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Quoted Tech Shield: Two-minute review

The Quoted Tech Shield is the latest pre-built gaming PC from boutique Canadian PC maker, and it's an ideal gaming PC for anyone looking to get started playing the latest AAA games.

Everything about the Shield feels like it’s made to bring first-time PC gamers into the hobby by offering great components, easy setup and access to internals, and simple repairs (and warranties) in case things go awry.

The configuration I received, the Shield Extreme—which currently retails for CA$1299 (US$927, £975, AU$1,993)—features an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card, 32GB DDR5 RAM, and 2TB SSD storage. This is a fantastic spec for blistering-fast framerates at 1080p and with very respectable framerates at 1440p, though some settings tweaks might be necessary for QHD gaming.

First-time PC gamers might not immediately appreciate just how easy everything is to set up. I have reviewed dozens of gaming PCs over the years, and I can say that few gaming PCs make it this straightforward to get going, while lower-quality PCs can be a downright nightmare.

This extends to the easy access to the internals through a pin-drop hinged door, and the relieving lack of complicated bloatware that plagues most pre-built PCs.

Probably the most impressive part of the Shield is its three-year parts and five-year labor warranties, which deliver peace of mind for first-timers navigating their way through the intricacies of a gaming PC by ensuring a more reliable and less complicated experience than many established competitors.

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Those positives don’t mean that there aren’t some issues potential buyers should understand before buying.

Most of the Quoted Tech Shield’s problems are with the case design and port selection.

First, the Shield skips out on USB-C ports entirely, which might complicate things if you want to buy the best gaming mouse and best gaming keyboard you can afford to complement your new PC, as many modern peripherals are making the move to USB-C.

The overall case design also feels a bit fragile, and more serious PC gaming enthusiasts may have an issue with the lack of personalization software—especially RGB aficionados, as the Shield only has a few pre-configured RGB effects that you can cycle through with buttons on the top panel. That said, the Shield is all about keeping things simple, so the lighting presets might actually be a plus for some users.

Overall, however, the Quoted Tech Shield makes up for its faults by delivering fantastic 1080p and strong 1440p performance, quiet operation, and a user-friendly design to account for future upgrades. Combined with its generous three-year parts and five-year labor warranties, the Shield is unquestionably one of the best gaming PC options available for an inviting, low-risk PC gaming experience without the intimidation of traditional PC building or more complicated pre-built offerings.

Quoted Tech Shield: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• The Quoted Tech Shield starts at $1299 CAD (about USD $930 / £975 / AU$1,995)
• Available now in the US, UK, and Australia through Quoted Tech's website

The Quoted Tech Shield can be purchased through the company's website, starting at $1299 CAD (about US$930 / £975 / AU$1,995).

There are eight different configurations ranging from the starting 1080p esports build to high-end 4K set-ups, which will set you back CA$3,049 (about US$2,205 / £1,820 / AU$3,530).

My Quoted Tech Shield "Extreme" configuration targets 1440p gaming, and will set you back CA$2,449, or about US$1,775 / £1,465 / AU$3,530.

Overall, these are respectable price points for a gaming PC at any level, though those looking for something cheaper or more premium can easily do so.

• Value: 4 / 5

Quoted Tech Shield: Specs Quoted Tech Shield specs

Starting configuration

Review configuration

Max configuration

Price

$1,299 CAD (about USD $930 / £975 / AU$1,995)

CA$2,449 (about US$1,775 / £1,465 / AU$3,530)

CA$2,449 (about US$1,775 / £1,465 / AU$3,530)

CPU

AMD Ryzen 5 7500F

AMD Ryzen 7 9700X

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

GPU

Nvidia RTX 5050

Nvidia RTX 5070

Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti

Memory

16GB DDR5-5600

32GB DDR5-5600

32GB DDR5-5600

Storage

1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD

2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD

2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD

Connectivity

WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 1Gbps Ethernet

WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 1Gbps Ethernet

WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 1Gbps Ethernet

Ports

9xUSB-A

9xUSB-A

9xUSB-A

CPU Cooling

120mm Tower Air Cooler

120mm Tower Air Cooler

120mm Tower Air Cooler

PSU

650W 80+ Bronze (Non-modular)

650W 80+ Bronze (Non-modular)

750W 80+ Gold, Full Modular

Dimensions (L x W x H)

40.5 x 21.0 x 42.5 cm

40.5 x 21.0 x 42.5 cm

40.5 x 21.0 x 42.5 cm

Weight

25 lbs | 11.34kg

25 lbs | 11.34kg

35 lbs | 15.88kg

• Specs: 4 / 5

Quoted Tech Shield: Design

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

• Internals are easily accessible through the hinged side panel
• Chassis is very basic and lacks customizable RGB lighting
• No USB-C ports

One of the best things about the Quoted Tech Shield design is how simple everything is, from the side panel that’s opened with a simple pin-drop hinge to the easily removable front panel screen for quick fan maintenance.

There isn’t a part that doesn’t have easy access on this gaming PC, making future upgradability a straightforward process, especially for those who are new to PC gaming.

That does come at the cost of a case that doesn’t necessarily feel durable. In fact, I would go further to say that the overall design of the chassis feels somewhat flimsy compared to others on the market.

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

Though the all black colorway looks great, the case feels like it's made of very thin steel; something that was apparent when our review unit arrived and the rear panel port panel and front screen panel had small dents in them. As such, the Quoted Tech Shield isn’t the type of gaming desktop that you'll0 want to move around too much if you're concerned about its aesthetic.

The RGB lighting will also strike you as entirely simple or entirely problematic, depending on your tastes. The Quoted Tech Shield prides itself on not offering bloatware, which I genuinely love, but that means you need to cycle through preset RGB color schemes via a button on the top panel. Thankfully, one of the settings allows users to turn off the lighting completely.

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)

When it comes to port selections, there are plenty of standard USB-A ports, including three top-panel USB-A ports, as well as a pair of 3.5mm jacks for a headset and a dedicated mic. That’s more than enough for many gamers, content creators, and everyone else in between.

The biggest problem comes from the lack of a USB-C ports, as many accessories are making the switch to this interface, so you might have to invest in USB adapters to use new peripherals in the future.

• Design: 3 / 5

Quoted Tech Shield: Performance

• 1080p performance is outstanding
• 1440p performance is respectable
• Don’t expect any performance customization options

The plug-and-play design of the Quoted Tech Shield Extreme configuration I received is complemented by its impressive gaming performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 serve as a solid middle ground between basic gaming and high-end 4K performance, with very high frame rates at 1080p resolution and great performance at 1440p, even without having to rely on frame generation.

As mentioned previously, this is great for those who don’t feel like thinking much about customizing performance modes, wattage usage, fan speed, and the like.

CPU benchmarks vs competition

Quoted Tech Shield

Alienware Aurora ACT1250

NZXT Player PC

Lenovo Legion Tower 5

Geekbench 6 (Single)

3,355

3,071

3,081

2,594

Geekbench 6 (Multi)

16,234

20,010

18,984

13,554

Cinebench R23 (Single)

2,223

2,257

2,263

1,693

Cinebench R23 (Multi)

19,778

35,446

35,226

17,376

Cinebench R24 (Single)

136

136

137

104

Cinebench R24 (Multi)

1,157

1,979

1,923

934

Crossmark Overall

2,311

2,301

2,298

1,846

Crossmark Productivity

2,147

2,152

2,159

1,734

Crossmark Creativity

2,628

2,548

2,495

2,127

Crossmark Responsiveness

1,960

2,069

2,166

1,454

For the more competitive side of gaming, the Shield Extreme will work perfectly in both 1080p and 1440p.

Games like Battlefield 6, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Valorant ran well past 100 fps at 1440p with settings maxed out. Meanwhile, Marvel Rivals at max settings averaged around 60fps at 1440p. All of this was without relying on upscaling, much less frame generation, so you can definitely push the visual framerate much higher for a smoother experience.

GPU benchmarks vs competition

Quoted Tech Shield

Alienware Aurora ACT1250

NZXT Player PC

Lenovo Legion Tower 5

3DMark Fire Strike

45,474

44,913

45,049

43,845

3DMark Steel Nomad

5,308

5,224

4,967

5,495

3DMark Speed Way

5,898

5,741

5,855

5,960

3DMark Port Royal

14,318

14,062

14,139

14,302

For non-competitive titles, especially newer, more visually demanding games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and Black Myth: Wukong are going to need upscaling to maintain high frame rates at 1440p, though native-only gamers can still get high framerates at 1080p with settings maxed out without ray tracing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows ran at about 58 fps at 1080p on ultra high settings without upscaling, while it hit around 33 fps on average without upscaling. Likewise, with Black Myth: Wukong, I was able to achieve an average of 55 fps at 1080p with Cinematic settings, and about 30fps at 1440p on the same settings without upscaling.

The worst results were for Cyberpunk 2077, which hit around 20fps on the Ultra preset at native 1440p. Turn on DLSS 4 with the transformer model set to balanced, without frame generation, and at 1440p, I consistently hit an average of 74 fps.

Gaming benchmarks (average FPS) vs competition

Quoted Tech Shield

Alienware Aurora ACT1250

NZXT Player PC

Lenovo Legion Tower 5

Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra)

69

69

70

72

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, Highest)

204

202

201

207

F1 2024 (1080p, Very High)

99

104

97

119

Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Ultra)

180

181

182

172

General computing and creative content curation worked well outside of gaming. Opening multiple tabs in Google Chrome didn’t lead to any slowdown or OS hangs, while Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro not only ran well but also exported files fairly quickly.

Overall, the Quoted Tech Shield proves itself as a strong, no-fuss gaming desktop that balances accessibility with performance, making it an appealing, well-rounded choice for both casual gamers and multitasking creators.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Quoted Tech Shield?

(Image credit: Future / Ural Garrett)Quoted Tech Shield scorecard

Notes

Rating

Value

Regardless of which configuration you go go for, the Quoted Tech Shield offers a nice no-frills purchase backed by a nice warranty package.

4 / 5

Specs

With a very wide selection of configurations, there's a build to target every gaming resolution.

4 / 5

Design

The easy access through the pin-drop hinge is great for upgrades and maintenance. However, the chassis feels flimsy, lacks USB-C ports, or any customizable RGB lighting.

3 / 5

Performance

Though performance benchmarks favor 1080p more, 1440p resolutions run just fine at acceptable frame rates.

4 / 5

Total Score

Despite being held back by some questionable design choices, the performance, upgradability, and warranty-protection of the Shield are more than enough to recommend this PC, especially for PC gaming newcomers.

3.75 / 5

Buy the Quoted Tech Shield if…

You are looking for respectable 1080p / 1440p performance
The AMD Ryzen 7 9700 CPU matches well with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070 for high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p from visual spectacles to competitive leaning games.

You need easy set-up and upgrade potential
Opening and closing the case is as simple as pulling the pin drop hinge. Also, anyone new to PC gaming has an easy guide to set it up.

You want some great customer-friendly additives
A three year warranty on parts will be clutch for those who have issues going down the line and five years of labor warranty couldn’t be more of a cherry on top.

Don’t buy it if…

You need a USB-C port
Many modern PC gaming accessories utilize USB-C ports, and the Quoted Tech Shield has none, forcing you to use an adapter for USB-C peripherals.

You want a more durable case
Despite having easy access to internal components and even fans, the overall chassis feels somewhat flimsy and prone to denting.

You want customizable RGB lighting
The no-frills package of the Quoted Tech Shield means no bloatware. This also means that RGB lighting is cycled through a handful of presets via a button on the top panel.

Also Consider

If my Quoted Tech Shield review has you considering other options, here are two other gaming desktops to consider...

Alienware Aurora ACT1250
The Alienware Aurora gaming desktop is an iconic gaming PC, and its latest iteration features fantastic performance at a decent enough price, though internal component access and upgradability are more limited.

Read the full Alienware Aurora ACT1250 review

Lenovo Legion Tower 5
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 is a fantastic gaming PC with solid hardware and one of the best first-party apps for tweaking performance in the Lenovo Advantage tuner. It's a bit cramped though, making future upgradability a bit more complicated.

Read the full Lenovo Legion Tower 5 review

How I tested the Quoted Tech Shield

• I tested the Quoted Tech Shield for a little over a week
• I ran our standard battery of benchmark tests, as well as games like Ninja Gaiden 4, Battlefield 6, Dying Light: The Beast, Valorant, and Forza Motorsport (2023).

I spent a little over a week testing the Quoted Tech Shield, using TechRadar's standard benchmarking suite and real-world experience across a range of demanding tasks.

During work hours, I used Google Chrome for multitasking—running several tabs for productivity tools and browsing sessions—alongside Adobe Creative Suite for video editing and design work.

For gaming, I split my time between games like Dying Light: The Beast, Black Myth: Wukong, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II to measure performance in visually demanding titles.

For competitive gaming, I spent time with Battlefield 6, Valorant, and Marvel Rivals.

I've been reviewing gaming PCs for several years now, so I know exactly how a gaming PC at this level should perform, so you can trust that anything I recommend is worth the investment.

• First reviewed October 2025

The Quoted Tech Shield gaming PC is a great way to get into serious PC gaming, but there are some quirks that you'll have to navigate to do so.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle for Oct. 31, No. 1,595.

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Using a VPN on your Android device can help you keep your online activity private, stream geo-restricted content and bypass throttling from anywhere.

Best Buy has some excellent budget gaming laptops available ahead of Black Friday, including this excellent value HP Victus 15 with an RTX 4050.

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Use your face, finger or code instead of a password or 64-digit key.

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9: Two-minute review

The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 aims to take the lead as the best budget gaming laptop on the market, and in terms of performance for the price, it pretty much nails it.

At first glance, you’d be hard-pressed to distinguish it from any other workaday laptop. It lacks the bulk and RGB lighting of its rivals, which may be a positive or a negative depending on how you feel about the modern gamer aesthetic.

Regardless, it certainly looks and feels premium. Smooth materials with elegant finishes are featured all over, with the keyboard being a particular highlight, thanks to the solid placement and subtle texturing of the keys.

What’s more, the LOQ Essential 15 is pleasingly light, which makes it more portable than a lot of the competition. However, while build quality is good, the LOQ Essential 15 isn’t as sturdy as the best gaming laptops on the market, since there’s a fair amount of flex to both the chassis and the lid.

There’s a welcome selection of ports on the LOQ Essential 15, featuring all the interfaces a gamer would need. There’s even an SD card reader, which isn’t something you often see on a gaming laptop. Most of these ports are located on the left, and there are none on the back, which may prove inconvenient depending on your particular setup.

(Image credit: Future)

The LOQ Essential 15 comes preinstalled with Lenovo Vantage, a utility app for viewing system information and adjusting performance settings. This is one of the best utility apps I’ve come across, providing plenty of useful information and tweaks. It also has a very clear interface, and during my time with it, it ran without a hitch.

Less impressive, however, was the outright performance of my review unit. The Intel i5 and RTX 3050 combination in my review unit struggled to run the latest AAA titles smoothly, especially if you enable even the slightest amount of ray tracing. At least the heat and fan noise were kept to a minimum throughout.

Thankfully, the display on the LOQ Essential 15 is more impressive. Despite the 1080p resolution stretching across 15 inches, the interface always looked clear and sharp. There’s plenty of vibrancy, too, and although the maximum brightness isn’t particularly high, the worst reflections are kept at bay.

The keyboard feels a little cramped when gaming, and the lack of travel and dampening hampers feedback somewhat. It’s a different story, however, when typing, as the snappy clicks and ergonomic layout make this easy. And since the touchpad is quite small, it doesn’t get in the way when typing, either.

With its reasonable price tag, the LOQ Essential 15 is certainly a tempting proposition. While there’s plenty of quality here, the middling performance and keyboard hamstring its gaming prowess somewhat. If you can live with these drawbacks, though, the LOQ Essential 15 is still worth considering if you’re after a budget gaming laptop.

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Price & Availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Starting from $569 / £689 / AU$742.35
• Available now
• Budget end of the market

The LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 starts from $569 / £689 / AU$742.35 and is available now in the US, UK, and Australia. Various RTX GPU options are available as well, from the RTX 2050 all the way up to the RTX 5050. There are also different Intel and AMD CPUs available. RAM capacities range from 8GB to 32GB, while storage ranges from 512GB to 4TB.

The starting price on the LOQ Essential 15 is about as low as I've seen for a laptop of this quality. Better yet, I’ve seen the latest models with their RTX 50-series GPUs on sale at a significant discount, making them an even better value despite being more expensive.

However, there might be cheaper gaming laptops out there, depending on your region. The MSI Cyborg 15, for example, starts at a cheaper price in the UK and is similarly specced with a high-quality design.

If you're able to spend a little more, there’s also the Acer Nitro V 15, which—while more expensive than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 in the US—is a better gaming laptop right now, in my view, thanks to its more capable performance.

• Value: 4 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: SpecsLenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review configuration

Price

£799

CPU

Intel Core i5-12450HX (2.4GHz, 8 Cores)

GPU

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 6GB

RAM

16GB DDR5

Storage

1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD

Display

15.6" FHD (1920x1080), IPS, 144Hz, Anti-glare

Ports and Connectivity

2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x RJ-45, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x SD card reader; Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2

Battery

57Wh

Dimensions

14.15 x 9.29 x 0.78-0.90in (359.3 x 236 x 19.9-22.95mm)

Weight

3.9lbs (1.77kg)

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Premium feel
• Not the sturdiest
• Great utility app

If you didn’t know, you could easily mistake the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 for a mainstream laptop. It has the same form and looks, without any of the extraneous bulges or aggressive aesthetics typical of many gaming laptops.

It looks quite elegant, owing to the subtle sheen of the finish. It’s also impressively thin and light for a laptop in this class, which makes carrying it around easier. The materials look and feel fairly premium, although the LOQ Essential 15 isn’t as sturdy as others, with some flex to various panels and the display enclosure.

The keyboard is a more premium affair, with a smooth yet noticeable texture to the keycaps. They have the typical Lenovo ergonomic shape, although they seem less indented than other models from the brand.

There are plenty of handy shortcuts on the F row, including one to open Windows 11 settings, which I wish would feature on every laptop. There are also some unlabelled Fn shortcuts, such as Fn+Q, which toggles performance modes. I only happened to chance upon it when looking at Lenovo’s website.

You can also find it listed in a pre-installed app called Lenovo Hotkeys, in addition to a plethora of other useful shortcuts. For instance, you can also instantly toggle the refresh rate between 60 and 144Hz with Fn+R.

(Image credit: Future)

One of the most disappointing aspects of the keyboard, though, is the lack of backlighting. Higher spec models have it, but it’s still a fairly egregious omission on base models. Not only does it add spectacle, it also serves a practical purpose by helping with key location when gaming in dimly-lit rooms, as is often the case for many.

What won’t disappoint is the number of ports on the LOQ Essential 15. All those relevant to gamers are present: there are two USB-A ports and one USB-C, as well as ethernet and HDMI interfaces. There’s even an SD card reader, which isn’t always seen on gaming laptops, but it's great for creator-gamers who might use their laptop for both work and play.

The placement of the ports might prove more divisive, though. All but two are loaded on the left-hand side, and there are none on the back. This layout might be inconvenient for certain setups; personally, I like to see at least the power port on the back.

The LOQ Essential 15 comes preinstalled with Lenovo Vantage, which is one of the best first-party utility suites I’ve come across. It contains a wealth of useful information and settings to tweak, especially the gaming section, which naturally has various cooling and performance modes to choose from.

What’s more, Vantage is clear and easy to navigate, and I didn’t experience any bugs or glitches when using it—not something that can be said about every first-party software.

• Design: 4 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Middling 1080p performance
• Vibrant, non-reflective display
• Keyboard lacks gaming prowess

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single Core): 2,207; (Multi Core): 8,297
Cinebench R23 (Single Core): 1,588; (Multi Core): 9,774
Cinebench R24 (Single Core): 94 (Multi Core): 562
Crossmark Overall: 1,441
3DMark Night Raid: 37,229; Fire Strike: 11,392; Steel Nomad: 998; Solar Bay: 23,855; Solar Bay Unlimited: 25,530; Solar Bay Extreme: 4,391; Solar Bay Extreme Unlimited: 4,436
BlackMagicDisk Read: 3,502MB/s; Write: 3,063MB/s
Civilization VII (1080p, AMD FSR, High): 200fps; (1080p, High): 136fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, Highest, Balanced upscaling): 98fps; (1080p, Highest, SMAA x4, no upscaling): 53fps
Total War: Warhammer III: Mirrors of Madness (1080p, Ultra): 28fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 57fps; (1080p, Ray Tracing: Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 34fps; (1080p, Ultra, no upscaling): 37fps
Marvel Rivals (1080p, Ultra, Balanced upscaling): 33fps; (1080p, no upscaling, Low): 49fps

My review unit of the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 was equipped with an Intel Core i5 CPU and an RTX 3050 GPU, so as you might expect, gaming performance wasn’t exactly top-tier. When I played Cyberpunk 2077 with the Ray Tracing: Low preset, fps figures were in the high thirties and early forties on average, with some significant stuttering in busy scenes.

Personally, this stuttering didn’t derail the experience for me, but it was certainly noticeable and will likely bother more elite players. Disabling Ray Tracing altogether and applying the Ultra preset barely made a difference to frame rates or the stuttering, albeit the latter occurred with slightly less frequency.

Almost as soon as I started playing, the area around the WASD keys warmed up, but thankfully, it never peaked above lukewarm. The rest of the chassis stayed cool, save for the portion above the keyboard – but even this area remained touchable.

There is some fan noise during heavy workloads, but it’s quieter than others in this category, and nothing the best PC gaming headsets couldn’t drown out.

The display is also quite impressive. It’s remarkably clear and sharp, especially when you consider its 1080p resolution is stretched out over 15 inches. It’s also pleasingly vivid, and although it isn’t quite as bright as I would’ve liked, it still does enough to fend off troublesome reflections.

(Image credit: Future)

Harder to praise is the keyboard. It’s great for typing, thanks to the light and snappy actuation, as well as the generous spacing and aforementioned shape of the keys. What’s more, despite the inclusion of a number pad, the layout doesn’t feel cramped.

For gaming, however, the keyboard is less fit for purpose. In the WASD position, my fingers suddenly felt more confined, perhaps due to the relatively small size of the keys themselves. They also have little travel and next to no dampening, both of which result in a lack of feel, certainly when compared to the best gaming keyboard switches.

Thankfully, the touchpad on the LOQ Essential 15 rarely gets in the way when gaming or typing, thanks to its small size. However, this also means that navigation is more awkward than with larger pads, although this may be a moot point, since even the best touchpad is no match for the best gaming mouse.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Battery Life

• Great playback result
• Power-hungry Balanced mode
• Very quick to charge

The battery life of the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 is quite good by gaming laptop standards. It managed to last close to eight hours during our movie playback test, which bests many others in this sector. However, this is still below the standards of the best laptops for general use, as some can achieve more than double that time.

In my PCMark Gaming battery test, the LOQ Essential 15 lasted about 32 minutes, which is significantly down on rivals. This was with the Balanced mode applied in Vantage, which also applies the Balanced mode in Windows 11 itself (the same mode used for the movie playback test).

This score doesn’t seem to square with its playback result, so your day-to-day use will land somewhere in the middle of the two results. I can only presume this is because Vantage’s Balanced mode is more eager than its rivals’ counterparts to boost power to the GPU while gaming. Charging performance is much better, though, taking a mere hour to go from empty to full.

• Battery Life: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9?Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 Scorecard

Notes

Score

Value

The LOQ Essential 15 offers exceptional quality for its starting price, but different configurations will vary in overall value.

4 / 5

Design

Remarkably thin and un-gamerish with premium-seeming materials, though it's not the most solidly constructed.

4 / 5

Performance

It won’t handle the highest settings in AAA titles, but it still just about suffices to have a good time. The display is good, too.

3.5 / 5

Battery Life

Good for this class of laptop, but still behind more general laptops. Vantage’s Balanced mode lets the side down a little, too.

3.5 / 5

Total Score

The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 is a well-made gaming laptop that's even more impressive thanks to its low starting price. The design quality makes up for the middling AAA performance, but overall it’s one of the best values you're going to find in a budget gaming laptop.

3.75 / 5

Buy the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 if...

You don’t need a flashy design
It might not be the most exciting thing to look at, but the materials look and feel more expensive than its price tag suggests.

You want a good display
Vivid and surprisingly sharp for a 1080p resolution. It also does a fine job of combating reflections, despite not being the brightest around.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best gaming keyboard
Although it’s perfectly fine for typing, the keyboard isn’t ideal for gaming.

You want top-tier performance on a budget
With an RTX 30-Series GPU inside, the LOQ Essential 15 couldn’t achieve the high frame rates of more recent GPUs, so you'll have to pay extra for better performance.

Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 review: Also Consider

Acer Nitro V 15 Intel
Although it's considerably more expensive than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9, it’s still within the budget realm as far as gaming laptops are concerned. What’s more, it has a much beefier spec, featuring an RTX 5050 in its base model. This means the 1080p performance is far superior, although the corollary is a fair amount of heat.

Read our full Acer Nitro V 15 Intel review

MSI Cyborg 15
The Cyborg 15 is another gaming laptop with an invitingly low price. In fact, even the model with the RTX 3050 is significantly cheaper than the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9. It doesn’t have the same level of quality, though, and the display isn’t quite as good, but the keyboard is much better.

Read our full MSI Cyborg 15 review

How I tested the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9

• Tested for several days
• Gamed and benchmarked
• Wealth of gaming laptop experience

I tested the LOQ Essential 15 Gen 9 for several days, during which time I used it for gaming, working, and general entertainment.

I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 at various settings, and ran our comprehensive series of benchmark tests. This included those for the battery life.

I’ve been PC gaming for over a decade and have experienced numerous systems and components during that time. I’ve also reviewed many gaming laptops before, ranging in their price points and specs.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed October 2025