Lenovo LOQ Lenovo LOQ Essential Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD Review
The Lenovo LOQ packs an RTX 3050 and a 144Hz screen for about $500. It's a solid budget gaming pick, as long as you can live with its small SSD.
Overview
The Lenovo LOQ is a budget gaming laptop that gets the basics right. It's got a 144Hz screen, an RTX 3050, and 16GB of RAM, all for a price that's hard to argue with. Don't expect it to feel premium, but it'll definitely run your games.
Performance
The RTX 3050 is fine for 1080p gaming on medium to high settings, landing in the 68th percentile for GPU power. The Intel 12450HX CPU is middle-of-the-road at the 48th percentile, so it's not a bottleneck for most games. The 144Hz screen is smooth, but its overall quality score is only in the 40th percentile, so colors and brightness aren't its strong suit.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Price is its biggest strength. 76th
- 144Hz screen is smooth for gaming. 75th
- 16GB of DDR5 RAM is a good starting point. 69th
- Reliability score is solid at the 75th percentile.
Cons
- The RTX 3050 only has 4GB of VRAM, which limits some newer games. 35th
- 512GB SSD is small and scores low on storage.
- It's not very portable, scoring poorly on compactness.
- Battery life is a complete unknown, which is never a good sign.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| CPU | Intel Core i5 12450HX |
| Cores | 8 |
| Frequency | 2.4 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 12 MB |
Graphics
| GPU | RTX 3050 |
| Type | discrete |
| VRAM | 4 GB |
| VRAM Type | GDDR6 |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 16 GB |
| RAM Generation | DDR5 |
| Storage | 512 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 15.6" |
| Resolution | 1920 (Full HD) |
| Refresh Rate | 144 Hz |
Connectivity
| HDMI | HDMI |
| Wi-Fi | WiFi 6 |
Physical
| Weight | 2.3 kg / 5.0 lbs |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
Value & Pricing
At around $500, the value is undeniable. You're getting real gaming hardware for the price of a basic productivity laptop. Just know you're making clear compromises on storage, portability, and screen quality to hit that price.
vs Competition
Compared to a pricier Lenovo Legion Pro, you're giving up a lot of power and build quality. Against something like the ASUS Zenbook Duo, you lose portability and a fancy screen but gain a proper gaming GPU. The MSI Vector and Gigabyte AORUS are in a different performance league, but they cost way more. This LOQ sits in its own budget niche.
| Spec | Lenovo LOQ Lenovo LOQ Essential Gaming Laptop, 15.6" FHD | Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M4 Max, Space Black) | ASUS Zenbook ASUS 14" Zenbook Duo UX8406CA Multi-Touch Laptop | Lenovo Legion Pro Series Legion Pro 7i Gen 10 (16 83F50019US | MSI Vector MSI 16" Vector 16 HX AI Gaming Laptop | Gigabyte AORUS GIGABYTE AORUS ELITE 16 Gaming Laptop - 165Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5 12450HX | Apple M4 Max | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 128 | 32 | 64 | 32 | 32 |
| Storage (GB) | 512 | 4096 | 1024 | 2048 | 2048 | 2048 |
| Screen | 15.6" 1920x1080 | 14.2" 3024x1964 | 14" 2880x1800 | 16" 2560x1600 | 16" 2560x1600 | 16" 2560x1600 |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 | Apple (40-Core) | Intel Arc Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 |
| OS | Windows 11 Home | macOS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Pro | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight (kg) | 2.3 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.3 |
| Battery (Wh) | — | 72 | 75 | 99 | 90 | 99 |
Verdict
Buy this if you need a dedicated gaming machine on a tight budget and don't care about a small SSD or taking it on the road. It's a straightforward box-checker for 1080p gaming.