Tested: I love this Lenovo RTX laptop's value, but hate its display

Price When Reviewed

$809.99

Best Prices Today: Lenovo LOQ 15

Budget gaming laptops are in a pickle. Gamers usually anticipate them at a worth round $1,000 or much less, however between rising GPU costs and inner commerce wars, transport a laptop computer with discrete graphics for underneath $1,000 isn’t simple.

The result’s laptops just like the Lenovo LOQ 15. It’s profitable in delivering strong sport efficiency for the worth, however Lenovo cuts a whole lot of corners to make that doable.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Specs and options

The Lenovo LOQ 15’s specs really feel constructed across the Nvidia RTX 5060, which takes middle stage. The AMD Ryzen 7 250 is an appropriate processor, however based mostly on the older Zen 4 structure, which has penalties with regards to efficiency.

• Model quantity: 15AHP10
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 250
• Memory: 16GB DDR5-5600
• Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 5060 8GB (115W TGP)
• NPU: Up to 16 TOPS
• Display: 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 IPS with 144Hz refresh charge, G-Sync
• Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 strong state drive
• Webcam: 5MP with digital privateness shutter
• Connectivity: 3x USB-A, 1x USB-C with 100 watts of Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack, 1x barrel plug energy adapter
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
• Biometrics: None
• Battery capability: 60 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.17 x 10.19 x 0.94 inches
• Weight: 5.29 kilos
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home
• Price: $809.99

The laptop computer additionally sticks with simply 16GB of RAM and a 512GB strong state drive, each of that are actually the naked minimal for a gaming laptop computer in 2025, no matter worth.

At least the worth is enticing. Although it carries an MSRP of $1,299.99, it’s at present offered for $809.99 by way of Lenovo’s web site. Lenovo presents an improve to 32GB for $65, and an improve to 1TB of strong state storage for $60. The SSD improve is a must have.

Lenovo presents quite a lot of different LOQ 15 configurations, new and outdated, so pay shut consideration to the specs of any mannequin before you purchase. This evaluation covers the late 2025 LOQ 15 mannequin 15AHP10.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Design and construct high quality

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Lenovo’s PC gaming sub-brand, Legion, has earned a strong repute in recent times—however the LOQ 15 isn’t a part of it. Or is it? Keen-eyed players would possibly discover the LOQ emblem shares the identical stylized “O” discovered within the Legion emblem.

In any case, the LOQ 15 undoubtedly lacks the enticing design of Lenovo’s Legion laptops. It’s as a substitute a easy grey machine with minimal branding. If Lenovo swapped the branding to IdeaPad and offered it as a funds desktop substitute, effectively, I don’t assume anybody would bat a watch. All of which is to say: the laptop computer appears a bit drab.

Functionally, it’s about what anybody would anticipate from a 15-inch desktop substitute. It’s a thick machine, measuring as much as 0.94 inches in profile, and it weighs in at 5.29 kilos. It’s solely 14 inches broad and 10 inches deep, nonetheless, that are widespread dimensions for a 15- or 16-inch machine. As a outcome, the laptop computer matches snugly in my backpack’s laptop computer compartment.

Build high quality is ample. Faux-metallic plastic is the fabric of alternative. The chassis is fairly inflexible however some flex could be discovered alongside the keyboard, in addition to when opening or closing the show. It’s adequate for a funds machine, however it doesn’t stand out.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Keyboard, trackpad, mouse

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Keyboard high quality is usually a spotlight for Lenovo’s laptops, however the LOQ 15’s keyboard didn’t depart the same old optimistic impression. I believe the quantity of key journey is ok, however the bottoming motion felt extra refined than different current Lenovo laptops. I’d like each tactile and audible suggestions. If you want a quiet keyboard, although, you would possibly get pleasure from it.

While the important thing motion wasn’t my desire, the keyboard format is a optimistic. Lenovo squeezes in a keyboard with a numpad. Despite that, the first alphanumeric keys are usually massive, whereas the numpad keys are slimmer than typical. The keyboard additionally offers outsized arrow keys, which I believe is an effective transfer for a gaming laptop computer.

As with most funds gaming laptops, the touchpad is simply form of… there. It measures about 4.5 inches broad and three inches deep, which isn’t massive for a 15-inch laptop computer. And whereas the floor is responsive sufficient, it feels cheap. The touchpad offers a bodily mouse motion, however it’s shallow and appears hole.

With that stated, these downsides are widespread for a funds gaming laptop computer. PC video games are sometimes performed with an exterior mouse, so the touchpad turns into much less of a precedence.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Display, audio

Foundry / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo LOQ 15 ships with a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS show with a 144Hz refresh charge. And truthfully? It’s a little bit of a catastrophe.

See, there’s one specification that stands out as fairly odd on Lenovo’s web site. It lists “25ms.” No context is offered, however I anticipate that is meant to be the panel’s pixel response time. And with regards to pixel response occasions, effectively, 25 milliseconds might as effectively be an eternity.

And right here’s the true downside: this specification wasn’t my first indication that the panel was an issue. Instead, I seen one thing was fishy whereas shifting home windows across the show on the Windows desktop. Normally, a 144Hz IPS panel will look crisp in movement. But on the LOQ 15 I seen big, smeary trails following textual content and icons. I seen an analogous difficulty in video games, which invariably appeared extra like a 60Hz panel (or even perhaps worse) than a 144Hz show.

That’s an enormous downside. It could be cheap, in fact, to anticipate even a funds gaming laptop computer to ship with a show that’s good for gaming. But that’s not what I noticed from the LOQ 15.

But hey, not less than the show helps Nvidia G-Sync. So that’s one thing.

Motion efficiency apart, the IPS panel is in any other case a typical instance of the breed. Color efficiency is first rate, however the distinction ratio is low as a result of show’s lack of ability to achieve a real, inky black stage. Because of that, the show is a better option for vibrant, colourful video games than for darker, extra atmospheric content material. The show can also be fairly dim even at most brightness, so it’s uncomfortable to make use of in a brightly lit room.

Audio, in the meantime, is delivered by a pair of two-watt audio system. They’re not going to impress however do handle to supply a wholesome most quantity and cheap readability in most conditions. They will turn out to be muddy and harsh when listening to music at excessive volumes however they’re fantastic for video games the place audio presentation isn’t as essential.  

Lenovo LOQ 15: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

There’s not loads to say concerning the Lenovo LOQ 15’s webcam and microphone. It ships with a 5MP webcam that gives acceptable picture high quality for Zoom calls, however it’s nothing particular. The similar could be stated of the dual-array microphone, which is ok however doesn’t stand out. An digital privateness shutter is on the market.

Biometrics, alternatively, are no-go. That’s typical for a funds gaming laptop computer, however one thing you’ll sometimes discover should you spring for another priced round $1,000 and above.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Connectivity

Foundry / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo LOQ 15 has a whole lot of connectivity. It consists of three USB-A ports, one USB-C port with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet (RJ-45), and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. Power is delivered over a barrel-plug connector. This is a variety of connectivity that may deal with most conditions. An SD card reader is the one choice notably lacking, however SD card readers aren’t widespread on gaming laptops.

However, the out there connectivity is primary when it comes to technical specs. The USB-A ports all help USB 3.2 Gen 1 with 5Gbps knowledge speeds. The USB-C port is USB 3.2 Gen 2 with 10Gbps of knowledge. There’s no Thunderbolt and no high-data-rate USB. Also, the USB-C port’s Power Delivery solely reaches 100 watts, which isn’t sufficient to totally energy the laptop computer at load.

To be truthful, that is all more-or-less the norm for a funds gaming laptop computer. It’s not cheap to anticipate innovative connectivity in a laptop computer that has Nvidia discrete graphics, but retails underneath $1,000.

The LOQ 15 additionally sticks to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 for wi-fi connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 is the newest commonplace, and lots of laptops help it, whereas funds machines usually get by with Wi-Fi 6E. Wi-Fi 6 is a a lot older commonplace at this level and it lacks the high-speed 6GHz band that was launched with Wi-Fi 6E.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Performance

The Lenovo LOQ 15’s internals pair an AMD Ryzen 7 250 processor with Nvidia’s RTX 5060 discrete graphics. The Ryzen 7 250 is an eight-core, 16-thread processor with a most clock velocity of 5.1GHz. The RTX 5060, in the meantime, has 8GB of VRAM and a most graphics energy of 115 watts. This core duo is flanked by 16GB of DDR5-5600 reminiscence and 512GB of strong state storage.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

First up is PCMark 10, and also you would possibly discover one thing odd concerning the outcomes. The LOQ 15 really crashed mid-way by way of the benchmark, in the mean time the Nvidia GPU needed to be engaged, regardless of efforts to regulate settings (like turning off Nvidia Optimus and G-Sync) to easy issues over. This is just not a novel difficulty for the LOQ 15. PCWorld critiques have, on uncommon events, run into points with PCMark 10 failing to complete a benchmark run for opaque causes.

Still, the Lenovo LOQ 15 did report Productivity a rating for the Essentails portion of the benchmark, which is the primary half, and PCWorld has data of these scores posted by different laptops. So, that’s what you see above.

And, reality be informed, it’s not too thrilling. The Essentials duties—which embody internet searching and video conferencing—are necessary, however not precisely tough for a contemporary Windows gaming laptop computer.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Let’s transfer on to a extra illuminating benchmark: Cinebench 2024. This is a closely multi-threaded CPU take a look at that advantages from numerous high-performance cores. The AMD Ryzen 7 250 has simply eight cores, nonetheless—which isn’t all that many in 2025. On high of that, the Ryzen 7 250 relies on the Zen 4 processor structure, not AMD’s newer Zen 5.

The Cinebench 2024 outcomes endure in consequence. The multi-core rating of 818 isn’t horrible however, when in comparison with a variety of gaming laptops, it’s actually in the direction of the decrease finish of what’s out there.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Next up is Handbrake, a program that may transcode quite a lot of video codecs. We use it to transform a function size movie from .MP4 to .MKV format, a process which takes roughly six minutes on the Lenovo LOQ 15. That as soon as once more is in the direction of the upper finish of what’s out there from a contemporary gaming laptop computer. However, the Ryzen 7 250 is aggressive with Intel Core 7 chips just like the Core 7 240H, in addition to older {hardware} just like the Intel Core i7-13650HX.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

It’s clear the Ryzen 7 250, although a good performer for a funds gaming laptop computer, isn’t going to set data. But what concerning the Nvidia RTX 5060 cellular? It’s arguably a very powerful piece of silicon within the laptop computer, because it contributes essentially the most to sport efficiency.

3DMark Fire Strike returned a rating of 11,779, whereas Port Royale (a ray traced benchmark) reported a rating of 7,529.

These outcomes are a little bit of a combination. On the plus aspect, the Lenovo LOQ 15 offers good efficiency for an RTX 5060 laptop computer. The RTX 5060 additionally posts modest however noticeable enhancements in each benchmarks.

On the opposite hand, although, the RTX 5060’s achieve over the RTX 4060 is slim for a brand new technology of {hardware}. It’s there, however it’s slim.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Moving on to actual video games, we first come to Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and an older title most fashionable gaming laptops can deal with with ease. The LOQ 15 isn’t any exception, because it averaged 118 frames per second at 1080p and the Highest element setting.

The LOQ 15’s rating is unremarkable for a gaming laptop computer with RTX 5060, although. Perhaps we’re a CPU bottleneck, because the aggressive techniques that rating higher on this sport additionally beat the LOQ 15 in CPU benchmarks.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

Metro Exodus can also be an older title, however one which’s nonetheless tough for contemporary laptops to run on the Extreme element preset. Here, the LOQ 15 managed to achieve a mean of 49 frames per second, which is a strong outcome. The Alienware 16 Aurora with RTX 5060 isn’t almost as fast.

The LOQ 15 with RTX 5060 additionally has a commanding lead over older RTX 4060 laptops, which cluster round 40 FPS on common.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

We wrap issues up with Cyberpunk 2077. Though the sport has a repute for demanding system necessities, the LOQ 15 didn’t have a lot hassle, because it managed to achieve a mean of 91 frames per second at 1080p and the Ultra preset with out ray tracing.

The system-slaying Overdrive preset tanked efficiency down to only 17 FPS. But that’s hardly a shock, as even RTX 5080 laptops barely nudge over 30 FPS at that preset.

It must be famous that video games with DLSS 4, like Cyberpunk 2077, can attain a lot better efficiency with DLSS 4 and body technology engaged. For instance, the LOQ 15 averaged solely 36 FPS at Ultra when ray tracing was turned on—however DLSS 4 with 2x Frame Gen boosted efficiency to 99 FPS.

One closing {hardware} concern price mentioning is the laptop computer’s 16GB of RAM and 512GB of strong state storage. The RAM must be sufficient for many fashionable titles, however it doesn’t depart a lot room for future-proofing. The 512GB SSD, alternatively, is already borderline unusable for a gaming laptop computer. Just three or 4 fashionable video games, like Fortnite or Call of Duty, will replenish the drive. You’ll want an exterior SSD or a high-speed Internet connection that makes putting in and un-installing digitally owned titles much less painful.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Battery life and portability

The LOQ 15’s cheaper price forces a concession in battery life. It offers simply 60 watt-hours of capability. That’s not a whole lot of capability for a gaming laptop computer—or any fashionable Windows laptop computer, actually. The HP Victus 15 has a 70 watt-hour battery, for instance, and the Dell G15 has an 86 watt-hour battery.

On the plus aspect, the LOQ 15 helps Nvidia Optimus switchable graphics. That means the Nvidia RTX 5060 could be turned off in favor of the built-in AMD Radeon graphics in much less demanding conditions.

Foundry / Matthew Smith

I measured simply over 5 hours of battery life in our commonplace battery take a look at, which loops a 4K clip of the brief movie Tears of Steel. That’s not a prolonged outcome.

With that stated, nonetheless, it’s about what I’d anticipate from a contemporary gaming laptop computer. As the graph exhibits, some rivals which have bigger batteries flip in even much less interesting outcomes.

Lenovo LOQ 15: Conclusion

The Lenovo LOQ 15 may very well be a good funds gaming choose if not for one severe difficulty: the show. I seen severe ghosting and blurring whereas utilizing the laptop computer. This was a difficulty each in-game and in addition on the Windows desktop. It’s a disgrace, as a result of the LOQ 15’s efficiency stage is respectable for its price ticket, however I can’t advocate the laptop computer until you don’t wish to use the included show and as a substitute intend to make use of the laptop computer with an exterior monitor.

Indeed, I believe that’s arguably the one interesting use case for the LOQ 15. You might simply use it as a conveyable RTX 5060. At $809.99, the LOQ 15 isn’t that rather more costly than a desktop RTX 5060 paired with a PCIe dock and energy provide, and it’s approach simpler to journey with, and even transfer round your home.

Gamers also needs to bear in mind that although the LOQ 15 is cheap, you arguably get extra worth should you can spend round $1,000 to $1,200. For instance, the Lenovo Legion 5 with an AMD Ryzen 7 260, Nvidia RTX 5060, OLED show, and 512GB SSD could be had for $1,150, or $1,215 with a 1TB strong state drive. A $350 to $400 worth leap is nothing to scoff at, however a laptop computer just like the Legion 5 is a much more well-rounded system that ought to hold you content a couple of years longer than the LOQ 15, making the upper worth worthwhile should you can stretch your funds.