Lenovo’s Legion series has come a long way since its release a few years back. Thanks to its price, performance, and aesthetics, it has solidified its place among gamers. Aside from the Legion line, Lenovo’s IdeaPad Gaming 3 series was a hit in the budget gaming laptop range, gaining fans along the way. For 2024, Lenovo is shaking up the gaming scene by releasing the Lenovo LOQ 15 (15IAX9I), a new device that combines the Legion’s gaming prowess with the IdeaPad Gaming’s value for money.
Design: 4.5/5
The Lenovo LOQ 15 (15IAX9I) is the brand’s newest budget gaming laptop. Our review unit came with a 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS display, which goes up to 300nits of brightness and has a fast 144Hz refresh rate.
The Lenovo LOQ 15 is essentially the successor of the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3-series. But unlike the Ideapad Gaming, the LOQ has a more gaming aesthetic similar to the Lenovo Legion when opened.
When the laptop is closed, it has a more toned-down look, letting you bring it to meetings with no one batting an eye.
As earlier stated, when you open the laptop, you’ll be greeted by the full-sized keyboard. According to Lenovo, it has a nice 1.5mm key travel (more about this later). Unlike the Legion line, the LOQ 15 only has a white-LED backlight — I’m sorry RGB lovers.
In terms of ports, the Lenovo LOQ 15 is generous. At the rear, it has power input, two USB-A ports, a full-size HDMI, and an RJ45 ethernet port. Meanwhile, on the right side, you’ll find a USB-A port, a USB-C port that supports PD 140W and DP 1.4, the headphone/mic combo 3.5mm port, and the electronic webcam shutter.
The Lenovo LOQ 15 is a bit hefty, coming in at a whopping 2.38kg. The heft comes from its build. While the body may be mostly plastic, Lenovo points out that the laptop meets MIL-STD-810H standards. This means it has undergone military-grade testing and is durable enough against drops and spills.
Hardware: 4/5
The Lenovo LOQ 15 is powered by an Intel Core i5-12450HX processor paired with an Intel Arc A530M dedicated GPU. Our unit also had 8GB of DDR5 memory and 500GB of SSD.
In benchmarks, the Lenovo LOQ 15 performed well. It scored 2126 (single core) and 7323 (multi-core) on Geekbench. 1583 (single core) and 9570 (multi-core) for Cinebench R23. While the Intel CPU and GPU combined for 5490 for 3D Mark’s Time Spy v1.2.
In terms of gaming performance, the Lenovo LOQ is a good 1080p gaming machine. For lighter games like Dota 2, it was able to run at the highest settings with 40 to 90+fps, depending on the scenario. In Valorant, it was able to reach 130 to 140+fps.
For heavier games like CyberPunk 2044, utilizing the Intel Xe Super Sampling default settings, I achieved an astonishing 30-45fps in-game with minimal activities. Unfortunately, I was unable to fully test out the device on CyberPunk 2044 because, for some reason, the in-game benchmark was unable to run.
In terms of battery, our Lenovo LOQ has a 60Wh battery and comes with a 170W power brick.
User Experience: 4/5
The display is good at best. Colors are not as vivid as something you’ll find with a more expensive Legion laptop. But for the price, it’s good enough. You can enjoy watching movies and streams on the device.
The speakers are surprisingly great. Loud enough to fill a mid-size room. There’s minimal distortion at max volume, though the bass is a bit lacking. That said, the speakers are pretty good for the price
One of the things that I love about the Lenovo LOQ 15 is the keyboard. Lenovo has equipped the LOQ 15 with a full-sized keyboard complete with the numpad. The best thing about the keyboard is the 1.5mm key travel. It feels similar to a mechanical keyboard with its satisfying response. Thanks to its amazing keyboard, I flushed out quite a number of stories during my time with the laptop.
The battery lasted me just under three hours from 100 to 15% and that’s just with regular work use with the display at 50% brightness. The Lenovo vantage widget also does not help when you see the value of the battery rapidly going down as you work, though thankfully, you can turn it off. Fortunately, charging is relatively quick, getting you back up in under an hour.
Value: 4.5/5
At PHP48,993.55, the Lenovo LOQ 15-IAX9I continues the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming legacy as a bang-for-the-buck gaming laptop. The powerful Intel Core i5 processor and the Intel Arc Graphic were a power duo that, while not breaking any records, is more than for most tasks you throw at it. That said, you still have some drawbacks like the battery life and the heft, which are compromises you need to consider.
Who is the Lenovo LOQ 15 made for? In my opinion, it’s most appropriate for students who want a decent performance device that can help them with school work and play games on the side. It’s also good enough for those looking to start their content creation journey.
Specifications:
- Display: 15.6-inch FHD (1920×1080) IPS 300nits Anti-glare, 100% sRGB, 144Hz
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12450HX, 8C (4P + 4E) / 12T, P-core up to 4.4GHz, E-core up to 3.1GHz, 12MB
- Graphics: Intel Arc A530M 4GB GDDR6
- Memory: 8GB DDR5
- Storage: 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Battery: 60Wh, with included 170W charger
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, 11ax 2×2 + BT5.1
- I/O: 1x USB-C (USB 10Gbps / USB 3.2 Gen 2), with PD 140W and DisplayPort 1.4, 3x USB-A (USB 5Gbps / USB 3.2 Gen 1), 1x HDMI® 2.1, up to 4K/60Hz, 1x Ethernet (RJ-45), 1x Headphone / microphone combo jack (3.5mm), 1x Power connector
- Dimensions: 359.86 x 258.7 x 21.9-23.9 mm,
- Weight: 2.38 kg
What’s Hot:
- Great value
- Powerful Processor
- Slick look
What’s Not:
- Battery life is not great
- Hefty to carry around
Bottomline:
A pleasantly surprising budget gaming machine.
Reviewed by Gabriel John Pe
Also published in GADGETS MAGAZINE June 2024 Issue