Jasper Lake Fanless Showdown: ECS LIVA Z3 and ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano UCFF PCs Review
by Ganesh T S on July 8, 2022 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- ZOTAC
- Fanless
- ECS
- Passive Cooling
- UCFF
- Mini-PC
- Jasper Lake
Setup Notes and Platform Analysis
Upon completion of the hardware configuration of the review samples, we took some time to look into the BIOS interface of both systems. The videos below present the entire gamut of available options for both systems.
ECS has opted for a vanilla keyboard-only BIOS for the Z3. Available options include power management for resumption of the system by LAN / USB etc., control of resumption behavior after power loss, etc. These are key aspects for commercial deployments.
The ZBOX BIOS is comparatively more modern. The control of C-states, for example, is a lot more fine-grained compared to the LIVA Z3's.
AIDA64's system report provides insights into the platform for both systems. While the USB ports on the systems come directly off the PCH, it is still interesting to figure out the high-speed I/O distribution.
On the ECS LIVA Z3, the PCIe Gen 3 lanes are budgeted as below:
- PCIe 3.0 x1 port #4: In Use @ x1 (Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 AC HMC WiFi Adapter)
- PCIe 3.0 x2 port #5: In Use @ x2 (Crucial/Micron DM0182 NVMe SSD Controller)
- PCIe 3.0 x1 port #7: In Use @ x1 (Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Adapter)
The PCIe Gen 3 lanes in the ZBOX CI331 nano are used primarily for the LAN controllers, with the Wireless-AC 9462 connecting through the CNVi interface:
- PCIe 3.0 x1 port #5: In Use @ x1 (Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Adapter)
- PCIe 3.0 x1 port #6: In Use @ x1 (Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Adapter)
In today's review, we compare the ECS LIVA Z3 and the ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano with a host of other systems based on processors using the Atom microarchitectures. The systems do not target the same market segments, but a few key aspects lie in common, making the comparisons relevant.
| Comparative PC Configurations | ||
| Aspect | ECS LIVA Z3 | |
| CPU | Intel Pentium Silver N6000 Jasper Lake 4C/4T, 1.1 - 3.3 GHz Intel 10nm, 4MB L3, 6W |
Intel Pentium Silver N6000 Jasper Lake 4C/4T, 1.1 - 3.3 GHz Intel 10nm, 4MB L3, 6W |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics (32EU @ 350 - 850 MHz) |
Intel UHD Graphics (32EU @ 350 - 850 MHz) |
| RAM | Gold Key Tech. Neo Forza NMSO440D85-2666E DDR4-2666 SODIMM 19-19-19-43 @ 2666 MHz 2x4 GB |
Gold Key Tech. Neo Forza NMSO440D85-2666E DDR4-2666 SODIMM 19-19-19-43 @ 2666 MHz 2x4 GB |
| Storage | Crucial P5 CT1000P5SSD8 (1 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe;) (Micron 96L 3D TLC; Micron DM0182 Controller) Biwin BWCTASC41P128G (128GB; eMMC) |
Crucial P5 CT1000P5SSD8 (1 TB; M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe;) (Micron 96L 3D TLC; Micron DM0182 Controller) Biwin BWCTASC41P128G (128GB; eMMC) |
| Wi-Fi | 1x GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8168/8111) Intel Wireless AC-3165 (1x1 802.11ac - 433 Mbps) |
1x GbE RJ-45 (Realtek RTL8168/8111) Intel Wireless AC-3165 (1x1 802.11ac - 433 Mbps) |
| Price (in USD, when built) | (Street Pricing on June 21st, 2022) US $232 (w/eMMC, 4GB DDR4, and OS) US $352 (as configured) |
(Street Pricing on June 21st, 2022) US $232 (w/eMMC, 4GB DDR4, and OS) US $352 (as configured) |
The ECS JSLM-MINI is included to prove that the Z3's chassis design is solely responsible for performance loss under sustained realistic workloads. The ECS LIVA Z2 is included to obtain an idea of the generation-to-generation improvements, while the June Canyon NUC7PJYH is included to determine if the newer generation's fanless systems can compete well against the previous-generation's actively cooled flagship in the Atom-based product category. The next few sections will deal with comparative benchmarks for the above systems.
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mode_13h - Tuesday, July 19, 2022 - link
BTW, I'm seeing Supermicro (DDR5) W680 boards now in stock! Unfortunately, I can't say the same for DDR5-4800 Unbuffered ECC DIMMs. It's good that I'm in no hurry.Oxford Guy - Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - link
'After suspecting thermal throttling due to the lack of convective cooling for the thermal module, we decided to repeat all the benchmarking for the bare board - i.e, with the top of the chassis removed and the DMICs / WLAN functionality discarded.'What is this nonsense?
You test the product the way it is designed and sold. If it's designed by idiots it deserves the review it gets.
Oxford Guy - Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - link
ECS knows what ventilation slots are. The first model of Liva has them on the top, bottom, and sides of the unit!ganeshts - Tuesday, July 12, 2022 - link
That is pretty much what I wanted to do, but I ran the numbers just to prove to ECS that it is their chassis that is the problem, and not the internal thermal module. (Typically, we have a back-and-forth with the vendor in case things aren't performing as expected, just to make sure they can reproduce the issue on their side too).So, once I had the results, I decided to just include it in the review to show readers that the problems lie with the case.
mode_13h - Wednesday, July 13, 2022 - link
> I ran the numbers just to prove to ECS that it is their chassis that is the problemAnd thank you for doing it. Testing as-sold is fine, and those numbers should be the main ones reported. However, supplemental testing to investigate suspected design flaws is the mark of a quality reviewer.
Keep up the good work!
Oxford Guy - Saturday, July 16, 2022 - link
Zen 1 and 2, tested with JEDEC slowwww RAM and not also with any XMP profiles.LIVA Z3 tested without its case and one of its main parts.
I guess removing the protective case and the wireless Internet of a computer is more normal ordinary user behavior than turning on XMP in BIOS.
Just trying to understand the big picture here...
Oxford Guy - Saturday, July 16, 2022 - link
And, of course, that continues:‘As a result, in lieu of CPU overclocking, the biggest thing a user can do to influence higher performance with the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is to use faster DDR4 memory with lower latencies, such as a good DDR4-3600 kit. These settings are also the known sweet spot for AMD's Infinity Fabric Interconnect as set out by AMD.’
proceeds to test with 3200-speed RAM...
mode_13h - Sunday, July 17, 2022 - link
> LIVA Z3 tested without its case and one of its main parts.Yes, but only supplementing their testing in its baseline "as-sold" config. You really ought to go back and re-read stuff before rage-posting about it.
"The numbers for this configuration are referenced using ECS JSLM-MINI (the motherboard's model name) in the relevant sections."
Where data from this configuration is posted, you'll see *both* ECS LIVA Z3 *and* ECS JSLM-MINI, showing just how much the Z3 is hurt by the poor airflow of its chassis.
Oxford Guy - Sunday, July 17, 2022 - link
'You really ought to go back and re-read stuff before rage-posting about it.'Your usual ad hom routine won't change this interesting inconsistency.
mode_13h - Sunday, July 17, 2022 - link
> Your usual ad hom routineNo, you're flat-out wrong. Trying to shift the subject back on me won't change that. I'd almost feel bad for you embarrassing yourself like this, but you never seem to tire of reminding us what an unpleasant person you are.
FYI: the correct response, when you've been caught leveling a false allegation is: "Oops. Sorry." Anything else just makes it worse.