Lenovo has just released a new line of gaming laptops called the Lenovo LOQ. So, if you are a gamer looking for a portable yet affordable option, or just starting off into PC gaming, well, here are 5 reasons why you should consider getting yourself one.
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Alright, before anything, just to let you all know that although this laptop is spelled as LOQ, it is pronounced as “lock,” so keep that in mind.
Think of Lenovo LOQ as the baby brother to the Lenovo Legion lineup. It aims to be the entry laptop for those who want to start gaming but at a reasonable price point without sacrificing performance. Actually, that should already be Point 1 and Point 2. No matter, let’s dive into that further.
#1 – Design & Build Quality
First of all, the actual design and build quality. Now, this should be half of the reason why you should consider buying this particular gaming laptop, as the Lenovo LOQ surely delivers in this department. The storm grey color scheme and the subtle blue accents are very understated and minimalist, which I really love. This means that you won’t scream, “Oh my God, I’m such a gamer guy,” in the classroom with a fancy spaceship-looking laptop.
Now, the body itself, even though it’s plastic, is solidly built with minimal screen flex and keyboard flex when you press it in. Even the hinge looks and feels super robust, which is probably why the only thing that Lenovo flexes is the MIL-STD-810H US military-grade standards.
Also important is the sheer range of ports available on this laptop so you don’t need to live the “dongle life” as Lenovo gave this a lot of thought for gamers.
On the left, there’s the 3.5mm mic combo jack and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 that supports up to 140W USB-C charging and a DisplayPort 1.4.
On the right, there’s a physical camera disengage switch, which I love how it’s there instead of typically putting the switch next to the camera above the screen to keep things very minimal. Then there’s also a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.
Behind the laptop, there are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an Ethernet port, an HDMI 2.1 port which supports up to an 8K 60Hz screen, and a proprietary Lenovo DC-in connector for 170W fast charging power brick. Yep, imagine my surprise that this thin power brick could actually deliver a freaking 170W of power.
#2 – Keyboard & Screen
Next would be the keyboard and screen. In gaming, there are two main components that you will be obviously interacting with, which are the screen and the keyboard.
Firstly, yes, the touchpad is super responsive and accurate, which is great. And it’s also great if you’re a beast who thinks that you can also game on a trackpad. And that goes the same for you controller fans out there, don’t think that you are a real gamer.
So the main keys of the keyboard are full-size, including the arrow keys, and they even managed to fit in a full number pad on the side.
Now, the keys are very tactile, with a super deep and satisfying travel of 1.5 mm. And you have the option to have the backlighting to be a four-zone RGB for a little bit of pizzazz.
As for the screen, there are a few options, but the one which I have over here is the 165Hz WQHD IPS panel. Now, it is 100% sRGB color-accurate and actually looks really awesome while gaming.
Now, colors and contrast are more than satisfactory, but only at 350 nits initial brightness. So, don’t expect to be gaming on the beach with this laptop. Is anyone gaming at the side of the beach? Let me know. But of course, the main highlight is this 165Hz that feels so buttery smooth, and it’s also Nvidia G-SYNC compatible. So, no screen tearing over here.
I’m sure some of you may wonder what’s the point of having a 165Hz WQHD screen when you won’t be crossing the 165Hz limit in most games. Well, you have a point, but with this extra resolution and better color reproduction on this screen compared to other panel choices, it will make your gaming experience way much more enjoyable. And you will be able to tell a difference.
#3- AI & Lenovo Vantage
Now, a feature specific to this laptop since it is a Lenovo gaming product is the inclusion of LA1 AI chip. This chip uses the Lenovo AI Engine+ proprietary software for machine learning and tunes your system by automatically giving you the optimal performance that you need. You can think of this as a brain that connects and processes information from all parts of the laptop to help improve the laptop’s performance, not just for gaming but also everyday tasks as well.
You can access it through Lenovo’s Vantage software, which is so simple to use, even for beginners. There’s even the Legion Edge system where you can toggle between different settings very easily without digging into 10 different menus.
Lenovo also mentioned that this is the only laptop within its price range to have a Multiplexer switch (MUX Switch). Now, if you are unfamiliar, it is basically the ability to automatically switch between the integrated graphics to the dedicated GPU to deliver the best battery life for the laptop.
This brings us to the graphics card that powers this laptop. You can get the Lenovo LOQ with up to an RTX 4060. As you can tell from the GPU options available, they are really aiming at the budget gamer who is looking for the best performance to get their best money’s worth.
Lenovo also says that their gaming laptop range will squeeze in every Hertz of performance it could per watt, so cooling is important to keep the system running at the highest-rated speeds. It is equipped with dual 85mm high-speed fans with lots of ventilation, which you can see from these huge air intakes.
#4 – Processor
Next would be the processor. As for the latest laptop range, of course, it needs to come with the latest hardware. Makes sense, right?
Well, here in Malaysia, you can spec the Lenovo LOQ up to a 13th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-13700H processor. But I will highlight a couple of processors so you can get a better idea of what you could be getting.
Now, the mid-tier Intel® Core™ i5-13420H processor has a total of 8 cores, which are 4 P-cores and 4 E-cores. It also comes with 12MB of Intel Smart Cache and a max turbo frequency of 4.6GHz.
If you’re looking for more power, definitely go for the Intel® Core™ i7-13700H processor that has a total of 14 cores, 6 are P-cores and 8 are E-cores, with 24MB of Intel Smart Cache and a max turbo frequency of 5.0GHz.
In case you’re not familiar with what P-cores and E-cores are, well, to really simplify it, P-cores are the processing units that do all the heavy lifting when you’re running heavy applications such as gaming and whatnot. This ensures that you’re getting the best performance out of the chip, but it comes at the cost of power or battery life if you’re running the laptop on a battery.
To balance this out, Intel has E-cores, which handle smaller tasks such as background tasks and web browsing, which use less power and save you on battery life.
Let’s not forget about RAM and ROM, which are also super important, and I’m happy to tell you that this comes with blazing-fast DDR5 RAM, which is rated at 5200MHz, and a PCIe Gen 4 SSD that has bonkers performance as well.
#5 – Future Proofing
So, more and more laptops are starting to have integrated chips used for things like RAM and SSD, all in the name of portability. Now, this, in effect, could introduce more e-waste as you can’t readily upgrade parts of your laptop. So, the whole laptop goes out the window and into a landfill.
So, it’s great that Lenovo is keeping parts of this laptop user-upgradable, such as RAM, which has two slots, and SSD also has two slots as well. Now, you can even swap the Wi-Fi card if you wish, which is such a simple thing, but it will help you keep your laptop hopefully running for a longer time.
All you need is a simple screwdriver to open a bunch of screws and you’re in. Surely, a two big thumbs up for this!
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, what do I think of the Lenovo LOQ? Well, it is decently priced, build quality is great for its class, and the overall performance is more than adequate for beginner gamers or someone who has a little more budget for more performance.
Talking about the price, the Lenovo LOQ starts at RM3,849, and you can get it now in stores or the Lenovo official website, Shopee, or Lazada, which I’ll link down below.
And you can customize it to your own liking and needs, which is always a welcoming fact compared to a lot of other brands that only offer a specific set of specs for the user.
🛒 Get the Lenovo LOQ at the link below:-
Website – https://www.lenovo.com/my/en/c/laptops/loq-laptops/
Shopee – https://shopee.com.my/m/lenovo-on-shopee
Lazada – https://pages.lazada.com.my/wow/gcp/route/lazada/my/upr_1000345_lazada/channel/my/
