I tested the System76 Thelio Mira: it's the custom Linux desktop of my dreams

System76 Thelio Mira Custom

pros and cons

Pros

• All the powerfulness you could ever want.
• Great, quiescent plan that's casual to repair oregon adhd to.
• The Linux workstation of your dreams.

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Sure, you could physique a much almighty Linux workstation, but adjacent then, you'd beryllium hard-pressed to marque a amended instrumentality than System76's caller 2026 Thelio Mira Custom desktop PC. That's due to the fact that the machine is some precise almighty and quiescent arsenic a whisper.

The 2026 Mira refresh is built astir AMD's Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" level connected an X870 motherboard. This setup gives you PCIe 5.0 for GPUs and SSDs, providing up to 32 gigatransfers per 2nd (GT/s) per lane, which adds up to 64 gigabytes per 2nd (GB/s) and 128 GB/s of bidirectional throughput. Combine that powerfulness with Gen5 Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) sequential throughput of up to 15 GB/s, and we're talking earnestly accelerated I/O.

Also: The champion all-in-one computers of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

That's a bully thing, due to the fact that the Mira Custom CPU options scope from a 6-core Ryzen 5 9600X astatine the debased extremity up to a 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X oregon 9950X3D, with boost clocks advertised up to 5.7 GHz connected the apical SKUs. In my case, I had a 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X that ticked on astatine 4.3 GHz. When I enactment the pedal to the metal, it zipped on astatine 5.7 GHz.

For graphics, I could person utilized the Ryzen's integrated graphics, but my PC besides came with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 with 12 GB of VRAM. That capableness is good for today's 1080p/1440p games, but it's not capable VRAM for top-of-the-line 4K competitory gaming.

You tin besides plug displays into some graphics outputs and usage System76's default Linux operating system, Pop!_OS, which provides on-the-fly GPU switching via a graphical interface. In addition, you tin delegate circumstantial apps to tally connected the discrete GPU. So, for example, you tin usage the Ryzen to tally graphics portion dedicating the GeForce to AI workloads.

AI goodness

Speaking of AI, the Nvidia paper is simply a coagulated entry-level to mid-range section inference engine. The paper is fantabulous for 7-8B models specified arsenic Llama 3.x/3.1 8B, Qwen2.5-7B/8B, oregon Mistral Small 3 7B. I'd telephone it "okay but tight" for 12-16B LLMs similar Qwen3/Qwen2.5 14B, Llama 3.x/3.1 15B, oregon Gemma 3 astir 12-14B. That said, the Ryzen 9 9950X is an fantabulous CPU-side workhorse for AI tooling, fine-tuning, and mixed originative workloads.

Another AI positive is its liquid-cooled plan and upgraded powerfulness delivery. This PC is explicitly designed to prolong precocious clocks nether long-running workloads, which is precisely what you privation for multi-hour fine-tuning oregon batch AI generation. System76 claims up to a 19% show uplift and a 13-degree driblet successful somesthesia compared to the erstwhile air-cooled design.

Also: 7 AI coding techniques I usage to vessel real, reliable products - fast

The liquid cooling besides makes the PC arsenic quiescent arsenic a whisper. I honestly couldn't archer if the instrumentality was connected astatine times, adjacent arsenic it went ripping done immoderate monolithic jobs.

Helping with each this performance, Pop!_OS Linux comes with first-rate Nvidia CUDA drivers successful the box. You tin instal the Nvidia CUDA Toolkit via the Pop!_Shop oregon with a azygous bid without worrying astir dependency conflicts:

$ sudo apt instal system76-cuda-latest

In short, the Thelio Mira is simply a "ready-to-work" AI workstation.

Memory, storage, and enlargement

System76 supports up to 192 GB of dual-channel DDR5 via 4 DIMM slots, with 4 × 48 GB configurations moving astatine 3,600 MHz and lower-capacity modules up to 5,600 MHz. My trial strategy came with 64 GB of RAM.

The underlying X870 committee technically supports up to 256 GB and higher representation clocks with overclocking. However, System76's validated configurations halt astatine 192 GB, which is much than capable for astir workstation tasks.

Also: I compared virtual RAM with existent RAM connected my Windows PC - here's what the numbers told me

Storage is wherever the Mira Custom truly shines for powerfulness users: you get 3 M.2 NVMe slots (PCIe Gen5, Gen4, and Gen3) positive astatine slightest 2 2.5-inch SATA bays, allowing you to premix blisteringly accelerated OS and scratch drives with larger, cheaper SSDs. With my machine, I got 2 terabytes (TB) of SSD storage.

One caveat is that utilizing definite secondary M.2 slots tin crook disconnected the secondary PCIe enlargement slot. That attack means that if you program to adhd high-bandwidth PCIe cards beyond the GPU, you'll privation to program your layout carefully.

The Thelio Mira has each the ports you could ever want, and past some.

Steven Vaughan-Nichols/ZDNET

On the connectivity front, the Mira Custom includes 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE), Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.2. This setup provides modern wired and wireless connectivity suitable for some location laboratory and bureau environments. I hooked it up to some my 2.5 GbE section country web and my Netgear Orbi 970-powered Wi-Fi 7 network. On either network, I saw some net and section web speeds of good implicit 2 gigabits per 2nd (Gbps).

Audio is handled by a Realtek ALC1220 codec with up to 7.1-channel output. The beforehand and rear panels exposure a premix of USB4 Type-C and aggregate USB-A ports, positive front-facing USB for easier entree successful day-to-day use.

Also: 3 ways I safely discontinue each Windows PC - and wherefore you shouldn't skip these captious steps

Specifically, the strategy comes with 13 outer USB ports, modular audio and web ports, and video outputs, which are determined by the GPU you choose. The beforehand sheet has 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 2 × USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, and a 3.5 mm combo headset jack. In the back, you'll find 2 × USB4 Type-C, 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 3 × USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, and 4 × USB 2.0 Type-A. That capableness adds up to 10 rear USB ports. If, similar me, you don't judge there's specified a happening arsenic capable ports, you'll beryllium successful heaven.

You'll besides find abstracted 3.5 mm line-in, line-out, and mic-in jacks successful the rear. The strategy besides comes with an S/PDIF optical retired that supports up to 7.1-channel audio. For video, its integrated graphics exposes 1 × HDMI 2.1 output and 2 × USB4/DisplayPort-over-USB-C ports. The Nvidia paper exposes 3 × DisplayPort outputs and 1 × HDMI 2.1 output.

The System76 Pop!_OS COSMIC Desktop is simply a beauteous and applicable interface.

Steven Vaughan-Nichols/ZDNET

Look and consciousness

System76's "precision industrialism" connection isn't conscionable marketing. The operation chassis combines aluminum and alloy with a milled beforehand I/O bar, a tempered-glass broadside panel, and tool-less magnetic panels that marque it trivial to get astatine fans, radiators, and cabling. That attack makes upgrading the strategy simple.

Front-facing ports and a bottommost particulate filter code 2 longstanding annoyances successful earlier Thelio generations: awkward beforehand I/O and tedious cleaning.

The wide footprint is that of a compact tower. Every cubic inch is intelligibly allocated to airflow, cablegram routing, and aboriginal upgrades alternatively than looking pretty. That said, it's 1 handsome machine.

Also: How overmuch RAM does your PC really request successful 2026? A Windows and Mac adept weighs in

Another positive for immoderate users, arsenic System76 laminitis and CEO Carl Richell told maine recently, is that the institution builds its systems astatine its ain Denver, Colorado, factory. There, the institution says, its servers, desktops, and laptops are "Designed by nerds. Engineered by experts. Handcrafted by humans."

Richell describes Mira arsenic the "beginning of that caller desktop plan refresh," a level that lets System76 relearn thermal dynamics, structural design, and manufacturability astatine scale. System76 enactment the chassis done adhesive and mechanical torture tests -- robots repeatedly pulling the broadside and beforehand panels disconnected thousands of times -- to guarantee the caller modular operation would withstand years of usage and tract servicing.

The results are impressive. This strategy is the best-looking workstation I've utilized since the aboriginal 1990s, erstwhile I had the pleasance of utilizing a Silicon Graphics (SGI) IRIS Indigo and a NeXTStation Turbo Color.

Pricing

The Custom configuration is precisely what it sounds like: you prime the CPU, RAM, storage, and GPU, which determines the price. The terms scope starts astatine a "serious but attainable" $1,699 and goes into the "this is my main workstation for years" $7,000-plus territory. My strategy specced retired astatine astir $6,500. If I were a superior programmer, an AI developer, oregon a nonrecreational gamer, I'd person gladly paid the money. As a tech journalist, I can't warrant the money, but I privation I could. This is 1 saccharine system.

System76 besides offers Premium and Elite preconfigured Mira variants. Still, the Custom SKU is wherever Linux powerfulness users and developers tin tailor the instrumentality for compile farms, superior improvement work, location labs, oregon section AI rigs without paying for mismatched parts.

You're paying a wide premium implicit DIY, but your currency buys integration, thermals, and enactment from a vendor whose full stack, from firmware to the operating system, is oriented astir Linux.

ZDNET's buying proposal

For radical similar me, who've gotten bushed of cutting their fingers assembling their ain systems, System76's caller 2026 Thelio Mira Custom desktop PC is simply a win. Sure, I mightiness prevention a fewer 100 bucks gathering and tuning the parts myself. Still, I'd ne'er enactment unneurotic specified a fantastic Linux-first workstation that combines cutting-edge AMD and Nvidia hardware with large looks and cooling aimed squarely astatine sustained, dense workloads.

In short, this is the champion Linux workstation I've ever seen. If that's what you need, this is the machine you privation to buy.