If you are going shopping for a TPM 2.0 module, here are some things to know

I've learned some things about TPM modules that you may want to know if you need to go shopping for one.

1) There is NOT a standard pinout for TPM modules. As a result, a 14-pin TPM for an ASUS MB will NOT work in an MSI MB. Make sure that you obtain one from the same manufacturer as your MB. Yes, I destroyed one TPM module because I saw advice saying that an ASUS TPM was compatible with an MSI MB. Guess what? It wasn't

2) Even within the same manufacturer, you still need to be careful. For example, newer MBs have moved to a different interface type (an SPI bus) for the TPM modules. Because of this, a 14-pin OLDER TPM may not work in a newer MB even though it too has a 14-pin connector and vice versa.

Check your USER guide. If it indicates that the TPM header is an SPI TPM header, make sure the module you purchase is an SPI TPM module.

Note that there are different numbers of pins as well. Not all TPMs have the same number of pins.

3) Even the same part number may not be compatible between systems! For example, for my older MSI MB, MSI has at least 2 TPM modules that it refers to in shorthand in various places as a "4136" model. However, there is a difference when you look at the full part numbers:

914-4136-103
914-4136-105

The first part is a TPM 1.2 module that cannot be upgraded to 2.0. The second part is a TPM 2.0 module with upgradable FW.

4) For newer MBs, check your UEFI FW settings. Many of the new MBs have a firmware TPM built-in. Even MBs with a TPM header may have this so you can opt to use it rather than a hardware TPM. The disadvantage: It is my understanding from what I have read, that when a UEFI FW update is performed, you may loose the current TPM data which will require a recovery key to be entered. Not difficult, but a little bit of a pain in the keister. I can't confirm whether any older chipsets support FW TPM, but I know that some Intel 400 series and 500 series MBs support this.

I found all this stuff out the hard way. Burned up one TPM and also have a module that has no FW upgradability from 1.2 to 2.0.

Sigh. Nothing is ever easy.

If anyone has any more info people should be aware of, please add on to this thread.

Is it possible that they are compatible with certain mobos?

As for the rest - good info!

Thanks for sharing this great information.

You might think TPM modules are designed to have a common interface but they are not. My Gigabyte motherboard takes a 20 pin TPM 1.2 module but Gigabyte no longer sell these. I did find only one 20 pin TPM module on eBay from Foxconn but there are differences in some pins on the connectors.

And you might also check your UEFI setup for software TPM (yes, it's a thing: https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/TPM-2.0-A-Brief-Introduction.pdf ) before you actually go out and but a hardware module you may not need.

See @Ghot's excellent post also: Win 11 - PC Health Check Tool - How I passed.

So you're MSI? So am I and noticed some of this already. But I'm on an Intel Z68 MB with a 2600K that does have a TPM interface. It should be 14-1 pin like the older TPM 2.0 module in MSI's store, which of course has jumped in price, but at least supposedly is still there. It says 300 and 400 and X570 boards supported. But I want to know if that's "UP TO". But Z68 is long before 2.0 and even before 1.4. I can't figure out if that actually matters, or if you just need the module to be 2.0 (with the correct connection of course - and MSI).

Sounds like your motherboard is closer to the supported era of that older module than mine, but have you actually gotten it working and to W11?

And will enabling Secure Boot actually require a system wipe of some sort?

And what do you mean by burning up your modules?

Steve C said:

You might think TPM modules are designed to have a common interface but they are not. My Gigabyte motherboard takes a 20 pin TPM 1.2 module but Gigabyte no longer sell these. I did find only one 20 pin TPM module on eBay from Foxconn but there are differences in some pins on the connectors.

Click to expand...

20 pins are TPM 2.0, they have fall-back compatibility with TPM 1.0 and 1.2 though.

Have a look at Gigabyte's store page on Amazon in the USA, they have this same item in the UK and in Europe, I suspect they have in Asia, too.

Jgr9 said:

So you're MSI? So am I and noticed some of this already. But I'm on an Intel Z68 MB with a 2600K that does have a TPM interface. It should be 14-1 pin like the older TPM 2.0 module in MSI's store, which of course has jumped in price, but at least supposedly is still there. It says 300 and 400 and X570 boards supported. But I want to know if that's "UP TO". But Z68 is long before 2.0 and even before 1.4. I can't figure out if that actually matters, or if you just need the module to be 2.0 (with the correct connection of course - and MSI).

Sounds like your motherboard is closer to the supported era of that older module than mine, but have you actually gotten it working and to W11?

And will enabling Secure Boot actually require a system wipe of some sort?

And what do you mean by burning up your modules?

Click to expand...

You can get a TPM 2.0 add-in card that plugs into that socket specifically for your motherboard, can't say what the price is though.

I don't have a MSI Z68P but I have a Gigabyte GA-Z68P-DS3 version 1.00 motherboard and I have a TPM 2.0 20-pin installed and running Windows 11 Ultimate right now.

I have an ASUS M52bc motherboard with a 20-pin socket [actually 19-pin] with a Core i7 setup but it's only a 4th Generation, no way to get Win11 using the Microsoft requirements. And that's the newest of the 3 Desktops that are working fine with Win10, 2 Pro and 1 Home.

Jgr9 said:

So you're MSI? So am I and noticed some of this already. But I'm on an Intel Z68 MB with a 2600K that does have a TPM interface. It should be 14-1 pin like the older TPM 2.0 module in MSI's store, which of course has jumped in price, but at least supposedly is still there. It says 300 and 400 and X570 boards supported. But I want to know if that's "UP TO". But Z68 is long before 2.0 and even before 1.4. I can't figure out if that actually matters, or if you just need the module to be 2.0 (with the correct connection of course - and MSI).

Sounds like your motherboard is closer to the supported era of that older module than mine, but have you actually gotten it working and to W11?

And will enabling Secure Boot actually require a system wipe of some sort?

And what do you mean by burning up your modules?

Click to expand...

For all you MSIers out there...



May you find happiness on Amazon...

Berton said:

I have an ASUS M52bc motherboard with a 20-pin socket [actually 19-pin] with a Core i7 setup but it's only a 4th Generation, no way to get Win11 using the Microsoft requirements. And that's the newest of the 3 Desktops that are working fine with Win10, 2 Pro and 1 Home.

Click to expand...

The requirements are that you have a 64-bit computer, with 4 GiB of RAM or more, with TPM 2.0 either directly on the CPU die or as an add-in module or card.

I am running a 3770 non K, 16 GiB RAM on a Gigabyte GA-Z68P-US3 version 1.00 motherboard with a TPM 2.0 20 pin (technically 19, as well), I'm in Windows 11 right now.

Steve C said:

You might think TPM modules are designed to have a common interface but they are not. My Gigabyte motherboard takes a 20 pin TPM 1.2 module but Gigabyte no longer sell these. I did find only one 20 pin TPM module on eBay from Foxconn but there are differences in some pins on the connectors.

Click to expand...

Scroll down the page, you can get them from Gigabyte on their Amazon pages across the world. They do have the 20 pin TPM 2.0 upgrade module to take the place of the 1.2.

DLexEdition said:

Scroll down the page, you can get them from Gigabyte on their Amazon pages across the world. They do have the 20 pin TPM 2.0 upgrade module to take the place of the 1.2.

Click to expand...

My GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G requires a GC-TPM2.0_S TPM Module only.

A few months ago, I went looking for one and couldn't find one anywhere.
I finally emailed GIGABYTE Support, and they replied that they were no longer available.

Are you saying that they're available now?

Edit: I have just gone looking again, and it appears that they may now be available.

DLexEdition said:

20 pins are TPM 2.0, they have fall-back compatibility with TPM 1.0 and 1.2 though.

Click to expand...

Be careful!. The number of pins alone will NOT allow you to determine if a TPM module is 1.2 or 2.0. There are 20 pin TPM 1.2 modules out there as well. Simply google "TPM 1.2 20 pin" and you will immediately find images of such modules. Examples:

1) My ASUS MB for 10th and 11th Gen Intel CPUs supports only TPM 2.0 modules, but the header is 14 pins, not 20.

2) Many TPM 1.2 modules are upgradable via firmware to TPM 2.0. Clearly, the FW upgrade is not changing the number of pins that this module has :). My HP Spectre x360 shipped with a TPM 1.2 module but it was upgradable to 2.0 via firmware update.

The point is simply this: Be sure that what you purchase matches:

1) The correct interface type
2) The correct number of pins
3) The correct pinout (compare TPM module specs vs. motherboard specs)
4) The correct TPM revision supported by your motherboard firmware

EDIT: Interface type is very important. Not every 14 pin TPM will work with every 14 pin header, likewise, not every 20 pin TPM module will work with every 20 pin header!

Stigg said:

My GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G requires a GC-TPM2.0_S TPM Module only.
View attachment 21017
A few months ago, I went looking for one and couldn't find one anywhere.
I finally emailed GIGABYTE Support, and they replied that they were no longer available.

Are you saying that they're available now?

Edit: I have just gone looking again, and it appears that they may now be available.

Click to expand...

Gigabyte just sent this to me to give to you.

If you have questions you can ask it on their Amazon store.

DLexEdition said:

The requirements are that you have a 64-bit computer, with 4 GiB of RAM or more, with TPM 2.0 either directly on the CPU die or as an add-in module or card.

I am running a 3770 non K, 16 GiB RAM on a Gigabyte GA-Z68P-US3 version 1.00 motherboard with a TPM 2.0 20 pin (technically 19, as well), I'm in Windows 11 right now.

Click to expand...

Did you do a clean install or upgrade? I know you can probably just do it if it's clean, but I would think it wouldn't let you if tried to upgrade because it wants newer CPUs, too.

I'm on a MSI Z68A with a 2600K with 14-1 pin connection. Every once in a while I try looking into that older MSI 14-1 pin TPM 2.0 Module - which only says it supports Intel 300 series which is much newer. Unfortunately trying to contact MSI support gave me what felt like a bogus answer saying only that they don't have TPM 1.2(?) modules even though I didn't ask that? I just asked if that TPM 2.0 module would be compatible with my motherboard. Like it wasn't even a response really. It was like a checkbox of an item they don't have (a TPM 1.2 module, or 1.4 i don't remember). Just a copy-pasted bs response? But I still can't be sure.

I thought I've also read that there's a chance you might need to wipe your system to enable Secure Boot? And someone else maybe here, idk, said they fried their TPM chip because turns out it was incompatible (even with the correct pins for theirs?) But they never actually elaborated, which is frustrating.

Jgr9 said:

And someone else maybe here, idk, said they fried their TPM chip because turns out it was incompatible (even with the correct pins for theirs?) But they never actually elaborated, which is frustrating.

Click to expand...

That may have been me. Before I researched this fully, I had originally thought that all you needed was to make sure you got a TPM with the correct number of pins. Nope. Fried a TPM module because that thinking was wrong.

Some TPM modules use an LPC hardware interface, while newer TPM modules tend to use an SPI interface. I had purchased a modle with an SPI interface but what I really needed was LPC for an older MB.

Take a look at this overview of the various TPM 2.0 modules available from MSI. You will note that some list an interface type of LPC while others specify SPI.

Hi folks
If your computer doesn't have a TPM (computer presumably must be quite old then these days) I'd advise those who really want to run W11 to consider using Virtual Machines first - as you can Emulate a TPM V2. A lot can change in the next couple of years both OS and hardware wise - so people might be better off buying a faster SSD or more memory instead or even a nice bigger monitor until such times that they will buy a new machine (or build one).

Cheers
jimbo

ashok said:

Thanks for sharing this great information.

Click to expand...

Welcome to windows Eleven forum ashok:

hsehestedt said:

That may have been me. Before I researched this fully, I had originally thought that all you needed was to make sure you got a TPM with the correct number of pins. Nope. Fried a TPM module because that thinking was wrong.

Some TPM modules use an LPC hardware interface, while newer TPM modules tend to use an SPI interface. I had purchased a modle with an SPI interface but what I really needed was LPC for an older MB.

Take a look at this overview of the various TPM 2.0 modules available from MSI. You will note that some list an interface type of LPC while others specify SPI.

TPM 2.0 Module

MSI TPM2.0 Module enables a deeper and broader level of security coverage.

www.msi.com

Click to expand...

But you didn't damage your Motherboard, did you? Did you ever get a TPM 2.0 Module working and Windows 11? Did you have the wipe the system (like for Secure Boot maybe or maybe because MS wouldn't give you an upgrade path with an older CPU without a clean install)? And how about performance?