The ECS Liva Z is at first appearance absolutely tiny. This thing will fit in the palm of your hand. Small and capable of being mounted via VESA to the back of a TV, it makes for a good HTPC. It can output 4K at 60 hz through the mDP port. HDMI is limited to 1.4 and 4k at 30 hz. Still, it had no trouble streaming 4k Youtube content. Its feature set and connectivity options are stellar as well. The M.2 2242 slot allows for an SSD upgrade and dual SO-DIMM slots allow for an upgrade to 8 GB DDR3L. Add in its USB 3.0 ports and USB 3.0 Type C port and it offers a more than acceptable number of connectivity options. Dual GbE Realtek LAN ports allow the unit to functions as a pfSense box as well. Build quality as a whole is good, with the thermal paste application being acceptable as well. Overall, this silent, passively cooled and absolutely tiny system offers great value as an HTPC and general computing device. If you don't want to pay for a Windows 10 model, you can save a few dollars by going with the no OS option and installing Unbuntu 16.04 LTS. That said, I think my favorite use of the ECS LIVA Z was to stream traditional content to my living room TV, including games. Streaming Fallout 4 or any other game via Steam for that matter was flawless. In general, there was a great deal to like, and I enjoyed using the ECS LIVA Z.

A few issues do stand out. First and foremost is the 4 GB of included RAM. It's a single stick and is, as such, single channel. 8 GB is definitely the new norm. The choice to go with 4 GB not only limits total system RAM due to the IGP needing some memory. It also means memory bandwidth is limited as well. The 32 GB of eMMC storage proved quite quick, but is still very anemic, with very little storage space left over. Heat can build up as the system is entirely passive. Finally, the IGP, while good enough for video playback and office work, is so weak that even Dota 2 at its lowest settings and 720p could not break 24 FPS on average.

In general, the design is good, and it's entirely functional. Looking at its size and what it is capable of, it proved to be quirky, interesting, and surprisingly useful. I can see this system being good for grandparents who use Facebook and check on their emails or for children to do their homework. The eMMC storage proved leagues faster than a standard HDD, and there is an M.2 2242 slot for internal storage upgrades. While the system itself isn't perfect, it's a great barebones start for a pfSense box or HTPC. Support for Linux is also a nice touch. If ECS offered a more robust version with 8 GB of memory configured in dual channel mode, I would be even more impressed. While this system will never replace a performance desktop, its performance is still adequate for most general compute tasks. An abstract thought, it is essentially similar to the older Core 2 Duo and Athlon X2 processors from a decade ago in terms of performance. But instead of using 65-95 W of power, the CPU just uses 6 W. The entire system uses somewhere around 10-15 W. An entire system about the size of a standard 3.5" HDD uses 1/6th to 1/10th the power of an old-school CPU alone. Technology has come a long way.

If you are looking for an affordable HTPC or just need an affordable computing device for daily tasks, the ECS LIVA Z is a damn good option.