Thunderbolt expansion on Z2 G9 desktop

[Alex_H31]

Hello, I have Z2 G9 desktop (5F7Z8ES) which does not have Thunderbolt connection. I need one but the question is how it can be done for this particular type. From what I have found on Internet, there is an option of PCIe AIC (3UU05AA) and Flex IO card (3TK78AA). The main problem with this solution is that these devices are largely unavailable at this time. Are there any other possibilities for having Thunderbolt on this PC?E.g. using third-party PCIe extension cards (like ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 or similar - I know that this particular model will not work but maybe others?). Thanks

[Alex_H31]

There is a question (https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/HP-Z2-G9-tower-thu...) about this and as is mentioned there the situation about TB in these desktops is not well-documented (which is an euphemism, it is a total mess I would say). Two components are mentioned, PCIe TB card (3UU05AA) and Flex IO card (3TK77AA). Currently, the latter is unprocurable anywhere on Internet. I managed to obtain PCIe TB card - actually it was only guessed in that question that both cards are needed. The current version of 3UU05AA does not seem to require any Flex IO, at least it is not mentioned in the installation guide. You just need to insert it into a PCIe slot and connect the card to the motherboard using the supplied GPIO cable (in my case HP-PN:L27677-001). Unfortunately, the question there was for Z2 G9 (which I also happen to have) and this particular PCIe TB card, it seems, cannot be connected to these motherboards (in my case AS#M81625-002). How can one get Thunderbolt connection on these desktops therefore remains a mystery. Probably there was an older version of PCIe TB card? Was Flex IO for this particular version needed? I do not know. I tried to figure out using the motherboard layout where actually was TB's card cable expected to be connected, but I was not successful. I am still confused about the necessity to have both cards - it is mentioned in the guide for Z2 G9, but how they are expected to be connected is unknown to me. If both are required, probably the output of PCIe TB is expected to be connected to Flex IO card using GPIO (as hypothesized in the question) - but it looks that not with the TB card I do have (and photo of which is shown in the question link above). It is possible that it has been upgraded and is only compatible with newer versions of Z desktops. The only thing I know (or I am slowly becoming certain about) is that it is highly unlikely that this version of Z desktop can be made Thunderbolt-ready currently and that is pretty disappointing. Maybe this PCIe card would work with Z4, but prices for this class are exorbitant.