Lenovo LOQ 15 laptop review: The mobile RTX 5060 celebrates its debut

While gaming laptops based on the RTX 5070 upwards are usually quite expensive, RTX 5060 devices tend to be in the $1,200 range, which is particularly attractive for many users. Lenovo's LOQ series has always stood for a solid price-to-performance ratio, so the RTX 5060 should be a fitting choice for potential buyers. Although the graphics card is only limited at 8 GB GDDR7, most games will still run smoothly on the device even using higher settings—at least in Full HD.

Our test model with the suffix AHP10 is joined by a Ryzen 7 250, which is also a mid-range component. Its total package is rounded off by 16 GB DDR5 RAM (unfortunately only single-channel) and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. The manufacturer has gone for a classic IPS panel with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and a specified refresh rate of 144 Hz, which delivered a decent performance during our test.

If you exclude its high operating noise in idle mode (only affects the Performance profile), the laptop's weaknesses we identified are rather minor or secondary for a gaming laptop. For example, its battery life/capacity could be higher, and a second RAM bar and better SSD cooling would have benefited the 15-inch laptop.

At the time of writing, the AMD version which we tested is not yet available to purchase. However, its prices should be pretty similar to those of its Intel counterpart with the Core i5-13450HX. The latter currently costs around $1,130 (available from Lenovo).

The LOQ 15's competitors include other mid-range gaming laptops based on Blackwell, such as the aforementioned Legion 5 15 (RTX 5060), as well as the the Gigabyte Aero X16 and MSI Katana 17 (both RTX 5070). All of these devices appear in the tables as comparison models.

The laptop's case seems to match that of its predecessor almost 1:1. On the outside, Lenovo has relied entirely on plastic, which doesn't make the device feel terribly high-quality. Still, its stability and build quality are more than decent. In addition, its gray surfaces aren't as prone to collecting fingerprint marks as black laptops are. Its generous opening angle is a big plus: the device's screen can be opened by a respectable 180°. In terms of its design, the manufacturer has achieved a good mix of playful and not too flashy.

When it comes to its dimensions and weight, the LOQ 15 isn't out of line either. Weighing in at 2.4 kilograms, it's heavier than the Aero X16 and the Legion 5 (~2 kilograms), but lighter than the Katana 17 (2.7 kilograms), which additionally occupies the top position among the comparison devices when it comes to height.

Ports

Unfortunately, Lenovo hasn't improved the distribution of the laptop's ports. You'll have to make do without USB on the left, which is just as poor in our eyes as the manufacturer's decision to only install one USB-C port (that doesn't support Thunderbolt). At least there are 3x USB-A ports. Image output can be achieved via HDMI or DisplayPort (via USB-C). There is also an audio jack and a Gigabit Ethernet port. Lenovo hasn't included a card reader.

Wireless communication takes place via a Wi-Fi 6 module from Realtek (RTL8852), which unfortunately only achieved mediocre speeds during our WLAN test—similar to the predecessor model.

According to Lenovo, its webcam has a resolution of 5 MP, which helps give it above-average image sharpness levels. In turn, its color accuracy is only average. An eShutter for the webcam is conveniently located on the right side of the device.

The laptop comes with several information booklets and a reasonably compact 170-watt power supply unit, which weighs just under 600 grams with the power cable included.

Its maintenance options are typical for a gaming laptop. After removing 10 Phillips screws, the base plate can be levered out of its anchoring to reveal the device's inner workings (see photos). While the two M.2 slots (up to type 2280) are exposed, the two SO-DIMM banks are covered by a heat sink, which can be removed quite easily. The battery, cooling system and wireless module are also accessible.

The topic of sustainability could be handled even better by Lenovo, as the device has a lot of plastic in its packaging.

In the United States, the laptop is covered by a standard 12-month warranty.

The mouse replacement, which is positioned quite far to the left, features a solid size of 12 x 7.5 centimeters and feels relatively smooth and precise. It, of course, supports multi-touch gestures. Lenovo could make some improvements to its stability and click behavior. Pressing on the click areas at the bottom edge sounds rather rickety and, as a result, makes the device feel a little cheap.

The laptop's display proved to be quite unspectacular in almost all disciplines, i.e. neither bad nor particularly good. Starting with its brightness, which averaged 300 cd/m² during our test. While outdoor use is therefore pretty much out of the question, this value is good enough for most indoor areas.

As mentioned at the beginning, the Lenovo LOQ 15 belongs to the mid-range segment—regardless of whether it has an AMD or Intel CPU. 16 GB of RAM should currently still be sufficient for games (although we would recommend a dual-channel configuration for performance reasons). The same applies to its 1 TB of storage space, unless you need or want to store your private movie collection or the like.

Until now, we have yet to test the Ryzen 7 250, an eight-core model from the Hawk Point generation, which is based on Zen 4 architecture. The chip can process up to 16 threads in parallel via SMT. Further specifications can be found on our CPU page. The R7 250 cut a reasonable figure during our benchmark course. Its performance was relatively in the middle between the Core i5-13450HX and the Core i7-14650HX. The Ryzen 7 260 and the Ryzen AI 7 350 were just under 10% faster in total. Great: Its performance remained stable during the Cinebench loop, so there were no drops.

Furthermore, its system performance was as expected or at least came without any surprises, with the LOQ 15 performing very similarly to its predecessor.