Dell Chromebook 11 (3120) Review

Dell's Chromebook is completely composed of black-gray plastic. The surfaces are roughened. Dell targets schools/universities with its Chromebook, and thus the laptop has to be quite enduring. Three sides of the lid and the base unit are enclosed in a rubber frame that protects the device against bumps. Dell states that the laptop has been tested in compliance with US military standards. Whether these standards have also been met is not confirmed, although the  low price suggests that it was not possible to fulfill these standards.

The base unit exhibits the usual shortcomings that we know from other laptops: The casing can be dented slightly on the keyboard's right and left. Overall, the base unit could be more stable for our taste. The hinges keep the lid firmly in position and do not rock. They also allow opening the lid by 180 degrees.

Accessing the laptop's innards is quite easy. After releasing 7 screws on the underside, the base tray can be removed with a thin putty knife. However, it would only be necessary to open the casing to replace a defective  battery, which is easily done.

Regarding interfaces, the laptop does not feature any highlights. Only one of the two USB ports supports USB 3.0. An HDMI port is present for connecting to a monitor. On the right side of the casing is a recess for a SIM card. However, our review sample does not have either 3G/LE or a SIM card slot. It is possible that suitably configured Chromebook models will be launched.

Dell's Chromebook is equipped with a matte, 11.6-inch screen that has a native resolution of 1366x678 pixels. The screen has a brightness of 258.1 cd/m². This rate is acceptable in view of the laptop's price. However, a higher rate is preferable because a small mobile device like the Chromebook will probably be used at various locations, and under different lighting conditions. The contrast (364:1) could be better, and is slightly too low even in the low-cost sector.

Chromebooks are primarily made for office and Internet applications. Dell's laptop has more than enough computing power for these applications. Dell does not offer its Chromebook in Germany. Potential buyers will have to order one from other European countries. The device is available for example, in Great Britain and France.

Intel technology is inside the Chromebook. The laptop is powered by a Celeron N2840 dual-core processor (Bay Trail). The CPU clocks at a base speed of 2.16 GHz, which can be boosted to 2.58 GHz via Turbo. Intel specifies a TDP of 7.5 watts for its processor.

The system boots up quickly and runs smoothly - as we are used to from Chromebooks. The scores of the various benchmarks that we have performed correspond to the processor's power. They differ slightly from Chromebooks based on the same processor, such as Acer's CB3-111, because a newer Chrome OS version is preloaded on Dell's Chromebook. A comparison with Windows-based netbooks is somewhat more difficult because we use Internet Explorer on these devices. Depending on the test, either the IE 11 or the Chrome browser has an advantage.

The system drive is an eMMC memory module with a capacity of 16 GB. The user has about 9 GB of that available. The incorporated memory card reader is not really suitable for expanding the storage capacity permanently since cards cannot be completely inserted; half the card juts out of the reader. Alternatively, data can be stored in the cloud. Chromebook buyers receive 100 GB of storage on Google's Drive cloud service.

Intel's HD Graphics core is responsible for graphic output. The GPU supports DirectX 11 and clocks at up to 792 MHz. The installed GPU is the weakest performing graphics core that Intel currently has in its lineup. It supports the integrated Quick Sync technology, and thus YouTube videos are rendered smoothly in Full HD resolution.

Temperature

The Chromebook does not actually get warm. We measured just over 30 degrees Celsius (~86 degrees Fahrenheit) in some measuring points on the casing. Since we cannot perform the usual stress test for Windows devices on a Chromebook, we loaded Dell's laptop by running Google's Octane v2 benchmark in a loop and a Full HD video simultaneously.

The stereo speakers in Dell's laptop are situated above the keyboard. They project towards the user, and produce a decent sound that lacks bass. It is even possible to listen to them for prolonged periods. External speakers or headphones can also be connected to the laptop.

The Chromebook does not need much energy. The idle power consumption is below 5 watts - as we are used to from Chromebooks. The power consumption climbs up to 10.2 watts under load (simultaneously running Octane V2 and rendering a Full HD video). This is also a normal rate for the hardware platform installed here.

We simulate opening websites in the real-world Wi-Fi test using the "Balanced" profile and a screen brightness of approximately 150 cd/m². Dell's laptop managed a runtime of 9:26 hours - a very good time.