Lenovo Legion 5 or LOQ: Which AMD gaming laptop is better?

Choosing a laptop that is right for you can be hard, especially when the manufacturer in question has two different lines for the same target market. In this case, we are talking about Lenovo LOQ and Lenovo Legion. Both laptop series from the largest PC manufacturer are squarely aimed at the gaming segment. Their roles are clear, LOQ for the buyers on a budget and Legion for the buyers who want a more premium device.

Even within the Legion line, there are different lines: Legion 7 for the high-end and Legion 5 represents the mid-range of the offering. As the lower-end of the Legion spectrum, the Legion 5 is especially interesting for a comparison with the LOQ series.

Head to head: Lenovo Legion 5 versus the Lenovo LOQ

As it so happens, we recently reviewed the Legion 5 and the Lenovo LOQ, with very comparable configurations. Both are 15.3-inch Lenovo gaming laptops with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, and both included an AMD CPU. In the case of the LOQ, the AMD Ryzen 7 250, and the Legion 5 15AGP11 is powered by the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450, which is a newer, more efficient processor.

Besides the obvious visual difference - only the LOQ is available in a striking green - the Legion offers some clear advantages: The aluminum top cover feels more high-quality, and the OLED screen instead of the modest IPS panel certainly offers more visual pop and faster refresh rates, though at the cost of a glossy surface and PWM. And the battery capacity sits at 80 instead of 60 Wh for the LOQ, which results in a 25 percent better battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 is also less heavy, 1.8 instead of 2.2 kg, making it more portable, so for using it on the go, the Legion is certainly a better choice.

Of course, for a gaming system, performance is king. And while the Legion 5 has a faster processor, the LOQ laptop offers the equal GPU performance, thanks to the same GPU TGP of 105 W. This does come at a cost of higher temperatures, though. Overall, the LOQ will give you roughly the same gaming performance, but at a price of €1,500 instead of €2,000, and with 16 GB RAM instead of 32 GB. A good amount of money, but there certainly are compromises, and the better quality and portability of the Legion is undeniable.