Gadget of the Week: Lenovo
unLOQs multi-tasking

What is it?

We promised to dive deeper into the motivation for investing in a Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 laptop. There was so much to say about its gaming attraction last time round, we didn’t get into its most fundamental benefit.

On the surface it looks like a gaming computer, with a keyboard that shimmers a 4-zone RGB backlit setup. That makes it cool for late-night gaming sessions, or a warm invitation to working when twilight arrives. And that, in turn, means it is geared to those who tend to burn the candle, or LED lights, at both ends. 

It is worth repeating that it brings together a blend of performance, practical design, and gaming-centric features to meet the demands of both gamers and power users in a minimalist design.

What it does not do well is a clue to what it does exceptionally well. At 2.38kg, It is not intended for so-called mobile warriors, who work on the go, and it is not designed for someone who only occasionally pops into the office. With a 180 degree hinge, it can take up even more desk space when needed.

In short, the Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 truly comes into its own when one is deskbound for long stretches of time, and faced with a range of tasks that demand versatility, capacity and capability. In other words, serious multitasking.

Through a mixture of good luck and bad luck, I found myself working on this little bundle of deadline joy at the same time:

• Analysing a vast Excel spreadsheet of data for a market research project;
• Collaborating with a colleague on the analysis through the Share function;
• Producing graphs from the spreadsheet to go into a Word report
• Building these graphs into a PowerPoint presentation;
• Sharing the PowerPoint with a colleague for joint editing;
• Working on an in-depth feature story in a Word document;
• Editing a product review video for uploading to YouTube.

Yes, I know you can’t do all of those at the same time, but no one told my clients, editors and colleagues that. It’s what we deadline-challenged people call multitasking.

In the past, when I used a highly portable and impossibly thin laptop for similar purposes, it eventually put its fan into turbo mode, baulked, froze, and in effect told me to go outside and smell the roses. 

The LOQ, however, does not believe in downtime. It took all these operations in its stride, quietly encouraging me to add more. Occasionally, it pretended to be challenged by engaging the fan, but was clearly just teasing me as it resumed its silent operation.

It was then that the machine’s biggest benefit, as well as its biggest drawback, became apparent. 

The expansive 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display allowed several of the tasks to be visible at the same time. This isn’t merely cosmetic: it made it that much easier to view data in the spreadsheet and the relevant graph in the document at the same time. It also meant that I had eyes on (as they say in Netflix spy thrillers, although I will deny that I was watching one while working on the said, err, work) progress of my YouTube upload.

The drawback? It is almost impossible to manage all these tasks with only the keyboard and trackpad. A mouse was essential. A Bluetooth mouse connected seamlessly, and allowed for crisp movement and precise actions.

At times I needed to add more peripherals, and found that three USB-A port and one USB-C port were usually enough. However, as the range of sources of material I was using expanded, I needed to plug a USB hub into the A port, and suddenly the capacity of the LOQ expanded to the extent that I felt like an underperformer, not matching up to the machine’s eagerness to multitask.

An Intel Core i7-13650HX processor (CPU) with 14 cores – 6 for performance and 8 for efficiency – running  at 2.6 GHz with a maximum turbo frequency of 4.9 GHz handles demanding tasks. Combined with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics processor (GPU), it becomes a multimedia powerhouse.

But did it pass the stress tests of real-world productivity and massive multitasking? Well, is the sky blue?

What does it cost?

The Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 with Intel Core i7-13650HX processor is available for R27,669 from www.lenovo-online.co.za. 

Why does it matter?

The Lenovo LOQ 15IRX9 with the Intel Core i7-13650HX processor is positioned as a mid-range gaming laptop, underlined by a 15.6-inch display offering a 144Hz refresh rate and 1920×1080 high-definition resolution. However, its 16GB of RAM and massive 1TB solid state drive make it a productivity monster.

What are the biggest negatives?

• A mouse is essential to get the full benefit of multitasking.
• The fan noise is somewhat loud, but is rare and subsides quickly.

What are the biggest positives?

• A variety of ports: three USB-A, one USB, HDMI and LAN means that its multitasking can extend far beyond the machine itself.
• The large screen size​ makes it feasible to work on multiple projects at the same time.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on social media on @art2gee.