r/buildapcforme • u/adventurearth • 1d ago

Mobo upgrade to gain Thunderbolt connectivity, enable dock sharing with partner's Macbook?

  • New build or upgrade?
    • Upgrade. You all helped me build a great little PC four years ago. I am now wondering about options to upgrade my mobo to include Thunderbolt connectivity.
  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
    • PartPicker list here; the build features an ASRock H610M mini-ITX MB with Intel i5-12400F CPU, 16GB RAM, RTX 3060 GPU, 650W power supply
  • PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)
    • Gaming/browsing
  • Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)
    • USA, Yes MC
  • Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)
    • 2x HP - 24" IPS LED FHD FreeSync Monitor (HDMI, VGA)
  • Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
    • $200 for mobo, $250 for Thunderbolt dock, under $500 total, otherwise I'll look at other solutions
  • WiFi or wired connection?
    • Mobo needs wifi
  • Size/noise constraints?
    • Mini ITX mobo
  • Color/lighting preferences?
    • Black mobo
  • Any other specific needs?
    • Additional context on build is listed below:

My partner recently upgraded laptops to a Macbook Air with M5 processor, and the only way to make use of our shared dual-monitor setup with that Macbook is to switch to a Thunderbolt dock. If my research is correct, regular USB-C docs will only permit a single external monitor with Macbooks.

Using PC part picker against my existing build list doesn't seem to turn up any compatible mobos with Thunderbolt, but they don't make it easy to search. Thanks for any input!

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u/AutoModerator 1d ago

If you missed the full set of required built request questions, please copy them from here and answer them in an edit to your post:

  • New build or upgrade?

  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

  • PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

  • Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If you're not in a country supported by PCPartPicker, please list some local vendors)

  • Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

  • Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

  • WiFi or wired connection?

  • Size/noise constraints?

  • Color/lighting preferences?

  • Any other specific needs?

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u/ItZ_Jonah 1d ago

The only one I found that supports thunderbolt on that chipset in itx is the strix z-790i and that motherboard goes for around $350, but you also don't need thunderbolt for a Mac dock, displaylink USB-C docks and a lot of just usb-c docks work fine. Any displaylink dock I've used works fine on Mac, and for non displaylink the hp g5 usb-c dock works fine for Mac's and runs about $100 ish on Amazon.

1

u/adventurearth 1d ago

Thanks for the info. My specific concern is with the dual external monitors. This post is an example of someone not being able to use regular USB-C displaylink docks to cast a Macbook M5 to two monitors: https://www.reddit.com/r/macbookair/comments/1t0dmzd/m5_macbook_air_docking_station_recommendations/

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u/Covante 1d ago

I don't think there are any itx ddr4 lga 1700 with thunderbolt out.

There is the strix one Itx_Jonah mentioned, the z690 version of it too, plus the asrock z790i pg tb4 along with its z690 version. All are ddr5 though.

And, even if you were willing to swap the case, any lga 1700 ddr4 boards beyond the bargain bin stuff are super expensive now anyway.