Lenovo LOQ 15

Lenovo launched the Lenovo LOQ 15 line last year, creating a new market for low-cost gaming laptops and desktops. Our lineup has been updated for this year, and one of the new models is the 15-inch LOQ gaming laptop, which comes with the newest Intel 14th-generation mobile CPUs.

For those seeking the newest gear, there is now only one configuration available, which combines the Core i7-14700HX with an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and a 1080p or 1440p display choice. Because of this, it’s a great option if you want a mid-range gaming notebook without going over budget. Does it, however, succeed in offering the ideal ratio of cost to performance?

Rating: 7.5 / 10

Construct and design

The updated LOQ 15 has a striking resemblance to the model that debuted the previous year. Even though it’s made of plastic, it doesn’t feel cheap. The laptop seems like it’s worth the price, and Lenovo did a nice job with the finish. The screen wobbling is minimal, and the hinge is incredibly sturdy despite the highly polished edges and corners.

I particularly adore Lenovo’s continued addition of a lid extension, which facilitates one-handed laptop opening. With that, the display’s hinge permits it to open back up to 180 degrees, which is great if you want to prevent glares and reflections. The ports are primarily shifted to the back, in line with the company’s Legion line of laptops, while the LOQ and Lenovo logos are positioned vertically on the top and bottom corners of the lid.

The bottom cover features ventilation holes for the two cooling fans to draw in fresh air, while the exhaust vents are located on the back of the device. Additionally, the cover contains rubberized feet that provide a secure hold when operating the laptop on a smooth surface. Ten ordinary Philips head screws—six long and four small—are needed to remove the bottom cover. You may access the battery, two DDR5 SO-DIMM slots (behind a shield), two M.2 slots for SSD storage, and the Wi-Fi card by carefully removing the bottom panel with a prying tool. You’ll notice that one of the M.2 SSD slots has a smaller 2242 size rather than the regular 2280, and there’s space for a larger battery.

Display

A 15.6-inch full HD (1,920 x 1,080) IPS display with a refresh rate of 144 Hz and support for Nvidia G-Sync is included with the basic model of the Lenovo LOQ 15. This panel has a rated peak brightness of 300 nits and can display 100% of the sRGB color gamut.

Additionally supported is an adaptive refresh rate, which causes the panel to switch from 144Hz to 60Hz when the charger is unplugged to 144Hz when it is plugged back in. With the Lenovo Vantage software, you can turn this feature on or off. It’s a great way to conserve battery life.

The matte coating helps to minimize glares and reflections, and the brightness is sufficient for indoor use. Having said that, I think Lenovo had to make some compromises to keep the laptop’s pricing the same, even though the backlight uniformity could have been improved. The visual experience of the game is about average, and while the response speeds aren’t the fastest, it shouldn’t matter unless you’re a professional player in esports.

In my opinion, the display is sufficient for most daily computer chores and media consumption; nevertheless, the 1440p panel is a much better option if you are concerned about visual quality.

Trackpad and keyboard

The laptop has a roomy layout and a full-sized keyboard with a dedicated numeric keypad. The keyboard, which has curved keycaps like the majority of Lenovo laptops, is a carryover from the ThinkPad series of laptops manufactured by the business. The typing experience was great, with 100% anti-ghosting support and 1.5mm key travel. Actually, I was able to type rapidly and efficiently after I became accustomed to the layout.

You are now only able to set up four zones because per-key RGB lighting is no longer available. Nonetheless, it’s nicely done, and typing in dimly lit or dark areas is made easier by the LEDs that show through the key legends. The Fn + Spacebar key combination allows you to switch between RGB modes, just like on the majority of Lenovo gaming laptops. The Fn + Q key combination allows you to choose between the several performance modes.

Moving on, I discovered that the touchpad was smooth in its support of Windows motions and responsive. It felt quick to switch between Windows, browse web pages, and even track while making exact photo adjustments.

Performance and software

Windows 11 Home is pre-installed on the Lenovo LOQ 15, however you may upgrade to the Pro edition for an additional fee. Except for the Vantage app, which controls several components of the laptop, the preinstalled Lenovo apps are all essentially bloatware.

Vantage not only monitors the hardware but also allows you to operate the MUX switch, enable rapid battery charging, adjust the audio settings, check for system updates, and select from a variety of performance modes.

Compared to the previous generation, the laptop had a better cooling system from Lenovo, which used two heat pipes and two cooling fans with a “sealed chamber” to direct airflow in a single channel. Air is drawn in from underneath and lets out from the rear. It’s good to see that all of the hot air exits through the rear rather than the sides, where vents typically cause hot air to spray over your hands when you’re gaming.

The fans are loud and ramp up quickly while the system is operating at full load, but if you use good earbuds, that shouldn’t be a problem. With a rated TDP of 157W, the CPU can easily exceed 100W under stress. However, when gaming, it mostly draws 80W since the GPU consumes most of the power. About that, under prolonged loads, the RTX 4060 on the LOQ 15 was able to reach a peak power of about 110W, and both chips registered temperatures below 85 degrees.

The results show that the LOQ 15 received 1,254 points in the multi-core CPU benchmark test and 100 points in the single-core test on Cinebench 2024. In terms of Cinebench R23, it received 1,697 points for single core and 23,128 points for CPU multi-core. Another excellent benchmarking tool for assessing performance is PCMark 10, where the laptop achieved an overall score of 9,568 points—a notable improvement over the Core i7-13700H. When it comes to GPU-intensive benchmarks, the LOQ 15 excels as well. In 3DMark Fire Strike, the laptop achieved over 25,000 points, and in Time Spy, over 10,000 points.

Given that this laptop’s RTX 4060 can boost up to 110W, the majority of contemporary AAA titles ought to run smoothly. Thanks to upscaling technologies, even demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 may attain stable framerates of 90 frames per second and higher.

Life of the battery

With the 60Whr battery unit that powers the LOQ 15, I was able to acquire roughly 4 hours of battery life throughout my tests. That’s a little disappointing, particularly considering that a bigger battery unit could fit there. If you want to get the maximum mileage out of your battery, I recommend switching to the iGPU-only mode. However, your mileage may vary based on the performance option that is enabled. You can also lower the screen’s brightness and refresh rate, and you might even disable the keyboard’s backlight.

Super Rapid Charge Pro—basically, quick charging—is supported by the included 230W charger. The laptop’s battery is said to be charged to up to 40% capacity in 10 minutes, 80% capacity in 30 minutes, and 100% capacity in 60 minutes. The charging speeds I tested were mostly in line with Lenovo’s claims. It’s good to know that the laptop also supports 140W USB Type-C charging, but regrettably, I didn’t have a strong enough charger to test this feature.

Verdict

The new Lenovo LOQ 15 is a very competitive gaming notebook, with a starting price of approximately Rs 1,15,000. I would prefer a better quality 1440p display in this size format, even though the basic 1080p display is still quite excellent. Although the laptop’s design isn’t particularly elegant, I was nevertheless pleased with how it was implemented because it looks good and seems to be worth the money. Naturally, it is heavier than the majority of contemporary gaming notebooks and performs worse in terms of battery life—a problem that the majority of gaming laptops already have. The speakers and webcam are also mediocre, which raises other small concerns. rivals are the Dell G15 Gaming and ASUS TUF Gaming A16.

All things considered, one of the few gaming laptops with Intel’s most recent 14th-generation CPU is the Lenovo LOQ 15. That makes it an excellent choice for gamers looking for a dependable system for 1080p gaming, especially when paired with an RTX 4060 GPU. Solid performance is guaranteed by the combination of Intel’s Core i7-14700HX and Nvidia’s RTX 4060, and Lenovo has made sure customers have appropriate control by including the Vantage program.

To Read the Next BenQ X300G Gadgets Reviews, Click Here