XPS 8930 SE, one final Thunderbolt question

Question

I do not want to start another Thunderbolt discussion as to whether or not it is available on the 8930. It is obvious that it is not in the BIOS and the available Dell Thunderbolt card card is not connected to the motherboard other than being installed in a slot. I think speedtest has made that very clear.

When I ordered my 8930 SE in June of this year, I added the Thunderbolt 3 card option knowing that I did not have a TB drive and might not ever have one. My thinking was that I have spent so much on this computer order I might as well add this just in case I want to use it later. I did not research the matter before ordering. I had no intent then (or now) of using it to add a second monitor.

All that being said, is there any reason to keep the card installed if I am not going to use it? I am not interested in using it to power a USB device. I think Dell does an awful job of making it clear that this "option" is not going to give you a "real" TB output capability.

mfurr · Answer

I meant to say speedstep in the above post not speedtest. Couldn't edit it.

speedstep · Answer

USB-C and Thunderbolt3 use the same connector. But that doesnt mean you have thunderbolt controller on the motherboard. Several vendors have that as an OPTION but its not really a card. A card is used to hold the connector but the thunderbolt function needs wrap thru cables and a GPIO header to the motherboard. https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboard-Accessories/ThunderboltEX-3/ There is no standard for thunderbolt as an expansion card. So your card is likely mis labeled thunderbolt if there isnt a wrap thru cable to the motherboard. Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1, and up to 36W charging are available on a REAL thunderbolt card. And there is a display port wrap thru and a thunderbolt header to the motherboard.

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/04/xps-8930-desktop/xps-8930-service-manual/system-board-components?guid=guid-09138897-cbe9-49c8-b4ba-9882357209cf&lang=en-us

There is a regular display port for wrap thru cable on 8930 series. I however do NOT see any motherboard connection for thunderbolt. ASUS Cards only work ASUS, Dell Cards only work Dell, HP cards only work HP. Ask @DELL-Chris M

https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/us/en/04/xps-8930-desktop/xps-8930-service-manual/before-working-inside-your-computer?guid=guid-5d3b1051-9384-409a-8d5b-9b53bd496de8&lang=en-us

https://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/xps-8930-desktop_service-manual_en-us.pdf

The display port and TB header cables are not optional

motherboard headerDisplay port Wrap thru

speedstep · Answer

There are 3 that I know of and I believe some HP Z series F3F43AT workstations have a card. Your option card is a USB-C card it is NOT a thunderbolt card and never will be. You cant add it after the fact if you do not have the option in bios and the header on the motherboard with controller for thunderbolt. To all the nay sayers who say it exists please provide part numbers and technical specifications for the cables and the other Items because they do not exist. There is no such standard as PCI-E add on for thunderbolt 3. Intel wont make it a standard because then they can get competition from other vendors for the controllers.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Thunderbolt-2-PCIe-1-port-F3F43AT/dp/B00J1EQDV6

Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge – Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card
Asus ThunderboltEX 3 – Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card
https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Expansion-Card-Motherboards-ThunderboltEX/dp/B01HDUVJ54/
ASRock Thunderbolt 3 AIC – Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card.

Dell's card is thunderbolt 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_CnQJY4NoY

TheAmazingDave · Answer

So I'm not sure what dude's ranting about above, but the Asus ThunderboltEX 3 card is, quite literally, an Intel JHL6540 Thunderbolt 3 controller chip on an add-in PCI express x4 card. Yes, a little umbilical cord is required between the PCIe card and the motherboard, and my XPS 8920 motherboard has the pin header, albeit unpopulated.

I have a ThunderboltEX 3 card from my home battlestation that is not in use as I replaced the card with an actual NVMe drive, and I'm trying to get my card working on said XPS 8920 motherboard with a Kabylake i7. I went ahead and soldered in the pin header on the motherboard, and I'm trying to verify what Dell's Thunderbolt header pinout is as it doesn't seem to align with the umbilical cord for the Asus card. For example, pin 1 on the Asus card's cable is ground, but pin 1 on the Dell motherboard header is +3.3 volts.

Linux seems to see that the card is present on the system, as I get "no devices present" with the card in and a TB3 drive connected, and "thunderbolt subsystem not enabled" when the card is not on the mobo. Makes sense, as the umbilical cable is responsible for passing the device connection signal to the motherboard.

Is there anywhere to find technical specifications for "Dell" motherboards? Unlike most Dell systems, this board is completely standard ATX, and even uses standard fan headers instead of Dell's proprietary connector BS, so I have a feeling it might be made by one of the other big names. Board model number is IPKBL-VM.

Tesla1856 · Answer

Thunderbolt is working on my Apple Mac and my even my XPS-laptops.

However, when it comes to my newer desktops, like my,
Custom-Build: Intel i9-12900K (12th Gen)/32gb DDR5 5200mhz RAM/ Nvidia RTX-3080

Maybe if I had a reason or use for it (on that system) ... And I did it and it worked ... I would think differently. But for now, I tend to yield to @speedstep experience.

You might find some answers here. Let us know how it goes.

https://www.mattmillman.com/why-that-thunderbolt-add-in-card-doesnt-work-properly-in-your-unsupported-pc/

speedstep · Answer

some have enabled Gigabyte-GC-Titan ridge-Thunderbolt B08BC11XW8 YMMV  not supported doesnt mean not working.  Im just too lazy to do this.  thunderbolt is essentially abandoned in favor of USB 4.

XPS Desktops

XPS 8930 SE, one final Thunderbolt question

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