
Feels more premium than the prior model, especially with the improved trackpad.
Much better battery life than previous LOQ models, and among the best battery life the team has seen in a budget/value gaming laptop.
The display supports G-Sync and Advanced Optimus, which is excellent for a budget gaming laptop.
Memory, storage, and Wi-Fi are upgradeable, with two SSD slots available.
The keyboard is very good, with 1.6mm of key travel and full-sized arrow keys.
Good port selection, including USB-C with 100W charging, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and rear-mounted ports for cleaner cable management.
The AMD Ryzen 7 250 model has much poorer CPU performance and is based on an older rebadged Zen 4 chip, not a modern Zen 5 one.
Maximum unplugged performance drops noticeably on battery, particularly on the Panther Lake model.
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 feel a bit underwhelming for a brand-new 2026 gaming laptop.

Feels more premium than the prior model, especially with the improved trackpad.
Much better battery life than previous LOQ models, and among the best battery life the team has seen in a budget/value gaming laptop.
The display supports G-Sync and Advanced Optimus, which is excellent for a budget gaming laptop.
Memory, storage, and Wi-Fi are upgradeable, with two SSD slots available.
The keyboard is very good, with 1.6mm of key travel and full-sized arrow keys.
Good port selection, including USB-C with 100W charging, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and rear-mounted ports for cleaner cable management.
The AMD Ryzen 7 250 model has much poorer CPU performance and is based on an older rebadged Zen 4 chip, not a modern Zen 5 one.
Maximum unplugged performance drops noticeably on battery, particularly on the Panther Lake model.
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 feel a bit underwhelming for a brand-new 2026 gaming laptop.
As an associate for Amazon, Lenovo, Best Buy, B&H, Dell, and HP, we earn commission from qualifying purchases through these links.

We test over 100s of laptops so you don't have to
Join 50,000+ Smart Subscribers