General Analysis

While the LIVA Z was amazing for its price point, the LIVA Z Plus ditches the aspect of being incredibly affordable in favor of more performance. At $489, it comes with no OS, but sees a huge upgrade in the form of the Core i5 7300U and a 128 GB SSD. The cost of Windows 10 greatly increases the price beyond the MSRP, but that can be avoided if you are fine with running Unbuntu 16.04 LTS.

For a compact system, the LIVA Z Plus is definitely powerful for its size, even more so than the LIVA Z. The i5 7300U handles typical daily tasks without issue. Being a dual core with Hyper-Threading, it offers a great deal more grunt than the N3350 in the entry level model. Generally speaking, it delivers nearly twice the performance if not more. Taking that into account using Quickbooks, Powerpoint, Excel, general web browsing, etc., the LIVA Z Plus performs admirably. Thanks in part due to the 128 GB SSD offering a massive increase in storage space over the the 32 GB eMMC on the entry level model, upgrading the storage or working with external storage is no longer nearly as mandatory to get the most out of this system. Overall, the LIVA Z PLUS is both good as a low-power office system or general HTPC. Intel vPro support means it also makes for a good fit for IT administrators since it supports VT-x, VT-x with EPT, and VT-d, along with everything else under the Intel vPro umbrella. With a jack of all trades and master of none approach, ECS made sure its LIVA Z Plus is a solid all-around performer.

When it comes to HTPC use, the ECS LIVA Z Plus is quite good. It definitely handles streaming of regular 1080P content via Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime without issue. Using MPC-HC (Media Player Classic Home Cinema), 4K content on the local disk played back perfectly. In terms of resolution, the unit can put out 4k 60 Hz via the mDP port; however, the HDMI port is still 1.4. It is limited to 4k 30 Hz and lacks HDCP 2.2, so Netflix 4k is currently out of the question. Youtube 4k does work flawlessly. In general, everything the LIVA Z can do the LIVA Z Plus does as well, but better. Finally, streaming games from my main system to the LIVA Z via Steam was a treat. This time around, I was in the mood for some Metal Gear Solid V and was not disappointed. Streaming the game to the living room TV at 1080p 60fps was rock solid. While the LIVA Z Plus did perform a bit better in all tests as compared to the LIVA Z, its much higher price point tends to mitigate the gains to a degree.

Build quality is, as before, above average as there are no major faults. Even when it comes to cooling, ECS did not skimp. Rather than trying to utilize a passive solution with the 15 W i5 7300U, they went with a single heatpipe and a copper base with an aluminum fin array that is actively cooled by a 5 volt fan. This keeps temperatures low. In fact, the system never thermal throttled during testing, not even when pushed to the limit. With the Aida64 CPU stress test, the unit maxed out at just 90°C. The SSD is thankfully a damn good performer and makes use of MLC NAND. Sadly, ECS choose to only supply the LIVA Z Plus with a 4 GB SO-DIMM stick despite its price. With a near-$500 price point, I would have liked to see 8 GB in a dual-channel configuration since 4 GB is just barely adequate today. Still, they have my gratitude for keeping the possibility of upgrades in tact. The SSD, while limited to the 42 mm form factor, can still be expanded further. The same goes for the memory as the CPU supports up to 32 GB.

Interestingly enough, ECS decided against using dual Realtek Gigabit LAN ports and instead opted for an Intel I219-LM and a Realtek RTL8111 LAN port. WLAN has also seen an upgrade with the use of Intel's AC8260, which is a 2x2 as opposed to the AC3165 in the LIVA Z that is a 1x1. As such, pfSense should work. However, as Realtek is not well supported in that regard, users may want to properly configure a Linux distro to do the same thing, which would result in better performance and support. Keep in mind that ECS only recommends Windows 10 and Unbuntu 16.04. However, getting other versions of Linux to work shouldn't be too difficult. In fact, the system would be well suited for the task given its beefier CPU and storage without giving up its ultra small form factor. Even power consumption is still fantastic as the i5 7300U has a TDP of just 15 watts. Other configurations in the LIVA Z Plus lineup will be available in the future. These offers will feature other CPUs, such as the i3 7100U or Celeron 3965U. However, I feel the base model LIVA Z would be more attractive than either of those options.

Much like the LIVA Z, the LIVA Z Plus is not a good option for gaming. The Intel HD Graphics 620 is a huge step up from the HD Graphics 500 in the N3350, offering double the execution units, but it is far below adequate. Dota 2 was playable, but only at up to 720p and medium settings with shadows off. At these settings, it just managed 33 FPS. Reduced to 720p and low settings, the game ran at 45 FPS on average. At all low settings, 1080p was playable, but not enjoyable, at an average of 25 FPS. Put another way, if tested at max settings, which are the same settings I test laptops at, it averages just 5 FPS. Needless to say, Dota 2 is quite an easy game to run, and the LIVA Z Plus still struggles a bit, just not as badly as the LIVA Z.

Overall, this tiny little system tries to be a jack of all trades and as is, as such, a master of none, making it a great general-purpose computing device. The ECS LIVA Z Plus works great as an HTPC for 1080p content, and thanks to a proper SSD, feels delightfully snappy to use. Sadly, the price tag of $489 is a bit off-putting, especially considering the lack of an OS. While the LIVA Z Plus performs well, it lacks the charm and appeal of its little brother. ECS could improve the unit's appeal by using 64 GB of eMMC for storage, which would leave the M.2 as an upgrade option. Doing so while expanding memory to 8 GB in a dual-channel configuration would go a long way in giving the LIVA Z Plus a leg up. At its current price and configuration, many users will gravitate towards traditional laptops.