System76, the company making and selling Linux laptops, has unveiled the Thelio, a fully custom designed and built desktop machine. Everything about the machine is custom – from the case to the special IO board that monitors temperatures all across the case and optimizes airflow accordingly. This IO board and the case design are fully open source, so anyone can improve upon the designs or tinker with them.
The Thelios comes in three sizes, and can be specced with anything from basic Ryzen or Core CPUs all the way to Threadripper and dual Xeon processors, accompanied by the usual assortment of Radeon or GeForce video cards. You can add multiple video cards, including the brand new RTX cards. The biggest machine goes up to 768 GB of ECC memory, and if you add all the most expensive bells and whistles, the Thelio Massive will go beyond the €80,000 price point. Luckily, the smallest model starts at a more reasonable €1099.
I like this. This goes way beyond just slapping a few standard components in an off-the-shelf box – this is actually designing a beautiful and airflow-optimized computer running Linux, and that’s exactly what we need more of. I’m keeping an eye on this machine, because even though I have no intention of replacing my current workstation, I have to say I am very much tempted by what System76 has done here.
A custom and IMHO ugly chassis with some extension boards using standard motherboard, processor, memory, hdd/ssd isn’t very interesting.
This is something that enthusiasts have done for a long time with (often) better results.
“No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.”
I too share the opinion that this is an ugly case. Wood trim as a style died in the early 90’s when it was used on the side of every station wagon style car. The unfortunate thing is the main buyers of DIY computer cases are teenagers, so we’re forever stuck with acrylic windows and RGB LEDs.
Well you don’t have to buy one of those, there are plenty of stylish cases without those features.
If I was still 14 there would be plenty of stylish ones without those features. Really it’s just a black or beige box with or without those features. No neat things like colorful paint jobs. There simply isn’t a market for anything other than teenagers that still like those things.
WTF are you talking about? There are tons of discreet, non flashy, ATX cases.
Given the choice of windowed cases with RGB and a wood trim case, I think I’d revert to the 1970s.
Mind you I’d be more concerned about the lack of ECC memory for a Threadripper system (yes I’m peculiar and obsessed with ECC, so shoot me).
I priced out a modest system. 32GB ram, i7, 256GB flash, gtx 1070 for $2,500. For that much I’d expect some pretty premium machine, expandable, well supported, and well designed.
Instead it looks like pretty limited, despite the size (14 liters) you are limited to 32GB ram. The airflow looks ok, no better than a $60-$100 fractal design case though. It has a custom fan controller, but so do cases in the $75-$150 range.
Sure there are larger cases, but should you really need a machine the size of a dorm fridge just to get more than 32 GB ram? Sure some need the threadripper or equivalent but the premium in cost, size, power, noise, and lower clock rates is a steep price to pay if you don’t really need the extra cores.
Edited 2018-11-03 09:24 UTC
Remember, they’re not competing with custom-built PC’s, but systems such as the Mac Pro, HP Z series and Lenovo ThinkStation.
Looking at the focus on design, i’d say this was aimed at the market that would traditionally buy a Mac Pro. The pricing, in that case, seems reasonable.
I think the biggest drawback really is the fact it runs Linux. If it has Windows drivers (or OSX kexts) i expect it to sell reasonably well
Linux is not a drawback, it’s a major plus. Linux offers security, stability and a bevy of desktop environments to suit every taste and workflow. Linux has top notch server tools out of the box. Linux also offers many software development tools for professionals. Literally thousands of high quality, free and open source software of every description is just a click away. The ability to manage virtual machines natively means that Windows and even macOS and Android systems can also be run giving access to popular proprietary and mobile software too. I’ve been using Linux on all of my computers for almost fifteen years now and I’ve never found a situation where I couldn’t do something that Windows or macOS can do.
That’s actually the selling point for a company that specializes in Linux systems.
And OSX is a selling point for a company that sells Macs.
Doesn’t mean it’s going to sell better than if it shipped with Windows
If it’s anything like their other systems, it will run Windows 10 just fine without needing any drivers outside of the standard stuff you get automatically through Windows Update.
I think we should wait for reviews to come out. Linking directly to a company’s online shop doesn’t have a good look.
Just for fun, I priced out a Thelio Massive with ALL the options and it came out to $74,921! That is an impressive range of capability (and price) from one PC family.
Is there any info who is the real designer? (System76 aren’t designing anything, they use Foxconn reference designs or rebadged laptops from bigger brands). I am saying that because, if you don’t care about System76 branding, you can get the same machine at a significantly lower price if you manage to find the real designer.
Edited 2018-11-05 13:26 UTC
No, they are the real designer. These are the first OEM machines they’re making at their new factory in Colorado.