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Thunderbolt 3 support for Precision 3240 Compact
Last October I ordered a Dell Precision 3240 Compact, without the thunderbolt card. I'm wondering if this can still be added?
I found the following Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card
Does the Precision 3240 Compact have the right connectors for this? Checking the motherboard layout (https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-ca/000180594/precision-3240-compact-visual-guide-to-your-computer) I see a "header" for
| Optional video connector (VGA Port/DisplayPort 1.4 Port/HDMI 2.0b Port/USB 3.2Gen 2 Type-C Port with Alt-mode) |
Could this connector support the Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card mentioned above?
I've read similar posts about the Precision 3440 SFF being able to add a thunderbolt card and it working (https://www.dell.com/community/Precision-Fixed-Workstations/Thunderbolt-3-support-for-Precision-3440-SFF/td-p/7864495)
Thanks!
Precision 5520
5 Posts
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May 11th, 2021 10:00
It is ridiculous that no one has replied to this yet.
Thunderbolt 3 has been a minimum standard for several years now, but unfortunately the vast majority of PC brands don't seem to understand that; they have been treating the Type-C connector as a novelty at best, while festooning their products with obsolete Type-A ports THAT WE DON'T WANT.
I actually want to buy a Precision 3240 Compact, but even in the configurator I can't even find where to ensure that it comes with any type of Thunderbolt at all, and whether I would be losing the graphics card or not. So dumb!
If I could find a graphics card that fit in the chassis and had its own Thunderbolt ports, I would consider that a win enough to do it. Do they publish a list of graphics cards that fit? Probably not!
To answer your question about the header: likely not, considering that it seems to be a video-specific output. I would bet that the Type-C option carries nothing more than DisplayPort, but it would be nice if I were wrong!
speedstep
9 Legend
9 Legend
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47K Posts
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May 11th, 2021 10:00
Intel threw in the towel for thunderbolt 3.
It will be new USB4 on systems eventually.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3610229
Having USB C port doesnt mean you have thunderbolt header, controller, bios options. USB4 spec wags the dog.
"Regarding USB4 specification’s optional support for Thunderbolt 3, USB-IF anticipates PC vendors to broadly support Thunderbolt 3 compatibility in their USB4 solutions given Thunderbolt 3 compatibility is now included in the USB4 specification and therefore royalty free for formal adopters,"
If the function isn't there its greyed out or not offered in the bios
There is no standard for Add in card with display port wrap thru and thunderbolt header.
Each vendor HP, Dell, Lenovo etc does it their own way.
Controller and header cannot be added later.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000130984
wlsinwi
49 Posts
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March 7th, 2022 11:00
I have the same frustration. The solution for gaming graphics is an external GPU box. I am waiting for USB4 cards to be available. I would expect them to be PCIe slot compatible and they are designed with Thunderbolt compatibility which is what the eGPUs use.