Lenovo makes some of the best gaming laptops on the market, but translating what works to a great desktop PC can sometimes be difficult. The Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 is a budget-oriented offering, and for the most part, it's pretty good. It doesn't offer mind-blowing performance, but it can handle modern gaming tasks just fine, even with the low-end configuration I have for review.

It also has a sleek design that isn't overly flashy, and it runs quietly even during gaming. If you're willing to look, you might find better value from more well-known brands like iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC, but this is a solid package overall.

About this review: Lenovo sent me the LOQ Tower 17 for the purpose of this review. The company didn't have any input into its content.

Pricing and availability

The Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 is widely available from Lenovo and retailers like Best Buy and Newegg. Not every configuration is available everywhere, though, and higher-end configurations with Nvidia RTX 40-series cards don't seem to be on sale right now.

For example, the configuration I have for review is available only at Best Buy and costs $900. It includes an Intel Core i5-13400F, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, all powered by a 500W PSU.

Design

A compact and sleek case

Lenovo didn't go all-out regarding looks here, but it did just enough to make it visually appealing without being too flashy. It has a mostly black chassis, accented by a pattern running down the front for some personality. Right down the middle of that pattern is a soft blue light strip, which helps it stand out without being too loud.

There really isn't much more to it. The rest of the case is just plain black, with some ventilation holes on the left side and around the front panel. The rear of the case is unpainted, which makes sense for a budget machine.

In terms of size, the case is fairly small with a 17-liter capacity, so it could reasonably fit on a desk, though I kept mine on the floor. The PC is also 14.8 inches tall, 11.97 inches deep, and 6.69 inches wide, if you want specifics.

The port selection is a mixed bag

Ports are unfortunately hit or miss. The front I/O includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) ports, one being USB Type-A and the other Type-C. There's also a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Type-A port and a combo audio jack. Having faster ports on the front makes sense because that's likely where you'll plug in peripherals like portable storage, which needs the speed the most.

However, the rear of the case has four USB Type-A ports, and they're all just USB 2.0. Again, it makes some sense since you'll likely plug in a keyboard and mouse here, but that means if you want external storage permanently connected to the PC, you'll need to use the front ports. I wanted to connect my Obsbot Tiny 2 webcam, which recommends using a USB 3.0 port, but it was harder to reach the front ports when the webcam was mounted on top of my monitors. Plus, the cable just looks unsightly coming out of the front. I wish a few of the rear ports were USB 3.0, though Lenovo isn't the only one with this limitation.

Otherwise, the motherboard includes a 2.5Gbps RJ45 Ethernet port, which I didn't expect for a budget-oriented machine, plus an audio line-out port. There's also HDMI and VGA, but these ports are covered out of the box, so you use the ones on the GPU. In my case, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 includes three DisplayPort 1.4 ports and one HDMI 2.1 port.

Internal design and hardware

Upgrades are possible, but this isn't a high-end machine

The Lenovo LOQ Tower 17's internal layout isn't exactly fancy, though you do have some upgrade options. There are two UDIMM slots for RAM, meaning you can get dual-channel memory, which is what my build came with. The M.2 SSD and Wi-Fi card are weirdly sticking out of what appears to be a very custom motherboard, and they're off in a corner next to a bundle of cables, so making changes isn't the most comfortable, but it's certainly doable.

The case also includes two 3.5-inch drive bays, so you have the option if you want to add more bulk storage. Some configurations include HDD storage in addition to the SSD. The GPU seems to be held in place by some kind of latch or bracket, which might make it harder to upgrade it. Not that you could go very far without changing the PSU since this model only has a 500W unit, and that's the top configuration available. However, Lenovo didn't skimp out on reliability and efficiency, as this PSU has an 80 Plus Platinum rating. That's definitely better than I would have expected in a budget-oriented machine.

Accessories

A very standard keyboard and mouse

To quickly touch on accessories, the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 comes with the Lenovo Calliope USB Keyboard and Mouse, which are as generic as you can get. There's no hint of these being gaming accessories, and they look and feel extremely basic.

My initial impressions of the keyboard were terrible, as typing was actually difficult, but things got better as I used it more. Initially, some of the keys would refuse to press down if I hit them slightly off center, so it took a lot more time to get things going. All the keys feel all right now, though it's still completely unremarkable for a gaming PC.

The same can be said for the mouse, which features a simple three-button design and a rather uncomfortable scroll wheel. It does the job, but these accessories are made for those who really have no other options.

Performance

Entry-level performance is still solid

I don't get to review a lot of desktops, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out how capable this machine still is. With a 10-core Intel Core i5-13400F and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, you can't play the biggest games at ultra settings, but if you have a budget setup, this PC will fit right in. (Keep in mind this is the OEM version of the RTX 3050, too, so it has a slightly lower CUDA core count and clock speeds.)

Still, when it came to gaming, I found my usual suite of tests to be perfectly playable, albeit with various tweaks to the settings. I played games on my 1080p 165Hz monitor, and these were the results I got. As usual, all tests were run with DLSS enabled and set to the Quality preset.

I did notice that if I turned ray tracing settings higher in some titles, like Cyberpunk 2077 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I'd see visual glitches with lighting that were very noticeable. The medium setting for ray tracing seems to be the best you can do with the RTX 3050. Still, this PC can reasonably run Cyperpunk 2077, and for this price, that's not too bad. I found the game playable at 40FPS, but you do have headroom to lower some settings to get a better framerate.

Of course, I also ran the usual benchmarks, except for CrossMark, which consistently refused to display a score despite running the entire test. I don't have very similar hardware to compare against, but here's how it fares against a couple of different PCs:

The Geekbench 6 scores are unusually low compared to the average for the same hardware, which is strange, but otherwise, the tests mostly show the performance you'd expect from this setup. Day-to-day use is perfectly fine, even with my three-monitor setup and multiple apps running simultaneously, I never felt like the PC was chugging.

Storage isn't particularly fast, though. CrystalDiskMark showed max speeds around 3,500MB/s, which is in line with a PCIe 3.0 SSD rather than a PCIe 4.0 model.

I can't find this model number online, so it seems to be made specifically for Lenovo, and I can't confirm the actual specs. It may be a variant of the Solidigm P41 Plus. While it's not up there with the fastest SSDs ever, you probably won't notice a big difference in most use cases.

Should you buy the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17?

If you're looking for a way to get into gaming on the cheap, the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 delivers. It can handle modern gaming fine if you're willing to turn down some settings, and it's a sleek PC that runs quietly, even during more demanding workloads. It's not going to blow your mind, but it does the job well.

The problem is there's some stiff competition from companies like iBuyPower and CyberPowerPC. For the same price or just a little bit more, some of these configurations can get you more storage, or a more powerful GPU. They also tend to use more off-the-shelf parts, which makes upgrading a bit easier. But if you want to stick with a well-known brand and models that are a bit easier to find, the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 is still a great option, and better than rivals like HP's Victus series.

You should buy the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 if:

• You want to play modern games without spending a ton
• You want a gaming PC that looks relatively subdued and compact
• You want peace of mind that the PC won't have power issues

You should NOT buy the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17 if:

• You want to play games at the highest settings
• You plan on making major upgrades later on
• You can buy from a system integrator like CyberPowerPC or iBuyPower