Lenovo Launches LOQ Tower 17IRB8: An Affordable Pre-Built With Intel 13th Gen
by Gavin Bonshor on March 24, 2023 12:00 PM EST
While many components used to build a new system have and are coming down in price (except graphics), it's an excellent time to build that new gaming PC. Going prebuilt is the way forward for those who want to plug in and play without all of the hard work, and there are plenty of options on the market, from the entry-level to the high-end. One such example that looks to bridge the gap between both and aims down the middle is Lenovo, with their latest LOQ Tower 17IRB8 gaming system.
Although Lenovo is a more prominent force in their notebook offerings, at CES 2023, they unveiled their range of prebuilt Legion gaming PCs for the high-end market. For those without deep pockets but still looking to play the latest PC titles, Lenovo has a new gaming-focused range called LOQ. Lenovo LOQ targets the mid-range market and has unveiled its first new prebuilt gaming PC from the series, the Lenovo LOQ Tower 17IRB8.
Catering to the mid-range with a more accessible price point for most users, the LOQ Tower 17IRB8 can be customized with support for up to an Intel Core i7-13700. While the LOQ Tower 17IR8B doesn't feature any overclockable K-series chips, the svelte 17-liter blue accented black micro-ATX frame combined with more affordable parts means that cooling could pose an issue. Instead, the LOQ Tower 17RB8 opts for up to and including Intel's 65 W Core i7-13700 processors and can be paired with 32 GB of DDR4-3200 memory.
Focusing on graphics support, Lenovo advertises NVIDIA's latest GeForce RTX 4000 series graphics but hasn't mentioned which cards it will support; this will likely be around the GeForce RTX 4070 level or maybe the RTX 4070 Ti. For storage, the Lenovo LOQ 17RB8 can be equipped with up to 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 and two 2TB SATA HDDs, although this will add extra cost to the overall price.
Regarding I/O options, the Lenovo LOQ 17RB8 includes four USB 2.0, one 2.5 GbE, one HDMI 1.4b video output, and a single green 3.5 mm audio out jack. There's one 3.5 mm combo audio jack on the front panel, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, and two USB 3.2 Type-A ports. The LOQ 17RB8 also features a Wi-Fi 6E CNVi supports the 6 GHz band and BT 5.2 devices.
As with all of Lenovo's Legion desktops, Windows 11 comes preinstalled as standard, with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to sweeten the deal. Pricing on the Lenovo LOQ 17RB8 starts at $980 and isn't expected to hit retail shelves in North America until the fall.
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meacupla - Friday, March 24, 2023 - link
This looks like it was designed by a corporate board meeting with all of the finance directors present.With such a cut down I/O, and below minimum effort on the outer looks, I'm kind of terrified to get a glimpse of its insides. Would it be all proprietary power connectors and heatsink mounting mechanism on the insides? Is the front I/O even mounted on a separate daughter board, or is it going to be a single proprietary form factor mobo?
Lenovo puts more effort into their 1L SFF PCs.
Gavin Bonshor - Friday, March 24, 2023 - link
It will likely have proprietary connectors, even as far as the power supply. I haven't been able to confirm this though but I suspect that's the case.AndrewJacksonZA - Friday, March 24, 2023 - link
My thoughts exactly.colinstu - Friday, March 24, 2023 - link
Lenovo's "Tiny" SSFs are business-tier machines. Vs this thing they pooped out is some consumer junk. It doesn't excuse the crap port selection but it does explain it.Samus - Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - link
I suspect totally different engineering departments within Lenovo, much like what happens at HP.nandnandnand - Sunday, March 26, 2023 - link
That amount of I/O is going to be enough for some users, but it is undeniably cheap and bad.https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/pubs/loq_tower_...
Their garbage user guide doesn't say what the minimum CPU/GPU options are. But it apparently comes with a 310, 380, or 500-Watt power supply. It seems unlikely they can put even a 4070 Ti in it. Maybe a 4070?
If I could get it with an i3-13100 or i5-13400/13500 and no GPU, I'd consider it at $200-250 or less.
Lt Cmdr Ambrose - Sunday, March 26, 2023 - link
This probably has that proprietary motherboard where the front io is literally on the mobo. So if you ever reuse the case you will have no front io, and you can't rehouse the moboSkeptical123 - Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - link
Which has been the standard for at least 2 decades now. It's cheaper and greener (less waste and less to go wrong). Such things will never effect the vast majoity of their customer base.deil - Monday, March 27, 2023 - link
This thing exists propably only because intel pressure them to sell their cpu's.just so they can say they made it, and likely exactly 70 of them will be sold....
James5mith - Tuesday, March 28, 2023 - link
Weirdly looking at the back panel of that thing makes me smell stale cigarette smoke. Flashbacks to all the 90's era Dell, HP, etc. machines I used to service when I was a helpdesk guy at the local ISP and people would come in with a computer CLOGGED with pet hair and tar buildup. Euggh.