final thoughts
Those looking for a mini PC for work and basic home computing should have a great experience with the LIVA Z5 PLUS, and I appreciate the ease with which components can be accessed and upgrades performed. It goes without saying that although the CPU in some LIVA systems is socketed, these NUC-like devices have non-upgradeable moving parts, so careful selection is recommended before using such a system.
This isn’t a mini PC for gaming, and it’s not fanless – although its output was less than 34 dBA in our tests (about the noise level of a mid-range laptop fan). It has excellent connectivity, including some very impressive Wi-Fi speeds from the included Intel card, and the build quality is excellent.
It’s still early days, so pricing and availability in the US are still unknown, and there aren’t any listings in the usual places (Newegg, Amazon) as I write this. Hopefully it will eventually compete with the remaining Intel NUC 13 Pro devices in the supply chain.
If you can find it, and the price is right, I can easily recommend the LIVA Z5 PLUS, another solid addition to the venerable LIVA mini PC line.