Dell Chromebook 11.6" 3120 Multi-Touch Review

The Dell Chromebook 11.6" 3120 is a study in extremes. On one hand, its 1.38kg weight and 11.6-inch size put it in the 98th percentile for compactness. On the other, its Intel Celeron CPU and 4GB of RAM land in the 2nd and 4th percentiles for performance, respectively. This isn't a machine for heavy lifting. It's a single-purpose device built for one thing: running Chrome OS in a very small, very portable package. The 64GB SSD and 1366x768 screen don't help its case, sitting in the 7th and 3rd percentiles. You're getting a lot of portability, but not much else under the hood.

Let's be clear: performance is not this Chromebook's strong suit. That single-core 1.3GHz Celeron is a legacy chip, and it shows. It scores a 2nd percentile ranking for CPU power. That means 98% of the laptops in our database are faster. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics and 4GB of RAM don't fare much better, landing in the 43rd and 4th percentiles. For basic web browsing, Google Docs, and streaming video, it'll get the job done. But open more than a handful of tabs, and you'll feel the strain. Its best performance metric is actually its WiFi 6 connectivity, which is a nice touch for such a budget device.

At around $405, this Chromebook is priced for its portability, not its power. You're paying a premium for the small form factor and the Dell brand. For the same money, you could find Chromebooks with better screens, more RAM, and faster processors, but they'll likely be bigger and heavier. It's a niche product. If being ultra-compact is your absolute top priority, and you only need it for the lightest of tasks, the value is there. For everyone else, it's a tough sell when you consider the performance sacrifices.

Compared to its listed 'competitors' like the MacBook Pro or MSI Vector, it's not even in the same universe. A more realistic comparison is against other budget Chromebooks. The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s, while a business laptop, highlights the gap: you get a proper CPU, more RAM, and a better screen for not much more money if you find a sale. The ASUS Zenbook Duo offers transformative dual-screen productivity. This Dell Chromebook's only real advantage is its size. It's smaller and lighter than almost anything else, but that comes at a massive cost to every other spec.

This is a one-trick pony, and that trick is being tiny. The 98th percentile compactness is impressive, but it's surrounded by bottom-tier performance rankings. The 2nd percentile CPU and 4th percentile RAM are deal-breakers for most users. I can only recommend the Dell Chromebook 3120 to a very specific person: someone who needs the absolute smallest, lightest device possible, and whose computing needs are strictly limited to a few browser tabs and document editing. For students, businesses, or anyone wanting a more versatile machine, look elsewhere. The performance trade-offs are just too severe.