Lenovo LOQ Essential

LaptopMedia.com Laptop Specs Lenovo LOQ Essential (15IRX11 / 15ARP11, Gen 11) Lenovo LOQ Essential

Date Published: 20 May 2026

AMD Ryzen 7 170
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (Laptop)
15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 144 Hz, IPS
1000GB SSD
16GB RAM
2.30 kg (5.1 lbs)

Lenovo LOQ Essential

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Review

Lenovo LOQ Essential in-depth review

The Lenovo LOQ Essential (15IRX11, Gen 11) wears its name on its sleeve. Positioned as the absolute entry point into Lenovo’s gaming lineup, it strips away the premium frills to focus on delivering a functional 1080p experience at an aggressively low price. But in the highly competitive world of budget gaming laptops, the term "essential" is often a polite way of saying "strict compromises." With a stripped-back single-fan cooling system, a heavily power-limited RTX 5050, and some rather peculiar connectivity choices, this machine forces you to ask a critical question: how much performance and flexibility are you willing to sacrifice to save a few dollars? We put this budget brawler to the test to see if its affordable price tag is truly worth the trade-offs.TESTED CONFIGURATION: [...]

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Pros

Great 144Hz display with 98% sRGB coverage and no PWM
Runs exceptionally cool during sustained gaming
Clean, smudge-resistant design with a 180-degree hinge
Physical E-shutter switch for the webcam
Comfortable 1.3mm key travel for typing

Cons

Severely power-limited GPU (60W) restricts gaming performance
Frustrating half-height, crammed arrow keys
M.2 slots only accommodate short 2242 SSDs

Disassembly, maintenance and upgrade options

Step 1: Removing the bottom panelPower off the laptop and place it on a soft, clean surface. Remove the bottom cover screws and carefully release the clips around the perimeter with a thin plastic tool. Lift the panel away from the chassis.More info: Once inside, the layout is easy to understand. You can immediately spot the single-fan cooling system with three heat pipes, the 60Wh battery at the front, the two RAM slots under a metal shield, the M.2 storage area, and the replaceable Wi-Fi card. Step 2: Battery removalDisconnect the battery [...]