Dell Chromebook 11 Review: A Chromebook with a Long-lasting Battery

Dell Chromebook 11: At First Glance

In recent years, Chromebooks have become increasingly popular among students and small business owners. This is due to their affordability and capability to handle basic computing tasks.

So, in order to challenge other brands in the Chromebook market, Dell released the Chromebook 11 in 2018. As expected, this Dell Chromebook comes with an Intel Celeron processor that is only capable of handling day-to-day computing tasks like word processing.

Furthermore, the Chromebook is very affordable, it doesn’t even cost up to $100. To be more specific, when I wrote this review in February 2022, the Dell Chromebook 11 had a starting price of $76.00.

However, it is common knowledge that a laptop this affordable comes with certain cutbacks. Nevertheless, does the Chromebook have enough valuable features that would make buyers overlook its cutbacks?

Read on to find out!

Dell Chromebook 11: Design, Dimension, and Weight

In terms of design, Chromebooks don’t usually belong to the flashy-looking category. To be more specific, they are mostly known to feature boring designs due to their inexpensive nature.

Therefore, as one of the cheapest Chromebooks available, the Dell Chromebook 11 features a less appealing and bland design. In fact, just a glance and you might want to change your mind about purchasing this laptop.

However, despite its boring look, this Chromebook features some pleasing design aesthetics. For example, the black plastic lid of the Chromebook comes with a shiny silver “Dell” logo at the center.

Also, at the top right corner of this Chromebook’s lid, you will find a colorful Chrome logo. As always, this Chrome logo gives first-hand information on the type of operating system the laptop runs on – Chromebooks uses Chrome OS.

That said, the Dell Chromebook 11 comes with a textured polycarbonate plastic chassis. Due to its plastic chassis, people might assume that this Chromebook is fragile.

However, that is not the case as this Chromebook is very sturdy and should be able to handle rough handling.

Moving on to the interior of the Dell Chromebook 11, the first thing you will notice is the Chromebook’s 11.6-inch display. This display comes with a resolution of HD (1366 x 768).

Unfortunately, despite the HD resolution, this Chromebook’s 11.6-inch display isn’t bright and its colors appear to be smeared and washed out. To make things worse, the display offers terrible viewing angles.

Therefore, the picture quality of the display will reduce drastically when viewing the display off-center. Furthermore, the Dell Chromebook 11’s display is surrounded by thick plastic bezels.

These bezels are so thick that they seem to have cramped up the Chromebook’s display. On the plus side, the Dell Chromebook 11 features an HD webcam at the top bezel that is adequate for casual video calls.

However, this webcam isn’t good for taking selfies because it delivers grainy and blurry images. Meanwhile, at the bottom bezel, you will find a “Dell” logo at the center.

Moving on, the Dell Chromebook 11 comes with a chiclet-style keyboard. Performance-wise, this keyboard is well-spaced and should offer a decent typing experience.

However, the keys on the keyboard make noticeable noise when typing. Below this keyboard, you will find a medium-sized touchpad with a set of integrated click buttons.

In terms of performance, this touchpad is smooth and quite responsive, allowing for seamless navigation. Also, the touchpad support multi-touch gestures such as three-finger-swipe.

For ports, the Dell Chromebook 11 features a minimal number of ports due to its size. To give more details, you will find a charging port, a microSD card slot, an HDMI port, and two USB ports on the left side of the laptop.

Meanwhile, on the right side of this laptop, you will only find a combo audio jack and a noble lock slot. Considering the price of this Chromebook, I doubt if anyone would complain about its port selection.

In terms of size and weight, the Dell Chromebook 11 is quite compact and handy, making it easy to carry around. To be more specific, this Dell Chromebook measures 303.3 x 206 x 20.7 mm (W x D x H) and weighs just 1400 g.

When compared with the Acer Chromebook R13, the Dell Chromebook 11 weighs less. Specifically, the Acer Chromebook R13 measures 326 x 228 x 15.50 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1500 g.

In conclusion, the Dell Chromebook 11 features a boring design like most Chromebooks. However, this laptop is light and compact enough to carry around easily.

Therefore, I will rate the Dell Chromebook 11 a seven out of ten in this design review section.

Dell Chromebook 11: Processor (CPU) Performance

The Dell Chromebook 11 comes with an Intel Celeron N3060 processor. This processor is a dual-core processor that offers 2 MB cache memory.

In terms of speed, the processor has a base frequency of 1.60 GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.48 GHz. Performance-wise, with this processor, the Dell Chromebook 11 will only be capable of handling basic computing tasks like web browsing.

Also, this Chromebook should be able to handle light multitasking.

To further prove the processor performance of the Dell Chromebook 11, I will now discuss its WebXPRT 2015 test results. WebXPRT 2015 is a web-based benchmark test that evaluates the performance of a computer’s processor by simulating day-to-day computing tasks.

Furthermore, according to this test, a high score indicates a better processing performance. So, based on the WebXPRT 2015 test results, the Dell Chromebook 11 scored 161 points, which is practically high.

In fact, when compared to the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook which uses a Mediatek MT8173C processor, this Dell Chromebook performed better. To be more specific, on the WebXPRT 2015 test, the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook scored 142 points.

In summary, with its Intel Celeron N3060 CPU, the Dell Chromebook 11 can only perform basic computing tasks and light multitasking. However, this Chromebook surpassed one of its competitors on a processor benchmark test.

Hence, I will rate the Dell Chromebook 11 a seven out of ten in this processor review section.

Dell Chromebook 11: Memory (RAM) Performance

In terms of memory, the Dell Chromebook 11 comes with a standard memory of 4 GB LPPDR3 RAM. Unfortunately, this memory is onboard, meaning it is soldered into the laptop’s motherboard.

As a result, the laptop’s memory isn’t upgradeable. Besides, this Chromebook features a single memory slot and also supports a maximum memory of 4 GB.

Thus, even if the laptop’s memory isn’t “onboard”, you still won’t be able to upgrade the memory to more than 4 GB. However, the Dell Chromebook 11’s memory not being upgradeable shouldn’t be a problem.

This is because Chromebooks aren’t designed to carry out intensive computing tasks. Instead, they are meant to handle simple computing tasks like web browsing and word processing.

Therefore, 4 GB RAM is more than enough for the Dell Chromebook 11 to perform smoothly while handling basic computing tasks. In fact, with that amount of memory, this Dell Chromebook should be able to handle light multitasking.

Speaking of multitasking, this Chromebook should be able to run a dozen Chrome tabs simultaneously without slowing down. However, switching between these Chrome tabs may make the Chromebook’s speed drop a bit.

To further establish the performance of this Chromebook, I will briefly discuss its Octane V2 test results. Octane V2 is a benchmark test that measures the speed at which Chromebooks load webpages.

Furthermore, a high score on this test signifies a fast load time and better performance. So, according to the Octane V2 test results, the Dell Chromebook 11 scored 7735 points.

Comparatively, this Dell Chromebook performed better than the ASUS Chromebook C300. Specifically, the ASUS Chromebook C300 scored 6606 points in the Octane V2 test.

Therefore, to conclude this memory review section, I will rate the Dell Chromebook 11 an eight out of ten.

Dell Chromebook 11: Storage Option and Performance

The Dell Chromebook 11, like most Chromebooks, comes with an eMMC storage drive. For storage capacity, this laptop’s storage drive supports a maximum storage capacity of 32 GB.

Obviously, 32 GB of storage space is quite limited. In fact, smartphones nowadays offer up to 128 GB of storage space.

However, before feeling disappointed about this laptop’s storage, it is worth mentioning that Chromebooks aren’t meant to store files locally. Instead, they are designed to store most of their files on the Google Drive cloud storage.

Hence, Chromebooks come with free 15 GB cloud storage by default. Also, they feature an optional 100 GB cloud storage and the Dell Chromebook 11 isn’t an exception.

Do you want to know how to activate this optional 100 GB cloud storage? Check out How to activate 100 GB of free Google Drive storage on a Chromebook

Asides from the Google Drive cloud storage, the Dell Chromebook 11 also offers a microSD card slot for storage expansion.

It would have been nice to provide the CrystalDiskMark test result for the Dell Chromebook 11’s storage. However, the eMMC storage drive that comes with this Chromebook is not supported by the benchmark test.

Therefore, I was unable to obtain the Dell Chromebook 11’s CrystalDiskMark test result. Hence, I will be rating the laptop based on the storage options that it offers.

Thus, in this storage review section, I will rate the Dell Chromebook 11 an eight out of ten.

Dell Chromebook 11: Graphics Card Performance

The Dell Chromebook 11 comes with an integrated Intel HD Graphics 400 GPU. In terms of speed, this graphics card offers a base frequency of 320 MHz and a maximum frequency of 600 MHz.

Moreover, as an integrated graphics card, this GPU is built into the laptop’s processor and lacks a dedicated VRAM. Hence, to perform graphics-related tasks, this GPU shares the system memory with the processor.

Consequently, the Dell Chromebook 11 will not be able to handle graphics-intensive applications or games. However, this Chromebook should be able to smoothly run most games on the Google Play Store íncluding Candy Crush.

To further validate the graphics performance of the Dell Chromebook 11, I will now highlight its result on the WebGL Aquarium test. WebGL Aquarium is a web-based graphics benchmark test that measures the graphics rendering abilities of a Chromebook.

Furthermore, the higher the “fps” on this web-based benchmark test, the better the graphics performance of the Chromebook. So, based on the WebGL Aquarium test result, the Dell Chromebook was able to display 500 fish at 59 fps (frame per second).

Comparatively, this Dell laptop performed slightly better than the Acer CB3-532-C47C 15.6 Chromebook. To be more specific, on the WebGL Aquarium test, the Acer CB3-532-C47C 15.6 Chromebook displayed 500 fish at 56 fps.

It is worth mentioning that the Acer CB3-532-C47C 15.6 Chromebook also uses an Intel HD Graphics 400 graphics card.

All in all, I will rate the Dell Chromebook 11 a seven out of ten in this graphics performance review section.

Dell Chromebook 11: Battery Life and Performance

In terms of battery, the Dell Chromebook 11 features a 3-cell 42 Whr lithium-ion battery. Dell claims that this Chromebook’s battery can last up to 10 hours.

To validate the above statement, I will quickly discuss the battery rundown test result of the Chromebook. Briefly, the battery rundown test entails repeatedly surfing the web using a WIFI connection until the laptop’s battery dies.

So, based on the battery rundown test results, the Dell Chromebook 11 has a battery life of 13 hours and 25 minutes. Surprisingly, this battery life exceeds the 10 hours that Dell initially claimed.

In fact, when compared with most Chromebooks in its category, the Dell Chromebook 11 has longer battery life. For example, based on the same battery rundown test, the ASUS Chromebook C202 delivered a battery life of 12 hours and 28 minutes.

In summary, the Dell Chromebook 11 offers an impressive battery life that can last the whole day. Moreover, this Chromebook has a longer battery life compared to most Chromebooks in its category.

Hence, the Dell Chromebook 11 is worthy of a nine out of ten rating in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Dell Chromebook 11 is one of the most affordable Chromebooks available. Furthermore, this Chromebook offers decent hardware and specifications for handling basic computing tasks.

Moreover, the epic battery life of the laptop makes it one of the best in the category. However, the Dell Chromebook 11 comes with a poor display that offers washed-out colors.

Also, the display has poor viewing angles. Nevertheless, if you need a cheap lightweight Chromebook that offers long battery life, you should consider the Dell Chromebook 11.

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