The ECS Liva Q3 Plus is a tiny computer that measures 2.9″ x 2.9″ x 2.1″ but which is a full-fledged PC capable of driving up to two 4K displays thanks to Mini DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 ports and an AMD Ryzen Embedded processor.
First unveiled about half a year ago, the ECS Liva Q3 Plus is now available for purchase for $242 and up.
The little computer is available in two different prices/configurations at the moment:
- Liva Q3 Plus with Ryzen R1505G/4GB RAM/64GB storage for $242 – Newegg
- Liva Q3 Plus with Ryzen V1605B/8GB RAM/128GB storage for $409 – Newegg
According to a LinkedIn post from ECS, the higher-spec model should also be available from Amazon, but it’s currently listed as out of stock.
Both configurations feature the same compact chassis, LPDDR4-2400 memory, eMMC storage, and support for WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.1. And both have the same selection of ports including:
- 1 x HDMI 2.0
- 1 x mini DisplayPort 1.2
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
- 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
- 1 x microSD card reader (up to 1TB)
- 1 x power input
The key difference, aside from the memory and storage, is the processor. Both chips are first-gen Ryzen Embedded processors with AMD Zen CPU cores and Radeon Vega graphics, but the V-series chip packs a lot more punch. Here’s a comparison:
| Chip | Cores / Threads | Base / Max freq | GPU | L2 + L3 cache | TDP |
| Ryzen V1605B | 4 / 8 | 2 GHz / 3.6 GHz | Radeon Vega 8 @ 1.1 GHz | 6MB | 12 – 25W |
| Ryzen R1505G | 2 / 4 | 2.4 GHz / 3.3 GHz | Radeon Vega 3 @ 1 GHz | 5MB | 12 – 25W |
The V1605B also supports 16 PCIe Gen 3 lanes and up to four displays, compared with 8 lanes and 3 displays for the R1505G, but those factors aren’t really much of a difference for the ECS Liva Q3 Plus, which doesn’t supports PCIe storage or more than two displays.
One thing to keep in mind is that the Ryzen R1000 and V1000 series chips are both first-generation Ryzen processors and, as such, they’re not officially supported by Windows 11. When it comes to Ryzen Embedded processors, Microsoft only supports Ryzen V2000 series chips at the moment.
That said, the ECS Liva Q3 Plus does have TPM 2.0 support and should work with Windows 10 or many GNU/Linux-based operating systems.
Is there a reason why mini PC’s with AMD chips tend to always be bigger than their Intel counterparts? I’m pretty sure ECS has made other mini PC’s like this using Intel Gemini Lake CPUs but at like a third of the size.
This thing measures less than three inches square. If it was a third the size then there wouldn’t be much room for ports.
Ah my bad I meant to say a third smaller than comparable Intel mini PC’s like the the nucbox.
Like the concept, simple, clean, effiicient, but V2000 series, next gen, are already out for some time. What gives, is chip crunch just that expensive? Even faster V1000 one is a 14 nm 2018 chip, with rather sluggish RAM…LPDDR5 already out. You don’t even get anything to view with, for these prices get free laptop screen. Can’t upgrade darn thing as you can a PC. Granted, it doesn’t take much space.
I bought one. It sucks. The AMD chip on the V1605B is crippled. The highest the chip goes is 2.0GHz. Not 3.6GHz. So disappointed.
Hey I was planning on buying this but if it maxes out at 2.0Ghz I can’t even bother. Can you make sure you check in the bios that everything is enabled and possibly under clocked? There’s no way they are advertising 3.6ghz boost and you’re only getting 2.0ghz
That Ryzen V1605B actually outperforms an i3-1115G4, although the i3 has better single-thread performance.
That V1605B chip is the same CPU as in the Udoo Bolt V8, and the R1505G chip is the same CPU in the DFI GHF51 board. So luckily there are some gaming/emulation performance examples on Youtube.
Luckily the cheaper model seems to handle emulation of Dreamcast, Gamecube, PS2, and actually even PS3 really well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FEeJR8xGA4 this is an example of PS3 emulation on the R1505G chip.
Thats good news, because I wouldn’t even consider spending $409 on the higher model without M.2 SSD support.
I bought one. It sucks. The AMD chip on the V1605B is crippled. The highest the chip goes is 2.0GHz. Not 3.6GHz. So disappointed.