Final Thoughts
It’s really hard to believe that you are using a silent little box with a green light on it to do and run all that you can do on this computer. It’s as good as many laptops with a desktop feeling. I know the test results put it dead last but it really does work nice without lagging. It really is so quiet that you will look down and check the light to make sure it’s on. It will sleep and wake up like any laptop or tablet but it runs Microsoft Office very fast and efficient. Another thing that you will need is an external SSD or at least a Fast 3.0 Flash Drive to use for a data drive since the eMMC is only 32 or 64 GB. 32GB would be great for a tablet running the latest Android OS but for normal Windows use you need at least 128 GB to have a really self sufficient system. The install DVD makes a great coaster for your favorite beverage It didn’t burn under my coffee. The ECS LIVA Mini PC Kit is really a true PC. It’s ready to go to work in about an hour and it will not do it slow and best of all it will only use about 2 to 3 Watts while doing it. I just really have to accentuate the positives on this device not for ECS but for the BAT-Mini future as a motherboard. It’s a great little board. But it does need some upgrading soon if it wants to stay Windows-based. But we did like it.
Finally the Price
At $179.00 US Dollars the ECS LIVA is very economical an would pay for itself in power consumption bills in a few months if you were using an old Dinosaur that consumed 300 Watts of power. The LIVA ran regularly on about 1.8 Watts during the day so that is great and you can use a battery pack for a Cell Phone to run it. Its really a great strong device when you calculate the power consumption to work ratio.
We have seen The ECS LIVA Mini PC Kit on sale for as low as $125.00 so if you are a bargain hunter this will be a way for you to know your best price.
Overall ThinkComputers gives the ECS LIVA Mini PC Kit an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Very easy to build
– Excellent power saving device
– Super quiet in fact it’s completely dead silent.
– Dual Monitor support using Intel HD Graphics on the CPU
– Could be great backup computer for long power outage with a working LAN connection and cell phone power pack
Cons:
– 32GB of Memory is way too little to work with; 90GB would be a great start.
– Passive heatsink lets processor get hot.
– Limited USB ports
– Comes with a DVD that is useless unless you have another computer or a portable USB DVD drive
