Lenovo LOQ Gen 9 review: Quiet with compromise

I've found that the midrange gaming laptop space can be tricky to navigate, with options that seem to always have some downsides or simply offer poor price to performance. 

You're never going to match the performance of a desktop PC at the same price, but what you sacrifice in horsepower you get back in portability.

Lenovo's LOQ Gen 9 sets itself up as a great option to go for, albeit still with some clear drawbacks, but the question of price and how much you're willing to sacrifice remains.

Specifications

• Intel Core i7-13650HX CPU

• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU

• 16GB DDR5-5600 RAM

• 512GB NVMe SSD

• 1080p 144Hz display

When looking at the specs you'll notice that they're good at first glance, with a 40-series GPU, a 13th Gen i7 processor, and DDR5 RAM, but there are some deficiencies.

First and foremost, 512GB is just not good enough for a modern gaming system, and with 474GB of 'actual' space to play with you'll quickly max out the capacity with four or five modern big titles.

While it's more than capable from a performance perspective, having that size is incredibly limiting in a gaming context, and acts in opposition to both the all-in-one and portable nature of a laptop. I'm not saying that you need multiple terabytes of storage, but having at least 1TB should be the standard - especially at this price point.

In terms of the GPU and CPU they're definitely capable of solid FHD gaming, as the i7-13650HX has 14 cores and 20 threads, and boasts a 4.9 GHz single-core boost clock which is great for 1080p.

You'll also get all of the benefits of NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace architecture with the RTX 4060, with the benefits of DLSS 3 and frame generation coming in clutch for any games on the more demanding end. As is the case with any mobile GPUs though you won't be getting the 'full' performance of a 4060, and it'll come in slightly below its desktop equivalent.

The question then remains whether 1080p gaming is enough in 2024 - especially when you'll have to pay around £1,000 for the privilege. The laptop itself holds up well in a number of different games as you'll see shortly in the benchmarks, and with a 15.6" screen you won't massively feel the downsides of FHD, yet it does still feel lacking at this point, and I would like to see more for the price.

Benchmarks

One of the biggest selling points of the LOQ Gen 9 is what Lenovo are calling 'Lenovo AI Engine+'. This feature, powered by LA1 AI chip, allows the laptop to automatically and dynamically adjust the laptop's power and cooling settings based on real-time monitoring.

This, in theory, eliminates any unnecessary heat or cooling spikes and also squeezes out extra performance in the most demanding moments, although it does just seem to act in the same way as a fan curve set to power consumption or GPU temps would.

This then results in you being able to switch between three different profiles: 'Quiet', 'Balanced', and 'Performance' on the fly, and I tested each under the exact same scenarios to monitor both in-game performance, power draw, and noise levels in three different games.

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is one of my favourite games to benchmark, not only because it's fantastic but because of how intensive it is - especially on the CPU side of things. For this specific benchmark, I placed my character in the heart of the titular city, which is by far the most intensive area in the game.

Looking at the different scenarios I was impressed to get above 60fps in every instance of Ultra settings without DLSS, with the 'Quiet' preset managing 68fps at just 41W of GPU power. Importantly this setting was impressively silent, which is something that I really can't say too often with gaming laptops.

Comparatively, while achieving much higher framerates of 85 and 94, both Balanced and Performance were very loud - with the latter sounding reminiscent of a jet engine. This is something that was repeated through all tests, so I'd definitely recommend using noise-blocking headphones when using this preset.

I did manage 93fps and 60W when tuning the game to optimised settings and switching DLSS to Quality on the Balanced preset, which is probably the ideal situation for most players. However, if you're gaming on the go or in a public place then I'd absolutely opt for the Quiet mode.

Counter-Strike 2

When approaching a competitive esports FPS like CS2, performance is paramount to your success. Even at max settings, you're going to be exceeding the capabilities of your 144Hz display, although when optimising things on Balanced I was able to push it to 359fps at 54W of GPU power.

This will give you an incredibly smooth experience, and you also have the option of pairing this with a high refresh rate monitor to properly maximise the capabilities of the performance at hand.

Black Myth Wukong

Being both a new game and an intensive one, Black Myth Wukong was an ideal final test for the LOQ Gen 9. What's more, it also has the full range of NVIDIA-supported technologies, so I was also able to take advantage of DLSS 3 and frame generation.

Overall it performed above my expectations, holding at least an average of 85 fps in the in-game benchmark on High settings with DLSS set to Quality and frame generation enabled. This was, as usual, with minimal fan noise, so it was definitely something I was impressed with. If you're not too bothered about noise or power then cranking this up to the Performance preset took the framerate above 100 fps on average, and there were times when it was sitting at around 120 too.

Design

The LOQ Gen 9 has a design that I actually really like. It's certainly not flashy or particularly unique, but it's sleek and functional which I definitely appreciate. 

I love that the screen doesn't start right at the back of the base, and instead has its hinges a couple of centimetres forward from the rear. This not only gives you the space to tilt the screen further back in tight spaces, but it also allows for better reading of the rear IO slots which are no longer a nightmare to navigate without contorting your body!

The keyboard itself is functional, although I don't particularly love the merging of certain function keys like L Shift and Enter into two buttons, which led to some unintended inputs.

When considering its portability I was quite impressed too, as the laptop isn't too big or heavy for a gaming device, and the charging brick is surprisingly convenient too - although don't expect to be able to chuck this into any old bag and carry it about stress-free.

The Verdict

Ultimately there is a lot to like about the LOQ Gen 9, and you're getting a good package overall for gaming on the go. While the storage is both disappointing and limiting, the rest of the specs are definitely capable of strong FHD gaming, and the benchmarks definitely prove that.

I was impressed by the different presets and how well they handled intensive loads - with the Quiet function providing a genuinely near-silent gaming experience without too much compromise.

The question then remains of whether the price is just a bit too steep for what you're getting. Around £1,000 is quite a lot for both an RTX 4060 system and 1080p gaming right now, and despite good features and performance, you might be able to find a better alternative out there.

4/5

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