Thelio is System 76’s flagship Linux desktop; Hell, it’s really more like their flagship product overall. They’ve iterated the design several times over the years and the 2022 revision is the biggest leap forward for the line. When reviewing any of these units I try to think, who was this machine made for? With Thelio it seems clear the target audience is engineers, both software and otherwise. There’s also a lot to love for content creators.
Probably the most obvious change is that System 76 has done away with the full-side wrapped wood veneer in favor of a small strip on the front of the case. After years of owning the original Thelio, I can say with confidence that this is the right choice;.My original Thelio has some minor bubbling on the wooden veneer that took over a year to develop. Additionally, the new design allows a variety of exteriors to be swapped in and out. The case still sports the easy hand screws that Thelio owners have grown used to and should continue to enable easy tinkering. Thelio also retains the etching of the Colorado Rockies in the bottom side of the panel, which is a nice homage to its birthplace.
While Thelio has a Denver face, where it shines is its Port-Land booty. Proudly proclaiming “real computers have ports”, it comes with a variety of HDMI, Display Port (depending on your GPU) and UBS-C ports. Whether your a developer who needs to connect IOT devices for debugging or a content creator preaching the gospel of Objective Binks, you’ll have the ports you need for your audio devices and (in my case) your mute pedal. Keen observers will notice that the back panel is slightly less styled than previous model, but that hardly detracts from the overall aesthetic appeal.
As is usual for System 76, Thelio comes in a wide array of configurations and can be built to order to fit a wide range of needs. Additionally, it continues the tradition of easy service and upgradability. In fact, the upgrade process for the GPU and RAM are so easy that, I recommend buyers go with a more modest video card at purchase time and purchase a fancier in a few months; the reason for this is that GPU prices seem to be stabilizing and are like to further decrease in the coming six months or so. Not that you will necessarily need to upgrade your machine quickly, but it’s always great to have that option. For an example, my Thelio as configured in the neofetch screen-cap above can play Spider-Man Remastered on “high”; side not, if you haven’t checked out Steam Proton and / or Lutris, you should – Linux gaming has come a long long way.
Bottom line, if you’re in the engineering field or just are a Linux enthusiast and want some power on your desk, then the 2022 redesign of Thelio is a great buy! Let me know what you think on Twitter! Happy web-slinging and happy hacking!
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