Lenovo Legion Go: Bazzite OS Review

#bazzite #lenovolegiongo #steamdeck #linux #linuxgaming #yugiohmasterduel #horizonforbiddenwest #atomicheart #fortnite

This is my review/experience of using the Bazzite Operating System (a modified version of the Steam Deck's OS) on my Lenovo Legion Go! We talk about the installation process, game performance, and do some comparisons between running Bazzite on the Legion Go vs Windows.

Several games are shown with performance numbers within the Bazzite environment, including:

Alice: Madness Returns
Atomic Heart
Dragon Ball Sparking Zero
Fortnite (via XCloud Streaming)
Horizon: Forbidden West
Yooka Laylee
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

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00:00 Introduction
00:54 Installation Hardware
01:31 SD Card Fluidity
02:08 Bazzite OS vs Steam Deck OS
02:48 Bazzite Overlay
03:06 Disable Touch Screen
03:34 Bazzite Pros
05:49 Bazzite Cons
07:09 Dual Boot
07:24 Battery / TDP Slider
07:47 Conclusion

[ricky]

Me personally I don't do dual boot, I replace the internal SSD with a newer, faster one and installed Bazzite in it and have the original windows one stored someplace safe. Bazzite has serious surprise me lots of games that say they're not compatible run perfectly and me personally I don't have to worry about Anti-Cheat because I usually don't play multiplayer online games and the single player ones that do have Anti-Cheat work perfectly.
Me personally I think that Windows should be a much better handheld operating system if they just pourted the Xbox UI to it. They could do like Valve does when you're switching between desktop mode and gaming mode have an icon on the desktop that lets you switch from a traditional desktop to a Xbox ui gamig mode.

[Invid]

1280x720 is a 16:9 resolution. The Legion Go is a 16:10 panel so if you want a lower resolution for increased performance and you want it without distortion or black bars you should be setting your resolution to 1280x800.

[molsen]

Rumour has it the Legion Go 2 will have an OLED screen and a 100wh battery. That with Bazzite would be a dream.

[HikariKnight]

Pretty good review! Small note about games like Atomic Heart and other games that forces steamdeck specific settings/features. You can bypass that in the majority of cases by launching the game with the environment variable SteamDeck=0

so if you go into the games launch options and add
SteamDeck=0 %command%

then all steamdeck specific functions/settings will be disabled as long as the game is not named warframe :)
This is outlined in the bazzite gamemode overview documentation on the website.

if you use any other arguments like lets say --vulkan --nointro --skip-launcher
you add these after (on the right side of) the %command% part

[MarkLangdahl]

I gotta admit that I'm considering doing a dual boot too. Mainly because of Lenovo's horrible driver support on Windows. The last graphics driver is from May. So any game requiring newer drivers requires sideloading Adrenalin, whereas Linux keeps that in check more or less automatically. If the console-like experience of the operating system is your main concern I'd probably just install Playnite, have it automatically start in fullscreen mode with Windows and get a similar experience. Personally I find the experience of running Windows on it slightly annoying but in no way a deal breaker.

[MrWhis-fehs]

2 days ago I switched back to windows and damn update deleted bazzite the like a dummy I deleted windows on accident 🙄 luckily I still had bazzite on the USB stick so I was able to install it again phew I asked lenovo for the recovery key for windows but honestly I think at this point I'll just leave bazzite as the only os on the device for anyone wondering the performance and ui is just so much easier on bazzite and the sleep mode is just so game changing like I leave my device on sleep for 5 days sometimes and when I pick it up it goes right back to the game exactly where I paused it meaning if I paused in the middle of a match in street fighter 6 it picks up at that same spot F windows tbh

[hksduhksdu]

This review was uploaded at around the exact time I had issues with Bazzite. Everything else worked fine except playing at 14W and below. I hope they have that fixed by now because I am about to put Bazzite on it again.

[devkitten]

Steam big picture mode is good enough for me

[ricarmig]

I don’t understand all the fuss about W11: after logging in, you can boot straight to Steam Big Picture mode and have the same feeling as on SteamOS, without seeing windows whatsoever. Besides, it’s compatible with the latest AMD drivers (by sideloading which is not a big issue, people can do it each couple of months and that’s it. Of course it would be better if Lenovo had a guy releasing an official version as they are practically untouched).

[srfeger]

Nice review. I think Bazzite is a really interesting OS to use when you just don't want to deal with Windows. But the idea of Bazzite alone on a handheld designed for Windows like the LeGo or the Ally or AllyX is that it misses the point. Sometimes you need Windows. That's why I think your review is good. A dual boot like you suggest makes sense. The idea that any of these are a SteamDeck killer is silly. There are a bunch of things you should not bother to play on a SteamDeck (or Bazzite for that matter). It's just not a good experience. But Windows on a handheld? You'll be fighting Windows as much as the hardware limitations.

[edwardlashley]

I swear there are settings you can tweak in the AMD software menu that will allow you to run games at 2k, at 1600p, natively on a legion go. Not just by up scaling. But you can actually run the resolution yourself by altering a couple of those menu settings. I doubt running steamOS will get you to that resolution. It’s a trick resolution to run with a 7, 000 or 8, 000 series chip or a Z1, which is a 7, 000 series chip hybrid. Plus, you lose out on AMD “vivid gaming” color mode if you install Linux, which is a shame. Let alone losing access to Lossless Scaling & motion frames.

[nempk]

EAC does support linux, and from an 354 list of games using EAC 148 supports linux(40%). BattleEye/EAC the most common 3º party AC solutions. If a game using one of those is not "supported" on linux is because the developer chooses to be that way(mostly for cost saving and less work).

[thediddlefiddler]

ES-DE serves the same purpose w/o needing an additional OS. Just put it in your startup folder and ES-DE loads on windows boot making it seem like a unique console experience

[rahulrao]

Bazzite is a boon for any non competitive game. Any solo adventure/ rpgs/ turnbased/ emulation is a breeze. Ih actually been playing elden ring at 1200 p, 21 W and 30 fps fixed. Its beautiful and runs like butter. Honestly it looks cinematic at 30 fps ... I have no need for higher frame rates. (ou can get 60 fps with the right settings but I dont fancy that)

[TheFlash]

I gave it a try for a few days after upgrading my SSD to 2TB and dual booting. The sleep function didn't work a singel time for me. Either it did not go to sleep at all or it crashed the OS on resume. Lossless scaling does not work either which is a big no for me. I will stay with windows. When you are used to it and don't mainly game on a console anyway Bazzite is not worth the trouble imo. Plus you can just have steam booting into big picture mode by default which gives you almost the same UI

[Banananaish]

You can install bazzite without a physical keyboard. Just disable secure boot in the bios.

[lightgas]

Weight for legion go seems to be a big issue, but I bought a Gibitlee controller connector so I'll be able to take off the controller to use it.

[dakunclear]

I had so many issues with sideloading drivers that I ended up going this route to play FF16 on my legion go and ya it has been nothing but amazing. Tempted at upgrading the M.2 in my legion go just so I have more space for both OS's.

[JovaughnRamirez]

That’s crazy with your master duel windows error. I’ve never had that happen. Wonder what’s causing it on your end.

[JalapenoPrime]

Is there any way to cap frequencies on this CPU? Maybe with power tools? I found the biggest issue with a lot of games as they ramp up to CPU to max clocks without needing it and that would kill battery.