PowerPC hardware gets a fresh shot with the Mirari Proto 2

The Mirari PowerPC motherboard is getting ready for its biggest production run yet. A batch of 100 Proto 2 boards is now being prepared, with most of the processors already secured and assembly planned in the Netherlands. That’s quite a jump from the handful of early prototypes used to get the project off the ground. Mirari started life as a KiCad motherboard design in 2024. Since then, the developers have worked through the sort of problems you’d expect from completely new hardware: clock issues, PCI Express fixes, firmware work, driver development and plenty of testing. The result is a PowerPC system that’s now much closer to being a complete desktop platform rather than just an engineering board that happens to boot.

From five prototypes to 100 boards

The first production batch consisted of just five boards. Those machines were there to answer some fairly basic questions. Does the hardware start? Can the firmware initialise everything correctly? Will Linux boot? Do PCI Express, storage and networking actually work? Not everything worked immediately.

One early problem involved an oscillator that stopped several important clock signals from behaving correctly. Once that was fixed, development moved on quickly. U-Boot firmware started taking shape, Linux came up, and attention shifted towards the board’s storage, networking and expansion hardware. The new Proto 2 run is on a different scale. One hundred boards are being prepared, with processors being sourced from the United States and board assembly taking place in the Netherlands.

That doesn’t suddenly turn Mirari into a mass-produced PC. It isn’t trying to be one. But a batch of 100 boards changes the job considerably. Producing five engineering samples is one thing. Building, testing and shipping 100 consistent machines requires a much tighter production process.

Modern hardware around a PowerPC processor

Mirari isn’t built like an old PowerPC computer. The board combines its PowerPC processor with NVMe storage, USB 3.0, SATA, Ethernet and PCI Express. There’s support for up to 8 GB of memory through DDR SO-DIMM modules, and developers have already run several PowerPC Linux distributions from an NVMe drive connected directly to the board.

That’s a useful detail because storage can make or break the feel of a modern system. Booting from NVMe gives Mirari access to current solid-state drives rather than forcing owners into older storage standards.

Development hasn’t been completely smooth. The PCIe x1 slot needed a hardware correction during testing, and an earlier Proto 2 batch arrived without some components fitted at the factory because the necessary parts weren’t available. Items including the PCIe x16 connector and USB headers had to be added manually. That’s what prototype work looks like. Problems appear, the design changes, and the next revision moves on.

MorphOS 3.20 fills in the software side

Hardware only gets you so far. Mirari also needs an operating system that understands what it’s sitting on. MorphOS 3.20 adds support for the Mirari architecture, including drivers and system components written for the board. That work covers areas such as networking, storage, temperature control and other motherboard functions.

NVMe support is one of the bigger pieces. Development moved from basic low-level access to full operating-system support, allowing MorphOS to install onto an NVMe SSD and boot directly from it. Networking is handled onboard as well, so users don’t need to sacrifice an expansion slot just to get Ethernet working.

Graphics support has also moved forward. MorphOS 3.20 expands Radeon compatibility and improves handling for HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort connections, along with updates for multi-monitor configurations and the operating system’s graphics components.

Onboard audio removes another expansion card

Sound is another area where Mirari has become more self-contained. The motherboard includes onboard audio built around a Texas Instruments DAC, while an FPGA handles I2S functionality. A dedicated MorphOS driver reached a usable state in early 2026, giving the machine working audio without needing a separate sound card.

The audio support didn’t stop at basic playback either. Later work added recording at sample rates up to 192 kHz, selectable inputs and outputs, and mixer controls. It’s another small but important step towards making the board usable as a complete computer.

Mirari is moving beyond the bring-up stage

The interesting part of this 100-board run isn’t simply the number. It’s what has happened before it. Mirari can now boot modern storage, run Linux, work with MorphOS, use onboard Ethernet and audio, manage its thermals and take advantage of PCI Express expansion. The developers have already found and corrected several hardware problems through earlier prototype runs.

That puts Proto 2 in a very different position from the original five boards. The focus is no longer just on getting signs of life from a new PowerPC motherboard. It’s now about producing the same working configuration repeatedly, testing it properly and getting finished boards into users’ hands.

For a newly designed PowerPC desktop motherboard, that’s a significant change of pace. The experimental phase hasn’t disappeared, but Mirari is clearly moving into small-series production with much more of the hardware and software stack already in place.

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