Acer Chromebook 11 N7: At First Glance
Chromebooks are generally known to be used mostly by students because they are relatively less expensive than other laptop types. Acer Chromebook 11 N7 isn’t any different.
In 2017, Acer launched this durable Chromebook with better features compared to its predecessors. Even with its better set of features, Acer still placed a more affordable price tag on the Acer Chromebook 11.
As of the time of writing this article (October 2021), the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 has a sales price of $154.99.
To find out more about the features of the Acer Chromebook 11 N7, read through this review.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Design, Dimensions and Weight
While most Chromebooks aim to stand out from the rest by making use of stylish designs or 2-in-1 design functionality, the Acer Chromebook 11 practically took a different approach.
Acer found a way to make its Chromebook 11 N7 look simple, but still, stand out. The Acer Chromebook 11 has an eye-catching white exterior body decorated with a micro-diamond pattern chiseled into its cover to give an extra grip.
The white exterior makes it pop on any non-white surface, especially with its two aluminum axis. It has a dark-gray plastic case that features a hard rubber bumper around its frame.
While the plastic casing might feel cheap at first, the Chromebook’s underlying strength might just be enough reason to look past its cheap feel.
To be more precise, the Chromebook 11 N7 comes with a military-grade durability feature. This means that the laptop has gone through a series of tests to prove its durability.
The Acer Chromebook 11’s impact-resistant body can receive the daily knocks of everyday life. Specifically, it can withstand minor falls, dust, and high temperatures.
On the interior of the part of the Acer Chromebook, you’ll discover that its simple layout remains the same. This laptop features an island-style keyboard, a buttonless touchpad, and a less-textured deck.
As for its keyboard, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 has recessed keys that prevent fingers from digging the keyboard up.
Furthermore, this Chromebook’s keyboard might be a bit challenging to use, especially if you’re used to the standard full-sized keyboard on a PC. The keyboard also does not feature backlit keys.
Regardless of the many complaints about the Acer Chromebook’s keyboard, it still offers solid productivity.
Besides, its spill-resistant quality is one to gosh over. It features a unique drainage design that allows up to 330ml of water to spill over the keyboard without affecting the important components
The Chromebook’s 4.1 x 2.4-inch buttonless touchpad smoothly supports two-finger scrolling, as well as a three-finger tab maneuver.
Interestingly, the speakers of the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 are more powerful than you might have imagined, but the bass production is somewhat weak. Unfortunately, the speakers face downwards so they deliver better if they are used on a hard, flat surface to bounce the sound off.
Thankfully, the Chromebook offers two side vents that allow sound to spurt out, even if the laptop is resting on a soft surface, like your lap.
Overall, the audio experience with the Chromebook is decent because one could comfortably hear videos and music, without using a Bluetooth speaker or even headphones.
Proceeding to its display feature, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 has an 11.6-inch screen. The screen is a matte screen and has wide viewing angles with no prominent glare.
It also features a 1366 x 768 HD resolution display.
Moving on to dimensions and weight, comparatively, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is heavier and thicker than the Dell Chromebook 11. While the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 measures 297.6 x 210 x 22 mm with a weight of 1350 g, the Dell Chromebook measures 303.3 x 206 x 20.7 mm with a weight of 1400 g.
Also, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 weighs more than the Asus Chromebook C202 that weighs 1179.36 g.
For connectivity, the Chromebook 11 N7 has just 2 USB 3.0 ports.
In conclusion, I rate the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 an eight in this design, dimension, and weight review section.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Processor (CPU) Performance
Equipped with a 1.6-GHz Intel Celeron N3060 CPU, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is very good for basic computing tasks like classroom work. However, it lacks multitasking abilities.
In a real-life performance test, this Chromebook worked smoothly with 8 Chrome browser tabs opened. These tabs included a streaming YouTube video and editing a Google Doc file.
On the JetStream JavaScript benchmark test, Acer Chromebook scored 49 points which are slightly above the 48.9 scores from the Asus Chromebook C202 but behind the 53.3 scored by the Dell Chromebook 11.
If you’re wondering, the JetStream JavaScript benchmark test is a standard benchmark test that analyzes the performance of a laptop’s CPU. In this test, the higher the points a laptop scores, the better the performance of the CPU.
Based on the result of the benchmark test, it is safe to say that the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 will only be able to adequately carry out simple computing tasks like web surfing, word processing, typing, and light multitasking as well.
Still, the Acer Chromebook is worth considering.
At the end of this CPU performance review, I rate the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 a seven.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Memory (RAM) Performance
The Acer Chromebook 11 N7 features a standard memory of 2 GB. This is the maximum memory the laptop supports.
This memory capacity is not so surprising because Chromebooks are designed to be less-memory demanding. Hence, even with 2 GB RA, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is competent in handling day-to-day computing tasks, and light multitasking.
It is important to mention that this Chromebook comes with onboard memory – meaning that the 2 GB memory stick is embedded in the motherboard. Therefore it is impossible to upgrade the memory to a larger size.
More on multi-tasking, the Acer Chromebook can open a few applications concurrently. For instance, the Acer Chromebook can run apps like Spotify and Google Docs.
On a PCMark for android test, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 scored 7580 points. This score was above the Asus Chromebook C202’s 7560 points.
In conclusion, I can say that the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is a fair performer. Therefore, I will rate the Acer Chromebook a seven in this memory performance review section.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Storage Options And Performance
In terms of storage, the Samsung Chromebook Plus comes with a 16 GB eMMC storage type. This is the only storage configuration the Acer Chromebook offers.
As a result, many may refrain from buying this laptop because its 16 GB storage capacity may be too small for large file storage.
Sadly, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 does not have an SD card reader too. This would have provided users the option to expand the storage of the laptop.
Fortunately, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7, like any other Chromebook offers a free 100GB of Google Cloud Storage. You can click on this link to find out how to activate this free Google Cloud storage on your Chromebook.
I ought to have included a CrystalDiskMark test result, but I could not because Crystaldiskmark doesn’t support eMMC storage, it only supports Solid-state drive (SSD) and Hard disk drive (HDD)
All things considered, I will rate the Acer Chromebook 11 N7’s storage option 7.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Plus Graphics Card Performance
The Acer Chromebook 11 N7 features an Intel HD Graphics 400. This graphics card runs at a base GPU frequency of 320 MHz and it runs at a maximum GPU frequency of 600 MHz.
Additionally, this graphics card is an integrated graphics card. This means that the graphics card is attached to the laptop’s CPU.
Hence it shares the system memory – the 2 GB memory discussed in the memory review section – with the CPU to function.
For this reason, the GPU won’t be able to run highly graphically demanding games or applications. However, it will smoothly run most android games because they are less graphics-demanding.
To be specific, you could play games like Asphalt 8 smoothly on the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 without lagging. Furthermore, the laptop had a fair result on the WebGL Aquarium graphics test.
WebGL Aquarium graphics test is a website-based test that determines the 3D graphics capability of a laptop.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7 delivered 2,000 fish at 25 frames per second on the WebGL Aquarium graphics test. This rate is just behind the Dell Chromebook 11’s 28 fps and the ASUS Chromebook C202’s 27 fps.
In summary, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 graphics card is slightly impressive, even though it is integrated. Hence, I will rate the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 seven out of ten in this graphics card review section.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7: Battery Life Performance
A 3980 mAh Lithium-polymer battery powers the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 3980 mAh. Acer claims that the battery should last up to 13 hours
However, this gave me a skeptical feeling that lured me to confirm Acer’s battery runtime claim. To determine how long this Chromebook’s battery lasts, I performed a battery run-down test.
The battery test involved continuous web surfing using a WIFI connection until the laptop runs down.
In the test, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7’s battery lasted for 10 hours 35 minutes. This confirmed the doubt I had about the runtime Acer stated on their official site.
However, even though this Chromebook’s battery performance is less than Acer’s claim, it will still serve most students. For a student, this time is enough to last during school hours and even for some after-school work.
Despite the fact that Acer hyped the battery capacity of the Acer Chromebook 11 N7, I will still give it an eight in this battery life performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Acer Chromebook 11 N7 has a touchscreen version but this review article only covers the non-touchscreen version.
Yes. Acer Chromebook 11 N7 has an HD Webcam
No. Acer Chromebook 11 N7 does not have an HDMI port.
Acer Chromebook 11 N7 was released in 2017.
Yes, it has Bluetooth.
Conclusion
The Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is obviously not the best Chromebook available. However, for such a low price, it is safe to say it makes the list of the lowest budget Chromebooks available.
For students, the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 is a good choice. Its durable build and long battery life are some of its excellent features that any student will easily enjoy
Although, it doesn’t possess features that other expensive Chromebooks possess such as backlit keyboards, and convertible 360-degree hinges, you’re spending far less for a good computer.
If you need a low-cost Chromebook with good features, then you can consider the Acer Chromebook 11 N7.
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