As a result, many individuals and businesses are choosing these over Mini Towers and other form factors.
That makes it quiet and small enough to mount to the rear of a monitor for some inconspicuous computing.
The MSRP is $630, and features a 3-year warranty.
There are internally accessible memory slots and an M.2 slot for user-implemented upgrades.
But it lacks the graphical punch offered by the latestAMDRyzen-powered machines.
The asking price ignores the fact that MinisForum and others offer much more powerful platforms for less.
Other machines in the LIVA Z series are available, but this one is stubbornly missing in action.
Unusually, the rear has no USB ports at all.
There is one more USB port hidden inside, a USB 2.0 header.
But the purpose of this and how you might use it seem cloaked in mystery.
With that cover removed, access to the memory and M.2 slots is available, enabling easy upgrades.
And, with only two cores supporting hyperthreading, that caps the maximum thread handling at twelve.
However, the real limitation here isnt these values.
Its that the silicon is configured with a maximum draw of just 15W.
Intel designed this chip with a potential extended budget of 55W, but ECS didnt use that option.
This impacts overall performance, most noticeably in bandwidth-intensive multi-threaded tests.
One place that this chip excels is PCIe lanes, with 20 available.
This CPU has PCIe 4.0, and the support chips are PCIe 3.0.
The ECS LIVA Z5 Plus is relatively powerful compared to the N100 or N300 machines.
However, the NBP7 cost under $500, and it also came with double the storage.
In terms of the graphical and the multi-threaded tests, its a country mile ahead of the Z5 Plus.
However, it isnt a typical low-cost NUC, and there lies the problem.
Should I buy a ECS EliteGroup LIVA Z5 Plus?
That makes it a good choice for an embedded scenario, like in a presentation booth.
It can be bought barebones with only the processor installed.
Check out ourMinisforum Venus NPB7 review
