ECS LIVA X2 Mini PC Review - PAGE 1

When I looked at the ECS LIVA Mini PC Kit about a year ago, my overall experience was very positive. The device is compact, lightweight, very well built, and offered incredible value for its price. The tiny barebone system was fun to put together; and even though I did not beat the "60 seconds" ECS challenge, I came pretty close. The ECS LIVA Mini PC Kit has been running Windows 8.1 since, before being upgraded to Windows 10 recently. The unit became a staple in our living room, permanently hooked to the HDTV and used daily for streaming online content and local media playback, with the occasional web browsing. Intel's Bay Trail-M SoC was up to the task and performed nicely overall.

Today I will be taking a look at the next generation of mini PCs from ECS, the LIVA X2 (read X Squared). The unit is built around the Intel Braswell SoC and comes with a 14nm Intel Celeron N3050 CPU. The RAM and storage configurations available are 2GB of DDR3L RAM and 32GB eMMC storage, or 4GB of DDR3L RAM and 64GB eMMC storage. With the release of the LIVA X2, ECS not only improved the hardware but also opted for different design choices. This should make the LIVA X2 more user-friendly and boost the performance, while looking sleek in any living room setting.

Packaging & Accessories:

ECS opted for a fancier packaging than what we saw with the first LIVA device. The box is slightly bigger and comes with a silver brushed "metal" finish. The design is simple yet elegant with the product name in black and the dark silver X2 moniker used as an accent to the shiny silver background. Along the sides, we find a detailed product specifications table and a QR code that links to the Liva X2 page on the ECS website.

Inside the box, the unit is protected by a thick plastic bag and nested in a cardboard structure which also keeps the accessories bundle in place. Here we start to see the differences between the first generation LIVA devices and the new X2 units. While the first LIVA came as a kit and required some assembly, the LIVA X2 ships fully assembled and is ready to go out of the box.

The accessories bundle is pretty slim and includes a user guide, driver disc, VESA mounting bracket, and a multi-tip power adapter. The power adapter can be used with US, UK and EURO outlets, making it very practical if you ever feel the need to take your device on a trip overseas. The output is rated at 12V/3A, and the 5.9 ft. long cable is equipped with a sturdy coaxial power connector. I still question the usefulness of the media choice for drivers, a small ECS-branded USB drive would have made more sense and even add some value to the bundle. The VESA bracket however is a brilliant addition to the bundle, which will allow for a clean setup where the unit and cables can be completely hidden behind the monitor.

Specifications:

Information courtesy of ECS @ http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_LIVA_SPEC.aspx?DetailID=1626&LanID=0