Lenovo has unveiled a new model series of laptops called the LOQ gaming laptops. The LOQ 15, LOQ 15i, LOQ 16, and LOQ 16i boast up to RTX 4060 graphics cards and the latest AMD or Intel processors.
Aimed at new or just budget-conscious gamers, all four laptops also come with the Lenovo LA AI Chip, which powers Lenovo AI Engine+ to automatically shift thermals and wattages to the right values in order to optimize game performance. All of the benefits of tinkering with your laptop to eke out the best frame rates without any of the hassle.
Here’s a closer look at each of Lenovo’s new affordable gaming laptops, stay tuned for our reviews in the coming months.
Lenovo LOQ 15 and LOQ 15i
The Lenovo LOQ 15 comes in Storm Grey and is built with an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor, while the 15i version has up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H. Both are otherwise identical, boasting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card with 8GB of VRAM, up to 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and up to 1TB of SSD storage.
The top-end display is a 15-inch IPS panel with a 2560×1440-pixel resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. Each start at 5.29 pounds and measures 14.16 x 10.43 x 0.87~0.99 inches.
Both laptops feature a 1080p camera, and an extensive collection of ports with a USB Type-C port (up to 140W power delivery), a USB Type-A 3.2 port, an E-Shutter Button, an audio jack, Novo Hole (gives you access to BIOS, Boot menu, or Windows startup options), an RJ45 Ethernet port, two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports and an HDMI 2.1 port. We’d love to see at least one more USB-Type C port, but many gaming peripherals still use Type-A, so it’s not too significant of a concern.
The full-size Lenovo gaming keyboard with numpad offers 1.5mm of key travel, 100% anti-ghosting technology, and optional 4-zone RGB backlighting.
Each laptop also has two slots for RAM and two PCIe slots for even more storage in the future.
The LOQ 15 and LOQ 15i both start at $899.99; the former will be available in May, while the latter arrives in April.
Lenovo LOQ 16 and 16i
The slightly larger siblings to the aforementioned laptops are the LOQ 16 and LOQ 16i and as you probably guessed they feature 16-inch displays, but otherwise hew quite closely to their 15-inch counterparts. The battery is the only other significant differentiator between the two lines, so let’s take a closer look at what’s different about the LOQ 16 and LOQ 16i to help you decide if it’s worth the upgrade.
On top of the extra inch of diagonal real estate, the 16-inch models also get a bump up to WQXGA resolution (2560 x 1600 pixels) and switch to a 16:10 aspect ratio. The rest of the specs remain the same with a 165Hz refresh rate, 350 nits of brightness, and support for Nvidia G-Sync on both models with AMD FreeSync as well on the AMD model.
The battery in both models is 80W compared to 60W for the LOQ 15 and 15i. According to Lenovo, this will yield 7 hours of battery life for the LOQ 16 and LOQ 16i, up from 6 hours on the 15-inchers. All four models support Super Rapid Charge Pro charging that can take the laptops from 0% all the way up to a full charge in 80 minutes.
Naturally, the larger screen and battery mean a slight bump to the size and weight. The LOQ 16 and 16i come in at 14.16 x 10.9 x 0.83~1.02 inches and 5.73 pounds.
The Lenovo LOQ 16 starts at just $959 and will arrive in June, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i arrives in May at $1,149.
Keep an eye out for our reviews and find out if any of Lenovo’s LOQ lineup can make it onto our best cheap gaming laptops page.