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Green PCB add-in card with dual USB-C ports and metal bracket

GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE Z590 Thunderbolt 4 PCIe x4 expansion card

SKU CH-185H-9AFSV MPN Z590

Adds dual Thunderbolt 4 ports with 40 Gb/s bandwidth, DisplayPort 1.4 video and up to 97 W power delivery to compatible motherboards

  • Intel Thunderbolt 4 certified for trusted compatibility
  • Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports at 40 Gb/s bandwidth
  • Daisy-chain up to 10 devices across both ports
  • DisplayPort 1.4 drives 4K video at 60 FPS
  • Power Delivery up to 97W charges laptops fast

Thunderbolt 4 PCIe x4 add-in card

The GIGABYTE GC-MAPLE RIDGE is an Intel Thunderbolt 4 certified expansion card that uses the JHL8540 controller to bring two USB Type-C ports to compatible Z590 motherboards. It targets builders who want 40 Gb/s connectivity for docks, displays and storage without replacing their platform. Buyers whose boards lack the required Thunderbolt header cannot use this card.

Thermals noise and power delivery

The card draws power from the PCIe slot and supplies up to 97 W through the first port at 19 V and 5 A, while the second port delivers up to 15 W at 5 V and 3 A. No active cooling is fitted, so the board relies on case airflow to keep the controller within operating limits during sustained 40 Gb/s transfers.

Daisy-chaining and display support

Each Thunderbolt 4 port can daisy-chain up to five devices for a total of ten peripherals without extra hubs. DisplayPort 1.4 capability lets the card drive two 4K displays at 60 FPS through the same USB Type-C connectors. The bundled GC-MAPLE RIDGE software enables firmware updates and port configuration for the add-in card.

How it compares

Measured against everything we stock in PCIe Expansion Cards, at today’s prices. Recalculated every night.

Price $134.99
Pricier than about 89% of the 891 comparable items (median $30.99).

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Specifications

No published specifications for this item yet.

Questions about this item

How do I install the GC-MAPLE RIDGE into a Thunderbolt-ready GIGABYTE motherboard, and which header is often missed?

Fit the card into a free PCIe x4 slot, then connect the supplied Thunderbolt header cable to the motherboard's designated TBT_HEADER; the step most people forget is attaching that header, without which the ports remain inactive.

What upkeep will the JHL8540 controller and its two USB Type-C ports need over time?

No scheduled maintenance is required; keep the ports free of dust with occasional compressed air and update the Thunderbolt firmware via GIGABYTE's support page when new versions appear.

At what point does the 40 Gb/s bandwidth ceiling become the bottleneck during heavy daisy-chained workloads?

The 40 Gb/s aggregate limit is reached first when combined PCIe and DisplayPort 1.4 traffic from up to 10 devices (5 per port) saturates the link, capping sustained throughput at that figure.

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