🛠 First Boot of the LattePanda Sigma 2
Objectives
This tutorial guides you through the physical discovery and first boot of the LattePanda Sigma 2. The goal is to understand how to properly power this high-performance single-board computer, connect essential peripherals, and verify that the pre-installed operating system initializes correctly. We will focus on electrical safety and the minimal configuration required to access the Ubuntu desktop.
Required Hardware
- A LattePanda Sigma 2 board
- A USB-C PD (Power Delivery) power cable capable of providing 20V or a compatible DC 15-20V power adapter
- An external monitor (HDMI or DisplayPort via USB-C)
- A USB keyboard and mouse
- An HDMI cable or USB-C to DisplayPort adapter depending on your monitor
Steps
- Environment Preparation: Place the board on an insulating and clean surface. Avoid metallic or conductive surfaces to prevent accidental short circuits. Ensure your hands are discharged of any static electricity.
- Video Peripheral Connection: The Sigma 2 offers several video options. For maximum simplicity, use the HDMI 2.1 port. Connect an HDMI cable between the board and your monitor. If you prefer using USB-C, ensure your monitor supports DisplayPort Alt Mode via the Thunderbolt 4 connector.
- Input Connection: Plug your keyboard and mouse into the USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (often identified by the blue color) for better responsiveness, or into the USB 2.0 ports if necessary.
- Powering the Board: This is the critical step. The Sigma 2 requires robust power. Use a certified USB-C PD charger delivering 20V. Plug the cable into the dedicated power USB-C port. Alternatively, use the DC jack if you have a suitable 15-20V adapter. Once connected, the power LED should light up immediately.
- System Boot: Briefly press the physical power button located on the board. The fan (if present or via the motherboard) might activate. On the screen, you should see the boot logo appear, followed by the BIOS/UEFI initialization sequence, and then the loading of Ubuntu 26.04.
Verification
Once the Ubuntu desktop loads, open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type the following command to verify that the system recognizes the Intel Core Ultra X7 processor:
lscpu | grep 'Model name'
You should see the Panther Lake-H processor reference. Also check the available memory with:
free -h
The total displayed should approach the 64 GB of LPDDR5X.
Going Further
Now that the board is operational, explore the network capabilities by configuring the two 10GbE Ethernet ports for ultra-fast data transfer, or start testing local AI performance with the 50 TOPS NPU.