Abstract created by Sensible Solutions AI
In abstract:
- PCWorld experiences that Lenovo’s Legion Go 2 handheld gaming PC worth surged by $650 in below six months, leaping from $1,349.99 to $1,999.99.
- Different Legion Go S fashions additionally skilled worth hikes starting from $50 to $150, whereas competitor Asus ROG Ally costs remained secure at $1,000 for the highest mannequin.
- Part shortages look like driving these important worth will increase, significantly affecting higher-end fashions with Ryzen Z Excessive processors within the handheld gaming market.
When you’re uninterested in listening to how costly PC elements are getting due to the “AI” RAM crunch, think about how drained I’m of writing about it. Nevertheless it appears prefer it isn’t going anyplace quickly. Lenovo’s Legion Go handheld sequence, which stretches from nominally inexpensive on the Legion Go S to fairly dang expensive for the Go 2, can also be climbing up there.
The highest-of-the-line Legion Go 2 launched at $1,349.99 late final 12 months. In line with the Greatest Purchase itemizing, this package deal with a Ryzen Z2 Excessive CPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage is now $1,999.99. That’s a $650 improve in lower than six months, as VideoCardz.com notes (although that exact mannequin is at the moment out of inventory).
This received me curious, so I used the Web Archive to match the present costs of all Legion Go S configs on Greatest Purchase to their unique launch costs. Excluding used and refurbished packages, I discovered 5 variants:
Clearly the costs are trending increased, and the extra premium the package deal, the extra Ryzen Z Excessive the distinction. However as VideoCardz factors out, comparable handhelds just like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally haven’t seen the identical worth improve. The Xbox Ally X with the Z2 Excessive processor is identical $1,000 at Greatest Purchase that it was at launch. The much less highly effective non-X variant is $600, even at the moment on sale for $540. Both no one’s shopping for the Asus machines or Lenovo’s makes an attempt at stockpiling RAM have failed spectacularly. (Or, presumably, these built-in RAM modules come from AMD together with the Ryzen CPUs.)
It’s price stating that the Steam Deck, which stays the most well-liked PC gaming handheld even years after its launch, went out of inventory six weeks in the past and it’s nonetheless out of inventory as we speak (a minimum of on Valve’s product web page). Different handheld gaming PCs are being curtailed and even cancelled attributable to dwindling element provides and excessive costs.
One of the best time to purchase a handheld was six months in the past. The worst time to purchase is perhaps six months from now, assuming that’ll even be doable.
