Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11 comparison

The Dell Chromebook 11 proved to be a zippy, cost effective Chromebook in our recent review, but how does it measure up to last year’s equally inexpensive Acer Aspire C720? Below we’ve pitted both devices head-to-head, taking into account design, connectivity, specifications, performance and screen quality to determine which is the superior Chromebook. See also: What’s the best budget laptop of 2014?

Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11: Design and Build Quality

Under the hood both the Dell Chromebook and Acer Aspire have very similar core hardware, but there’s a marked disparity in the quality of their physical design. The Acer Aspire’s looks don’t quite live up to its name; the chassis possesses a slightly drab, grey matte plastic finish and, while build quality is fine for the most part, there’s a little more flex to the base and lid than we’d have liked. The keyboard is similarly serviceable, yet unsatisfying, with insubstantial-feeling keys.

The Dell Chromebook 11 is the clear winner in this department and, as befits a Chromebook designed for classroom use, it’s gratifyingly rugged, with a stiff, unyielding lid. Plenty of concessions towards convenience have been made as well; there are thick rubber strips under the base to prevent it from sliding on smooth surfaces and there’s also a rubberised coating that surrounds the keyboard for more comfortable typing, a nice design feature that the Acer Aspire does not share. They keyboard is crisp and responsive and though the touchpad features integrated buttons, it isn’t as bad as many we’ve used.

Winner: Dell Chromebook 11

Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11: Ports, Connectivity and Specs

Here’s where the contest starts to get considerably tighter, as both the Dell Chromebook and Acer Aspire boast some generous connectivity options. Both Chromebooks have an almost identical selection of ports, boasting a 3.5mm audio jack, full-sized HDMI and SD card ports. The Acer has one USB 3 port and a USB 2 port, while the Dell touts two USB 3 ports and both devices are equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.

It’s a similar story specs-wise, with both models housing an identical dual-core Intel Celeron 2955U CPU running at 1.4GHz with 16GB flash memory. However, while the Acer Aspire is supported by 2GB RAM, the Dell Chromebook pips it to the post by supplying 4GB.

So it’s spectacularly a close call, but we’re giving this one to the Dell Chromebook, for the extra 2GB of RAM and extra USB 3 port.

Winner: Dell Chromebook 11

Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11: Performance

With almost identical specifications elsewhere, you can bet that the core hardware of both Chromebooks won’t differ by a wide margin. Both are nippy in real world use with a cold boot time of just seven seconds. SunSpider and Peacekeeper benchmarks yielded comparable results, with the Acer Aspire coming out slightly ahead in the Peacekeeper browser benchmark, with 2,906 to the Dell’s 2,767. The Dell scored better in a Sunspider JavaScript test with 323ms compared to the Acer’s 357ms, but the difference between these results is marginal.

Battery life was a similar story. In a looping video test with both Chromebooks’ screens set to 120cd/m², the Acer Aspire powered on for 5hrs 36mins before the battery ran out of juice, while the Dell kept going for slightly longer, at 5hrs 54mins.

Again, this was a tough call but we’re giving this one to the Dell, thanks to its longer battery life.

Winner: Dell Chromebook 11

Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11: Screen

While both Chromebooks have performed well so far, it was in screen quality that they fell down. Both screens were relatively dim, the Dell’s backlight topping at 208cd/m² and the Acer managing 240cd/m² but we were really disappointed by the dismally low contrast ratio of both devices, measuring at just 360:1 and 222:1 respectively, leading to flat, washed-out images.

While neither screen impressed us much, the Dell’s reflective glossy finish, coupled with its less-than-stellar maximum brightness, means outside use is out of the question and even just harsh indoor lighting can be a real obstruction.

So while the Acer comes out on top in this category, we see it less as a win for the Acer and more of a loss for the Dell.

Winner: Acer Aspire C720

Acer Aspire C720 vs Dell Chromebook 11: Verdict and price

Despite possessing a lot of the same hardware, in the end we feel the Dell Chromebook 11 provides just that little bit more bang for your buck than the Acer Aspire C720. At £199 the Dell is £20 more expensive than the Acer Aspire’s current market price, but it’s more durable, nicer to look at and ever-so-slightly better equipped. Plus, there’ll be a cheaper version with 2GB RAM available from the end of June.

Overall Winner: Dell Chromebook 11