Dave2D reviews the Lenovo Legion Go S running Valve's SteamOS instead of Windows, calling it the first true competitor to the Steam Deck. He compares handheld gaming performance and experience across the two operating systems.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters cite it as reviewer evidence that games run faster and with better battery life on Linux/SteamOS than on Windows on identical hardware.
“It’s not just that the games run faster but that battery life is also better.”HN comment, 2025
“It’s not just that the games run faster but that battery life is also better.”
Review showing handheld running faster on SteamOS
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This story has been floating around for weeks already. I’ve seen two different videos talking about this already including one claiming Microsoft has already stated they are working on it. It’s not just that the games run faster but that battery life is also better. On a handheld system battery life will change minds more than frame rates. Correction: it’s been a month and they had both devices: this video And it’s $130 cheaper.
Cites itdijitOct 2025
“What you’re saying doesn’t align with what PC reviewers are stating outright though.”
Reviewer evidence that Linux gaming is comparable or better
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What you’re saying doesn’t align with what PC reviewers are stating outright though. The Legion GO being the most prime example[0]. Some games work better on Linux, some worse, but largely comparable[1]. I don’t believe that reviewers are paid to promote this view. [0]: this video [1]: link
Cites itsimoncionNov 2025
“here's one instance of the original coverage of the phenomenon about which I spoke”
Original coverage of Linux outperforming Windows on same hardware
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> Handhelds and desktop PCs can perform differently. The handhelds we're talking about are -essentially- a low-power [0] laptop in a tiny case. Again, we're talking about exactly the same hardware, that provides substantially worse performance when Windows is the OS than when Linux is the OS. For reference, here's one instance of the original coverage of the phenomenon about which I spoke: < this video > [0] But higher power than one might naively expect!
Cites itcraftkillerDec 2025
“now it is the opposite: Linux is outperforming Windows[0].”
Evidence Linux now outperforms Windows for games
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That is why I bought a steam deck: to financially support Valve's Linux efforts. I barely play games anymore but thanks to the Wine devs, CodeWeavers, and Valve, I no longer have to listen to the knuckle-draggers claiming that "Linux sucks because it can't play games". In fact, now it is the opposite: Linux is outperforming Windows[0]. [0] this video
