Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarLenovo LOQ 15 Ryzen 7 7840HS laptop review: Don't call it a Legion
The LOQ family consists of Lenovo's budget gaming laptops designed to replace the older IdeaPad Gaming 3 series. The new LOQ name helps to create distance between its budget gaming products and the more home office or student-oriented Ideapad series. It is also distinctly not a Legion product as Lenovo wants to position the Legion name as a "flagship" series with high-end gaming machines only.
Our unit in review is a midrange AMD version (15APH8) with the Zen 4 Ryzen 7 7840HS CPU, GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, and 1080p 144 Hz IPS display retailing for roughly $1000 USD. It only comes with 8 GB of RAM, but this is fortunately user-upgradeable. Cheaper and more expensive SKUs exist with the Ryzen 5 7640HS, RTX 3050 or 4060, and 1080p 60 Hz to 1440p 165 Hz display ranging from under $800 USD to over $1100 USD. Intel versions of the LOQ 15 (15IRH8) are also available in both 15-inch and 16-inch (LOQ 16) screen sizes.
Competitors include other budget 15-inch gaming laptops like the Dell G15 5530, Asus TUF A15 FA507, MSI Cyborg 15, or HP Victus 15.
More Lenovo reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85.7 % | 07/2023 | Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 R7 7840HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 25.2 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87.5 % | 11/2022 | Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 19.99 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.2 % | 06/2023 | Dell G15 5530 i7-13650HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 3 kg | 26.95 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.3 % | 06/2023 | Asus TUF A15 FA507 R7 7735HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 24.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.4 % | 04/2023 | MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF i7-12650H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2 kg | 22.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 81 % | 12/2022 | HP Victus 15 fa0020nr i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.3 kg | 23.6 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Case — Essentially A Plastic Legion
Just because it's not a Legion product doesn't mean it can't be inspired by the Legion design. The LOQ 15 chassis can be best described as a watered-down Legion 5 15 as all the metal skeleton materials of the Legion have been replaced with ABS plastic on both the top cover and bottom. It feels cheaper as a result of these changes, but that is par for the course when compared to other budget gaming laptops like the MSI Cyborg 15 or HP Victus 15 which are also predominantly plastic.
Chassis rigidity is weakest on the palm rests and keyboard center. Applying pressure on these areas would warp the surface slightly more than on most other gaming laptops including the inexpensive ones like the HP Victus 15. It's thankfully not a cause for concern or anything and the rest of the laptop feels solid for the price.
The LOQ 15 is slightly thicker and heavier than most other budget gaming laptops including the Asus TUF A15, HP Victus 15, or MSI Cyborg 15 due in part to its large extended rear. A notable exception is the bulky Dell G15 5530 which is even heavier and larger.
Connectivity — No USB4 or Thunderbolt
Port options include everything from last year's IdeaPad Gaming 3 15 plus an additional USB-A port. Most of the ports are along the rear, but the single USB-C port has been moved to the left edge this time for easier reach.
Communication
The Realtek RTL8852BE offers Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity with no Wi-Fi 6E or 6 GHz support likely to save on costs. Transfer rates are nonetheless steady and reliable when paired to our Asus AXE11000 test router.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
Webcam
The 2 MP webcam is an upgrade from the 1 MP webcams on the older Legion 5 15 or IdeaPad Gaming 15 series. A camera kill switch is included while IR is nowhere to be found.
Maintenance
End-user upgrades take a bit more effort than on most other gaming laptops since the rear portion of the chassis must first be removed before the bottom panel can come off. A total of 13 Phillips screws secure the bottom and rear portions.
Accessories And Warranty
There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The standard one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices — A Lot Like An IdeaPad
Keyboard
The keyboard remains identical to the one on the IdeaPad Gaming 3 15 despite the name change. If you've typed on an IdeaPad or Yoga laptop in the past, then the keyboard on the LOQ 15 will feel instantly familiar. Subjectively, the keys on the LOQ 15 feel a bit firmer and clickier than usual for a better typing experience than a cheaper Asus VivoBook or HP Pavilion 15.
Touchpad
The clickpad is slightly smaller than the one on last year's IdeaPad Gaming 3 15 (12 x 7.5 cm vs. 12.5 x 7.5 cm). However, the clickpad on the LOQ 15 feels firmer and clickier than the clickpad on the IdeaPad to be more satisfying to use. Clatter is noticeably louder as a result of the sharper feedback.
Display — 1080p Pairs Well With The GeForce RTX 4050
Three display configurations are available all of which are IPS panels:
- 1080p, 300 nits, 60% sRGB, 60 Hz
- 1080p, 350 nits, 60% sRGB, 144 Hz, Advanced Optimus, G-Sync
- 1440p, 350 nits, 100% sRGB, 165 Hz, Advanced Optimus, G-Sync
Our configuration and measurements reflect only the bolded option above. Although 1080p is sufficient for an inexpensive gaming machine, the limited color coverage and relatively slow response times are immediately noticeable through shallower colors and ghosting, respectively. If you like graphics editing or first-person shooters, then it's recommended to connect an external monitor with better colors and faster response times or select the higher quality 1440p panel option. The competing Asus TUF A15 offers a 1080p panel with full sRGB coverage whereas our Lenovo does not.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 346.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1117:1 (Black: 0.31 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.19 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 1.66
ΔE Greyscale 2.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
41.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
60.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
40.2% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.19
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 BOE NJ NE156FHM-NX3, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB CSOT MNF601CA1-3, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Dell G15 5530 AUO B156HAN, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Asus TUF A15 FA507 N156HMA-GA1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF AU Optronics B156HAN15.1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | HP Victus 15 fa0020nr CMN1521, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 69% | 75% | 60% | 5% | 4% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 40.2 | 69.1 72% | 73.1 82% | 64.9 61% | 42.3 5% | 42 4% |
| sRGB Coverage | 60.2 | 99.5 65% | 98.4 63% | 96.5 60% | 62.6 4% | 62.7 4% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 41.5 | 70 69% | 74.4 79% | 66.6 60% | 43.7 5% | 43.4 5% |
| Response Times | 58% | 85% | 22% | 46% | 4% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 42.7 ? | 14.8 ? 65% | 3.39 ? 92% | 30.4 ? 29% | 22 ? 48% | 35.2 ? 18% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 24.5 ? | 12 ? 51% | 5.35 ? 78% | 20.8 ? 15% | 14 ? 43% | 27.2 ? -11% |
| PWM Frequency | 21620 ? | |||||
| Screen | -4% | -2% | 28% | -9% | 1% | |
| Brightness middle | 346.2 | 363.5 5% | 320 -8% | 288 -17% | 247 -29% | 284.3 -18% |
| Brightness | 329 | 350 6% | 316 -4% | 271 -18% | 234 -29% | 262 -20% |
| Brightness Distribution | 81 | 89 10% | 94 16% | 91 12% | 89 10% | 87 7% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.39 -26% | 0.21 32% | 0.17 45% | 0.25 19% | 0.17 45% |
| Contrast | 1117 | 932 -17% | 1524 36% | 1694 52% | 988 -12% | 1672 50% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.19 | 3.68 12% | 4.55 -9% | 1.9 55% | 3.78 10% | 4.52 -8% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 19.19 | 8.92 54% | 9.83 49% | 3.3 83% | 6.42 67% | 18.67 3% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.66 | 0.53 68% | 1.51 9% | 0.9 46% | 3.94 -137% | 1.55 7% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.6 | 6.5 -150% | 6.2 -138% | 2.7 -4% | 2.16 17% | 4.1 -58% |
| Gamma | 2.19 100% | 2.2 100% | 2.07 106% | 2.32 95% | 2.33 94% | 2.3 96% |
| CCT | 6749 96% | 5995 108% | 6479 100% | 6535 99% | 6906 94% | 6529 100% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 41% /
20% | 53% /
27% | 37% /
34% | 14% /
2% | 3% /
2% |
* ... smaller is better
Average grayscale and color deltaE values actually aren't terrible for a budget gaming laptop at just 2.6 and 4.19, respectively. We're able to get these values down to just 0.4 and 1.66 after a proper calibration with our X-Rite colorimeter. However, keep in mind that colors still become increasingly inaccurate at higher saturation levels due to the narrow color gamut mentioned above.
Our calibrated ICM profile is available above for free.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24.5 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 12.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 12.3 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 51 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.8 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 42.7 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 19.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 23.5 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 65 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (34.3 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18704 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Most gaming laptops with IPS panels tend to fall in the 300-nit brightness range and the LOQ 15 is no exception. Thus, outdoor visibility is average for the category with nothing noteworthy. Anything brighter than a shady spot will cause immense glare and wash out onscreen colors.
Performance — Midrange AMD Zen 4
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode via both Windows and Lenovo Vantage prior to running the benchmarks below. We also made sure to set the system to dGPU mode as Advanced Optimus is supported. It's recommended that users become familiar with the Vantage software since it is the central hub for Lenovo BIOS updates, power settings, warranty info, and other model-specific features.
Processor
The Ryzen 7 7840HS is a slight step down from the higher-end Ryzen 7 7745HX with a performance deficit of just 5 percent. Overall performance is therefore comparable to the 12th gen Core i7-12700H that powered most gaming laptops of 2022. We're relieved that the LOQ series is shipping with Zen 4 CPUs instead of rebranded Zen 3 options like the Ryzen 7 7735HS which is noticeably slower and much less impressive.
Upgrading to the Intel version of the LOQ 15 with the Core i7-13700H is expected to boost CPU performance by roughly 20 percent based on our time with the recent Aorus 15X.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (25041 - 28921, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (109633 - 123167, n=11) | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (4293 - 5096, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (105028 - 122681, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (14705 - 15525, n=11) | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (58441 - 65812, n=11) | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (67389 - 177158, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (949 - 1123, n=11) | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (13441 - 15599, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (17615 - 41088, n=11) | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
System Performance
PCMark 10 results are comparable to competing models like the Dell G15 5530 and even just shy of the older 2022 Lenovo Legion 5 15. However, AIDA64 memory tests are only half as fast on our LOQ 15 unit due to its limited 8 GB of single-channel RAM. We recommend adding a second RAM module for a total of 16 GB whenever possible.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU (11467 - 11785, n=2) | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU (1364 - 1480, n=2) | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 7709 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (30937 - 72158, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (30497 - 61911, n=11) | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (34590 - 92731, n=11) | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS (85.1 - 112, n=11) | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is nearly perfect with just 2 dropped frames during a one-minute timeframe.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices — PCIe4 x4 NVMe Support
Our unit ships with a budget Micron 2450 PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSD able to sustain real-world read rates of up to 2600 MB/s without any throttling. Up to two internal SSDs are supported.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Lenovo Legion 5 15IAH7H 82RB | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF | |
| Asus TUF A15 FA507 | |
| Dell G15 5530 | |
| Lenovo LOQ 15APH8 | |
* ... smaller is better