Dell Chromebook 3120

The Dell Chromebook 3120 is an 11.6-inch education laptop built for students and the districts that buy them by the cart. The Intel N100 inside covers web browsing, document editing, and video calls. Dell sells two configurations, a clamshell and a convertible 2-in-1 with a touchscreen, so a buyer can match the hardware to how the machine gets used. ChromeOS updates run until the Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date of June 2033. The fanless chassis makes no noise, which matters in a room full of them.

Long support life against 4GB of soldered memory

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Dell Chromebook 3120 Comparison Chart

	Dell Chromebook 3120	Dell Chromebook 3120
Price	List Price: $339 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon	List Price: $459 Amazon Prices: Check Price on Amazon
Model number	51R7C	J78DN
Performance Rating	2.9	2.9
Chromebook Plus	No	No
Processor	Quad-core 3.40 Ghz (max 3.40 Ghz) Intel Processor N100	Quad-core 3.40 Ghz (max 3.40 Ghz) Intel Processor N100
RAM	4 GB	4 GB
Internal Storage	64 GB eMMC	64 GB eMMC
Screen Size	11.6"	11.6"
Screen Resolution	1366x768	1366x768
Screen Type	TN	IPS
Touch Screen	No	Yes
Stylus / Pen	No Stylus Support	No Stylus Support
Dimensions width x length x thickness	12 x 8.2 x 0.82 inches (304.8 x 208.28 x 20.83 mm)	12 x 8.2 x 0.85 inches (304.8 x 208.28 x 21.59 mm)
Weight	2.82 lbs (1.28 kg)	3.17 lbs (1.44 kg)
Backlit Keyboard	No	No
Webcam	720p	720p
WiFi	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)	Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.2
Ethernet	No	No
Cellular Modem	No	No
HDMI	No HDMI	No HDMI
USB Ports	1 USB 3, 2 USB-C 2x USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A	1 USB 3, 2 USB-C 2x USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A
Thunderbolt Ports	No	No
Card Reader	No Card Reader	No Card Reader
Battery	3 cell, 42Wh, Li-ion	3 cell, 42Wh, Li-ion
Battery Life	10 hours	10 hours
Fanless	Yes	Yes
Auto Update Expiration Date	June, 2033	June, 2033

A silent N100 with two USB-C ports and no HDMI

The clamshell measures 12 x 8.2 x 0.82 inches and weighs 2.82 pounds, small enough to carry between classes all day. The 2-in-1 runs thicker at 0.85 inches and heavier at 3.17 pounds because of the touchscreen hardware. Dell reinforces the corners and fits a spill-resistant keyboard, both aimed at daily student handling. Ports are two USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort Alt Mode and Power Delivery plus a single USB-A for legacy peripherals, alongside a combo headphone and microphone jack. Nothing here is HDMI, so an external display needs a USB-C adapter.

The Intel N100 is a 4-core chip that boosts up to 3.4 GHz and scores approximately 5,305 on PassMark. That covers a stack of browser tabs, streaming video, and Android apps from the Play Store. Cooling is passive, with no fan to spin up during a test or a library study session. The 4GB of RAM sets the limit on how far that goes. Light multitasking is fine, and a heavy tab habit brings slowdown.

WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 handle wireless networking and peripherals. A school that needs wired networking can add it with a USB Ethernet adapter on one of the USB ports. Both USB-C ports carry video and charging. Storage stops at 64GB of eMMC, typical for an education Chromebook and small enough that larger files belong in cloud storage. Dell rates the 42Wh battery at approximately 10 hours, which covers a school day.

The 2-in-1 trades the TN panel for IPS touch

The clamshell uses a TN (Twisted Nematic) panel. Brightness is adequate indoors, viewing angles are narrow, and colors shift noticeably once you move off-center. The matte finish does cut glare under classroom lighting.

The convertible model moves to an IPS panel with touch, which holds color and viewing angles far better. Its 360-degree hinge allows tent, stand, and tablet modes for interactive learning applications. It also adds a world-facing 5MP camera capable of 1080p video, useful for capturing whiteboard content or documenting a science project.

Reviewer Insights

ChromebookParts.com Teardown

ChromebookParts.com opened the 3120 up to judge how it holds up to fleet life and came away impressed with its repairability. The reviewer liked the “beefy” hinges with screws set deep into the palmrest, a bottom cover that “comes off really easy,” and a removable keyboard that means you “don’t have to replace the whole palmrest” if a key fails, which matters when a school is fixing dozens of these a semester. The gripes were minor: the protective rubber edging wraps the bottom half but not the lid, the keys sound a little tinny, and there is no physical webcam slider (so expect tape over the camera in a classroom).

Best fit is a school fleet or an inexpensive second laptop

A district gets reinforced construction and updates through 2033 at a price that scales across a fleet order. For one person, the same machine works as a cheap secondary device for basic web tasks.

Anyone who keeps a lot of tabs open will hit the 4GB ceiling quickly, and anyone who wants a larger or sharper screen will not find one at 11.6 inches. The clamshell’s TN panel is the biggest compromise, and the 2-in-1’s IPS screen fixes it for more money. Local storage is the other limit, since 64GB fills up fast once files stay on the device.

A durable classroom machine, with the touchscreen as the upgrade

The N100 is quick enough for the coursework that runs on ChromeOS, and the durable build is meant for classroom use. The fanless chassis keeps testing rooms quiet. Choosing between the two configurations comes down to whether an IPS touchscreen and the 360-degree hinge are worth the higher price.

The 4GB of RAM and the TN panel on the entry model are the trade for that price. Buyers who want more headroom should look at Chromebook Plus models or anything shipping with 8GB.

The Chromebook Comparison Chart lines this up against other models.

Frequently Asked Questions