A look Inside

Tearing the ECS LIVA Z3 Plus apart is quite simple. To start with loosen the four screws on the bottom. Once sufficiently loose, the base plate can be lifted right off. With the bottom plate removed, you now have access to the system memory, SSD, and WiFi card.


ECS only installed a single 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM. While I find this to be a terrible decision, they at least opted for brand name memory by going with Team Group's TI9CQSD5H61199, which is rated for 2666 MHz at CL19. For storage, they went with a SATA M.2 SSD from Kimtigo, which I have never heard of until today. Its model number is KT128GM28S3, and it is a 128 GB drive. Meanwhile, the WiFi card is Intel's WiFi 6 AX200NGW, a 2x2 802.11ax offering with a theoretical maximum 574 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band and 2.4 Gbps on the 5 GHz band.


For further disassembly, you will want to unhook the fan header from the board. This is also a good time to familiarize yourself with the motherboard layout as it has an LPC Connector, SATA connector, and another fan header that are currently unusable out of box without any modification.


With the fan disconnected, you can gently lift the motherboard out by lifting the backside out first and gently pulling the plastic case away from the front until the board pops out. Keep in mind that the WiFi antennas are still connected. Once removed, you can easily clean the fan and heatsink if needed. Taking the system apart is a quick and simple process.