Someone requested a guide for setting up the Legion Go, Lenovo’s portable console (8.8″, Z1 Extreme, 2023). Here it is! Integer scaling information is at the bottom.
Note: Proceed at your own risk with all the steps described below.
1. BIOS Setup
To access the BIOS settings, completely shut down the Go, then hold down the volume up button and, while holding it, press the power button. Keep holding the volume up button until the menu appears, then select “BIOS Setup”. A screen with the LEGION logo will appear. In the bottom right corner, click the blue “More Settings” button. From the left column, select “Configuration”. Change only the settings listed below, as these values are generally suitable for most games, providing optimal performance:
- UMA Frame Buffer Size: Set to 6G. Auto is not recommended as it works poorly in the latest BIOS version (29).
- Charging Speed Selection: Controls the charging speed of the Go under load. Does not affect charging speed when the device is off or in hibernation. The higher the setting (Slow, Medium, Fast), the more heat is generated and the louder the cooling fan noise. Default is “Slow”; it’s best to leave it as is. This does not impact performance.
- Maximum Memory Data Clock Speed: Frequency of RAM operation. Some claim that for the AMD chip in the Go, 6400 is a 1:1 ratio, while 7500 is 1:2 and performs worse. In gaming tests (using benchmarks from AC Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, and RDR2), the performance difference is about 3%-7% in favor of 7500. Energy consumption differences were not noticeable. It’s recommended to keep the default 7500MT/s.
- Core Number: Number of active CPU cores. Since TDP is shared between the CPU and GPU, reducing the number of cores can allocate more power to the GPU. Tested with 4, 6, and 8 cores. 6 cores performed slightly better than 8. With 4 cores, 1% and 0.1% fps drops were observed. It’s recommended to set it to 6 cores.
After making these changes, click “Exit” -> “Exit Saving Changes” -> “Yes”.
2. Windows Tuning
The instructions assume you have a clean and official version of Windows 11 installed.
2.1 Disable Core Isolation
- Click “Start” -> “Accounts” -> “Sign-in options” -> disable “For improved security, only allow Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts on this device (recommended)”.
- Click “Start” -> search for “Core isolation” and click the best match -> turn off “Memory integrity” in the window that opens.
2.2 Disable Unnecessary System Devices
- Click “Start” -> search for “Device Manager” and click the best match -> go to “System devices” -> disable the devices listed below.
- To disable, right-click on the device -> Disable device. If Windows prompts for a restart, choose “No”.
- Devices to disable:
- High Precision Event Timer
- Microsoft Virtual Disk Enumerator
- NDIS Virtual Network Adapter Enumerator
- Remote Desktop Device Redirector Bus
2.3 Registry Edits
- Click “Start” -> search for “Registry Editor” and click the best match -> open the Registry Editor. Navigate to:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile, find the “SystemResponsiveness” parameter and set it to 1.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Multimedia\SystemProfile\Tasks\Games, change the parameters Priority to 6, Scheduling Category and SFIO Priority to High.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\PriorityControl, set the “Win32PrioritySeparation” parameter to 1.
3. Tuning with Third-Party Programs
3.1 MSI Utility v3
- Download MSI Utility v3 (e.g., from here).
- Run MSI Utility v3 as administrator (right-click the file -> Run as administrator).
- In the open window, ensure that the “AMD Radeon Graphics” row has a checkmark in the “msi” column.
- Set the “interrupt priority” for “AMD Radeon Graphics” to “High”.
- Click “Apply” in the top right corner and close the utility.
3.2 ISCL Tool
- Download ISCL Tool (e.g., from here).
- Run Intelligent Standby List Cleaner ISLC, and click “Yes” in the pop-up window.
- Set the “The list size is at least” parameter to 1.
- Set the “Free memory is lower than” parameter to 4096.
- Set the “Wanted timer resolution” to 0.5.
- Check the boxes for “Start ISLC minimized and auto-Start monitoring”, “Launch ISLC on user logon (TaskScheduler)”, and “Enable custom timer resolution”.
Windows tuning is now complete. System priority is set to multimedia and games, enhancing performance significantly. Restart the Go.
4. Lenovo Legion Space and Handheld Companion
Lenovo Legion Space software is currently very buggy. It is recommended to use it only for two things: restoring the start and select buttons to their rightful places and updating the BIOS and drivers. After that, Lenovo Legion Space can be removed. Instead, it is highly recommended to install Handheld Companion (available here), which manages TDP better and handles back buttons assignment efficiently. Most importantly, it supports integer scaling properly. To enable it, go to quick tool -> Profiles -> at the bottom, expand “Graphics settings” and change the parameters:
- GPU Scaling: On
- Scaling mode: Preserve aspect ratio
- Integer scaling: On
- Resolution scale: 1/2 (1280×800)
- Image Sharpening and Framerate limit: as desired
Many users report that for integer scaling to work properly, the game should be run in a borderless window. Sometimes it works perfectly in exclusive full screen, but if not (if the image is blurry), go to the game’s exe file properties and check “Disable fullscreen optimizations” under the Compatibility tab. Click OK, launch the game, and enjoy a crisp image.
Regarding Windows OS power mode, some believe that the balanced mode is better. Tests in games show that the performance mode is much better.