Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E Card 555-BEOX - Precision 5820

@Flavius Aetius 

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The TB AIC (Thunderbolt Add-In-Cards) PCI-E card its a connector and bracket AND 2 CABLES.  It uses the PCI-E bus for power and has a cable that goes to the motherboard called a THUNDERBOLT HEADER.  AFAIKT THE 5820 does not have this as an option  its only for Dell Precision Tower 5810/7810/7910/1700MT/1700SFF/3620MT and Rack 7910

There is NO SUCH THING AS A PCI-E thunderbolt card.  The motherboard needs to have thunderbolt chipset and GPIO Header AND the Thunderbolt Add In Card goes into a SPECIFIC SLOT not ANY slot on the motherboard.

The 7HMHP is the Card.

That doesn't cover the GPIO and Display port cables however.

These are NOT optional.

There are 2 Kits I have Identified.

540-BBJC    UK version

540-BBIO     USA version

Interface cards/adapters Thunderbolt PCIe card for DELL Precision 1700, 5810

GGTXK  is the Display port wrap thru cable.

NK4P3 is the GPIO cable to the motherboard.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/233928309574

Thunderbolt 2 AIC

 You cannot add thunderbolt 2 or 3.

System Will Not Work With a Thunderbolt 3 Device

Dell systems MUST BE configured at the time of purchase with optional Thunderbolt capability

Any such options IF THEY EXIST in bios are Greyed out.

You may encounter an issue where a Dell system  will not support a connection to a Thunderbolt 3 card or device (such as a Dell Thunderbolt Dock (TB16). This is a result of either:

• The system does not meet the hardware requirements for Thunderbolt 3
• The system has the capability but was not ordered with an OPTIONAL Thunderbolt 3 controller

Thunderbolt 3 controller IS NOT on your motherboard.

You cannot add thunderbolt 2 either without the controller on the motherboard.  This port is OPTIONAL and MUST BE purchased at the time of the build.  Cannot be added later.

Thunderbolt 3 is for

• Alienware Aurora R7
• Alienware Aurora R8
• Alienware Aurora R9
• OptiPlex 7070 MT
• OptiPlex 7070 SFF
• Precision Workstation 3630 Tower
• Precision Workstation 3630XL Tower
• Precision Workstation 5820 Tower
• Precision Workstation 7820 Tower
• Precision Workstation 7920 Tower
• Precision Workstation R3930
• Precision Workstation R3930 XL
• Precision Workstation T3620 MT
• Precision Workstation T5820XL Tower
• Precision Workstation T7820XL Tower
• Precision Workstation T7920XL Tower
• XPS 8930 Tower

@Flavius Aetius 

https://www.dell.com/community/Precision-Fixed-Workstations/Dell-precision-7820-Thunderbolt-add-in-card/m-p/6224774/highlight/true#M1274

This user , check the thread, was told by dell to purchase that part, 555-BEOX , and he installed with success 2 of such cards in his 7820

@mazzinia 

@Flavius Aetius 

Original post is

Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E Card 555-BEOX - Precision 5820

Thunderbolt 2 540-BBIO or Thunderbolt 3 555-BEOX does not work and will not work on this model.

Thunderbolt 2 AIC

The Thunderbolt 2 card is only for the 7810 7910 and co. I don't see why mentioning it when the 5820/7820/7920 etc can use only Thunderbolt 3, so the newer card.

The newer card was mentioned by 2 dell representatives as compatible with a list of systems of the same age as the 5820 ( that's in the list ), and a 7820 owner installed 2 of such cards fully working following the representative tip.
The card is sold with only the dp / dp-usb3.1 external cable. it doesn't require a gpio cable and works only on those dell units. If it worked on a 7820 and an aurora, should work also on a 5820 ( mentioned in the same list of supported systems ), I think.

To point it out, my 7820 was sold without a thunderbolt card. The bios has full thunderbolt options unlocked. I expect he will have the same in his 5820 ( he should check this )

@Flavius Aetius 

Neither Card is compatible with 5820 if it does not have the header on the motherboard with thunderbolt 2 controller.   Thunderbolt 3 is NEVER compatible with older models. like 5810. It can ONLY go in a specific slot.

If you only get a card without the display port and gpio cables the card wont work.

The GPIO cable NK4P3 and Display port cable GGTXK thunderbolt 2 for 7810.

GPIO header and Thunderbolt Options in BIOS are NOT optional.

Thunderbolt 2 AIC

Please press the blue Accept as Solution button below if this answers your question.

Hi!

I was seeing my Bios and i have full thunderbolt options unlocked and my 5820 was sold without Thunderbolt Card.

I can select (active) or unmark the option "ENABLE THUNDERBOLT TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT".

I dont know how to post a image here, but my bios options is very different from the Bios posted by @speedstep 

And i was speaking about the card ...

In the purchase link the description is fully compatible with T5820 but how i said, i havent GPIO header in my motherboard and it is weird...

@mazzinia 

"The Thunderbolt 2 card is only for the 7810 7910 and co. I don't see why mentioning it when the 5820/7820/7920 etc can use only Thunderbolt 3, so the newer card."

@Flavius Aetius 

The reason for mentioning the older and newer card is to provide context for the card ONLY working in a specific slot,  ONLY working when thunderbolt controller is on the board, ONLY working when GPIO and Display Port cables are attached as they are not optional.

The difference between Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt 3 is the bandwidth and the external connector.

I am not able to find specific documentation for the Thunderbolt 3 card part numbers or cables or installation documentation.

USB-C connector on a card does NOT mean you have thunderbolt controller on the motherboard or thunderbolt capability.

None of the cards work without the other cables, GPIO, Display port, and thunderbolt controller onboard, and bios options for thunderbolt.

@DELL-Chris M  might have more information about the Dell part numbers for thunderbolt 3 and what parts work with what models.