The Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 sacrifices too much in the name of price

Buying a gaming laptop in 2024 is going to be a better experience than ever before. There’s a proliferation of options across a range of price points from big name and small manufacturers, each catering to a specific “type” of user.

But with more choice comes complexity. There are lots of gaming laptops out there, but they’re not all of the same quality. Intel’s entry into the graphics card industry has also caused a bit of a stir, posing the first real challenge to the Nvidia/AMD monopoly in decades.

Lenovo LOQ 9th Generation

The Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 is a 15″ gaming laptop with some qualities and a lot of compromises. It has a great design, a great keyboard, and plenty of ports, but it’s not compatible with the latest games. If you’re looking for a computer that can also be used for college gaming, this is a great choice.

Strong Points

• Robust Construction
• Good screen
• Great keyboard

Cons

• Become hot
• Can’t keep up with the modern game
• Battery life is terrible

Laptops like the LOQ Gen 9 are the spearhead of Intel’s assault on older generations, as the company aims to beat products like the HP Victus series, and while the LOQ brand offers something less impressive than Lenovo’s Legion series, it doesn’t sacrifice quality.

Lenovo has equipped the device with Intel’s budget Arc 530M graphics chip. For Team Blue to succeed in this arena, they need a device like the LOQ Gen 9. It’s a budget laptop, less expensive than many laptops and especially popular with college students. It’s the polar opposite of a laptop like the Apple MacBook Pro. A laptop is more than a spec sheet, but is the LOQ Gen 9 an essential part of your life?

Pricing, Availability and Specifications

The Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 is available to purchase directly from Lenovo and other retailers starting at $649.99 and comes in one color option: gray.

What I like about the Lenovo LOQ Gen 9

Plastic but still great

Gaming laptops often get a bad rap because of their design. There’s a common belief that gaming laptops should be chunky and flashy, full of aggressive angles, rainbow RGB effects, and edgy fonts, but that’s not the case with the LOQ Gen 9. Perhaps considering that those who use this laptop might also use it for work, it only comes in one color, gunmetal gray, which might be a bit boring, but is still suitable for the office.

There’s a subtle illuminated “LOQ” logo on the lid, and the only thing that distinguishes it from the likes of a ThinkPad is the inverted notch on the screen, which houses the webcam. The design feels premium, and the build is sturdy to boot. There are some creaks and flex, but that’s to be expected at this price point. You wouldn’t expect this product to cost $400, but it feels like it will withstand the knocks and bumps life throws at it.

Another standout feature is the keyboard. Again, a typical feature of budget laptops is a keyboard with short key travel and a soft feel. With this keyboard, I found the key travel to be just right and it follows Lenovo’s typical layout, meaning the keys are generously sized and everything is where you expect it to be. Typing was a thoroughly pleasant experience and the keyboard was one of the highlights of the entire device. It’s also backlit, making typing at night a breeze. The travel is ample, the keys are clicky and typing longer sentences is comfortable.

The port selection is good overall, with most of the things you need grouped together at the back of the device. There are three USB-A ports, an HDMI port, Ethernet, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB-C port. There’s also a webcam kill switch on the side to help with privacy. I would have liked at least one more USB-C port, or an SD card slot, but what’s here covers most needs and is relatively robust. Having everything grouped at the back means there’s very little cable clutter to ruin your day.

Fast and bright screen

The screen was also a pleasant surprise. While 1080p isn’t pushing the limits of resolution, it was more than adequate for the price range and general use case. The relatively low resolution was chosen, perhaps not just out of price considerations, but because it often means you can pursue higher frame rates as a result. It’s also an IPS panel, so it has a pleasantly wide viewing angle and can achieve a brightness of 300 nits, which is plenty bright and more than sufficient for indoor use.

The colors are pretty accurate and seem to cover 100% of the sRGB color space, which might be interesting for photographers and videographers, but won’t make much of a difference in gaming. What does make a difference is that the display has a 144Hz refresh rate, which not only feels faster to use, but could help give you some advantage if you’re into competitive shooters. At this price point, a high refresh rate isn’t a given, but I was definitely happy to see it included here.

What I didn’t like about the Lenovo LOQ Gen 9

Performance matters

Gaming laptops, as you’d expect, are made or broken by gaming performance, and this is where the specs of the LOQ Gen 9 tell an interesting story. The review unit I received came equipped with an Intel Arc 530M graphics chip, 16GB of RAM, and an Intel 12th Gen Core™ i5-12450HX processor.

The processor is interesting as there are other new options available. It’s not inferior by any means, but it would have been nice if it had been packed with something a bit more modern. It achieved a single-core score of 2032 and a multi-core score of 8640 in Geekbench 6, which were lower than expected given the price.

As for the graphics card itself, the main thing to note about the Arc 530M is that it’s made by Intel. The processor giant has recently chosen to enter the graphics card space and this is one of its budget models.

Performance is expected to be on par with the Nvidia RTX 3050, and that turned out to be the case, with some caveats. Starfield It was impossible to play, Cyberpunk 2077 It runs at over 30fps on low settings, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Although it’s a gaming laptop, it’s definitely a budget laptop, and the graphics card is clearly where they cut costs. If you can opt for a system with an AMD or Nvidia card, we recommend going for it. It’s good enough for gaming on an absolute budget, but it’ll struggle to run modern titles for the foreseeable future and beyond.

The comparison with the 3050 is unfortunate, as that card is a bit older but still serviceable. In comparison, the 530M, while relatively new, feels like it’s several generations old and struggles to keep up with more demanding tasks.

Another issue is thermal management: Although the device’s fan vents heat to the back, a lot of it gets transferred to the bottom, meaning if you use this on your lap, it heats up quickly. During cold winter months, it’s fine, but at other times of the year, it can get literally unmanageably hot.

There’s also the issue of fan noise. When things get tough, the fans start spinning and sound like a small plane getting ready to take off. Playing games in a common area is unpopular, and if you’re playing alone, it’s a good idea to buy headphones to block out the noise.

Unfortunately, the Gen 9’s speakers are located at the bottom of the device, meaning they reverberate through your thighs. Putting the speakers on the hinge would have been a useful compromise, directing the sound towards your face and allowing for a bit of stereo separation. The sound was clear enough, but not particularly powerful. If I care about audio, I’d go with the wired option, but in a pinch the LOQ Gen 9’s speakers are good enough.

Short battery life and cheap parts

Battery life was generally terrible. As expected, performance dropped significantly while running high-performance games, and the battery only lasted around an hour in these conditions. For light work, I generally got around 90 minutes to 2 hours. This is far less than I’d expect from a modern laptop, even a gaming laptop. If you plan on using it mostly plugged in, it’s fine, but don’t consider using it as your main computer.

Weight is also an issue for those who want to take this device outdoors, as at 5.25 pounds it is a fairly heavy device.

As for the webcam, 720p isn’t quite the resolution you’d need in most situations — it’s fine for the occasional video call, but if you plan on using it regularly for work, you might be better off investing in an external webcam.

Finally, the trackpad, while a good size, is clunky and feels cheap.

Should I buy the Lenovo LOQ Gen 9?

Starting at $849.99, the Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 is one of the cheapest gaming laptops on the market right now, and it has some solid build quality to its name. The high refresh rate screen is bright enough and color accurate, making it a viable option for anyone doing creative work. The port selection is decent, and the overall build is good, with textured plastics that feel sturdy and premium enough. The keyboard is also well-spaced, easy to type on, and fully backlit, making it a viable study computer that can also play games.

Gaming isn’t really this product’s forte, so this is probably where it’s best suited. Modern, relatively advanced titles struggled to run, but older titles ran just fine. If you want something that will last you a few years and keep up with your gaming habits, you’re better off looking elsewhere. In addition to being underpowered, the Gen 9 suffers from terrible battery life, thermal management issues, poor speakers, a low-resolution webcam, and noisy fans.

So, if you’re looking for something with a decent screen and a good keyboard that can handle gaming, the Gen 9 might be a good option, but if you want higher graphics performance, an option with an AMD or Nvidia chip is a much better choice.