Lenovo Legion Go S: Windows 11 vs. SteamOS Performance, and General Availability

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

SteamOS vs Windows performance on Legion Go S

  • Commenters describe SteamOS/Proton results as dramatically better than Windows on the same hardware, with Cyberpunk 2077 called out for ~28% higher FPS and ~25% better battery life.
  • People want deeper breakdowns (CPU vs GPU vs OS overhead, resource graphs) to understand where the gains come from, especially given that the Ryzen Z2 Go APU is only modestly ahead of the Steam Deck’s APU on paper.

Linux graphics stack momentum

  • Mesa 25.2 improvements to AMD’s next-gen geometry pipeline and better culling are cited as ongoing gains.
  • AMD’s shift away from proprietary GL/VK drivers toward fully open-source is seen as a long‑term win that should keep pushing Linux performance up.

Why Linux/Proton might beat Windows

  • Some argue the main differences are:
    • Vulkan/DXVK outperforming native DirectX, even on Windows.
    • Lower OS overhead and fewer background services, especially network‑calling telemetry, improving both FPS and battery life.
  • Others speculate about subtle feature mismatches (e.g., driver‑reported capabilities, missing shadows) but note that broad, cross‑title gains point to platform/stack effects, not single‑game quirks.

Windows, gaming, and Microsoft’s direction

  • Several users say they’ve largely abandoned Windows except for gaming, citing slow Explorer, confusing settings, ads, and start menu UX.
  • There’s disagreement over whether new “AI” and UX features meaningfully impact performance, but consensus that Windows has many small background services that add up.
  • Some hope these benchmarks push Microsoft to fix low‑level performance; others hope complacency drives gamers to Linux or consoles.
  • Multiple comments suggest Microsoft now prioritizes cloud and Office/M365 over Windows itself, with less dogfooding and more internal macOS/Linux use.

macOS and Linux for development

  • Strongly mixed views: some find macOS a joy to develop on, others complain about API churn, poor docs, and Swift/Obj‑C complexity.
  • WSL2 is praised as vastly better than Docker-for-mac for Linux‑targeted dev; others say Orbstack makes macOS containers “almost native.”
  • One thread notes Windows+PowerShell can be pleasant if you don’t try to force Unix workflows; another counters that disk I/O and compile times remain weaker than native Linux.

General‑purpose vs gaming OS debate

  • One side argues comparing Windows to SteamOS is “apples to oranges”: Windows must run legacy business apps; SteamOS is purpose‑built for gaming.
  • Others respond that:
    • The devices are marketed as Windows gaming handhelds, so comparison is exactly what matters to buyers.
    • SteamOS is effectively a general‑purpose Linux distro with a KDE desktop mode and can run non‑gaming workloads (sometimes via Wine).
    • For a handheld use case like “play Outer Wilds on a plane,” general‑purpose legacy support is irrelevant.

OEMs, licensing, and dual‑boot skepticism

  • Some suspect a familiar pattern: vendors publicly flirt with Linux but ship and promote Windows SKUs due to OEM licensing incentives and fear of support calls (e.g., anti‑cheat games not working).
  • Historical examples with BeOS and Windows OEM contracts are cited to illustrate how dependent large PC makers can be on Windows‑related margins.

Win32 as Linux’s de facto stable ABI

  • Several comments note the irony that Linux, which deliberately avoided a frozen kernel ABI/HAL, now effectively has one in user space via Wine/Proton and Win32.
  • There’s debate:
    • One side thinks lack of a stable ABI is what has held back “Year of the Linux Desktop” and that distros should layer one on top.
    • Another defends Linux’s ability to “move fast” by not ossifying low‑level interfaces, pointing to long‑term stability offerings like RHEL/Ubuntu LTS instead.
  • Someone characterizes Wine itself as the missing stable ABI/HAL, joking about its “20‑years‑in‑the‑making overnight success.”

Adoption barriers and user experience

  • Anti‑cheat remains a major blocker for competitive/multiplayer gamers even as many single‑player titles now work well on Proton.
  • Some report early Steam Deck quirks (slow/no boot when offline, docking issues), though others can’t reproduce them and assume they may have been fixed.
  • A few users have already moved entirely to Linux/macOS for daily use, keeping Windows only when forced, with ads in Windows cited as a tipping point.

Frame generation on handhelds

  • One Legion Go owner sticks with Windows primarily for advanced driver‑level frame generation (AFMF 2.1), claiming it can double/triple apparent FPS and is ideal for handheld screens.
  • Others counter that SteamOS already supports FSR-based frame generation (and via GE‑Proton and mods even newer variants), and that Valve is unusually fast at shipping such improvements in the Linux world.
  • There’s disagreement over input lag: some say framegen adds too much latency for action games; others report recent implementations add ~10–25 ms, which they find acceptable on small handheld displays.