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| Lenovo LOQ 17 with the RTX 5050 weighs 2.9 kg (6.39 lbs.) |
Let’s be real for a second. Remember last year? You could barely scroll through a deals page without tripping over a half-decent gaming laptop at an actually reasonable price. Discounts were plentiful, specs were solid, and life was good. Fast forward to 2026, and the landscape looks… bleaker. Sure, we’ve seen a handful of decent offers here and there, but overall, the gaming laptop market has felt dry—like, really dry. It’s almost as if manufacturers collectively decided to hold back on the good stuff.
But every once in a while, a deal comes along that makes you stop and pay attention. And this Lenovo LOQ 17 deal at B&H Photo? Yeah, it’s one of those moments.
Right now, B&H has knocked a whopping $381 off** the Lenovo LOQ 17 Gen 10 gaming laptop. That brings the price down to just **$749 for a machine packing an RTX 5050. If you’ve been waiting for a sign to pull the trigger on a new gaming laptop, this might be it. Let me break down why this matters, what you’re actually getting, and whether you should hit that buy button.
What’s Inside the Lenovo LOQ 17 (Gen 10)?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of gaming performance, let’s talk specs. The configuration on sale isn’t some stripped-down, bare-minimum version. Here’s what you’re looking at:
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050
- CPU: Intel Core i5-13450HX (10 cores – a mix of performance and efficiency cores)
- RAM: 12GB (with a $50 upgrade option to 16GB if you want it)
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 17.3-inch IPS, 1080p, 165Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB, 300 nits, 3ms response time, G-Sync support
- Webcam: 5MP with a physical privacy shutter
- Battery: 60 Wh
- Audio: Two 2W speakers
- Upgradability: Two M.2 slots and two SO-DIMM slots for RAM and storage down the line
That last point is crucial. You can always drop in a bigger SSD or more RAM later. In fact, if you’re planning to keep this laptop for a few years, upgrading to 16GB or even 32GB of RAM and slapping in a 1TB or 2TB SSD is a smart move. More on that later.
The Display: A Big, Smooth Canvas
One of the standout features here is the 17.3-inch screen. You don’t see many 17-inch gaming laptops at this price point anymore – most brands have shifted to 15.6 or 16-inch displays to save costs. But Lenovo kept the big panel, and it’s actually a good one.
The 1080p resolution at 17.3 inches gives you a pixel density of around 127 PPI. That’s perfectly fine for gaming and media consumption. The 165Hz refresh rate is a sweet spot – fast enough for competitive shooters but not so demanding that your GPU can’t keep up. And the 100% sRGB coverage means colors will look vibrant and accurate, whether you’re exploring open worlds or editing a quick video.
Throw in NVIDIA G-Sync, and you’ve got a display that fights screen tearing without adding input lag. The 300 nits of brightness is decent for indoor use, though you might struggle a bit in direct sunlight. Still, for a sub-$800 gaming laptop? That’s solid.
How Does the RTX 5050 + Core i5-13450HX Actually Perform?
Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The RTX 5050 is an entry-level GPU, and the Core i5-13450HX isn’t a flagship chip. But here’s the thing: at 1080p, this combo is surprisingly capable. We’ve tested similar configurations (and our full review of the LOQ 17 with an RTX 5070 and Core i7-14700HX gave us a great baseline for everything except performance), but based on our internal benchmarks for the RTX 5050, here’s what you can expect at 1080p on high settings:
- Battlefield 6 – 78 FPS
- Doom: The Dark Ages – 48 FPS
- Assassin’s Creed Shadows – 39 FPS
Right off the bat, you’ll notice that heavy-hitting AAA titles like Assassin’s Creed Shadows dip below 60 FPS. That’s where DLSS comes in. The RTX 5050 supports NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling, and enabling DLSS in supported games can easily push those frame rates past 60 FPS. For example, with DLSS set to Balanced or Performance mode, you’ll likely see Assassin’s Creed Shadows jump to well over 60 FPS, making for a buttery smooth experience.
For esports titles like Valorant, CS2, or Fortnite, you’ll be flying well past 165 FPS, making full use of that high refresh rate display. So, while the RTX 5050 isn’t a 1440p beast, it’s plenty for 1080p gaming – especially if you’re willing to tweak a few settings or lean on DLSS.
The Battery Life: The One Catch
Let’s not sugarcoat it. The 60 Wh battery in the LOQ 17 is small for a 17-inch laptop. In our WLAN test (web browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits), the LOQ 17 lasted just 3 hours. That’s not great. If you’re planning to use this as a portable productivity machine away from an outlet, you’re going to feel that limitation.
But here’s the counterpoint: gamers rarely game on battery. When you’re plugged in (and you absolutely should be for gaming), the battery life doesn’t matter. And if you’re just using it for light work or media consumption, three hours might get you through a couple of classes or a short flight. For most gaming-focused buyers, this won’t be a dealbreaker – but it’s worth knowing.
Should You Pay the Extra $50 for 16GB of RAM?
The base configuration comes with 12GB of RAM. That’s an odd number – usually you see 8GB or 16GB. 12GB will work fine for most games today, but you’ll start feeling constraints if you have a dozen browser tabs open while gaming or if you run background apps like Discord, Spotify, and recording software.
For just **$50 more**, you can upgrade to 16GB at checkout. I’d say it’s worth it. That extra 4GB gives you more headroom and future-proofs the laptop a bit. However, if you’re comfortable opening up the laptop yourself, you could also buy a separate 16GB kit later and install it – the LOQ 17 has two SO-DIMM slots, so it’s easy to upgrade. But for $50, the convenience is hard to beat.
Speaking of Upgrades: Grab a 1TB SSD
The included 512GB SSD will fill up fast. Modern AAA games can easily eat 100GB each, and with Windows and a few applications, you’re looking at maybe three or four big games before you’re out of space. Fortunately, the LOQ 17 has two M.2 slots. That means you can pop in a secondary SSD without removing the original one.
If you’re planning to buy this laptop, I highly recommend grabbing a 1TB M.2 2280 SSD for extra storage. You can find one on Amazon – just make sure it’s a PCIe Gen 4 or Gen 3 drive (the LOQ supports both). Here’s a solid option:
Buy a 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD for LOQ 17 on Amazon
Installation is straightforward – remove the bottom panel, slot it into the empty M.2 slot, and you’re good to go. No need to reinstall Windows or clone anything if you’re using it as secondary storage.
What About the Build Quality and Webcam?
The LOQ series sits below Lenovo’s Legion line, so you’re not getting an all-metal chassis. But the build quality is respectable for the price – the lid has some flex, but the keyboard deck feels sturdy. Speaking of the keyboard, it’s a full-size layout with a numpad (expected on a 17-inch laptop) and white backlighting. No per-key RGB here, but that’s fine for a budget-focused machine.
The 5MP webcam is a nice touch. Most gaming laptops at this price still ship with 720p sensors that look like potato cameras. 5MP gives you sharper video calls, and the physical privacy shutter lets you block the lens when you’re not using it. That’s a win.
How Does This Deal Compare to Last Year’s Market?
Let’s circle back to where we started. In 2025, you could find RTX 4060 laptops for $700-$800 pretty regularly. Now, in 2026, an RTX 5050 laptop at $749 is actually a decent deal – not amazing, but decent. Why the shift? Component prices have crept up, and manufacturers seem to be focusing on higher-margin models rather than racing to the bottom.
That said, the LOQ 17 offers a few things you rarely see at this price anymore: a 17-inch 165Hz display with G-Sync and 100% sRGB, plus a 5MP webcam and easy upgradability. If you absolutely need a big-screen gaming laptop on a budget, this is probably your best bet right now.
Final Verdict: Buy or Skip?
Buy it if:
- You want a large 17-inch display for immersive gaming
- You’re okay with 1080p gaming and willing to use DLSS for AAA titles
- You don’t need all-day battery life
- You appreciate easy upgradability for RAM and storage
Skip it if:
- You need a laptop for long flights or all-day classes away from outlets
- You’re aiming for 1440p or 4K gaming
- You can wait for a potential RTX 4060 deal (though those are getting rare)
At $749, the Lenovo LOQ 17 is a solid buy. It’s not the insane bargain we saw in 2025, but in today’s market, it’s one of the few genuinely good deals left. And if you grab that $50 RAM upgrade and a 1TB SSD from Amazon, you’ll have a very capable gaming rig that should last you a good few years.
Check out the Lenovo LOQ 17 at B&H Photo for $749 (was $1,130) – but don’t sleep on it. Deals like this have been disappearing fast in 2026.
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