Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (cp311-2h-c3de) Review
Chromebooks are becoming more and more popular in 2020, in fact, almost every laptop brand now has its own Chromebook.
Acer Chromebook Spin 311 is Acer's budget convertible laptop offering many exciting features at a budget price.
But is Spin 311 worth spending below $500 in 2020? Are there any alternatives? Read our detailed review to find out.
Why Trust Us:
All of our reviews are based on real-time testing and market research. We only recommend products that are worth buying for the prices.
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Acer Chromebook Spin 311 Review Hours Tested = 23 hours | Market Researched = 9 hours  |
Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (Cp311-2h) Specs
| Display | 11.6 inch,IPS |
| Resolution | 1366x768,HD |
| CPU | Intel Celeron N330, Intel Celeron N4120, Intel Celeron N4100, Intel Celeron N4020, Intel Celeron N4000 |
| GPU | Intel Graphics HD |
| SSD | 32GB, 64GB |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Weight | 1.18Kg (2.4 lbs) |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 |
| Card Slot | Yes, MicroSD |
External Review
UNBOXING:
Unboxing the Spin 311 is a pretty smooth experience, It comes packed inside a pretty cool cardboard box.
Inside the box first, there is a 45W power brick that has a type-C USB cable attached, then you will get a stylus (in some variants), and then there is our friend sitting bubbly wrapped.
You will get user manuals of course which nobody reads.
FIRST LOOK:
On the first look Acer Chromebook Spin 311 feels fantastic, the clean gray finish is smooth and easy to hold.
The 45W Type-C power brick does feel heavier than normal.
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY:
The whole body is made up of plastic, on the lid's left side there is an Acer logo in silver, and a chrome logo in case you forget this is a Chromebook (lol).
The build quality is somehow interesting but not slim enough.
There is only a minimal screen flex due to the antimicrobial corning gorilla glass protection on the screen.
The bezels are a bit bigger than the last year's model, but they will not bother most people.
Inside, this notebook feels really smooth and sturdy with almost no bending at all.
On the bottom, there are 4 rubber blocks to prevent the notebook from slipping.
KEYBOARD:
The placement of the keyboard is a little bit higher but the keys are responsive and soft.
There is no keyboard flex.
Due to the lack of "windows" and "fn" keys, the "control" and "alt" keys are now prominent and bigger.
A google search button has replaced the "caps lock".
The arrow keys are placed on the bottom left of the keyboard, they provide relatively clicky feedback.
The keyboard placement of Acer Chromebook Spin 11 is perfect, read our review here.
Acer has built the keyboard with the 2 in 1 functionality in mind, so overall the keyboard is decent.
TRACKPAD:
Acer Chromebook Spin 311 features a small-sized touchpad that provides responsive and smooth feedback.
If you are familiar with Chromebooks then this touchpad will feel the same, and if not then you will find this trackpad a bit hard to use.
The buttons are on the bottom side.
PORTS:
On the right side, you will get a USB Type-C (3.1) port for charging, data transfer, and display share, then a USB Type-A (1 gen) port.
A microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone/earphone jack.
On the other side, you will get a Kensington lock for security-minded people, again a Type-C and Type-A port for charging and data transfer.
In the end, you will get a volume rocker that is protruding from the side for a better feel.
Internal Review
DISPLAY:
The spin 311 features an 11.6-inch screen with antimicrobial corning gorilla glass protection and large bezels.
It features an IPS panel with HD (1366x768) resolution.
We measured 211 nits of brightness in the middle of the screen and 214 nits across the panel.
The image below from laptop media shows the performance of the display across the screen.
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| Source: Laptop Media |
The color quality of the display is sharp and punchy, to test the color quality we ran the bumblebee movie trailer due to its intense dark brown contrast scenes.
We were surprised to see that the spin 311 managed to show exact colors with almost every detail.
So on the graphics side, Spin 311 will never disappoint you.
HARDWARE:
The Spin 311 features a 64/32GB eMMc Storage with 3/4GB LPDDR4 RAM.
The storage can be upgraded by a MicroSD card up to 512GB, we will recommend you to use a trusted SD card to prevent system lag.
Some of our favorite MicroSD cards are:
Samsung Evo 256GB MicroSD
Samsung Evo 512GB MicroSD
WEB PERFORMANCE:
Spin 311 has a built-in WIFI 802.11c adapter.
We tested its strength by running 5 heavy websites, and a youtube HD live stream.
I know you have guessed right, the Acer Chromebook spin 311 (cp311-2h) managed to run all of them without any stutter heating.
The web pages rendered pretty fast.
PERFORMANCE
GAMING:
One thing that we hate about Chromebooks is their inability to run higher-end or just Pc games.
However, Spin 311 successfully ran PUBG mobile on HD settings which is a plus point.
Games like subway surfers, temple run, and Clash of clans can also run smoothly.
BENCHMARK SCORES:
Spin 311 comes with four (4) CPU variants, but there are only two (2) available for sale.
Here are some of the CPU benchmark scores of the Intel Celeron N4020 one.
Geekbench (Single Core) = 376
Geekbench (Multiple Core) = 1285
The CPU benchmark scores are decent.
Here are some of the GPU benchmark scores of the Intel Celeron N4020 one.
3D Mark = 2615
GFxbench = 21Fps
HEATING TEST
We tested the heating of spin 311 by two CPU throttling apps that use 100% CPU power.
According to us, you should not be worried about excessive heating as the efficient processor handles it quite smartly.
The "QWERTY" keys are the most affected area of heating
BATTERY
Here comes the best thing about this Chromebook, the battery life.
Spin 311 is powered by a 39Wh battery which will last up to 10 hours easily on normal use.
However, if you are a heavy user than the number will be dropped down to 8 or 6 hours.
OS:
Of course, spin 311 is powered by Chrome OS that is based on Android 9 (pie).
The best thing that we like about chromeOS is that they are always on the radar which means updated security and software updates.
BOTTOM LINE:
The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (cp311-2h) is a decent notebook, there are some things on which this laptop has a firm grip.
Like for example the performance and battery are indeed impressive.
TECHNO HUB'S VERDICT:
Chromebooks in 2020 are now coming into user consideration because of their productivity and simple UI.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 311 has excelled in important areas like display, performance, and battery life.
The display has good viewing angles with sharp color quality.
The performance of Spin 311 is appreciable, we really love the way how it manages multitasking.
As for the battery life Acer has outperformed almost every competitor at this price tag, hats off for this.
However, we don't like the placement of the keyboard, low RAM, and memory, at this price tag they should offer at least 8GB RAM and 256GB Storage.
If you are a student and don't have problems with RAM and Memory, we would recommend you to consider Acer Chromebook Spin 311 (cp311-2h).
So are you going to buy this Chromebook? let us know down in the comments below.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅Smooth plastic body | ❌Large bezels |
| ✅Decent viewing angles | ❌Inappropriate keyboard placement |
| ✅Seamless Performance | ❌Low RAM and Memory |
| ✅USB Type-C 3.1 Ports | -- |
| ✅Considerable battery life | -- |
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Q: Are Acer Chromebooks reliable?
A: Yes! Acer Chromebooks are reliable and safe, they are built with only one thing in mind and that is user experience.
Q: Are touchscreen Chromebooks worth it?
A: Yes! touchscreen Chromebooks offer more productivity on-the-go, they are seamless, decent, and smooth.
Read More Reviews By TechnoHub.
Nice post. Amazing Acer Chromebook 311 Review indeed. Thanks for the lovely informative post.
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