Unlock Next-Gen Speed: Upgrade Your Old Motherboard to USB4 with ASUS’ Game-Changing PCIe Gen4 Card

The installation requirements are the same as your Thunderbolt expansion card. You need to pay attention to the official motherboard compatibility information to ensure normal operation.

In response to the launch of USB4 design solutions, ASUS also launched the USB4 PCIe Gen4 card, allowing users of their specific motherboards to purchase it to gain USB4 functionality.

USB4 PCIe Gen4 Card is one of the peripherals for ASUS motherboards Since Intel launched Thunderbolt more than ten years ago, ASUS has been designing the corresponding expansion interface cards. For those gamers whose computers are not old but want to try USB4, the USB4 PCIe Gen4 Card, which costs about 2,990 yuan, is suitable for ASUS motherboard users.

Based on the accumulated development and design experience in the past, the overall design configuration of the USB4 PCIe Gen4 card is obviously inherited from ThunderboltEX series products. Its body size is 119.5 x 88.9mm. ASUS has added a metal cover as before. In addition to the visual appearance of the product, it also serves to promote heat dissipation, so at first glance, the appearance is very similar to ThunderboltEX. .

In terms of external structure configuration, the I/O backplane provides 2 ports each of USB Type-C and DisplayPort IN, and a DisplayPort cable is provided in the package to facilitate the input of mixed display signals. As for other connection requirements inside the host, the USB4 and USB 2.0 header must be connected to the motherboard. Corresponding cables are also provided, as well as a 6-pin PCIe auxiliary power supply.

It uses ASMedia host chip model ASM4242 internally, supports USB4 Gen 3×2 (40Gbps) and features Thunderbolt 4/3 interchangeability and is also USB 3.2 backwards compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps compatibility and similar standards). as DisplayPort V1.4a and HBR3 and VESA DisplayPort Alt Mode are also accepted.

The PCIe interface of ASM4242 supports PCIe 4.0 x4 upstream, which means that installing a USB4 PCIe Gen4 card requires a corresponding interface. ASUS recommends using the lower set of slots on the motherboard. Of course, especially for motherboards with B-series chipsets, you need to pay attention to whether the slot is PCIe 4.0 x4, otherwise it will affect USB4 performance to varying degrees.

The remaining connection requirements between the USB4 PCIe Gen4 card and the motherboard include a 14-pin to 1-pin cable called USB4 Header and a USB 2.0 cable each. The pinout and cable material number of the former are exactly the same as those of ThunderboltEX, while the motherboard is the same. The corresponding socket changes over time and is called TB_Header, TB (USB4) Header, and USB4_Header.

Yes, even if the socket on the motherboard does not have the word USB4, it will work, because the key is in the motherboard’s UEFI BIOS. The expansion card must be enabled after ASUS updates and adds the corresponding options. The USB4 PCIe Gen4 card is currently compatible with a limited number of motherboards. Only AMD TRX50/X670/B650 series and Intel Z790/B760/H770 series have been tested and verified.

USB4 PCIe Gen4 Card Motherboard Compatibility List:Link to the official ASUS website

As for the need for the 6-pin PCIe auxiliary power socket, it is because the 2-port USB Type-C port on the rear panel also has a fast charging function (20V/3A, 60W, if necessary, a PCIe power supply). the cable must be connected. Similarly, the 2-port DisplayPort IN is used for the signal input of the internal display of the processor and independent graphics card. It can be ignored if there is no need to connect a monitor.

In addition, for OS compatibility, ASUS recommends using Windows 11/10. Only Windows 11 natively supports USB4. In “Device Manager”, you can see that ASM4242 is displayed as a USB4 controller. As for “Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > USB”, you can also see some options related to USB4, and the overall support is more complete than Windows 10.

In the USB4 PCIe Gen4 performance test experience part, in addition to pairing it with OWC Express 1M2, an external box that also uses ASMedia solution, Thunderbolt 4/3 products were also added for cross-testing. The test results are summarized in other chapters.

Further reading