Thunderbolt 3 on Z170 Extreme7+?
Printed From: ASRock.com
Category: Technical Support
Forum Name: Intel Motherboards
Forum Description: Question about ASRock Intel Motherboards
URL: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=924
Printed Date: 27 Jul 2025 at 1:11am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Thunderbolt 3 on Z170 Extreme7+?
Posted By: Alderon
Subject: Thunderbolt 3 on Z170 Extreme7+?
Date Posted: 01 Oct 2015 at 6:51pm
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Hello, I'd like to know if the AIC connector on the Extreme7+ will be compatible with TB3 addon cards? Because it only states "Thunderbolt AIC" while it states explicitely 5 PIN/10 PIN for the z170 OC Formula. Best regards, Alderon
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Replies:
Posted By: parsec
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2015 at 11:57am
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The Z170 OC Formula has two TB connectors, one five pin and one ten pin. The Z170 Extreme7+ has just the one five pin connector. The manual of the Z170 OC Formula seems to say the five pin connector is for TB2, while the ten pin connector is for TB3. Do you know what the GPIO cable from a TB3 AIC has as its connector? That is, five or ten pin? The connector for the ten pin interface is quite different than the five pin connector. ------------- http://valid.x86.fr/48rujh" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Alderon
Date Posted: 02 Oct 2015 at 12:40pm
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That's what I assumed, hence my hint at the difference in regards to the oc formula. But then again, I felt it's better to ask for opinions as there's hardly any information available about TB3. TB3 might finally be viable on PCs (and not only macs) hence why I'm a bit hesitant to invest in a mainboard with "only" TB2. Then again, I guess I'll just wait until ASRock comes up with new mainboards with TB3.
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Posted By: shineproductions
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2017 at 6:29am
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To clear up a few things: My Z170 Extreme7+ has two Thunderbolt GPIO connectors, one five pin and one ten pin. Both Gigabyte, and Asus use a 5 pin GPIO to connect their Thunderbolt 3 AIC cards to their mainboards. I would like to know if ASRock is going to release a Thunderbolt 3 AIC card for their Thunderbolt compatible mainboards  |
Posted By: dshirsh
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 1:23pm
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From what I have gathered the TB 3 AIC only works with some Z270 mobos. The Extreme7+ is a Z170 mobo. The Extreme7 has a 5-pin TB AIC connector. That means it will only work with the TB 2 AIC. ------------- Intel Skylake i7 6700 4.0Ghz ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ 64GB G.Skill 2133 (3) Samsung 950 512GB Pro RAID 0 WD 5TB HD Pioneer BD-209 CD/DVD/BR Burner |
Posted By: dshirsh
Date Posted: 09 Jun 2017 at 6:18pm
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Turns out that the Extreme7+ does have both AIC connectors next to the PCIE4 slot. I'm waiting for confirmation from ASRock as to whether the TB3 card is officially supported on this mobo. The reason the other mobos just use a 5-pin connector is that their AIC only has 1 TB port whereas the ASRock TB3 AIC has 2, necessitating the 10-pin connector being used. I'm confused because of the Extreme7+ manual showing only the 5-pin hookup and the BIOS only showing TB2 as an option. The manual for the TB3 AIC lists a selection of Z270 mobos that are compatible. I'm suspecting the 10-pin was available in late production run boards only and the docs were not brought up to date. ------------- Intel Skylake i7 6700 4.0Ghz ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ 64GB G.Skill 2133 (3) Samsung 950 512GB Pro RAID 0 WD 5TB HD Pioneer BD-209 CD/DVD/BR Burner |