Lenovo LOQ 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop FHD - Intel 12th Gen Core i5 with 12GB Memory - Intel Arc A530M - 512GB SSD - Luna Grey

## Design The Lenovo LOQ laptop has a stylish but plastic exterior. There are no ports on the left side of the laptop, which I was surprised to find. On the right side, there is a USB-C port (which supports video, but I couldn't get the laptop to charge with my dock), a camera privacy hardware switch, a headphone jack, and a USB-A 3.2 port. On the back, there are two more USB-A 3.2 ports, a full-size HDMI port, and a proprietary power port. The keyboard is backlit with white LEDs. The keyboard even features the brand-new Microsoft Copilot key to the right of the spacebar. ## Display The display is colorful and has a nice, matte finish that reduces glare. The 144Hz monitor looks great and fluid while gaming. It also has wide viewing angles and can achieve up to 300 nits of brightness, which is fine for indoors, but may not be bright enough to use outside on a sunny day. The laptop also has a full-size HDMI port and supports video over USB-C for compatible docks if you would like to use an external monitor. ## Performance This Lenovo LOQ laptop is aimed at entry-level gamers, so don't expect top-of-the-line performance. However, it does have some decent specs, with an Intel i5-12450HX processor, 12GB of RAM, and A530M integrated graphics. The 12th-generation Intel i5-12450HX CPU, while a competent mid-range mobile processor, falls short when stacked against newer chips. With its 8 cores (4 performance and 4 efficiency) and 12 threads, it boasts a respectable clock rate ranging from 2.4 to 4.4 GHz. In addition, the i5-12450HX is about 2 years old now. This Lenovo LOQ model also includes 12GB of RAM which is ample for Windows 11 (many would say that 8GB of RAM is the bare minimum you would want for Windows 11). The Intel Arc A530M graphics card, while a decent effort by Intel to enter the dedicated mobile GPU market, falls short in delivering competitive performance. Launched in August 2023, it is a lower-mid-range card designed specifically for laptops. Despite its potential for decent everyday gaming and multimedia tasks, its peak clock speed of 1.3GHz and power draw of 65W means it's not as performant nor energy efficient as many of the GPUs available today. However, it does support some modern features like DirectX 12 Ultimate and hardware-raytracing (light reflections and shadows). I ran the Cinebench benchmarking tool and it came up with: - a multi-core score is: 10,250 - a single-core score is: 1,606 I fired up Fortnite to test out the performance of LOQ. After allowing the game to self-configure the graphics, it landed on mostly "medium" and "high" (but not "epic") settings. Performance while playing Fortnite was OK. The frame rate would fluctuate between 40 and 50 FPS, but would sometimes dip into the 30s if there were a lot of players on the screen at once or a new area was rendering. You'll need to remember that this is an entry-level gaming laptop, so you likely won't get console-level performance. The laptop includes Lenovo's "Vantage" software that allows some hardware tweaks, such as limiting battery charging to 80%, adjusting the camera, setting the thermal mode (between Performance, Balance, Quiet, and Custom mode settings), and setting the GPU working mode. It also allows you to install driver updates and perform hardware diagnostics. The software can be a little spammy at times with its many banner ads advising you to extend the warranty. I also installed Ubuntu 22.04 on the laptop and was pleased to find that pretty much everything worked out of the box: Wi-Fi, sound, keyboard backlight, display brightness, and I was also able to connect it to my Dell USB-C dock connected to a monitor. I would recommend dual-booting it with Windows because some of the hardware settings are only accessible through the Windows-only Lenovo Advantage software. ## Summary Overall, while this Lenovo LOQ does not have a top-of-the-line processor nor graphics card, it's aimed for gamers on a budget or someone just getting started with PC gaming. You can expect average performance for gaming. It has plenty of ports and USB-C docking capabilities, so it would be a good machine for students as well, although the large size might make transporting it to and from class somewhat difficult.

The Lenovo LOQ its really good way to dip your toes into gaming on a budget. the case design isn't crazy. Just enough nuance to give away that you're gaming. I prefer it subtle like that. There is USB A and C on the right side but nothing on the left. The rest of the peripherals are on the back; 2 more USB A, HDMI, Ethernet and a proprietary power connector which i'm not a fan of. Its too similar to a USB, which could cause those not paying attention to potentially cause damage to the port or what they're trying to plug in. good ventilation out the back and below The laptop is a little bulky at about 6lbs. but in this price point you're not going to have the luxury of lighter weight materials. 12GB of RAM is interesting choice as opposed to 8 or 16, but since its only a single chip, should be able to upgrade if needed, but you should be ok. CPU and graphics cards are decent enough. you can't be going in expecting top tier games in top settings, but more general run of the mill games, especially those that tend to skew towards younger audiences will be more than fine which is inline with being a budget friendly machine. for the price it'd be good for students as well, and not necessarily for just gamers, but with the size and weight of it, may be cumbersome in a bag along with books and whatnot for class.

TLDR - This Lenovo LOQ was actually a pleasant surprise, sorta blew me away for the specs. As long as the games you play have come up as a focus for Intels Arc driver crew, or are newer in general, you should be seeing surprisingly good FPS at 1080p. CPU - the i5 12450HX is a surprising performer, 4 P cores, 4 E cores, and remains decently cool during gaming for a mobile gaming CPU. Only a tiny touch of throttling during a 10 minute run of Cinebench R23, none during gaming. SSD/RAM - The SSD is mediocre at best, but not enough to notice during gaming or normal use. The odd 12GB of DDR5 is upgradable at least, looks like it has a single 12GB stick since they are able to make 12/24/48GB sticks now with DDR5. Screen/build - Lenovo certainly makes a solid lower end gaming laptop. In this category you usually have low end materials and an even lower end display. This LOQ has a very decent screen, with good viewing angles and subjectively good colors. (like I have seen much worse in more expensive laptops) The only gripe I have with the build quality is the bottom case is quite cheap feeling and has some give/flex. (the rest feels more solid and rigid) GPU - The Intel Arc A530M definitely performed higher than expected. It really blew me away in 3DMark timespy, but that is usually “best case scenario”, as it puts it in the same ballpark as a mobile 3050Ti. In reality, your gaming experience is going to be closer to a low end 3050 system or maybe a bit behind. That being said, Cyberpunk was completely playable at 1080p medium with XeSS scaling set to performance, pulling 73fps in the built in benchmark. FH5 also pulled 88fps at 1080p medium with XeSS set to balanced. (Just remember that there will still be a few random games that Arc doesn’t play nice with!) The GPU doesn’t seem to get unusually hot also, Lenovo put a fairly robust cooling system into this machine, much better than other lower end systems like this! I heartily recommend this system for a low end gamer as long as the understand the Arc GPU caveats!

Recently, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Lenovo LOQ 15.6" 144Hz Gaming Laptop into my gaming setup. As an entry-level gaming laptop, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was eager to dive into the experience and see what it had to offer. With its Luna Grey exterior and promise of performance, the Lenovo LOQ 15 immediately caught my attention. Equipped with a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and 12GB of memory, it seemed ready to take on the challenges of gaming without breaking the bank. As I fired up my favorite games, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Lenovo LOQ 15. While it may not have the specs of a high-end gaming rig, it held its own, delivering smooth gameplay and reliable performance. The 144Hz display brought my games to life with vibrant colors and fluid motion, immersing me in every virtual world I explored. Whether I was battling enemies or embarking on epic quests, the Lenovo LOQ 15 never failed to keep up with the action. While the gaming keyboard lacked some of the bells and whistles of higher-end models, it provided a comfortable typing experience and responsive feedback during gameplay. And with the dual-fan cooling system keeping temperatures in check, I could game for hours without worrying about overheating. Reflecting on my experience with the Lenovo LOQ 15, I am impressed by what this entry-level gaming laptop has to offer. It may not have all the bells and whistles of its more expensive counterparts, but it provides a solid gaming experience at a fraction of the cost. With the Lenovo LOQ 15 by my side, I am ready to embark on countless gaming adventures without breaking the bank.

Had some great first experience with using this Lenovo LOQ gaming device! My specifications are: -CPU: i5 1245HX -GPU: Intel A530M 4G -RAM: 12GB -HDD: 512gb SSD While the laptop itself it's a great daily for most of the people it can also be used as the name is suggesting for some basic gaming. Also those gaming characteristics make this Lenovo somehow strong enough for some editing. The screen works great and i recommend you going into the LOQ LenovoVantage app and select *Adaptive screen rate* this way goes from 144hz while plugged in into 60hz while on battery allowing you to stat charged longer while on the move. The built quality is strong and it really makes it a great enjoyable gaming laptop for someone that is just getting into it or someone that is not super hardcore. I love the hinges of the screen, and for being a 15.6" in size they hold it tight at any angle plus it allows it to go completely flat on the table. The keyboard is nice and very pleasant to use the whole surface of the laptop having a somewhat kind of grippy texture that make dropping this thing harder. The power up/off button has 4 colors indicating the operation mode(blue,white,red and purple) i taught that was pretty neath also! The speakers are ok, placed on both lower side of the laptop, they can get loud but there is no bass to it. The Fans are quiet on a daily operation and when they kick in under harder usage they do cool the laptop very well. Bottom Line : - I think this is a great budget friendly Gaming laptop if not the best so far for 2024!

the lenovo LOQ gaming laptop 15.6” with A520M is a low tier gaming laptop. overall looks of the laptop is nice, it has some good weight that doesn’t feel too cheap the color I think lenovo did a great job of picking the grey color is honestly probably one of the best color you can pick for a laptop. the port is also at the back so most of the port is at back so it’s not on the way, from charging to internet port 2 USBA and hdmi. one USBA on the side , most laptop have screen flex and it’s the same with this laptop specifically for the price but it’s not too bad . the screen is 1080p with 144hz refresh rate. the key caps are fine I thought they felt solid. I did not like the button for the touch section of this laptop and click doesn’t feel good either feels very cheap. I download xbox and with halo infinite played some counter strike on steam. to maximize performance you would definitely need to dail down some settings. first time trying intel’s GPU and from my experience so far with this laptop I am not a fan at all. this laptop could barely run Halo infinite when you can even run that game on steam deck. I click to run Halo infinite and nothing happened so I started browning and downloaded the windows 11 updates just to make sure I get the latest up to date to play. after 5 minute when I totally forgot about it Halo infinite finally load on this laptop. I have all settings on low and this laptop was barely getting 60fps with major stuttering problems. was frustrating playing my favorite game here. it even had major issue of loading texture in game. i’ve never had that experience on a budget gaming laptop. decided to play counter and it run much better than halo infinite did. but still stutter horribly on some occasions. and this is after making sure all are up to date. I can fully say I don’t think i’ll ever use an intel GPU ever again I would rather spend my money on either a budget laptop with an Nvidia or Amd GPU. but one thing about this laptop I can definitely recommend to kids who doesn’t play much demanding games. I do love the design and ports being mostly on the back but overall gaming experience for me was a let down, hopefully intel GPU does grow where it can be competitive to the other two option. your can prob find an rtx3050 laptop that will outperform this laptop for the same price.

This Lenovo LOQ laptop is a great entry-level gaming laptop so far. It does not boast high specs but it has what is needed for a beginner. Unboxing: The unboxing wasn’t bad, nor amazing. The laptop comes in a generic brown box, which is fine. I like simple packaging since it is usually better for the environment to not have big shiny graphics on the box, they are not needed anyway. The main thing is, the laptop was well protected. The LOQ comes with the big charging brick and a safety guide. Setup: Windows 11 comes standard and that part of the setup is pretty easy. There isn’t much else to do from there. I charged it up, it charges quickly with the included 170w charging brick! There are an adequate amount of ports on the LOQ. On the right side you have a USB type C, headphone jack, and a USB-A 2.0. The back has (2) USB-A 3.2, an ethernet port, and HDMI 2.0, and the power port. Performance: As I mentioned earlier, this is an entry level gaming laptop. This will not run top spec games like Cyberpunk 2077, but it will play Minecraft and Roblox types of games play fine on it. This would be a great gaming laptop for a first time gamer. The LOQ has a good processor, i5 12450HX, though it is two years old. It also comes with 12GB of RAM, which 16GB would be better, but it is DDR5 RAM and is upgradable. You can easily pop the bottom off and add another RAM stick since this laptop comes with one 12GB installed, which is nice. The screen is really nice too, it’s 1080p and 144Hz. The fast refresh rate makes the games look better than a standard 60Hz. It also comes with a 512MB hard drive which is plenty of space for the games that will work on this laptop. Battery life is typical for a gaming laptop. The graphics card and processor are both power-hungry so I’ve only gotten about 3-4 hours on a charge. It’s long enough for a short road trip or something, but for the most part, this ROQ will live plugged in. Overall As I mentioned, this is a great entry level gaming laptop. As long as it is used for low-mid range games, web browsing, watching videos, and similar activities, you will be fine. At a $750 price point, you are not going to get a top spec gaming laptop. Especially if this LOQ is on sale for $650 or less, it's a good deal.

This product has just about all the features of the very expensive ones. Lighted Keyboard, multiple USB ports, RJ45 connection, etc...add in the 12GB RAM, SSD and 512GB storage...and all for under $600. Fantastic performance is the result. Lenovo knocked it out of the park wit this one!