Precision 5820: Does It Have Thunderbolt Built-In?

Hi TBackstrom,

Thunderbolt is optional with the 5820, using an add-in PCIe card, hence the entry in the BIOS.

I hope this helps clarify things for you.

Hi Alasdair R,

Thank you for the response. Do you know the Dell part number for that PCIe card to add Thunderbolt capability to the Precision 5820?

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

http://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/precision-t5810-workstation_White%20Papers3_en-us.pdf

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.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Dell-7HMHP-GGTXK-NK4P3-540-BBJC-Thunderbolt-PCIe-x1-Card-Full-Height-Kit-/401098315998

Hi SpeedStep,

Thanks for the response and info. Have you seen any information on this for the Precision 5820 workstations particularly? Want to make sure this is the solution before I proceed.

There are Absolutely Differences between the Itty Bitty and the XL Tower. with 950W Chassis.  I also see USB 3.1 G2 PCIe Card .

I also DO NOT SEE Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt II as an option EVER.

http://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent/shared-content/data-sheets/en/Documents/Precision-5820-Tower-Spec-Sheet.pdf

Don't Own one though so YMMV.

http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/desktop-and-all-in-one-pcs/precision-5820-tower/spd/precision-5820-workstation/xctopt5820us

Huh? So you don't see:

"Optional Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card (2 ports) 1 DP pass-through port"

beside "Add-in cards"?

"Optional Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card (2 ports) 1 DP pass-through port"

You are trying to wish features into specifications that do not say " Thunderbolt"  Thunderbolt 1 2 or 3 is also NOT LISTED in the specifications.

PCIe I/O Cards

PCIe I/O Cards     USB 3.1 G2 PCIe Card - 2 Type C Ports. 1DP in  540-BCBP / USBNKCD    

It does not say PASS THRU port. And there IS NOT A DISPLAY PORT OUT on the base system.

Flexible USB Type-C switching supports all signaling combinations specified in USB Type-C and VESA DisplayPort Alt Mode standards

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=fed&cs=16&sku=A8606245

1. Power button/Power light

2. Drive activity light

3. SD card slot

4. USB 3.0 ports

5. USB 3.0 Type-C port with PowerShare

6. USB 3.0 Type-C port

7. Headset port

8. 5.25 inch bay (optional)

9. Optical drive

10. Drive access release latch

11. Drive carriers

12. Microphone/Line-in port

13. PS/2 Mouse port

14. USB 3.0 ports

15. Discrete graphics card slot (optional)

16. Padlock ring | 17. Security cable slot

18. Power cable connector

19. Line-out port

20. Serial port

21. PS/2 Keyboard port

22. Network port

23. USB 3.0 port (supports smart Power-On)

24. Expansion card slots

Alasdair R,

Can you send me the info I need to order the optional Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card (2 ports) for the Precision 5820 workstation? Thank you.

Hi TBackstrom,

Apologies for the delayed response. I've been in touch with our pre-sales team to confirm part numbers and availability. They have informed me that the thunderbolt card isn't currently available due to technical issues. Unfortunately they weren't able to say when it will become available again.

Getting back to the Original POST.   Is there a GPIO port on the 5820 motherboard?  No. (If there is where is the documentation that shows this?)  This means there is no thunderbolt EVER.   Is there an integrated Display port out?  No.  The pictures of the rear panel show this. Again this means there isn't thunderbolt.   All implementations from All vendors rely on a Display Port Wrap thru cable AND GPIO thunderbolt Header on the motherboard.  It is disingenuous to say that PCI-E Thunderbolt cards work without these 2 non optional ports.

You cannot add or use Thunderbolt at will with a PCI-E slot.  This ignores the GPIO and Display port requirements.

Thunderbolt on Mac whether Thunderbolt 3 or  2  uses the same connectors as USB3 or Mini Display port.  However ONLY PORTS with the Lightning Bolt Logo on the port are thunderbolt.  The others are Mini Display port or USB C.

Thunderbolt 3 is intel and there are 3 versions of the controller with GPIO on the motherboard. 1 "DP" (Double Port) version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×4 link to provide two Thunderbolt 3 ports (DSL6540)
2  "SP" (Single Port) version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×4 link to provide one Thunderbolt 3 port (DSL6340)  3 "LP" (Low Power) version that uses a PCIe 3.0 ×2 link to provide one Thunderbolt 3 port (JHL6240).

Alpine Ridge  PCI\VEN_8086 & DEV_1578 

I see this in the Alienware Laptops.

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/sites/default/files/16-379_Thunderbolt3_Bro_HI.PDF

https://ark.intel.com/products/87402/Intel-DSL6540-Thunderbolt-3-Controller

Hi Alasdair R,

Thank you for the response. I think we are going in another direction for what we need, but if you do hear that the techs have worked out the bugs for implementing Thunderbolt on these workstations, can you post it here?

Yes, When I hear anything on the card becoming available again I will post it here.

Thanks

If the card applies to this system where is the GPIO header on the motherboard and where is the display port header on the motherboard?  This is also the reason that you can't just pick ANY PCI-E slot its a specific Slot on the motherboard for a TB AIC.

I see no such connection on the motherboard.  I also can find no documentation for installation of said card on this specific system aka it does not apply.

PCI-E thunderbolt Add on cards REQUIRE the GPIO and Display port connections.

If these are not on the motherboard there wont EVER be a way to use such a card.

I see thunderbolt 3 on the following LAPTOPS but not the 5820.

Hi TBackstrom,

Just following up to let you know that the Thunderbolt card for the 5820 is available again. The Dell part (SKU) number is 540-BCEJ.

speedstep, you are right, there's no documentation showing how Thunderbolt add-in card is setup on a 5820. But I did find a "TBT" header on the 5820 mobo: https://imgur.com/c7I7CzA

For Displayport, there's no integrated port but I assume you can get that with a GFX card and make that the cabled DP loopback source. However, it still begs the question without any documentation, which PCIE slot are you supposed to use the Thunderbolt AIC?