Asus ThunderboltEX II/Dual User manual

ThunderboltEX II/DUAL
15060-35500000
User Guide

2
E9001
First Edition
February 2014
Copyright © 2014 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
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limited to the implied warranties or conditions of merchantability or tness for a particular purpose. In no
event shall ASUS, its directors, ofcers, employees, or agents be liable for any indirect, special, incidental,
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arising from any defect or error in this manual or product.
Specications and information contained in this manual ae furnished for informational use only, and are
subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by ASUS.
ASUS assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual,
including the products and software described in it.
Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modied or altered, unless
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owners’ benet, without intent to infringe.

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Package contents
Check your package for the following items:
• 1 x ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card
• 1 x DisplayPort cable
• 1 x mini DisplayPort cable
• 1 x ASUS TB_Header cable
• 1 x User guide
• 1 x Support CD
If any of the above items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer.
Compatible ASUS motherboard models
The ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card is compatible with your ASUS Z87-DELUXE* motherboard.
Welcome!
Congratulations and thank you for buying an ASUS ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card!
The ASUS ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card provides Thunderbolt™ connection to other
Thunderbolt-enabled devices. Use this card to quickly transfer native PCIe and DisplayPort
protocols between a PC and Thunderbolt™ devices.
Features
Your ASUS ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card features two Thunderbolt™ 2 ports that supports
Thunderbolt™ 2 technology and two DisplayPort that supports DisplayPort 1.2 specications.
The Thunderbolt™ 2 port provides 20 Gb/s bi-directional bandwidth and incorporates
DisplayPort 1.2 support enabling transfer and display of 4K video les simultaneously. Each
of the Thunderbolt™ 2 port allows you to connect up to six Thunderbolt-enabled devices in a
daisy-chain conguration using Thunderbolt™ cables.
* Use the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card only with motherboards that passed
Intel® certication.

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ThunderboltEX II/DUAL specications summary
Chipset Intel®DSL5520 Thunderbolt™2 Controller
External Connectors
2 x Thunderbolt™ 2 ports (20 Gb/s bandwidth on each port)
2 x DisplayPort 1.2 IN ports
1 x 9-pin TB header
Display
Supports Thunderbolt™2 interface* with maximum resolution
of 4096 x 2160 @ 24 Hz / 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz
DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport (MST) compliant;
supports up to three displays of DisplayPort 1.2 monitors.**
* Use the Thunderbolt™ cable to link Thunderbolt™ monitors and
Thunderbolt-enabled devices in a daisy chain connection.
** Use the mini DisplayPort cable to link up to three DisplayPort 1.2
monitors in a daisy chain connection.
Data Rateㄑ 2 x Thunderbolt™ 2 ports for 4 channels, 20 Gb/s
bi-directional per channel
Accessories
1 x DisplayPort cable*
1 x mini DisplayPort cable*
1 x ASUS TB_Header cable**
1 x Support CD***
* Provides link from the motherboard’s DisplayPort or mini DisplayPort to
the DisplayPort 1.2 IN port on the ThunderboltEX II card. Use the bundled
DisplayPort or mini DIsplayPort cable depending on the available
DisplayPort connector on your motherboard.
** Provides link from TB_Header of the motherboard to the
ThunderboltEX II card’s TB header.
*** Contains the Thunderbolt™ 2 driver.
Operating Systems
Supported
Windows®7 (64-bit) / Windows®8 (64-bit) /
Windows®8.1 (64-bit)
Form Factor 3.35 in. x 3.94 in. (8.5 cm x 10 cm)
* Specications are subject to change without notice.
• Use only Thunderbolt™ technology-enabled devices that passed the Intel®
validation to ensure optimum performance and compatibility with your
ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card.
• Ensure your monitor complies with DisplayPort 1.2 specications if
you want to connect them in a daisy-chain conguration using the
Thunderbolt™ 2 port.

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ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card layout
Thunderbolt™ 2 ports 1 and 2
DisplayPort IN ports 1 and 2
PCIE 2.0 interface
LED indicator
TB_Header
To install the driver, place the Support DVD into the optical drive then follow on-screen
instructions to nish the installation.
Installing the ThunderboltEX II driver
We highly recommend that you install the Thunderbolt™ 2 driver rst before
installing the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card.

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Installing the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card
To install ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card:
• Before installing the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card in your motherboard,
ensure that you have an available PCIE 2.0 x16 slot connected to the
platform controller hub (PCH). For more information on the correct
PCIE 2.0 slot to use, refer to the section ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card
recommended conguration of this user guide.
• The following illustrations are for reference only. The motherboard layout
may vary with models, but the installation steps remain the same.
1. Shut down your PC.
2. Open the chassis.
Ensure that no cables or
peripherals are blocking the PCIE
2.0 slot.
When the red LED on the
ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card
is on, it indicates that a cable
is disconnected. Refer to
the section ThunderboltEX
II/DUAL card layout of this
user guide for the location of
the LED indicator.
3. Align and insert the ThunderboltEX
II/DUAL card into a PCIE 2.0 slot until it
is securely seated in place.
4. Connect the ASUS TB_Header cable
to the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card
(A) and to the TB_Header port on the
motherboard (B).

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5. Connect the DisplayPort cable and the mini DisplayPort cable to the ThunderboltEX
II/DUAL card’s DisplayPort IN ports (A) to the DisplayPort (B) and the mini DisplayPort
(C) on the motherboard’s I/O port.
6. Close the chassis.
7. Turn on the PC.
8. Connect the Thunderbolt™ cable from your Thunderbolt-enabled device to the
Thunderbolt™ 2 port on the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card.
• The Thunderbolt™ cable is not bundled with the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL
package. Use the Thunderbolt™ cable that came with your Thunderbolt-
enabled device when connecting to the Thunderbolt™ 2 port on your
ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card.
• The two Thunderbolt™ 2 port of the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card is
backward compatible with the previous Thunderbolt™ technology.
• For the recommended daisy-chain congurations or connections, refer to
the section Connecting to external devices of this user guide.
Thunderbolt™ 2 connectors
DisplayPort cable
mini DisplayPort cable

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ThunderboltEX II/DUAL card recommended conguration
Compatible ASUS
motherboard
models
PCIE 2.0 port on
the motherboard
(color)
PCIE 2.0 mode
(D = Default;
M = Maximum;
D/M = Default &
Maximum)
Maximum
bandwidth
Supported
BIOS
version*
Z87-DELUXE PCIe 2.0 x16_3
(Dark Brown) D/M: x4 mode 20 Gb/s 1702 or later
Update the BIOS of your motherboard and the VGA driver to the latest version.
Go to www.asus.com for more information.
If you install an add-on VGA card, ensure to set the BIOS item iGPU Multi
Monitor to Enable. Refer to the chapter BIOS setup of your motherboard’s
user guide for more information.

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Single-port conguration
You can refer to the following recommended daisy-chain connections for a single-port
conguration.
You can use either of the Thunderbolt™ 2 port on the ThunderboltEX II/DUAL
card for the following connections.
Six (6) Thunderbolt™ devices + three (3) DisplayPort 1.2 displays
Six (6) Thunderbolt™ devices + one (1) native DisplayPort monitor
Six (6) Thunderbolt™ devices
Connecting to external devices
Before connecting any Thunderbolt-enabled devices in a daisy-chain
conguration, ensure that it is equipped with one Thunderbolt™ IN port and one
Thunderbolt™ OUT port.

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DUAL-port conguration
You can refer to the following recommended daisy-chain connections for a DUAL-port
conguration.
Twelve (12) Thunderbolt™ devices + six (6) DisplayPort 1.2 displays
Twelve (12) Thunderbolt™ devices
Twelve (12) Thunderbolt™ devices + two (2) native DisplayPort monitors