ECS this week formally announced its Gemini Lake-based ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) desktop PCs that were first demonstrated in January. The new systems are aimed at office and digital signage applications, they also feature two GbE connectors, a requirement of ECS’ enterprise customers.
The ECS LIVA Z2 and Z2V computers are based on Intel’s Gemini Lake SoCs with two or four cores as well as UHD 600-series integrated graphics. The new LIVA Z2-series UCFF PCs offer higher general-purpose performance compared to their LIVA Z predecessors because of the Goldmont Plus CPU microarchitecture. Furthermore, the new systems also feature an improved media processing engine with support for 10-bit HEVC and 10-bit VP9 video. Meanwhile, only the LIVA Z2 supports a native HDMI 2.0 / HDCP 2.2 display output capable of 4Kp60 resolution as well as hardware-accelerated Ultra HD media playback. The LIVA Z2V only has an HDMI 1.4 as well as a D-Sub display output, which are good enough for mainstream Full HD displays.
When it comes to memory and storage, the LIVA Z2 systems support DDR3L DIMMs with a 32/64 GB eMMC module for built-in storage, and have a 2.5-inch bay for SSDs/HDDs. As for general connectivity, the PCs feature an M.2-2230 slot for a Wi-Fi module, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports (three Type-A connectors, one Type-C header), and a 3.5-mm audio jack.
Being very compact and measuring 132 mm × 118 mm × 56.4 mm, the ECS LIVA Z2 PCs use only 6 W of power supplied by an external PSU.
| 2018 ECS LIVA Z2 UCFF PCs | ||
| LIVA Z2 | LIVA Z2V | |
| CPU | Intel Pentium N5000 Intel Celeron N4100 Intel Celeron N4000 |
|
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 600 (12 EUs) (Gen9) or Intel UHD Graphics 605 (18 EUs) (Gen9) |
|
| Memory | 2×DDR3L SO-DIMM slots | |
| Storage | eMMC | 32 GB or 64 GB |
| M.2 | – | |
| DFF | 1 × 2.5″ SSD/HDD | |
| SD | – | |
| Wi-Fi | Intel 802.11ac + BT (optional) | |
| Ethernet | 2 × Gigabit Ethernet with RJ45 connector | 1 × Gigabit Ethernet with RJ45 connector |
| Display Outputs | HDMI 1.4, HDMI 2.0 | HDMI 1.4, D-Sub |
| Audio | 3.5-mm TRRS | |
| USB | 3 × USB 3.0 Type-A 1 × USB 3.0 Type-C |
|
| Dimensions | 132 mm × 118 mm × 56.4 mm | |
| PSU | External | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 10 | |
| MSRP | 4 GB RAM, 32 GB storage w/o OS: ~$225 w/ Windows 10: ~$240 |
unknown |
The ECS LIVA Z2 equipped with 4 GB of RAM and 32 GB of solid-state storage will cost starting from $240, the manufacturer announced earlier this year. Other configurations will be priced differently.