The Penguin Pro Mini GNU / Linux Desktop

The Penguin Pro Mini GNU / Linux Desktop
The Penguin Pro Mini is designed for those wanting to take back control of their computing. This system directly undermines the control corporations and governments have seized over your digital life by replacing opaque, telemetry-laden, digitally restricted technologies with a transparent, user-owned platform. In an era where corporations and governments commodify your online activities and seek backdoors into consumer hardware, the Penguin Pro Mini serves as a fortress of personal sovereignty.

This liberation is engineered through a steadfast commitment to open standards and free software. By utilizing a standards-compliant Mini-ITX architecture, the system rejects proprietary locking mechanisms, ensuring that every component—from the CPU to the PCIe expansion slot—puts you in control. This hardware openness is paired with GNU/Linux, an operating system built on the principle that users must have the freedom to run, study, share, and modify their software. Unlike closed ecosystems that hide telemetry and enforce digital restrictions management (DRM), the GNU/Linux stack provides you full control, allowing you to verify exactly what code is running, disable unwanted data exfiltration, and replace any part of the system without permission. This portable unit makes a great personal server for in-housing advanced computing projects that might otherwise require cloud services. It's geared for those who want to stick in a powerful PCIE card of one kind or another in it and have convenient private local access. We can customize this system with other PCIE cards we don't stock, or beyond what is listed below.

Have questions contact support for a more personalized quote.

  • Get a system without the "per seat" licensing or an even more expensive usage-based pricing structures of the "cloud"

  • Fast- available with up to a 14th generation Intel i5-14600 14-core CPU up to 5.2 Ghz

  • Supports a full profile PCIE card via high speed riser cable (up to 60mm thick or a 3-slot card, up to 300 MM in length)

  • 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek Audio Chip) with support for up to 24-Bit/192 kHz playback

  • Supports up to 96 GB of DDR5 5600 Mhz Non-ECC Un-buffered Memory (4800 Mhz recommended in non-XMP configuration)

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

  • No ID required: We have a policy of not complying with or enabling age verification laws on moral and ethical grounds,
    these issues don't just negatively impact youth and have been extended to include operating systems and VPNs

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


International Order? We stock US/Canadian, [censored] (plug type "G", "UK" style), [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
Chipset Intel® Q670 Chipset
Graphics Intel® Core™ i5-14600: UHD Graphics 770
Intel® Core™ i5-12500: UHD Graphics 770
Intel® Core™ i3-12100: UHD Graphics 730
Intel® Celeron® G6900: UHD Graphics 710
Memory 2 x DIMM, Max. 966GB, DDR5 4800 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory non-XMP mode*
Audio Supports: Jack-detection
Supports up to 24-Bit/192 kHz playback
Graphics Port Info 1 x DisplayPort (Supports max. 4K@60Hz as specified in DisplayPort 1.4)
1 x HDMI™ port (Supports 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1)
1 x VGA port
LAN support 1 x Intel® 1Gb Ethernet
I/O Ports 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5G) ports (2 x Type-A)
2 x USB 2.0 ports (2 x Type-A)
1 x DisplayPort
1 x VGA port
1 x HDMI™ port
1 x Intel 1Gb Ethernet port
3 x Audio jacks
1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse combo port
Default distribution Most recent version of Linux Mint
Internal Expansion Slots/Port 1 x V-M.2 slot (Key E, potentially for wifi)
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header
1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header
1 x 4-pin Chassis Fan header
1 x 24-pin Main Power connector
1 x 8-pin +12V Power connector
1 x M.2 slot (Key M, storage)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports (storage)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5G) header supports additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
1 x USB 2.0 header supports 2 additional USB 2.0 ports
1 x Clear CMOS header
1 x COM Port header
1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP)
1 x Mono-out header(with Amp IC)
1 x SMBUS header
1 x Speaker header
1 x SPI TPM header (14-1pin)
1 x 10-1 pin System Panel header
Optical Drive Options External USB only
External 5.25" Drive Bays 0
External 3.5" Drive Bays 0
Full Height PCIE Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot
Front Ports 1 x USB-C 3.0
1 x USB-A 2.0
Dimensions (H x W x D) 151 x 306 x 179 mm (6" x 12" x 7")
Max GPU Length Allowance 300 mm
Compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 & 11 64-Bit

OpenBSD 7.2+ works with at least full resolution graphics with HDMI output, wifi where selected, audio output, USB, and ethernet

FreeBSD 13.2 will work with at least the wifi if selected, audio out, HDMI out w/ frame buffer graphics driver (no 3d accelerated graphics yet, and may be limited to 1024x768 resolution), USB, and an NVME hard disk, and ethernet.

Note: Beyond a basic installation and compatibility information we offer no end-user support for non-GNU/Linux operating systems.

Note: Please contact support for updated information on FreeBSD and other popular operating systems, releases, or features/accessories we have not validated.


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) $89
USB Peripherals Setup/Tutorial
(Printers, Portable Audio Players, etc.) 		$89
Operating System Installs $125
Software Installations $49
Networked Peripherals Setup/Tutorial (Printers, etc.) $89
Data Transfers of up to 4TB $59
Data Transfers of up to 8TB $99
Diagnostics (this is only if no repairs are made) $125
Upgrades/Repair (per half hour; if no others apply) $125
Phone Support (per half-hour / non-warranty) $125
OS Media $44
Discounted blocks of phone support are available for purchase. It's US $437 for 5 half hour blocks and US $769 for 10.
Partial List Of Supported Releases:

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre 2022.04+
Trisquel 11, 11.01, 12
Ubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10, 25.04, 25.10, 26.04
Fedora 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44
Linux Mint 21.3 Edge, 22, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3
Kubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10, 25.04, 25.10, 26.04
Lubuntu 22.10, 23.04, 23.10, 24.04, 24.10, 25.04, 25.10, 26.04
Debian 12, 13
Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 6, 7
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, 2025.01.1, 2025.02.1, 2025.03.1, 2025.04.1, 2025.05.1, 2025.06.1, 2025.07.1, 2025.08.1, 2025.09.1, 2025.10.1, 2025.11.1, 2025.12.1, 2026.01.1, 2026.02.1, 2026.03.1, 2026.04.1, 2026.05.1, 2026.06.1, 2026.07.1, 2026.08.1
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, 24.2.0, 24.2.1, 25.0.0, 25.0.1, 25.0.2, 25.0.3, 25.0.4, 25.0.6, 25.0.7, 25.0.8, 25.0.9, 25.0.10, 26.0, 26.0.1, 26.0.2, 26.0.3, 26.0.4
openSUSE Leap 15.5+
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10 Series 10.0, 10.1, 10.2
Rocky Linux 10 Series 10.0, 10.1, 10.2
AlmaLinux 10 Series 10.0, 10.1, 10.2
CentOS Stream 10

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

PCs usually slow over time due to insufficient ram. An AI induced ram shortage is currently unfolding with an eta of it lasting 3-4 years [2026]. Get what you need now as prices will increase and shortly be completely unavailable.

M.2 NVME SSD drives are fast hard drives. Please plan for 3-4 years [2026] of your storage needs as AI investment induced industry wide shortages are driving up prices and drives will probably be completely unavailable shortly. This is a real apocalypse.

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.

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)

Picking up a wireless mouse or other device that requires a double A battery? Not sure if you have double any double A batteries left. No problem. Just grab a few with the order.

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

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.

We recommend using a DisplayPort cable for technical and ethical reasons. The DisplayPort was designed for the PC and works seamlessly where HDMI sometimes doesn't. The HDMI forum restricts "open" and free implementations and doesn't want your business.

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

We support users around the world and not everybody uses a North American power cable. Please select the one appropriate to you.

Protect your investment with a surge protector or uninterruptible power supply (UPS). When power is interrupted, or fluctuates outside safe levels, a UPS instantly provides clean battery backup power and surge protection. * US market only

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. Note: We can only ship printers to those in the United States.

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.

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.

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.