The Board - A Closer Look

I guess it might sound like I'm pretty enthusiastic about this LIVA X from ECS. For me, the LIVA X is fantastic and a well-needed product for nearly the perfect price point. That price point is only possible because of the part choices that were made while designing the LIVA X, so why don't we take a look at what really makes it tick?


First and foremost, we have the Intel N2808 SoC (System on a Chip).This tiny bit of glass and metal is the main component and accounts for most of the unit's cost. In the original LIVA, the SoC accounted for more than half the retail price. Secondly, we have the Azurewave Wi-Fi/Bluetooth controller, which sits close by. I am not completely sure whether it comes next in cost; I merely mentioned it second because it sits so close to the Intel N2808 SoC (you can even see the corner of the Azurewave card in the SoC pic).


Next up, we have the memory modules, both in DDR3L and eMMC.


The mSATA port is close to the eMMC chip, so it will sit directly over the eMMC when you install an mSATA drive. Power to drive it all is provided for by the chip shown in the second picture above.


Next up are the two Realtek-designed parts, the ALC283 HD Audio CODEC and a Realtek 8111G LAN chip. Both are low-cost chips that function quite well, but do not always offer the maximum performance possible in today's market. Some users might see that as an issue, but the LIVA X isn't about being as fast as possible as it is about providing an elegant and affordable solution for a specific need. For that, all of these parts come together quite well, and I have to commend ECS for making these choices since in a practical usage scenario, it all works more than well enough for me.