Alienware 15 vs. LOQ Essential 15: I compared both budget gaming laptops – it was close

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In the throes of the RAMpocalypse, checking prices on new gaming laptops is enough to make you ragequit. Luckily, there are some good budget gaming laptops out there, and it’s never been a better time to give them serious consideration. 

I compared two of the best bang-for-buck gaming laptops on the market right now: the Alienware 15 (2026) and the Lenovo LOQ Essential 15. Both of these laptops hover around the $1,200 mark, opt for lower-end (but still competitive) hardware, and forego bells and whistles like RGB lighting to keep prices down. 

Also: I tested Alienware’s new budget gaming laptop, but these 3 might be smarter buys

All things considered, they’re very similar laptops with similar strengths and weaknesses. They’re both around five pounds and have limited battery performance compared to consumer laptops. But each have solid performance where it counts. Either is a good option for gamers on a budget — here’s how they stack up. 

Specifications

	Alienware 15 (2026)	Lenovo LOQ Essential 15
Display	15.3-inch IPS, WUXGA (1920 x 1200), 300 nits, 16:10, 62.5% sRGB, 165Hz refresh	15.6-inch IPS, FHD (1920 x 1080), 300 nits, 16:9, 100% sRGB, 144Hz refresh
Weight	4.85 lbs (2.2 kg)	5.07 lbs (2.3 kg)
Processor	Intel Core 7 (Series 2) 240H or AMD Ryzen 200 Series	Intel Core i7-13650HX
Graphics	Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 5050, 5060	Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060
RAM	16GB, 1x16GB, DDR5, 5600 MT/s, dual-channel capable, 2x DDR5 SODIMM slots	16GB 1x16GB, DDR5, 4800 MT/s, dual-channel capable, 2x DDR5 SODIMM slots
Storage	512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen 4 SSD, 1TB PCIe 4 Gen 4 SSD	512GB M.2 2242 PCIe 4 NVMe x4, Two M.2 2242 PCIe 4 x4 slots
Battery	5,000mAh with 80W charging (65W in North America)	5,000mAh with 45W charging
Price	Starting at $999	Starting at $1,299

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Display quality

Winner: LOQ Essential 15

Both laptops feature a 1920 x 1200 resolution and 300 nits of brightness, but the Alienware 15 has a 16:10 aspect ratio compared to the 16:9 on the LOQ. This makes the display on the LOQ appear more “widescreen”, whereas the Alienware has more vertical coverage, even though it’s “smaller” on paper (as screen size is measured diagonally). 

Also: This Lenovo gaming laptop has no business being this good for work

The Alienware also has a slightly higher refresh rate, but it only covers 62.5% of the sRGB color spectrum, meaning its a little less vivid than the LOQ. In all other respects, the display on the Alienware is better, but this one trait makes it fall behind the LOQ, in my opinion. Not only do games look a little better on the LOQ, so do movies and media, as well as and normal use and web browsing.  

Gaming performance

Winner: Alienware 15

The hardware on both of these laptops is very comparable — they each have access to the same Nvidia graphics cards and have similar RAM/memory configurations. However, the Alienware 15 edged out the LOQ Essential 15 in my testing. I got slightly higher FPS in GPU-intensive games like “Cyberpunk 2077” (no upscaling, 74 FPS on average on high performance, compared to 66 FPS on the LOQ). 

And similar results in “Baldur’s Gate”, with an average of 76 FPS on the Alienware compared to 72 FPS on the LOQ plugged in with no upscaling in performance mode. Again, barely a difference here, with the edge going to Alienware. Benchmarking shows slightly higher CPU performance, though these numbers are close enough to be considered theoretical. 

The other reason why the Alienware 15 wins this category, however, is because it has two USB-C ports, with both power delivery and Display Port 1.4a connectivity on the left-side port. The LOQ lacks DisplayPort capability in its sole USB-C, relying on its HDMI port for up to an 8K external display at 60Hz. 

Build and portability

Winner: Alienware 15 

Neither of these laptops are exactly lightweight, but they’re both appropriate for their hardware. As previously mentioned with the display orientations, the LOQ’s 16:9 more widescreen display shape results in a slightly larger overall footprint, even though it looks smaller next to the Alienware 15. 

This is because the LOQ manages to hide the additional space behind the display for the heat grill and ports, whereas the Alienware 15 is flush with the display hinge. It’s clever design and engineering that makes the LOQ seem more compact than it is, despite it being larger in every dimension than the Alienware 15.  

I will note, however, that the charging brick that comes with the LOQ is half the size of the massive chonker that comes with the Alienware — something to keep in mind for portability’s sake.   

Lenovo LOQ 15: 14.22 L x 10.06 D x 0.98 inches thick

Alienware 15: 13.76 L x 9.85 D x 0.9 inches thick

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Otherwise, build quality on these two laptops is very similar. Both feature solid, full-sized keyboards, have very little flex in the chassis, and similar display hinges. The LOQ passes the one finger test while the Alienware does not, but the trackpad on the LOQ felt slightly wobbly compared to that on the Alienware, which was tighter and more responsive.

Value

Winner: Alienware 15 

The Alienware 15 undercuts the LOQ on the low end but also surpasses it on the high end, as there are more hardware options available. You can opt for either an Intel or AMD processor, scale up to 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and either a three-cell, 70WHr battery or a four-cell Battery, 54WHr.

Also: I tested MSI’s latest gaming laptop, and it works just as hard as it plays

The LOQ Essential 15 is a little harder to pin down in Lenovo’s extensive product catalog. LOQ is Lenovo’s budget gaming lineup, which features solid picks such as the LOQ 15 (AHP10) — the non-essential version, I guess you could say — a device we recently reviewed. That model has an AMD Ryzen 7 2500 CPU, RTX 5050, and 32GB of RAM for $1,195… essentially the same price as the Essential 15, but slightly better hardware. 

For such a stripped down gaming laptop, the LOQ Essential 15 is not that cheap… especially compared to the low-end Alienware 15 which sits right at $999. If I had to pick, I’d opt for the LOQ 15 we tested over the Essential model. 

Port selection

Alienware 15		LOQ Essential 15
USB-A (3.2 Gen 1)	x2	USB-A (3.2 Gen 1)	x2
USB-C (3.2 Gen 2, PD, DisplayPort 1.4)	x1	USB-C (3.2 Gen 1, PD)	x1
USB-C (3.2 Gen 1)	x1	–	–
HDMI 2.1	x1	HDMI 2.1	x1
Headphone jack	x1	Headphone jack	x1
Ethernet port	x1	Ethernet port	x1
Charging port	x1	Charging port	x1

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Writer’s choice

As I’ve said throughout, these two laptops are neck and neck. If we’re talking sheer bang-for-buck, I’d go with the Alienware 15 for its higher-quality build, DisplayPort support, and slightly better gaming performance. Especially at the lower-end, the Alienware just brings more value to the table, its biggest drawback being the display’s uninspiring color spectrum.

The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15 is a solid device as well, but the value proposition is not as cut and dry. Lenovo’s other non-essential LOQ models sit at similar price points with better hardware, and even its higher-end Legion laptops with significantly better hardware can be found on sale prices in the same price bracket.