Ryzen Z2 Go Appears 10% Slower Than Ryzen Z1 Extreme — Legion Go S vs. ROG Ally X Showdown

AMD recently introduced their latest APU, the Ryzen Z2 Go, sparking plenty of interest about its performance compared to the prior Ryzen Z1 series. Fortunately, the tech enthusiasts over at Fps VN have quenched our curiosity by conducting FPS tests with the Lenovo Legion Go S and the Asus ROG Ally X, testing three various games with different power configurations.

The Lenovo Legion Go S marks its debut powered by the Ryzen Z2 Go APU. Despite having only half the cores of the Z1 Extreme and relying on a Zen 3+ architecture rather than Zen 4, it manages with lower base (3.0 GHz compared to 3.3 GHz) and boost (4.3 GHz against 5.1 GHz) clock speeds. Yet, Lenovo opted for this chipset in their newest gaming handheld, prompting us to see how it measures up against the earlier, more powerful AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip.

Let’s quickly compare the two gadgets before delving into the test results. Presenting at CES 2025, the Lenovo Legion Go S comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor, featuring 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 RAM. It boasts a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD for storage and an eight-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1200 IPS display. In contrast, the Asus ROG Ally X, launched mid-2024, is armed with an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, supported by 24GB of LPDDR5 memory. It packs a bigger punch with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD and employs a seven-inch, 120 Hz, 1920×1080 IPS screen.

Examining the performance data, the results reveal that the Asus ROG Ally X with the Z1 Extreme consistently outpaces the Lenovo Legion Go S housing the Z2 Go. That’s hardly surprising given that the Z1 Extreme boasts twice the number of cores, higher clock speeds, double the L3 cache, and a more recent 780M integrated GPU compared to the Z2 Go’s 680M.

However, the performance gap isn’t vast, showing an average difference of about 4 FPS favoring the ROG Ally X over the Legion Go S throughout the three games tested. To quantify it, the Ryzen Z2 Go offers roughly 10% less performance than the Z1 Extreme, according to these benchmarks.

Given the ROG Ally X’s 8GB RAM advantage and slightly smaller, lower-resolution screen, one might expect a more pronounced performance gap. Yet, it appears AMD and Lenovo have fine-tuned the Z2 Go to punch above its apparent weight class, adhering to power limits typical in compact handheld devices.

Price-wise, the Asus ROG Ally X is set at $799, a bit higher than the Lenovo Legion Go, which starts at $729. While the Z1 Extreme-powered Ally X certainly clinches a win in raw performance, buyers might find the larger display and slightly cheaper price of the Legion Go alluring, especially since most gamers might not perceive the 4 FPS difference during gameplay.