All-in-one PC by stefan @ 2022-04-20
With the right CPU, the LIVA A300 mini-PC from ECS can deliver impressive performance while keeping the fan speeds at decent noise levels, the temperatures at bay in such a small chassis. Not only we did get a fast PC for productivity work by using the Zen 3-based 5600G, but it can deliver quite a bit in the 3D department as well thanks to the Vega iGPU and the system is fully compatible with Windows 11 OS.
At first we would like to thank ECS for sending out a sample of their LIVA One A300 Barebone for testing and reviewing.
“Founded in 1987, ECS, the Elitegroup Computer Systems, is a top-notch manufacturer and supplier of several families of computer products in the industry. With almost 30 years of experience, ECS not only produces high-quality products such as motherboards, desktops, notebook computers, graphics cards and other mobile products, but also provides customized computer programming and hardware/ software design service for a wide variety of customers.
More than two decades, ECS has overcome a great deal of obstacles encountering new businesses and has experienced the joy of significant growth and development. ECS is strongly committed to develop cutting-edge technology in order to generate innovative products under environmental friendly designs. ECS comprehensive system of quality control provides our clients with reassurance and fosters long term cooperation.”
Superb Multitasking
LIVA One A300 features Socket AM4 to support AMD Ryzen™ & Athlon™ Processors. It provides exceptional performance in daily multitask computing.
Hyperfast Speed
LIVA One A300 featuring up to 802.11ax provides higher connection speeds up to 10 Mbps, greater efficiency of data transmission to stream high quality movies and YouTube videos among multiple devices simultaneously.
Striking Illustration
4K resolution at 60 fps gives four times as many pixels as the commonly used 1920 x 1080 resolution presenting much more vivid and clear visuals at a glance. It allows you to sense the spectacular experiences while enjoying visual feast.
Cross-boundary Efficiency
Effectiveness matters when you consider to set up a workplace. With HDMI, DisplayPort and D-Sub interfaces in a compact body, you can easily boost up your productivity by taking good advantage of arranging three at the same time.
Alternative Expandability
LIVA One A300 embraces M.2 SATA / PCIe interface for SSD expansion. Besides, with an alternative 2.5-inch HDD/ SSD, it allows you to easily create more storage capacities satisfying a wide range of needs indeed.
Universal Convenience
USB 3.2 Gen 2 x 1 Type-C retains all of the functional benefits that form the basis for the most popular interconnects of computing devices, and features reversible plug orientation and cable direction to transfer files at incredible speed up to 10 Gbps.
PLATFORM
Support AMD Ryzen™ & Athlon™ Processors with Socket AM4
MEMORY
Support 2 x SO-DIMM DDR4 3200MHz, up to 64GB (vary depending on CPU)
STORAGE DEVICES
1 x 2.5" SATA HDD/ SSD
1 x M.2 2280 SATA / PCIe x 4 Gen 3 SSD
AUDIO
1 x Combo Jack
1 x MIC-IN
NETWORKING
1 x 2.5 Gigabit LAN
USB
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 Type C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (FRONT I/O)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1x1, 2 x USB 2.0 (REAR I/O)
VIDEO OUTPUT
1 x HDMI, 4K@60Hz
1 x DisplayPort, 4K@60Hz
1 x VGA
WIRELESS
1 x M.2 2230 WLAN 802.11ac & Bluetooth 4.2
1 x M.2 2230 WLAN 802.11ax & Bluetooth 5.2 (Optional)
POWER
1 x DC-in
TDP 65W: 19V / 120W
DIMENSIONS (MM)
205 x 176 x 33 mm
OS SUPPORT
Windows 10 & Windows 11
Last time we did try a mini-PC with a replaceable AMD CPU was back in 2021, with the Shuttle DA320 and had support for both Ryzen 2000/3000 series but also Athlon 2000 series of APUs. The maximum supported TDP declared by the manufacturer was 65W so we have tested it along with the Ryzen 5 2400G APU; the problem we have had with it was related to the cooling system, which was unable to keep the temperatures at acceptable levels during high loads, the dual 60mm fans starting spinning at about 4500RPM just after a few seconds high load levels were applied. The fan noise levels were a bit high even during normal, light use such as browsing and were revving to audible levels. The future UEFI BIOS enhancements have succeeded to drop a bit the temperatures by lowering the applied voltage to the SOC, but we found the best solution was to install a 35W SoC inside the system such as the Athlon 220G, which eliminated the noise issue completely, while the system remained quite responsive for light tasks.
We will take the AMD APU barebone testing journey once again, with the LIVA One A300 from ECS, sporting the A300 chipset, the simplest one from the series, which is not a lot documented on the web. Surprisingly, via UEFI updates it is able to support a ton of SKUs from Ryzen 3 2200G series and up to the Ryzen 7 5700G which is an 8-core 16-thread processor with a TDP of 65W and sporting the Zen 3 architecture. We will try the LIVA One A300 with the Ryzen 5 5600G, which is a 6-core 12-thread SoC (Zen 3 architecture) featuring Radeon Vega Graphics with 7 compute units, each containing 64 shader cores, for a total of 448 shaders.
The LIVA One A300 barebone has arrived inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure with an orange/black color scheme:
The box is provided with a handle, for easy transportation:
On the side, we will note the technical specifications, including the list of compatible architectures:
Inside the main box, we will note a secondary cardboard enclosure:
After lifting the top cover, we will note the barebone sitting in the middle, along with the documentation leaflet:
The bottom layer does include the rest of the hardware bundle:
A closer look does reveal the power brick, the power lead, the VESA mount, the vertical stand but also the necessary mounting screws:
The power brick is similar to the one we have seen with other miniPCs which can accommodate higher TDP components:
It was manufactured by FSP GROUP INC. and is rated on the output as 19v at 6.32A for a total of 120W:
The power adapter brick cable ends up with a jack:
The adapter is powered from the wall thanks to a 3-pin power lead:
The power lead in this case has arrived with an USA-type plug, but it can easily be replaced by another cable found at local shops (in case you need a European one):
Here is a close-up on the VESA mount as well; the necessary screws are available in the package:
The vertical stand does come with a pre-installed screw:
Underside the stand, we will note four small triangle rubber feet:
The smaller cardboard enclosure does feature the cooling system, which is not initially pre-installed inside the case:
The fan can be detached from the heatsink easily, since there are no screws involved:
On the back, we will note that the fan was manufactured by AVC and comes with the BAZA0814B2U code name; it comes with a 4-pin PWM connector:
Along its aluminum chassis we will note a plastic frame where the fan can be secured:
The inner layer of the heatsink is made from copper and we can clearly notice the fins, through which the fan will blow air:
It comes with four mounting points and was also designed to cool the VRM components around the socket; in the middle we do see the copper plate which makes contact with the CPU HSF but also the pre-applied thermal compound:
The installation guide will inform us on how to proceed regarding the component mounting:
The chassis is very compact with dimensions of 205 x 176 x 33 mm; the difference between the 35W SKU and the 65W SKU is that the latter includes a ventilation grill on the top cover in the CPU cooler area but also in the storage area:
On the front, the mini-PC comes with quite a bit of interfaces, while remaining stylish:
We have the Power bottom with an integrated Power LED, an HDD/SSD activity LED, two USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 Type A, two USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 Type C, a headphone and a microphone jack:
On the right, we will note a white LIVA logo:
The right side does not feature any ventilation holes, but only a small interface for the dock screw:
The back area includes one Kensington lock port, the DC-IN jack, one placeholder for a DP port, an active DisplayPort which can handle 4K@60Hz, a HDMI port with capabilities of 4K@60, a VGA port, one 2.5Gbit LAN port, two USB 2.0 Type A and two USB 3.2 Gen1x1 Type A:
By simply removing a thumbscrew and sliding the top cover forward, we will be able to remove it in order to expose the internals:
The internal motherboard does sport the A300-SF110 code name (A300 naming is from the integrated chipset). The interfaces are clearly visible, such as the M.2 slot for the WiFi card, the M.2 slot for storage, the SATA Data/Power, the CPU socket or the memory slots:
Near the CMOS battery, we will find the SATA Power header, already populated along with the soldered buzzer:
The Rear I/O VGA interface is connected from a mobo header:
Nearby we will note the GL852G USB 2.0 MTT Hub controller:
The IT66318FN is a single-in, single-out HDMI 2.0 retiming buffer:
The WiFi card slot is pre-populated by an Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165, while the antennas are embedded inside the case:
The pair of the USB 3.2 Gen1 ports is controlled by the ASMedia ASM1074:
The M.2 2280 expansion slot can accommodate both SATA and PCIEe x4 Gen 3 SSDs:
The SATA port on the motherboard is accompanied by the COM header:
The M.2 SSD is held in place with a plastic pin:
The VGA port is made available by using a IT6516BFN Single Chip DisplayPort to VGA Converter with Embedded MCU:
Here is also a closer look on the VRM components around the CPU socket:
The SODIMM slots do support DDR4 RAM installed with a maximum quantity of 64GB and a frequency of 3200MHz:
The first step of installation would be to mount the CPU inside the socket (in this case a Retail AMD Ryzen 5 5600G):
As RAM, we will make use again of the Neo Forza DDR4 SODIMM 2933 32GB dual-channel kit, with a CAS latency of 21:
For the SSD, we will use the same Silicon Power A60 512GB M.2 SSD as before:
The cooling system must be prepared first, by removing the protective foil from the pads:
We must align carefully the mounting screws in order not to scratch the motherboard PCB!
The CPU fan is only held in place with two metallic pins, not screws, which makes removal for cleaning or switching the memory kit a breeze! Do not forget plugging it to the suitable header on the motherboard though!
Here is how the finished installation before testing does look:
Even if we are talking about a mini-PC, ECS has decided not to use a simple, Aptio interface for the BIOS but a fully-fledged UEFI interface, with mouse controls, as they do on their ATX motherboards. Here we will note the main menus represented as icons on the top header, while the instructions are placed on the right side of the screen. Inside the Main area, we will note the ability to choose the interface language but also adjust the system date/time:
Inside the Advanced menu, we do have multiple sub-sections:
The LAN Configuration menu only allows us to enable or disable the integrated LAN controller:
PC Health Status menu does allow the user to check out the CPU Tctl temperature, the CPU fan speed, the Core/DIMM voltages but also the +12V from the power supply:
The Power Management Setup menu comes with the usual options:
Same thing we will note about ACPI Settings:
Inside the CPU Configuration menu, we will be able to set some CPU-specific options, but also check some detailed information regarding the installed APU:
SATA Configuration will allow the user to work with the SATA Controller settings:
The SATA Configuration menu is blank:
Same can be said for the USB Configuration menu:
The Super IO Configuration area shows the name of the SuperIO chip on this motherboard (ITE IT8733) but also allows working with the COM port settings:
Trusted Computing menu is crucial for W11 compatibility (if a suitable CPU is installed as well):
Inside the Chipset menu, we do have two separate sub-sections:
The North Bridge area allows us to set how much system RAM should be reserved for the iGPU; the Auto setting gets you 512MB, but we can set manually up to 2GB:
South Bridge area allows the user to enable/disable the analog audio CODEC, the HDMI interface CODEC but also work with some custom options:
M.I.B. X section allows us to work with the memory timings, an unique feature for a mini-PC:
Another important feature for W11 compatibility is Secure Boot:
The usual Boot menu is next:
The Exit area allows the user to save/discard/load factory defaults but also make use of preset save slots:
With the help of AIDA64 reporting tool, we have extracted some more details on the test system:
Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets
Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets
Andrenaline Action Benchmark Presets
With the right CPU, the LIVA A300 mini-PC from ECS can deliver impressive performance while keeping the fan speeds at decent noise levels, the temperatures at bay in such a small chassis. Not only we did get a fast PC for productivity work by using the Zen 3-based 5600G, but it can deliver quite a bit in the 3D department as well thanks to the Vega iGPU and the system is fully compatible with Windows 11 OS.
In terms of temperature levels and power consumption, the system has an interesting behavior: while using AIDA64 as our stress test platform, we noted that in Full Load the system was taking up from the wall about 71.4W, but gradually this value did increase slowly even if the load levels remained the same to about 84.2W. Implicitly, the temperature did also raised from under 80 degrees Celsius in Full Load to about 90 degrees for the full package after spending more than 12 minutes in a maximum load scenario. Even if the package power did raise considerably more than the rated TDP of about 65W, the cooling system behaved optimally, not letting the system freeze, get into throttling or irritate the ears, the maximum noise we have recorded being 42.6dBA. In IDLE mode, the situation is great, since we have recorded a low noise of about 32.1 dBA, while the power consumption barely reached 11.3W.
(click to enlarge)
The system presets itself with a decent connectivity in terms of WiFi thanks to the Wireless AC pre-installed adapter from Intel, it is future-proof in terms of LAN connectivity because of the 2.5Gbps adapter inclusion and allows installation of both M.2 and 2.5’’ storage inside the chassis. We did enjoy working with the LIVA A300 chassis because besides the heatsink, you do not really need tools to complete the installation, since the 2.5’’ drive can be mounted by sliding it into the aluminum frame, the M.2 drive can be mounted with the plastic pin, while the fan is easily installed/removed with the metallic pins.
If you are working from home or need a small system due to lack of space in your office room, the LIVA A300 has a very small footprint and can be even be almost invisible if used with the VESA mount. Due to the design, it can be easily cleaned or placed vertically on the table, with easy access to the ports in order to install your peripherals/display/storage devices.
The LIVA One A300 is available for about EUR 241.90 with VAT.
We would like to thank again to ECS for making this review possible!