model and pretty sure other resellers JB/Lenovo are selling for RRP $1499.
Lenovo Legion Go Handheld Z1 Extreme $1297 + Delivery ($0 OnePass/ to Metro/ C&C) @ Officeworks
510
bargainuser on 26/12/2023 - 21:25 officeworks.com.au (2209 clicks)
Last edited 29/12/2023 - 16:27 by 2 other users
Last edited 29/12/2023 - 16:27 by 2 other users
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Yep. The pre-release hype died instantly when it was found out it was missing a vital feature.
A vital feature is a stretch, negligible is real world experience.
Hard disagree. VRR is vital, especially on a high res screen where the hardware will struggle to maintain a locked framerate.
ROG Ally is a way better buy for this reason alone, and cheaper at $1099 at JB.
@saitaris: There's a lot of people that own both and always talk about how good VRR is but say that it hasn't ended up bothering them on the Legion Go.
Ended up not being a problem for me, and I am a high end gamer with VRR screens. It just acts like if it had VRR - it feels responsive and theres never any screen tearing.
It's the stuttery feeling that occurs when the refresh isn't an integer multiple of the FPS that bothers me
ROG Ally is the Windows handheld to get.
Isn't it still killing SD cards even after updates?
It's a pretty simple thing that should have been tested and raises concerns of other quality issues down the line.
@Caped Baldy: It’s a very arbitrary fault to pick as a dealbreaker considering how few people would ever use it.
If anything, the big dealbreaker with the Ally would be who makes it - ASUS. They’ve always been known for an awful aftersales experience and while the Ally is pretty modular, OEM parts are hard to come by here unlike in Europe where authorised sellers pretty much sell enough parts for you to build your own Ally.
But yes, of course the big issue with the Ally is the microsd card reader and all the games you’re going to install on a storage medium that writes data at 45MB/s over alternatives that achieve 6500MB/s
I don't think so. I have a gaming laptop that i have never used the sd card reader on.
And I have an ROG Ally with a 2tb SSD and never intend to use the SD. I had a retroid pocket 2+ and copying ROMs to that microSD was hell. I only ran a 64gb in it and it took hours…
But to each their own. I just see SD cards as slow and very outdated in today's tech world
@seefu: You make good points but it's a feature you paid for. You expect it to work even if you don't use it.
@seefu: SD Cards can easily be over 100MB per second if you buy a good one and the device supports higher speeds. It's true it isn't as fast as SATA SSD and definitely not NVME speeds, but anything up to the Gamecube or 3DS for handhelds is well under 100 MB and for those two consoles up to 1GB, so you can load the entire ROM in less than a second per game for the older machines or the entire ROM in just 10 seconds per game for the latter.
Switch games will take a bit longer to load onto the SD cards as they are up to around 15GB in size, so will take a bit over 2 minutes per game to transfer onto the SD card.
SD Cards make the most sense the more retro you want to take your gaming, but they also make sense for Switch, a couple of minutes per game really isn't much and the loading time for the game is presumably the same or better than on the Switch itself when using the cartridge.
Got it during black friday sale. Did not find any issues with sd card in Ally. It works flawlessly for me.
pretty sure the general consensus is the OLED steam deck is the one to have now.
Windows.
Linux.
You can dual boot windows on deck
GPD Win 4 is the best if you can rangle one
😂
Certainly not functions considering you can play the entire switch library on this
The Switch hardware is almost 7 years old (OLED model had no real performance boost) and struggles to play the latest releases/has the worst versions of cross platform games. That’s hardly better in all aspects.
the og switch can easily be overclocked to run tears of the kingdom at 60 fps
The OLED version too, if you install the chip, which I have and love it. Since getting the OLED my OG has been collecting dust.
The switch isn't even a competitor.
Correct.
The Switch has sold 133 million units.
The Steam Deck has sold not even 2 million (it's predicted because Valve is keeping the numbers under wraps).
So you're right, it's not a competition at all.
No, the Switch is in a different market, stop being obtuse. These devices play Switch games and more, the Switch only players Switch games.
And I mentioned Steam Deck numbers because that is the most popular hand held PC device. The ROG and Lenovo wouldn't even come close to that.
I have 2x switch, switch OLED & ASUS ROG Ally.
I have not touched the switches since getting an Ally.
These are handheld windows PC with an xbox controller attached. Capable of emulating the switch, ps3, ps2, etc. alongside running your steam library, gog, xbox game pass, etc.
The experience is also far superior if you like tinkering with things.
The switch is not a competitor. It is not even targeting the same market segment and cannot do 1/4 the things these handhelds can.
@Evanlet: And yet the Switch still will outsell it. And whatever the next gen of the Switch will be (and no doubt it will be weaker) will still > whatever random stuff Asus or Lenovo pump out.
Good for you in your specific instance it's the better handheld.
Personally I play my PC games on my 4090 PC…. I had a Steam Deck and couldn't get used to the downgrade.
Who knows, maybe when they actually release the 3rd or 4th gen of the Steam Deck I'll get on board.
@Ruddaga: Not sure what the argument here is? Again, you're comparing apples to oranges, and now drawing comparisons to a camel.
I have all three. I also have a PC with a 4090 and 7950X3D and enjoy my 38" AW38 and focal celestees for main gaming sessions. I can't take that with me to bed, if I want to continue playing say, Cyberpunk for instance.
I also can't take my switch to bed to play that.
Different hardware, different use cases.
But sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.
@Evanlet: I mean I've already made my point.
Rog Ally is a niche product that will do poorly and we'll never see another iteration and will probably sell not even a million units.
Nintendo will keep owning the handheld market for years to come.
But sure, enjoy PC gaming in your bed mate.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
@Evanlet: Also did you try and flex with an Alienware Monitor….
Totally get what kind of person I'm dealing with now. Absolute lol
@Ruddaga: Lol you're a joke. There is nothing wrong with the Alienware 38" - there were limited options in this space when I upgraded from a 34".
Yes - you're dealing with someone who doesn't give a sh*t about brands. Only someone who cares about practicality and having things that suit my needs.
@Evanlet: Oh yeah. Alienware (DELL) are known for bringing out the best of the best.
Really showing your expertise with tech here "bro"
Thanks for the laughs chief.
@Evanlet: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/823271
Saw a tech bargain and thought of you.
Why yes I did drive a Mazda as my day to day car. Was a cheap car that got me from point A to B.
I recently upgraded to an EV though since I was sick of petrol.
But thanks for stalking my previous posts… Only cements the kind of awesome person you are ><D
Have a nice life mate.
@Ruddaga: Back in the day when most people had 15-17" monitors Dell literally had the best 24" widescreen LCD monitor on the market unless you were buying a professional grade monitor.
Just because Dell makes average quality gear doesn't mean they aren't capable of making excellent stuff, I know one of their business class ultrawides was far and away the best bang for buck around 5 years ago (I haven't been keeping up with monitors as it isn't something I buy more than once a decade).
@nmartin84: Oh look I've owned AW stuff and Dell stuff before.
Never again. Had multiple issues with their laptops and monitors.
But each to their own.
Personally using a LG 42" C3 now (down from a 48" CX I sold because it was just a little too big).
Only reason I pointed it out is this guy was trying to flex with it and I found it amusing.
@Evanlet: https://www.tomsguide.com/round-up/best-handheld-gaming-cons…
Rog Ally in at Number 6.
Go team :D
😂
Different usage cases though, right?
I love playing Zelda: TOTK on Switch, and it looks nice, but it def has frame rate issues, and I can’t even play F4 in bed with it. Now I mean I don’t have anything like a handheld PC but with something like this I could do that, but I’m locked out on the Switch, and I don’t want to OC or unlock my Switch and risk frying it.
They’re just different devices, and horses for course sort of dealio.
This feels much more like a first gen device than rog ally and SD.
The second iteration will be the one I buy though, my old ass eyes can't see shit on the 7" ally.
completely agree with this for all of these new high performance gaming handhelds. I'm going to wait a few years until a couple of iterations are done and all the kinks are ironed out. I don't think there is a single one right now that doesn't have its faults that can be resolved in another iteration.
Would also be good to see which ones get long term support. I think steam deck will, but i'm curious to see how long asus and lenovo will support theirs with updates.
Yeah good idea, I'm thinking about buying one of these devices as well.
You've convinced me - HODL time.
yeah, its good to note that this isn't exactly a console, it's more of a portable PC.
A console has the assumption that it's going to get updates etc for the life of the console (at least 8 years from original release). However for these portable PC's, they may stop supporting it with decent updates after just a year…
@whitepuma: I mean PC's would get updates back in the PS1 and N64 days (also earlier, but it wasn't as easy as just being connected to the internet before then), and those consoles didn't get updates.
Also Microsoft tends to support Windows for longer than any console generation.
@nmartin84: Sorry, I should have been more specific, I'm not talking about windows updates, I'm talking about hardware specific updates from the manufacturer.
So in the case of the ROG ally or Legion go getting frequent updates from ASUS or lenovo to improve performance, stability, and optimisation instead of the standard updates from windows.
With windows the updates are mostly related to bugs and security that are specific to the windows OS, it's less focused on the hardware or software optimisation.
With consoles so many people are running the exact same setup, so it makes sense for the console manufacturers and game developers to spend more time releasing updates to improve the games on their systems, such as improving optimisation. But in the custom built PC market, so many people are running unique setups (compared to consoles) that it doesn't make sense for them to optimise a game or software to your specific build, that's why in many cases they don't bother.
So it's going to be interesting if in the updating space are they going to treat these more like a console, or more like a PC
Imagine how bad your eyes will be next year tho
$1k and its a deal
Absolutely love my Legion Go. Had the ROG Ally but returned it after the SD card reader fried. Haven’t noticed any real world difference not having VRR. Love the larger screen and actually use the FPS mode a fair bit. Taking off the controllers it’s just a neat windows tablet so it’s handy for watching movies. Recent updates have improved the software side of things and they’re very transparent on the Legion Go subreddit and give frequent updates with roadmaps for new features.
What is the reason to get this?
Frankly, at this price, it's better to get a gpd or aya device.
Edit: oh nvm, it can take the controllers off. Interesting, I guess.
its better to get Aya device that needs to be either imported or like $1500++++?
They usually have better software and have things like a keyboard or something for only a hundred or two more. Once you reach 1.3k, you're in Chinese import territory. It's competing with gpd win 4, win max2, win mini and aya neo slide, aya neo 2
I just picked up the Asus Ally for myself on sale @ $1049 JB HIFI. I also coincidentally just got a Lenovo Legion Go as Xmas present from family. I have now spent ~ 2 weeks with Ally & 3 days with Legion Go. Here are the 5 common games (Diablo 4, Stranger of Paradise - Final Fantasy Origin, Lords of the Fallen, RDR2 & My Time @ Sandrock).
I have tested on both with latest drivers for Legion Go including Ally on bios 355 (after experiencing significant issues with Armoured Crate SE & MyAsus). Legion Space is an overall less mature and feature rich overlay software but it was in my experience also less prone to regression issues as I had to uninstall Armour Crate due to TL334 regression issues.
VRR
For those claiming no VRR is a dealbreaker for Legion Go. This is ESSENTIALLY false and negligible in real life testing when looking at target resolutions of 900p on Go & 1080p on Ally. These resolutions on respective devices yield negligible difference to human eye so yes I’m using different resolutions for comparison but it’s more realistic. At those resolutions Legion go with faster RAM & lower resolution out performs Ally by >10% fps consistently on my 5 selected games (e.g. Lords of Fallen 40~50fps avg on ally using default no FSR medium preset vs. 46~60fps on Go). I did NOT notice any screen tearing overall on Go (I know this can be subjective).
Visual Fidelity
The Legion Go hands down beats Ally in terms of vibrancy of display I used YouTube LG OLED videos as subjective reference and the colour presentation and contrast was notably better on Go especially when placed side by side. The Legion Go was better was media consumption as well. That said both were significantly better than my steam deck (non OLED) and worse than my LG OLED C1.
Performance
The Legion Go is faster overall in terms of loading. I tested using 2 games RDR2 & My Time @ Sandrock where both games launched faster and loaded in-game save files faster. This is expected with Go’s faster RAM. What surprised me was Legion go had better web browsing experience and general Windows responsiveness. Again liked down to RAM and perhaps minor SSD advantages in configuration by OEMs.
Usability
I prefer the Ally for form factor and comfort holding. If you planning on playing either devices on a desk than the Legion Go is superior. If you’re playing sitting on a couch or laying in bed, Ally is superior for comfort,
SD card
I haven’t used my Ally’s SD card slot yet because I only currently have 512GB & 1TB cards which I don’t wanna risk burning. I have ordered cheaper lower capacity cards on Amazon. That said I had no such fears with Legion Go currently using 512GB card no issues. Also my Ally is a R9 model so I understand it should be less prone to SD card reader defects. I did notice my Asus Ally on default Turbo 30w (plugged in) mode ran considerably hotter than my Legion Go at comparative tdp with default fan curves.
Overall
I recommend people refrain from brand bias and make a decision based on your use case. If you’re planning on using your handheld for media consumption, windows tasks (work/study) and gaming then Legion Go is superior. If solely for gaming and you’re intending to upgrade SSD yourself than Ally is a better choice especially at discount price.
Thanks for taking the time to post this
Also lucky =)
I saw a use case for the go when gaming lying down which the person said was the best, they put the tablet part into a tablet holder and use the controls undocked down by their side, so they don't have to hold anything up, the ultimate lazy gaming experience.
Just tried price matching at JB Hifi online to use some of those Christmas gift cards people are so fond of giving. Would only do $1426….the lesson from this is don't buy JB Gift cards for people, I mean they suck in general but a store that won't price match is much worse.
And it isn't stocked at my local JB Hifi so either way it was an online order.
It's a sign to get the Ally instead.
Haha no way, it is white and loud…I can't stand Asus ROG design.
Has less features than the Legion Go such as detachable controls, kickstand, tablet only mode, dual USB4 (thunderbolt compatible) ports for the eGPU enclosure I already have.
Has a serious design flaw for SD cards (which I will use for emulation).
tristaronline.com.au has this for $1219 delivered. Pricematch?
I've never heard of that store before, seems they are related to catch? Not sure I trust it not to be grey imports, but would be good to know if anyone has luck pricematching it.
This device is insane, I have had it since release, it can play plenty of games at native 1600P res and that kills the competition. If you stream with moonlight then there isn't even a need for second thought.
Ended up picking one up after deciding 7" ally is way too small for my aging eyes.
Gaming on this is night and day vs ally.
Makes gaming on an ally feel like playing a mobile game.
Super impressed with both these handhelds overall though
Just done a price match with JB Hi-fi chat.
High resolution screen without VRR is such a weird combo. Yes I'm aware they use portrait tablet screens. Weird choice.