Is the Lenovo LOQ 2024 with Intel ARC A530M Graphics Worth It? A Detailed Review

Lenovo LOQ 2024: Looking for a budget-friendly laptop that doesn’t compromise on performance? Dive into our comprehensive review of the Lenovo LOQ Series laptop. Packed with Intel’s latest 12th Gen processor, dedicated ARC graphics, and a stunning display, this laptop promises to deliver smooth gaming, seamless multitasking, and crisp visuals for all your tasks. Let’s explore its features, design, performance, and more to see if it’s the right fit for you!

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Review with Detailed Specifications

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Design:

Let’s delve into the design and build of the latest LOQ series laptop. Each laptop in this series comes with PC-ABS build quality, which stands for polycarbonate and durable construction. Unlike previous models, the design is now straightforward and minimalistic, featuring LOQ branding in 3D and Lenovo branding in metallic form.

Air exhausts on the left and right profiles have been removed, giving the laptop a fresh look. In the new design, air exhausts are located on the back panel only. The laptop is sturdy, with noticeable top and keyboard flex, weighing around 2.421 kg without the power adapter.

Opening the laptop is smooth, and it tilts up to 185 degrees, offering flexibility. The hinge is also smooth, enhancing the user experience. Ports are located on the right and back profiles, with improved build quality using PC-ABS material.

The laptop features new thermal technology, improving airflow and reducing heat buildup. Screen wobbling is minimal, and the body ratio is impressive, giving it a professional appearance. The center power button has different indicator lights for various thermal modes, switching between Performance Mode (red), Balance Mode (blue), Quiet Mode (white), and Custom Mode (violet).

The laptop has a premium finish, with engraved Intel i5 and Intel ARC graphics branding. Overall, the design is better than the IdeaPad Gaming 3 Series.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Display:

I really love the display on this laptop. It’s a 15.6-inch IPS panel with a high peak brightness of 300 nits and covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut. What’s impressive is the 144Hz refresh rate, which ensures smooth visuals. It’s rare to find a laptop under 60 thousand with a display that offers full sRGB coverage, making it perfect for creators and freelancers.

The IPS panel delivers excellent picture quality, and the 300 nits brightness makes it suitable for outdoor use. For tasks like video editing and colour grading, colour accuracy is crucial, and this laptop meets those needs perfectly.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Processor:

This laptop comes with an Intel 12th Gen 12450 HX processor, which has 8 cores and 12 threads. It has four high-performance cores for heavy tasks and four efficient cores for everyday tasks like browsing or using Word and Excel. The processor can reach a maximum boost clock frequency of 4.4 GHz. Compared to other processors like the i5 12450 H, it has a TGP of 55 watts.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Graphics Performance:

The laptop also features an Intel ARC A530M dedicated graphics card with a TGP of 65 watts. The graphics boost clock frequency reaches up to 1300 MHz, ensuring smooth visuals for gaming and multimedia tasks. The graphics card serves both as dedicated and integrated graphics.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Memory & Storage:

It comes with 8 GB of DDR5 RAM, upgradeable to 32 GB, and a 512 GB SSD with fast read and write speeds. There are two slots for additional SSD storage, with support for up to 2TB each.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Benchmark:

Let’s dive into the benchmark tests of the laptop to understand how powerful it is compared to others in its price range. In the Cinebench test, it scored 1536 points for single-core performance and 8363 points for multi-core performance. While some variants may score higher, around 10,000 points, the performance can be compared to processors like Ryzen 5 6600 or Ryzen 7 6800H.

In the Geekbench test, the laptop scored 49,069 points in the open sale, equipped with an RTX 2050 graphics card and a Ryzen 5 7535H processor. Another variant with RTX 3050 graphics scored around 57,597 points, indicating better performance.

In the 3DMark Time Spy test, it scored around 6000 points, and in PCMark 10, it achieved an impressive score of 5743 and 6689 points in the Creative and Work benchmarks, respectively. Additionally, in the Blender benchmark, the laptop performed well, scoring 1242 points in the Crossmark 10 test.

Overall, these benchmark scores suggest that the laptop offers strong performance, especially in real-world tasks and gaming, making it a compelling choice for users seeking high-performance computing.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Gaming Performance:

Let’s dive into gaming on the Lenovo LOQ laptop with Intel ARC graphics. In GTA V, at Full HD resolution and very high settings, we saw smooth gameplay with frame rates between 90 to 120 fps. The GPU usage was high, reaching up to 85% to 99%, with the GPU power touching 62 to 63 watts. The CPU temperature stayed around 83 to 85 degrees Celsius.

In Valorant, at full HD resolution and very high settings, we got over 190 fps with the GPU power staying around 40 to 41 watts. The CPU temperature remained below 85 degrees Celsius.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, with high settings and FSR turned off, we got 50 to 60 fps with GPU power touching 65 watts. The GPU temperature stayed below 75 degrees Celsius, while the CPU temperature remained around 83 to 88 degrees Celsius.

We also tested games with FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) on, but didn’t see significant improvements in frame rates. In benchmarks, the GPU usage was around 99%, with GPU power around 59 to 60 watts and temperature at 73 degrees Celsius.

Overall, the Intel ARC graphics performed well in gaming, but if you’re looking for even better performance, consider laptops with NVIDIA RTX 3050 graphics. These offer higher frame rates and better optimization in games. However, if you prioritize a 100% sRGB display, the Lenovo LOQ series with Intel ARC graphics is a solid choice under 60 thousand.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Thermal:

The new LOQ series has improved thermal performance thanks to the Cold Front Hyper Chamber technology, previously seen in Legion Pro laptops. Now, instead of exhaust vents on the side profiles, there are two vents at the back, ensuring better cooling and reduced noise levels.

With this latest technology, the laptop stays highly optimized, and even during gaming sessions, the temperature doesn’t exceed 80 degrees Celsius. This shows significant thermal optimization in the laptop.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Keyboard & Trackpads:

In this laptop, you get a full-sized keyboard with white backlighting, unlike the RGB backlighting found in the IdeaPad gaming series. The keyboard quality is impressive, making typing, gaming, and navigating around the laptop enjoyable.

The trackpad is also of good size and quality, especially considering the laptop’s price of Rs 60,000. It feels great to use during various tasks, and with Windows multitasking support, you can easily switch between different activities.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Ports:

On the right side, you’ll find a USB 3.2 port for fast data transfer, a combo headphone and microphone jack, and another USB 3.2 port with even faster data transfer and support for display sharing via DP 1.4. You can also charge the laptop with the included 140 watt adapter. It would have been nice to have a Thunderbolt 4 port too.

On the back, there’s another USB 3.2 port, an HDMI 2.1 port for high-quality display output up to 4K 60Hz, and an RJ45 port for stable internet connection. Additionally, there’s another USB 3.2 port for charging your laptop.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Webcam:

This laptop comes with a 720P FHD resolution webcam and integrated dual microphones. Lenovo has included a privacy feature where you can easily turn off the camera when you’re not using it.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Speakers:

This laptop comes with stereo speakers, each with a power of two watts. The sound quality is decent but not exceptional. Switching between modes like movie, music, and game can improve the sound quality.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Connectivity:

Featuring Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth version 5, the laptop ensures fast and reliable wireless connectivity. These features are essential for seamless internet browsing, file sharing, and connecting to peripherals like wireless headphones and printers.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 MS Office:

Although MS Office Home and Student are not included in the base variant, users can customize their purchase on Lenovo’s website to include a lifetime license for MS Office 2021 by paying a nominal fee.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Mux switch:

This laptop comes with a built-in Mux switch, which is a great feature considering its price of 60 thousand. This means you can directly use the display output from the dedicated graphics card. Both the integrated and dedicated graphics are from Intel, so they perform similarly.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Intel ARC Control:

This laptop comes with Intel ARC Control software. With this software, you can update drivers and check the current version your driver is running.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Vantage Feature:

This laptop supports Lenovo software called Lenovo Vantage. With this software, you can customize different thermal modes and switch between GPU modes. For example, in hybrid mode, your laptop will decide whether to use the dedicated GPU or integrated GPU for display output. You can also explore various other GPU modes available. Lenovo Vantage offers many settings and features for you to customize your laptop experience.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Intelligent Sensing Trackpad:

The new Lenovo LOQ series comes with an innovative feature called Intelligent Sensing Trackpad. Similar to the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim Five Series, you can now control the laptop’s brightness and volume directly from the trackpad. Simply scroll up and down on the left side of the trackpad to adjust the brightness, and scroll up and down on the right side to adjust the volume.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Performance:

Let’s talk about the performance of this laptop. It’s great for video editing, especially with Adobe Premiere Pro. Editing full HD videos is smooth and fast, taking only 5 minutes to render a 5-minute video in 4K quality. Even editing 4K videos is possible, though it might take a bit longer.

The laptop’s 100% sRGB display is perfect for video editing tasks, eliminating the need for an external monitor. It’s especially useful for wedding photographers, cinematographers, and anyone who needs color accuracy in their work.

In addition to video editing, the laptop handles other tasks well too. I tried Blender for 3D modeling, and it ran smoothly without any lag. It’s suitable for intermediate-level 3D modeling work. Plus, it can handle software like AutoCAD and SolidWorks, making it versatile for various tasks.

Overall, if you’re into video editing, 3D modeling, or music production, this laptop is a great option under 60 thousand. It’s powerful enough to handle all your tasks effectively.

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Battery:

This laptop comes with a 60-watt battery, providing around 5 hours of backup on quiet mode and 60% brightness. However, if you’re doing heavy tasks like video editing or color grading, the battery may last only 2-3 hours.

Like most Windows gaming laptops, this one also requires to be plugged in for full performance. To use the laptop in performance mode, you need to connect the power adapter.

A 170-watt AC adapter is provided, allowing the laptop to fully charge in just one hour thanks to rapid fast charging.

Quick Overview of Lenovo LOQ 2024

Lenovo LOQ 2024 Price:

You can currently find this laptop on Amazon for Rs 59,990. However, if you visit Lenovo’s website, you can customize it further. By using a custom coupon code, you can get an additional discount of five thousand rupees. Additionally, you have the option to get the MS Office variant for just an extra two thousand rupees.

Overall, the new LOQ series laptop is quite good overall. However, there are some areas where optimization is needed, especially with the ARC graphics. During gameplay, turning on FPS monitoring sometimes caused a decrease in performance, which needs to be addressed.

If you’re considering buying the Lenovo LOQ series gaming laptop, my recommendation is to go for it unless you specifically need a 100% sRGB display for tasks like color grading or graphic design. In that case, it’s better to opt for the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 with either RTX 2050 or RTX 3050 graphics, as they are priced lower and offer highly optimized performance, especially for gaming.