Thunderbolt expansion card for a HP Z440 workstation

[JBerlin]

I am trying to add a Thunderbolt expansion card to a Z440 PC.  The HP expansion card (Thunderbolt-2 branded PCIe card 753732-001) is unavailable.  So, two questions: (1) Can a 2019 version of the Z440 PC support Thunderbolt 3? (2) Are there any 3rd party Thunderbolt (2 or 3) expansion cards that work with the Z440?  By "work with", I mean physically fits with the correct connectors on the motherboard  and has drivers that are compatible with the system (and any other factor that I have omitted).  Thank you.

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

i've answered this question several times, please use the forums "search" feature before posting in the future

the HP TBolt 2 and TBolt 3 cards are both OEM clones of the intel reference design, both cards use the same  connector/pinout on the card which connects to the HP motherboard TBolt header however the cable that connects card to motherboard TBolt header is different between the zx20 and zx40 models the z440 uses a  5pin cable header on the motherboard as i recall unlike the earlier z420 that uses a hp specific unique pinout

so as long as you use the HP z440 TBolt cable on the HP TBolt 2 or 3 card the card(s) should work using the HP or the intel nuc TBolt driver the only possible issue is the firmware on both TBolt cards is slightly different

the Gigabyte Alpine Ridge Retail TBolt 3 card should also be compatible when using the HP tbolt cable or possibly the retail cable check the HP service manual for the MB tbolt header pins description and match them to the gigabyte cards manual pinout

 

[JBerlin]

Thank you.