ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING Wi-Fi (Thunderbolt???)

[BobWhite]

Hello Forum,
I just bought a new ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING Wi-Fi motherboard.
I just realized that there is no Thunderbolt port.
I would like to know if it is possible to add a thunderbolt extension to be able to accommodate my future UAD thunderbolt sound card. Is this going to work?
Kind regards.

 

[scottkendall]

Hello Forum,
I just bought a new ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING Wi-Fi motherboard.
I just realized that there is no Thunderbolt port.
I would like to know if it is possible to add a thunderbolt extension to be able to accommodate my future UAD thunderbolt sound card. Is this going to work?
Kind regards.

It does not appear like this board supports TB3 expansion. It maybe possible to get a TB3 card to work without actual support from the mother board but it is not a one size fits all solution and it maybe not work at all.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hello Forum,
I just bought a new ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING Wi-Fi motherboard.
I just realized that there is no Thunderbolt port.
I would like to know if it is possible to add a thunderbolt extension to be able to accommodate my future UAD thunderbolt sound card. Is this going to work?
Kind regards.

You have this motherboard, correct?

ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING (WI-FI) | Motherboards | ROG Global

ROG STRIX Z490-G GAMING(WI-FI)

rog.asus.com

If so, the motherboard does NOT have Thunderbolt hardware onboard, and it apparently does NOT have a Thunderbolt add-in card connector, which means you will not be able to add a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card to the motherboard. Without Thunderbolt hardware support you won't be able to use any kind of Thunderbolt hardware.

 

[scottkendall]

you won't be able to use any kind of Thunderbolt hardware.

I have a TB3 card working in a system where the motherboard does not have a header.

 

[Jamesbond007]

I have a TB3 card working in a system where the motherboard does not have a header.

Really? If that is so, what is the point of having a Thunderbolt header then? Any motherboard can claim compatibility with Thunderbolt, eh?

What is the exact motherboard you are referring to, by the way?

I wonder what we should say to people like the OP who poses such questions in the future. That we can't be sure if Thunderbolt will work (but likely won't?) on their systems even if they get a Thunderbolt card?

 

[BobWhite]

Hello thank you for your answer it is very clear. My motherboard is still in a blister pack, so I will send it back. Can you please give me an atx motherboard model with the built-in thunderbolt or information, it seems all out of stock everywere.

 

[scottkendall]

Really? If that is so, what is the point of having a Thunderbolt header then? Any motherboard can claim compatibility with Thunderbolt, eh?

What is the exact motherboard you are referring to, by the way?

I wonder what we should say to people like the OP who poses such questions in the future. That we can't be sure if Thunderbolt will work (but likely won't?) on their systems even if they get a Thunderbolt card?

I could not tell you what the point of the header is, In my main system I do not have it connected to the header. In fact when I connect the header my system does no sleep properly. My test system that does not have a header is a Gigabyte Z370 HD3. Also the Mac Pro 5,1 dose not have a header but they have T3 working on it as well.

For the Mac 5,1 you need a modified firmware on your card and you need to use OpenCore.

For the Gigabyte z370 HD3 I never tested with a unmodified firmware but tested with both a Titian ridge and an Alpine ridge.

My best guess is you only need mother board support for it to work in windows because a real Mac does not have a bios so you just need a properly configured SSDT directs the system to the card and then Mac OS takes over.

 

[Jamesbond007]

I could not tell you what the point of the header is, In my main system I do not have it connected to the header. In fact when I connect the header my system does no sleep properly. My test system that does not have a header is a Gigabyte Z370 HD3. Also the Mac Pro 5,1 dose not have a header but they have T3 working on it as well.

For the Mac 5,1 you need a modified firmware on your card and you need to use OpenCore.

For the Gigabyte z370 HD3 I never tested with a unmodified firmware but tested with both a Titian ridge and an Alpine ridge.

My best guess is you only need mother board support for it to work in windows because a real Mac does not have a bios so you just need a properly configured SSDT directs the system to the card and then Mac OS takes over.

I see. A Gigabyte motherboard with the Titan Ridge / Alpine Ridge cards may be why it works.

But that does not mean other combinations will work.

Without more evidence I will stick to reasoning like this : "That without Thunderbolt hardware support (either onboard or a Thunderbolt card via a header) Thunderbolt most likely won't work. If your motherboard does not have either Thunderbolt hardware or a Thunderbolt header, you may still try with a Thunderbolt card, but it incurs extra expense and you are on your own."

 

[scottkendall]

I see. A Gigabyte motherboard with the Titan Ridge / Alpine Ridge cards may be why it works.

But that does not mean other combinations will work.

Without more evidence I will stick to reasoning like this : "That without Thunderbolt hardware support (either onboard or a Thunderbolt card via a header) Thunderbolt most likely won't work. If your motherboard does not have either Thunderbolt hardware or a Thunderbolt header, you may still try with a Thunderbolt card, but it incurs extra expense and you are on your own."

Correct that does not mean other combinations will work. And even the ones that do work it is not without some extra effort. You are not going to throw an SSDT at it and forget it. You maybe need to manually flash the card with a modified firmware, you will need an SSDT preferably one with a Modified DROM.

I try not to tell people they can not do something just because it is extremely difficult with a high chance of failure!