Coder Radio fans will know that I love checking out new hardware and to go along with my System76 Launch Keyboard Heavy, I also picked up the new Thelio Mira; technically, it’s the Thelio Mira Elite which is the pre-configured high-end SKU. It’s been nearly two weeks and I am still putting it through its paces, but I do have some quick takes on how it stacks up to its older Thelio siblings and just general points. Also, now through the end of May, my shop The Mad Botter INC is running a promotion on our full solution – if you want to control your data from the shop / floor all the way up to the dashboard, drop me a line!
The Good
- Fans / Noise: In the past, I’ve had some issue with older Thelio models’ fan noise; so much so that I ended getting my hands dirty in the BIOS trying to mitigate it. I’m thrilled to report that with the Mira this is no longer an issue. The fan curve is much improved, I hardly ever hear it under normal usage and when I push it, the noise is reasonable. This clearly was a priority in the design of the totally re-imagined case, as the new case has tons of very large sections of airflow / ventilation.
- Performance: Of course performance will largely depend on your configuration and I went for a beast – see the
neofetchscreen-cap below. With that said, I have been super impressed with this machines raw power especially given the acoustics improvements.
- Front Panel Ports: When I first read on the announcement that the newly designed case, I didn’t really pay it much mind. Boy was I off base on that. I literally use the front USB-C and standard USB ports just about everyday. I know this is a small point and I almost didn’t include it, but if you are coming from one of the older Thelios this is going to be a significant quality of life improvement for you.
The Bad
- 2.5GB Networking: I’ll admit that I am blessed with FIOS and likely this won’t be an issue for many of you given the miserable state of high-quality high-speed connectivity here in the US. Still, I was disappointed that the only configure network card available even in the Elite configuration maxes out at 2.5GB; for those unfamilar with how these cards work – that’s the max for wired as well. With that said, the Thelio is meant to be easily user-serviceable, so I will probably just swap out the networking card for a more capable one once I’m done with all my reviews of it.
- Pricing: We all know that tech pricing is wild right now, so I don’t want to hit this too hard. However, it is true that – like is generally System76 machines – the Mira is slightly premium priced. I’m not sure how premium it really is given the RAM-pocolypse and there’s a strong argument that you’re paying for a premium experience and that’s all fair. I just felt that I needed to flag it, because it’s something likely to be flagged.
All in all, I am extremely happy with this machine and really the whole setup of it and the Launch Heavy. Stay tuned, because I’ve got a whole series of these coming that go into more detail for specific use-cases. Also, remember if you want to retain your data sovereignty end-to-end from the field to the dashboard to the data lake, checkout The Mad Botter INC and take advantage of that launch promo while it lasts. Comments? Questions? Blood curdling rage? Hit me up on LinkedIn.
