ECS LIVA Z3 and ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano UCFF PCs Assessment

Intel’s Jasper Lake collection of goods (in keeping with the Tremont microarchitecture) was once introduced in early 2021. Since then, we’ve noticed a gradual circulation of notebooks and motherboards / mini-PCs in keeping with the ones processors getting offered out there. Extremely-compact form-factor (UCFF) machines in keeping with the Atom collection be offering sexy entry-level choices within the NUC area. Their low-power nature additionally lends itself to passively cooled designs.

Intel’s Jasper Lake SKUs are a follow-up to Gemini Lake. Again in 2018, we had reviewed two other Gemini Lake UCFF PCs – the actively cooled June Canyon NUC from Intel, and the passively cooled LIVA Z2 from ECS. For Jasper Lake, we’ve sourced 4 other UCFF PCs – two passively cooled methods the usage of 6W TDP processors, and two actively cooled ones the usage of 10W TDP processors.

Nowadays’s article supplies an in depth glance into the efficiency and lines of the 2 passively cooled methods – the ECS LIVA Z3 and the ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano. Either one of them are in keeping with 6W TDP processors, with slight permutations in frequency and iGPU features. The 2 distributors have additionally followed other approaches to the facility limits, making for surprising efficiency affects. Along with an investigation into the features presented for standard PC workloads, we additionally move deep into the thermal design to supply insights into what makes fanless methods fulfill consumer necessities.

Advent and Product Impressions

Intel’s Apollo Lake SoCs (Goldmont-based) offered in 2016 have been temporarily adopted by means of Gemini Lake (Goldmont Plus) in overdue 2017. Then again, the delays associated with 10nm production ended in an important hole earlier than the Tremont-based Jasper Lake merchandise made an look in early 2021. In comparison to Gemini Lake, the brand new Jasper Lake merchandise have stepped forward CPU efficiency (Intel claims a 33% uplift) with an up to date microarchitecture and bigger caches. The built-in GPU may be clocked upper with further EUs. Intel At the components entrance, quicker growth choices are to be had, with as much as 8 Gen 3 lanes (in comparison 6 Gen 2 lanes in Gemini Lake), 14 USB ports (as much as 10 Gbps) (in comparison to 8 ports as much as 5 Gbps in Gemini Lake). Jasper Lake additionally integrates a Wi-fi-AX MAC, bearing in mind cost-effective methods with Wi-Fi 6 reinforce. Producers can undertake or make the most of those options in a various approach to convey differentiated merchandise into the marketplace.

Very similar to our Apollo Lake (Intel Arches Canyon and ECS LIVA Z) and Gemini Lake (Intel June Canyon and ECS LIVA Z2) experiments, we were given cling of more than one Jasper Lake UCFF PCs for analysis. Nowadays’s evaluation is concentrated at the two fanless methods – the ECS LIVA Z3 and the ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano.

A snappy comparability of the ECS LIVA Z3 and the ZBOX CI331 nano expose the next differentiation facets:

• Give a boost to for a 2.5″ SATA disk drives within the ZBOX, no longer to be had within the LIVA Z3
• Give a boost to for a M.2 2280 NVMe SSD within the LIVA Z3, no longer to be had within the ZBOX
• Built-in 128GB eMMC within the LIVA Z3, no longer to be had within the ZBOX
• VGA show output (general of three, together with HDMI and DisplayPort) to be had within the ZBOX, whilst the LIVA Z3 has most effective two (HDMI and mini-DP)
• Twin LAN and SDXC/SDHC card reader integrated within the ZBOX, whilst the LIVA Z3 has just a unmarried LAN port
• Built-in quad-microphone (DMIC) array within the LIVA Z3, whilst the ZBOX has separate headphone and microphone jacks.

The ZBOX additionally makes use of a extra complex WLAN resolution (Intel Wi-fi-AC 9462 with Bluetooth 5.1) in comparison to the LIVA Z3 (Intel Wi-fi-AC 3165 with Bluetooth 4.2). The shape-factors also are rather other, with the absence of two.5″ disk pressure reinforce within the LIVA Z3 enabling it to be slimmer.

The LIVA Z3 is available in more than one flavors – an OS-less model with 4GB of RAM and 128GB eMMC for $220, and any other variant with Home windows 10 Professional bundled for $250. The ZBOX CI331 nano additionally has a equivalent package deal, even though the barebones model is sans reminiscence or eMMC. Pricing is available in at $260 for the barebones model. The explanations for the pricing top class will turn into obvious as we continue during the evaluation.

The use-cases for the 2 methods are manifold, with the fanless nature making them appropriate for virtual signage, kiosks, retail programs, and so forth. The twin LAN characteristic within the ZBOX makes it moreover sexy for networking programs.

The components programs delivered by means of ECS and ZOTAC are equivalent – each come with a 65W chronic adapter (19V @ 3.42A), and come with VESA mounts. The ZOTAC package deal features a separate WLAN antenna, and further thermal pads for the SATA pressure.

The ECS LIVA Z3 evaluation pattern got here with each reminiscence slots occupied (2x 4GB DDR4-2666 SODIMMs). The board additionally contains 128GB eMMC, however this is inadequate for our benchmarking functions. We took good thing about the M.2 NVMe slot to put in a An important P5 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD within the components as the principle pressure. The whole specs of the ECS LIVA Z3 pattern as examined are supplied within the desk under.

The ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano was once a barebones pattern, very similar to the CI662 nano we reviewed ultimate yr. Zotac’s C collection eschews M.2 slots and opts as an alternative for the standard 2.5″ SATA pressure bay. The SSD utilized in that evaluation (SK hynix Gold S31) was once reused within the CI331 nano. The DRAM choice was once extra difficult. The Jasper Lake platform formally helps DDR4-2933. Having numerous DDR4-2933 / DDR4-3000 / DDR4-3200 SODIMMs accrued (ranging from the Skylake days), I used to be hopeful of having a type of early high-frequency SODIMMs to function at DDR-2933 speeds within the CI331 nano. Sadly, all of them defaulted to DDR-2400, and the BIOS was once no longer too useful with regards to permitting amendment of DRAM timings. Most effective fresh DDR4-2933+ SODIMMs have been ready to function at DDR-2933 within the components – sadly, I most effective had 32GB SODIMMs in hand from the hot batches. In any case, the ZBOX CI331 nano was once geared up with 2x 32GB DDR-2933 Mushkin Redline SODIMMs for a complete of 64GB of RAM – approach upper than the formally specified 16GB most reminiscence capability of the Jasper Lake platform. Thankfully, the components labored flawlessly via our benchmarking routines in spite of this wild configuration. The whole specs of the ZOTAC ZBOX CI331 nano pattern as examined are supplied within the desk under.

Our subsequent segment is going into the main points of the thermal design and the will for an intensive take a look at it.