ECS EliteGroup LIVA Z3
ECS, or EliteGroup Computer Systems, first became a recognised brand before AMD launched the Athlon, and ECS made some affordable motherboards for that platform. It grew to become the fifth-largest maker of motherboards, with production facilities in Asia and North America directed from a headquarters in Taiwan. These days ECS makes a wide range of devices that includes laptops, tablets, Motherboards, IoT products, and our review item today, mini-PCs. Following Intel’s new Jasper Lake powered NUC systems, ECS has launched the LIVA Z3 and Z3E series, small affordable PCs with enough power for general office activities. But with the low cost and performance of current desktop systems, is the Z3 worth the extra cost to get something so small and silent? (Image credit: Mark Pickavance) Price and availability ECS offers three versions of the LIVA Z3 that look much the same from the outside but internally have subtle internal differences regarding the processor, RAM and storag...