For a balance of performance and portability with a high-quality screen suitable for gaming and engineering tasks, the Lenovo Legion 7 is a strong choice, especially if you value a higher refresh rate and color accuracy. However, it's pricier and has a shorter battery life compared to the Lenovo LOQ 16i. The LOQ 16i, on the other hand, offers a more budget-friendly option with decent performance for general use and some gaming, thanks to its newer generation processor and GPU. It's also more portable due to its lighter weight and slimmer design, making it a good pick if you prioritize battery life and everyday productivity over top-tier performance. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 7
Very good for engineering and design
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good portability
Very good speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo LOQ 16i
The Lenovo LOQ 16i has no clear advantages over the Lenovo Legion 7.
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.3/10
7.2/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
469.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
329.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 7 has a better screen than the Lenovo LOQ 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Portability
Good
Fair
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.7 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Lenovo Legion 7 has good portability, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.4/10
The Lenovo Legion 7 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,500
$1,360
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Legion 7 has a price of $1,500 and the Lenovo LOQ 16i costs $1,360.
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Lenovo LOQ 16i are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
7.8/10
7.5/10
8.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Lenovo LOQ 16i are both good for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
7.9/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
8.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Lenovo Legion 7 to be very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo LOQ 16i is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.9/10
7.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Lenovo LOQ 16i are both good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.6/10
7.5/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo Legion 7 and Lenovo LOQ 16i are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Battery
6.5 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 7 has 6.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo LOQ 16 has 6 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Legion 7 and the Lenovo LOQ 16i compare to other laptops
"The Lenovo Legion 7 is a fast 16-inch gamer with 165 Hz display. The new Lenovo Legion 7 is a very good gaming notebook that, despite its comparatively compact compact 16-inch case, does not have to do without the most powerful components. Thanks to good cooling, no compromises are made in terms of performance. Both the Core i9-12900HX and the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti perform at a very high level."
"Gaming laptops with an RTX 4060 are available starting from about 1,000 Euros (~$1,060), even in 16-inch format. For the supposedly affordable Lenovo LOQ 16 (1,500 Euros, ~$1,591), the manufacturer particularly saves in the equipment and materials compared to the more expensive Legion series. In addition, the LOQ is slightly heavier and more bulky. What remains is anything but a laptop full of difficult compromises. Instead, this is a more than solid gaming laptop that focusses on the 3D performance.Q is slightly heavier and more bulky."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 7 or the Lenovo LOQ 16i
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
131,595
Recommendations made
28,513
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.