The Penguin X2 Mini Edition GNU / Linux Desktop

The Penguin X2 Mini Edition GNU / Linux Desktop
When it comes to support not all hardware is alike. We pride ourselves in shipping systems that can be properly supported by the GNU/Linux community. By utilizing the right set of chips and components where a complete set of source code exists users aren't left wondering whether or not they'll be able to cleanly upgrade from one release to another or continue to have support for graphics/wifi/sound/printer/or other peripherals/components.

The Penguin X2 Mini Edition GNU / Linux desktop introduces support for the 13 & 14th Gen T series Intel® Core™ desktop processors - the most powerful generation of Intel® Core™ desktop processors yet for small compact systems. Whether you are looking for a powerful entertainment system or one for creating and sharing content this new generation of processors is ready to take you to the next level.

Our line-up is aimed at those looking for quality, performance, and compatibility at reasonable price. You can expect a thoroughly tested system with support for every component and accessory out of the box. Since our systems are designed for GNU/Linux and aren't distribution specific you can be confident that whatever distribution you prefer there will bee solid support over the long haul. Contact support regarding your favorite distribution or see list below.

  • Available with a properly supported free software wifi card (something missing from most new systems)

  • Available with up to a 14th generation T series low power CPU

  • Ships with next generation network connectivity: One 2.5Gbps LAN controller

  • Expandable: Supports up to 96GB of DDR5 ram, two 4TB NVME SSD hard drives (PCIe 4.0 x4), & two 2.5" SATA drives

  • Support for most popular and libre (free) Linux distributions

  • For superior support and freedoms sake there are no dependence on OS-loaded binary blobs or proprietary drivers

Looking for additional photos? Here is a front shot of the system and you can see the back ports of the system here (motherboard view only).



International Order? We stock US/Canadian, [censored] ("UK" style plug type G), [censored] ("Europlug"), Japan, New Zealand, and Australian AC adapters/plugs. For other countries please inquire. Shipping to most international destinations takes 3-5 business days. Taxes/duties not included. If the configuration you want is not an option below please contact support with your regional requirements.

All laptops and desktops are assembled at our US facility. This means taxes are not included in the prices shown. The taxes depend on the final destination of the goods rather than where the order was assembled. Orders going outside the US will therefore have any local taxes collected on delivery. To get an idea about the local tax rate in your country check out this wikipedia article.

Category Specification
CPU (Max Support) i7 t-series CPU
Socket 1700
Chipset Intel® B760 Chipset
DDR5 Memory 2 x DIMM, Max. 96GB, DDR5 7600(OC)/ 7466(OC)/ 7200(OC)/ 7000(OC)/ 6800(OC)/ 6600(OC)/ 6400(OC)/ 6200(OC)/ 6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600/ 5400/ 5200/ 5000/ 4800 Non-ECC, Un-buffered
Memory Channel Dual
DIMM Slots 2
Max Memory (GB) 96GB
Graphics 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 (up to at least 4K@60Hz)
1 x HDMI® 2.1 (up to at least 4K@60Hz)
Storage 2 x M.2 2280 slots (up to PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
Network Connectivity 1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet (built-in)
Atheros Wifi (optional upgrade)
Bluetooth Optional upgrade via USB (superior support via USB)
Rear USB ports 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port (1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (3 x Type-A +1 x USB Type-C®)
3 x USB 2.0 ports (3 x Type-A)
Optional WiFi Chip Qualcomm Atheros QCA9565 (802.11n 2.4 Ghz)
Audio 7.1-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC S1220A
Impedance sense for rear headphone outputs
Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming
High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input (Line-in)
Supports up to 32-Bit/192 kHz playback (limitations apply for 7.1 surround sound)
Premium audio capacitors
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port (1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (3 x Type-A +1 x USB Type-C®)
3 x USB 2.0 ports (3 x Type-A)
1 x HDMI® port
1 x DisplayPort
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet
5 x Audio jacks
Internal I/O Connectors (not all usable in this case / configuration) 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header
1 x 4-pin Chasis Fan header
1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header
1 x 24-pin Main Power connector
1 x 8-pin +12V Power connector
2 x M.2 slots (Key M)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector (supports USB Type-C®)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
1 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 2 USB 2.0 ports
1 x Addressable Gen 2 headers
1 x Aura RGB header
1 x Clear CMOS header
1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP)
1 x S/PDIF Out header
1 x Speaker header
1 x 10-1 pin System Panel header
1 x Thermal Sensor header
BIOS 128 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS
Manageability WOL by PME, PXE
Form factor Mini-ITX
Default distribution Most recent version of Linux Mint
Power PicoPSU-150 + 150W power adapter depending on CPU
Compatible with Linux, Microsoft® Windows® 10/11 64-bit
(MS Windows not included nor technical support included)


Have questions?
E-mail support or call us at: 1-888-39-THINK (84465)
Out Of Warranty & Other Support Services Available
 Price
For Mail-In Service Add (Per Computer) $39
USB Peripherals Setup/Tutorial
(Printers, Portable Audio Players, etc.) 		$39
Operating System Installs $65
Software Installations $39
Networked Peripherals Setup/Tutorial (Printers, etc.) $39
Data Transfers of up to 4TB $59
Data Transfers of up to 8TB $99
Diagnostics (this is only if no repairs are made) $65
Upgrades/Repair (per half hour; if no others apply) $65
Phone Support (per half-hour / non-warranty) $65
OS Media $39
Discounted blocks of phone support are available for purchase. It's US $230 for 5 half hour blocks and US $400 for 10.
Partial List Of Supported Releases:

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre 2022.04+
Trisquel (11 remastered) 11, 11.01
Linux Mint 21, 21.1, 21.2, 21.2 Edge, 21.3, 21.3 Edge, 22
Ubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10
Zorin OS 17, 17.1, 17.2
Fedora 37, 38, 39, 40, 41
Mageia 9
Tails 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.8.1, 6.9
Kubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10
Lubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10
Debian 12
Peppermint Linux OS 2023-10-15, 2024-07-01
Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 6
Arch 2022.11.1, 2022.12.1, 2023.01.1, 2023.02.1, 2023.03.1, 2023.04.1, 2023.05.1, 2023.06.1, 2023.07.1, 2023.08.1, 2023.09.1, 2023.10.1, 2023.11.1, 2023.12.1, 2024.01.1, 2024.02.1, 2024.03.1, 2024.04.1, 2024.05.1, 2024.06.1, 2024.07.1, 2024.08.1, 2024.09.1, 2024.10.1, 2024.11.1, 2024.12.1
Manjaro 21.3.7, 22.0, 22.0.1, 22.0.2, 22.0.3, 22.0.4, 22.0.5, 22.1.0, 22.1.1, 22.1.2, 22.1.3, 23.0, 23.0.1, 23.0.2, 23.0.3, 23.0.4, 23.1.0, 23.1.1, 23.1.2, 23.1.3, 23.1.4, 24.0, 24.0.1, 24.0.2, 24.0.3, 24.0.4, 24.0.5, 24.0.6, 24.0.7, 24.0.8, 24.1.0, 24.1.1, 24.1.2
AlmaLinux 9 Series 9.4, 9.5
Rocky Linux 9 Series 9.4, 9.5
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 Series 9.4

Most recently released distributions are compatible out of the box. Contact us for details about support for your preferred distribution.

A processor is the brain of the computer. A faster processor benefits more demanding tasks like video editing, gaming, and software development, but for less demanding users a faster processor translates into a longer useful life.

If your computer has ever come to a crawl you probably didn't have enough memory. A lack of memory is the leading cause of systems becoming unbearably slow. So stock up now when memory is dirt cheap and avoid those expensive upgrades.

M.2 SSD drives are a new smaller form factor type of hard drive that are much faster than traditional 'spinning disk' drives. SSD drives will usually cut boot and application start times by about half. The newest of NVME M.2 SSD drives are even faster.

Was 4TB of storage not enough? Now get a 2nd drive and achieve twice the storage capacity! If that's not enough contact support about larger capacities. We currently stock up to 4GB NVME M.2 drives.

Don't just get a bigger drive. Get a faster drive. Experience twice the speed with a new solid state drive. Newer SSD technology can give you that boost you always wanted cutting start times in half and increasing the speed of programs.

The disk(s) can be partitioned using one of a few different schemes. If unsure choose the first option. If you want something else entirely select other and enter the description of how you want the system setup in the distribution to install section.

Upgrade to Blu-ray today! Our Blu-ray drives suppport writing discs up to 100GB in size. Thanks to a compatible SATA to USB bridge our writer can also be flashed with third party firmware to improve support for playback of 4k Blu-ray content.

Looking to pick up some high quality discs compatible with your new drive? We stock CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs. Select from a variety of media types, quantities, and spindles.

If your planning to place your desktop at a distance from your modem/router you may want to add a wireless connection. The built-in ethernet is fast, but wifi makes connecting to the internet quick and easy no matter where your system is going.

If you want more desk space, a newer flat panel monitor may be just what you need. Flat panel monitors take up less desk space and have wider screens for a larger viewing area. Only available for shipping within continental US via UPS ground.

Get a a pair of best-in-class speakers and hear the world like you've never heard it before! There are many options for speakers, but not all are created equal. We've gone and selected some of the best speakers on the market to offer. * Ships to USA only.

Match the décor of your new PC with a keyboard and mouse that isn't tied to Microsoft. All of our desktop keyboards and mice are of high quality and never include a MS logo (more keyboard & mice products)

Select one of our awesome mouse pads. Check out the great pictures in our catalog.

Get the piece of mind knowing that if your computer has a problem there are knowledgeable GNU/Linux experts you can call on for help. Our extended warranty offers protection for up to 3 years from the date of purchase for both parts and labor.

Don't have a VPN provider yet? Get PenguinVPN! If this is purchased with a computer we'll pre-configure your computer for access to our privacy friendly VPN service. For the maximum protection get a router with our PenguinVPN service.

Get a printer that works for you! We have a variety of models from inexpensive inkjet printers, cost effective B&W lasers, all-in-one office printers, and even high end color laser printers.

Get extra ports! If you have lots of accessories take advantage of a USB hub to keep everything organized and connected.

Home theater PC? Get a wireless remote with the system and easily turn the system on/off without getting up off the couch.

Our AC adapters are compatible with power grids from around the world. However different countries and regions utilize different power outlets which require different plugs/cables. Select whats right for you. Unsure? Contact support

Protect your investment with a surge protector or uninterruptible power supply. When power is interrupted, or fluctuates outside safe levels, a UPS instantly provides clean battery backup power and surge protection for plugged-in, sensitive equipment.

Most USB data transfer cables on the market include a proprietary flash component that interferes with their usability. With our USB data transfer cable no such component exists. You can utilize standard file transfer tools supported under GNU/Linux.

Do you practice good PC hygiene? Need to transfer data? Get a USB drive! Need speed? Upgrade to a SSD! Drives formatted with fat32 have optimal compatibility between operating systems. Ext4 is better for backups and data transfer in GNU/Linux.

Joining the free software revolution is easy! Pick up a introductory book to learn the basics and how to administer your system. Explore the desktop and check out popular applications in your distribution of choice.

We can install just about any distribution of which there is a recent release. Enter the distribution you would like installed and any configuration requests here. A list of commonly requested distributions have been vetted at the top of the page.