Verdict
A great low-cost gaming laptop , with a better sieve and strong specs than most of the contender at this price breaker point .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Like most of the handsome gaming laptop computer maker , Lenovo has realised that there ’s a develop market of people await for an easy step into microcomputer gaming , but who do n’t have the desire – or the budget – for a £ 2000 colossus on their desk . It ’s revamping its efforts with the new Lenovo LOQ 15i .
Previous try in the IdeaPad Gaming range were always a small lacklustre , reliant on existing consumer laptop computer designs and underwhelming spec , but the Lenovo LOQ 15i could be a grownup step in the right direction , with more gamer - rivet styling on the outside and much faster component part within .
Sure , it still reckon a piddling like a halfway house between the IdeaPad and Legion lines , but the LOQ 15i sits much closer to the latter , and our test model come with a Core i5 - 13500H / NVIDIA RTX 4060 spec that ’s a small step up from the entry - level RTX 4050 glasses we usually see at this toll point . It might not surpass in every area , but Lenovo has made some sensible selection and focused where it reckon .
Design and Keyboard
One common complaint about cheaper gambling laptops is that they tend to look chunky and experience a little cheap . That ’s not really the case with the LOQ 15i . It ’s big , with a desktop footprint of 359 x 264 mm , but the wedge - form profile and some clever smoothing at the edge and box serve make it look slimmer and lighter than it is . The metallic chapeau and grey plastics on the base feel hearty , despite a piffling flex behind the screen , and the styling does n’t scream gamer laptop computer at you . In fact , you could get out with using it as a line of work gadget . Only the customisable RGB kindling gives the plot away , though customisation is limited to four vertical zone rather than per key .
The vent take up a bonnie ball of each side of the laptop , but there ’s still space for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type - C port and a 3.5 mm audio recording socket on the left - hand side , with a undivided USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type - A on the right .
As with most gaming laptop , the key connectivity is at the rear , keep any trailing cables out of the manner . Here you ’ll find the DC power input signal , another two USB case - A ports , Gigabit Ethernet and an HDMI 2.0 TV out . As for wireless connectivity , you ’ve contract 2×2 Wi - Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 .
The keyboard is broadly similar to what you ’ll find on Lenovo ’s mid - range IdeaPad laptops , though Lenovo claim it has super - fast actuation and 100 % anti - ghosting controls . Gamers might want something with a clickier flavor and a more or less faster spring back , but it ’s hushed , comfortable and surprisingly undecomposed for typewriting , partly because the deck underneath is so firm . There ’s nothing too gaming - specific about the layout , but the cursor key have been separated from the main consistence , making them easier to find in a tinge .
As for the touchpad , it ’s a proficient sizing at 12 x 7.5 cm , and while patently not glass it ’s smooth with precise trailing . That wo n’t stop you reach for a mouse when you ’re loading up Starfield or Baldur ’s Gate III , but you wo n’t need to do so when you ’re voyage Windows or searching through a Steam sales event .
Lenovo does n’t make any claims about sustainable stuff in the LOQ ’s construction , and while the out publicity is cardboard , dense black polystyrene foam insert are used to protect the laptop computer during transportation system . On the plus side , the charge plate used are labelled as recyclable , and themselves practice 29 % recycled depicted object .
Display and Sound
Like the majority of more low-cost gambling laptop , the LOQ 15i uses a fairly basic 15.6 in 1080p projection screen , albeit one with a 144Hz max refresh pace . The good news is that it ’s a lilliputian skillful than the 1080p screens I ’ve bet at recently on the HP Victus 16 and theAcer Nitro 5 . Where they were stick with maximal brightness levels of around 250 nit , the screen on the LOQ can reach a much brighter 351 nits . Combined with a black-market level of 0.189nits , you ’re look at much good dividing line degree of 1963.5:1 . At full brightness configurations , you get rich , punchier images when you ’re play game and watching movies .
It ’s not all practiced word . As with those screens , colour replication is only fair to middling . SRGB coverage check at 61.6 % , with DCI - P3 at 43.9 % . This is n’t as big a mickle for gamers as it is for artist and photographers , but it ’s still somewhat disappointing . What ’s more , colour accuracy is n’t quite where it needs to be , with an middling Delta - E of 4.87 .
For amusement design , this is n’t a disaster . Brightness and contrast count for a lot , and I found watching Netflix television and playing games perfectly pleasurable on the LOQ ’s screen . However , it might give you back if you wish your gambling laptop to double up as a creative puppet .
When it comes to Audio , deplorably , the LOQ 15i is no better and no worse than the rival . The turnout from the speakers is boxy , without much in the means of immersive stereo , and while there ’s some gravy and rumble in the dispirited - end , the overall look is thin and rough . If you want to make the most of your gambling time , you ’re get going to need to plug some headphones in .
Performance
The best thing about the LOQ 15i is its performance , with Lenovo pairing the Intel Core i5 13500H with 16 GB random-access memory and an RTX 4060 GPU run at a upper limit of 115W. The Core i5 is n’t one of Intel ’s power plant chips , with four P cores and eight atomic number 99 cores running a total of 16 thread , but you wo n’t have any issues execute quotidian productiveness applications or even most originative apps . In PCMark 10 , it go down between the HP Victus 16 , with its Ryzen 5 7640HS CPU , and the Acer Nitro 5 , with the last - gen Core i5 - 12500H , and it ’s a similar narrative in the Cinebench rendition bench mark , though the LOQ pulls onwards in Geekbench 6 ’s multi - threaded trial run .
When it comes to gaming , the RTX 4060 gives the LOQ 15 the bound over the competition . It go past the RTX 4050 - powered Acer and HP laptops in the 3DMark Time Spy bench mark , then go on to drive home superior results in Returnal , Rainbow Six : Extraction and Cyberpunk 2077 , though there ’s only a single frame of reference in it in the Extraction test .
You still wo n’t be playing Cyberpunk 2077 with Ray - Tracing turn up to Ultra at 60fps , even with helper from DLSS 3.0 , but you ’ll be hunky-dory with it turned off or with NVIDIA ’s fancy framing - generation technical school added to the commixture . Less demand title will be great at 1080p at maxed - out contingent preferences , and I had a reasonably estimable time playing Starfield on the gamey preset , with a little help from FSR 2.0 .
What ’s more , there are signs that the execution is constrain by the default Balanced thermic profile . spread out up Lenovo Vantage , trade to public presentation and turn the GPU overclock on , and you’re able to get a ample shape rate boost – up to 20fps in Rainbow Six : Extraction and a good 10fps in Cyberpunk 2077 with the Ray Tracing Ultra preset . Things will get moderately noisy , not to mention live by the exhaust vents , but these are still impressive results .
The SSD could be quicker , with speeds at the low-pitched destruction of what we ’d bear from a gambling laptop , but this does n’t appear to have any serious impact while playing games , even more demanding title such as Starfield . The limited 512 GB capacity is more of an issue , though there ’s a spare M2 slot to upgrade – provided you ’re happy to unscrew and remove the whole underside plate first .
Software
Lenovo is n’t the worst offender when it comes to bloatware , but only two of the four Lenovo utilities instal have any real determination . Lenovo Vantage is chiefly useful for its Legion ascendancy jury , where you could conform the thermal visibility and GPU overclock configurations . It also integrate some public presentation and security functions , but the first thing these advise you to do is buy a £ 60 - a - year proactive criminal maintenance declaration . I ’d economize the John Cash and let Windows take care of itself instead .
Lenovo hotkeys are also handy if you want to adjust the keys for switching the refresh rate or performance profiles , but you may manoeuver clear of Legion Arena and Lenovo Now . The former is yet another gaming hub , giving access to games from across different on-line stores , while Lenovo Now is little more than a shopfront for Lenovo services and stock . McAfee anti - virus also come pre - put in , but you could easily get rid of it if you prefer your own anti - malware software or Windows ’ built - in shaft .
Battery life
If the Lenovo makes a monolithic compromise anywhere , it ’s on the shelling life . The LOQ 15i handle just three hour and 20 minutes in the microcomputer Mark 10 Modern Office benchmark – one of the worst upshot I ’ve witnessed – while an hour of streaming picture at maximal smartness saw the charge floor drop by a whacking 38 % . This wo n’t be a problem if it expend most of its working life-time within reach of the briny , but if you ’re looking for a gambling laptop that can keep you entertained on the go , look elsewhere .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
.
The LOQ 15i is n’t sodding , but it drive home excellent play performance at 1080p resolve , in a good - looking laptop with solid ergonomics and a vivid , vibrant filmdom . Despite strong competition , it ’s one of the good low-priced gambling laptops out there now .
over raw play fastness
The screen still fall short when it comes to color reproduction , and battery life is border awful . You ’ll struggle to find anything good on either enumeration at this price , but expend more and a good screenland and improved stamina could be yours .
Final Thoughts
Where Lenovo ’s premature gaming laptops were sleazy but underpowered , the LOQ 15 delivers a stronger all - round specification in an attractive , affordable software package . you’re able to go cheap by corrupt an RTX 4050 model , but this version hit the sweet touch between cost and carrying into action , giving you ample power for 1080p gaming without any serious compromise , but at a terms point that ’s closer to reasonable than ridiculous .
There are some good machines hovering around this price point , with both the HP Victus 16 and Acer Nitro 5 give strong boot for the buck . But , for my money , the LOQ 15 wins thanks to its better , brighter screen and its RTX 4060 spec . If you require to plot without paying cockamamy money , it ’s an excellent steal .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we reexamine get going through a serial publication of unvarying checks designed to gauge key thing include build timbre , performance , concealment tone and battery life .
These admit formal synthetical benchmarks and written exam , plus a series of tangible world check mark .
FAQs
LOQ is Lenovo ’s new budget to mid - range play mark . LOQ supercede the IdeaPad Gaming U-boat - brand that went before . The key difference is the look of the laptop computer , convey the innovation more in line with the eminent - remainder Lenovo Legion gaming range .
The LOQ 15i uses Lenovo ’s “ whisper - quiet thermal solution ” , featuring 4 estrus pipes , dual 85 mm 12V in high spirits - speed fans , a 28.6 % large gentle wind inlet and 24 % larger wall socket vent .
