Ryzen Z2 Go Appears 10% Slower than Ryzen Z1 Extreme — Legion Go S Competes with ROG Ally X

AMD has recently unveiled the Ryzen Z2 Go APU, sparking a flurry of curiosity regarding its performance stack against the ever-popular Ryzen Z1 series. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Fps VN to step in and satisfy our inquisitiveness by sharing their FPS test results. Comparing the Lenovo Legion Go S to the Asus ROG Ally X across three different game titles under varying power settings, they provided an intriguing look at how these new chips perform.

The Legion Go S is Lenovo’s latest release and comes equipped with the Ryzen Z2 Go APU. Though it sports only half the cores of its predecessor, the Z1 Extreme, and features a Zen 3+ architecture instead of Zen 4, it makes up in other areas. Its clock speeds are slightly lower with a base of 3.0 GHz and a boost of 4.3 GHz compared to the Z1 Extreme’s 3.3 GHz base and 5.1 GHz boost. It’s clear Lenovo sees potential in this chip for its new range of gaming handhelds, making us eager to see how it stands against AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

Let’s first break down the specs of each device before diving into the numbers. The Legion Go S, showcased at CES 2025, packs the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor along with 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 memory. It provides ample storage with a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD and entertains with an eight-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1200 IPS display. Meanwhile, the Asus ROG Ally X, which made its debut in mid-2024, comes powered by the robust Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip. It’s kitted out with 24GB of LPDDR5 memory and a generous 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, showing off its visuals on a seven-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1080 IPS screen.

When diving into the performance data, it’s clear that the Asus ROG Ally X, powered by the Z1 Extreme, has a slight edge over the Lenovo Legion Go S’s Z2 Go. Given the Z1 Extreme’s higher core count, faster clocks, and the newer 780M integrated GPU compared to the Z2 Go’s 680M, this performance boost was expected.

Interestingly, despite these differences, the gap was quite narrow across all three games tested, averaging just a 4 FPS advantage for the ROG Ally X over the Legion Go S. From the benchmarks, it is evident the Ryzen Z2 Go lags roughly 10% behind the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

A closer look reveals that with the Asus ROG Ally X priced at $799 and the Lenovo Legion Go at $729, the performance discrepancy isn’t as significant as some might have speculated, especially with the extra 8GB of memory and smaller display of the Ally X potentially giving it an edge. But, the Z2 Go somehow keeps up, even with those constraints inherent to handheld devices.

For gamers deciding between the two, the slightly larger screen of the Legion Go and its lower price may sway some, as the difference in FPS — marginal as it is — may not be noticeable to the average user in everyday gaming scenarios. Ultimately, while the Z1 Extreme-powered ROG Ally X shows superior numbers on paper, the real-world appeal of the Legion Go’s design and cost efficiency shouldn’t be underestimated.