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System76 Thelio Computer is Open Source, Linux-Powered, and Made in the USA (betanews.com)

System76 is ready to share specifics about its new computer. From a report: There are three models from which to choose, and all three can apparently be configured with with Intel or AMD processors. This is refreshing news, as historically, System76 machines were an Intel-only affair. AMD has been more friendly to the Linux community over recent years, so I am happy to see System76 giving that option too.

1. Thelio (Up to 32GB RAM, 24TB storage) treks through tasks with ease despite its compact footprint.
2. Thelio Major (Up to 128GB RAM, 46TB storage) boasts stellar performance, allowing maximum configurability with up to 4 GPUs to tackle the most astronomical projects.
3. Thelio Massive (Up to 768GB of ECC Memory, 86TB storage) is the epitome of performance among workstations, offering maximum throughput and accuracy for demanding computational workloads.

Pricing starts at $1099.99, but that will obviously increase based on the specs you choose. Keep in mind, however, the computer will not ship until December.
Full specs in the story above. In a statement, the company said, "Thelio Systems are designed to be easily expandable, making personalizing the computer a tantalizingly easy process. Slip in drives, add memory, and upgrade graphics cards at will. Additionally, the open hardware design that Thelio is built upon allows the user to easily learn how their computer works and make modifications using this information. Customization is simple to ensure that the computer encompasses people's needs, as well as their personality."

11 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Can do? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 2

    ... and we all know it is illegal to keep the PC you have now for games and get a computer with a good OS for your computing needs.

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  2. Re:What's with the pro-Trump nationalism? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously? I'm no Trumptard, but "made in the USA" isn't a bad thing to US citizens. We need to rebuild our manufacturing base somehow. That's one thing that the cheetoh in charge is right about. So, yeah, I don't mind seeing "made in the USA" come up. It's not a Trumpism just because Trump says it sometimes. It's been around as an important concept for a lot longer than I've been alive.

    Now, why don't you take your meds and let the adults have a conversation.

  3. Re:Can do? by ledow · · Score: 2

    Never tried it (don't touch that game) but:

    https://linuxconfig.org/how-to...

    It'll never be "simple" because the games aren't made for Linux. But Steam have just released a similar "official" tool that makes Windows Steam games work on Linux and it works for several thousand games.

    Whether it works for the ones YOU want, that's another question entirely.

  4. Re:What's with the pro-Trump nationalism? by RenderSeven · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think maybe there were people chanting that before the Trump administration. It was apparently popular right after the Revolutionary War to take pride in new-found self-sufficiency. Wikipedia has a photo of a Model-T hubcap stamped "Made in USA". Pretty popular saying during WWI and WW2. All the Democrat union workers" promote Made in USA pretty consistently.

    I think you give Mr. Orange too much credit.

  5. What exactly is open source about it? by KalvinB · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The design.

    Whoo. Am I supposed to get excited that I can produce cases that look just like theirs? Because that's definitely not cheap to do small run manufacturing of large parts like that.

    Even if the motherboard were open source, there is nothing that makes creating your own a practical exercise.

    And for that you pay an insane premium.

    Computers are largely build to standards which are readily available if you care to find them. Those standards allow you to design and build your own cases and not have to worry about parts fitting properly.

    There's a reason that serious open hardware stick to low power micro controllers which require far fewer components and those components are far cheaper to produce than a full featured PC. It's actually feasible to design and build your own Arduino clone. Even the RaspberryPi is really out of reach to clone if you don't have rich people money to get started.

    There is no point open sourcing things that are cost prohibitive for the average person to duplicate. And it's a good way to just go broke if someone does decide to do what you did better and cheaper. Which is not hard to do if your design is worth anything and your prices are ridiculous as we have here.

  6. Re:Can't find a better Linux laptop than these guy by jellomizer · · Score: 2, Informative

    My laptop is an an Oryx Pro and I like it...
    However your argument of matching systems isn't really a good one.
    There are so many other factors that you need to account for that affect the price, some features you strongly care about others that you really don't.

    For me I was concerned about the following (in this order):
    1. Updated CPU
    2. 32 gigs of Ram
    3. Good Video Card
    4. NVMe Storage
    5. Strong Linux Compatibility
    6. 15" or larger display
    7. Modern Looking and relatively thin.

    I in essence wanted a mobile workstation. (Heck I would had been happy if I could find a monitor, keyboard, trackback) with a wire that can hook up to a desktop.

    You may want a smaller lighter laptop, you may need better battery life, a better keyboard, OLED display.... These things would take the Orix Pro out of the comparison and perhaps the XenBook Pro, or a Dell. For cheaper.

    My Wife doesn't like my Oryx Pro (Too big, too loud, especially when I give it a workout), but she loves her Lenovo Yoga. Which costs over thousand dollars less. but is small, light, and does what she wants to do.

    System 76 Makes a good competitive product. But it may not be for everyone

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  7. Am I missing something? by Petersko · · Score: 3, Insightful

    âoeThelio Systems are designed to be easily expandable, making personalizing the computer a tantalizingly easy process. Slip in drives, add memory, and upgrade graphics cards at will.â

    Like every Windows-based machine I have bought and built since 1995?

    1. Re:Am I missing something? by ilsaloving · · Score: 2

      Compared to 1995, yes. Compared to a lot of the machines they make today? Expandability is now a feature. Almost the entire Apple lineup is a write-off, and as usual (unfortunateyl), other manufacturers are copying what Apple, to the point where you can no longer assume that any machine you look at is easily expandable.

  8. Re: Can do? by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 2

    It isn't an either or scenario. If you absolutely must have Windows for games you can install both Windows and Linux and dual boot (choose which OS to boot at boot time)

    --
    Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  9. Re:What's with the pro-Trump nationalism? by RenderSeven · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm still amused that people think "Born in the USA" is a patriotic song, when it's really about the hypocrisy of patriotism, and how the blue collar class got screwed by having to fight Vietnam.

  10. And the peanut gallery flips out! by Zobeid · · Score: 2

    I really shouldn't have even looked at the comment section. When any company tries to do something new, something different, something better, there's always a mob waiting to attack, attack, for any reason their vivid little imaginations can dream up.

    It's not really open source!
    It's not really made in the USA!
    It's not really anything new!
    It's wildly overpriced!
    etc., etc

    And they miss the big picture. These machines are far more attractive than the generic towers System76 were selling before, but not much more expensive. They appear to be thoughtfully designed and well constructed. The same company is now producing their own hardware and their own Linux distro to mate up with it, so everything should "just work". Who has done anything like this for Linux before? Who else was going to?

    Fed up with Apple, coming from the Mac world Last year I built my own Linux rig based on Ryzan and Ubuntu MATE. I did a lot of research, didn't cut any corners, used all highly reviewed components. And it performs very well when everything is working right. OK, the Ncase M1 was kind of expensive and hard to get. I had to shuffle some components around and experiment to get the temps down. And I can't sleep it, because the video output never wakes up. And there's audio corruption that comes and goes at random. And there's an annoying vibration in the case that comes and goes, and I've never quite been able to track down and fix. And the system does lock up once in a while, not often, but more often than my Mac Pro ever did. But you know I've been wrangling computers for a long time, and I can learn to live with a some quirks. How many normal, non-geekish folk would put up with all that? Why should I even have to put up with all that?

    The Thelio, by all reasoning, should be an unquestionably better machine than the one I built. I want it. I want to leave all this homebrew nonsense and constant troubleshooting behind.