Mycenius
Active member
Hi All,
Just signed up (but was a previous lurker and occasional poster on Sevenforums and Tenforums). I'm a little late to the party upgrading to 11, as I have an older machine that failed the Win11 minimum requirements on a couple of fronts (Processor & GPU) so hadn't rushed to do anything about it. Anyway I am now (for full background read below, but my main question is in this first paragraph). The main point/question of my post, in the event I don't have fTPM and need to get a hw module (Gigabyte 20-1 pin GC-TPM2.0), is that due to the age of the MoBo it looks like there are essentially no Gigabyte OEM ones available anymore (mainly because I've waited 2 years to do this). So what are the risks or dangers (if any) with buying the "compatible" or cloned units from China - obviously they just might not work properly to start with (from a manufacturing quality perspective) or be faulty. But what about the security/encryption side, is there potential for these to be compromised or otherwise unreliable - or is their operation essentially secure due to their nature regardless of who or where they are made?
That's my main concern as I may have only the option of getting a cloned unit for my MoBo. You don't need to read further, BUT If you want the full background as to why I might need to go down this route read on...
I recently got a new game (BG3), first in some time, and didn't want to buy or build a whole new machine for it. So I had to upgrade my graphics to run it (and hopefully in the process help extend the PC's life a bit longer than I had been expecting). As a result I'm now only 'below-minimum' on the processor for Win11 so looking to upgrade; however the TPM2.0 requirement is flagged as a 'maybe' I presume (i.e. it's orange)? With regard to TPM, my Gigabyte H110 Motherboard's BIOS shows (it is updated to the latest version of fw) Intel PTT enabled and also Gigabyte TPM2.0 enabled as well. However it shows no device installed for the latter (which is correct as I currently don't have a TPM module physically fitted to the motherboard, obviously). The Windows 10 TPM control panel/console also shows TPM capability but no TPM source/device present. This suggests to me there is no fTPM.
I was presuming MoBo should have had fTPM via Intel PTT, especially with the latest fw, however:
(P.S. I've read through a few threads here, such as If you are going shopping for a TPM 2.0 module, here are some things to know, Windows security, and Changing from firmware TPM to discrete TPM for example to see if there's been much coverage but couldn't see anything notable.)
Appreciate any insights and TIA.

Just signed up (but was a previous lurker and occasional poster on Sevenforums and Tenforums). I'm a little late to the party upgrading to 11, as I have an older machine that failed the Win11 minimum requirements on a couple of fronts (Processor & GPU) so hadn't rushed to do anything about it. Anyway I am now (for full background read below, but my main question is in this first paragraph). The main point/question of my post, in the event I don't have fTPM and need to get a hw module (Gigabyte 20-1 pin GC-TPM2.0), is that due to the age of the MoBo it looks like there are essentially no Gigabyte OEM ones available anymore (mainly because I've waited 2 years to do this). So what are the risks or dangers (if any) with buying the "compatible" or cloned units from China - obviously they just might not work properly to start with (from a manufacturing quality perspective) or be faulty. But what about the security/encryption side, is there potential for these to be compromised or otherwise unreliable - or is their operation essentially secure due to their nature regardless of who or where they are made?
That's my main concern as I may have only the option of getting a cloned unit for my MoBo. You don't need to read further, BUT If you want the full background as to why I might need to go down this route read on...
I recently got a new game (BG3), first in some time, and didn't want to buy or build a whole new machine for it. So I had to upgrade my graphics to run it (and hopefully in the process help extend the PC's life a bit longer than I had been expecting). As a result I'm now only 'below-minimum' on the processor for Win11 so looking to upgrade; however the TPM2.0 requirement is flagged as a 'maybe' I presume (i.e. it's orange)? With regard to TPM, my Gigabyte H110 Motherboard's BIOS shows (it is updated to the latest version of fw) Intel PTT enabled and also Gigabyte TPM2.0 enabled as well. However it shows no device installed for the latter (which is correct as I currently don't have a TPM module physically fitted to the motherboard, obviously). The Windows 10 TPM control panel/console also shows TPM capability but no TPM source/device present. This suggests to me there is no fTPM.
I was presuming MoBo should have had fTPM via Intel PTT, especially with the latest fw, however:
- the MoBo BIOS & Manual say for the Hardware PTM2.0 to be enabled then Intel PTT must be enabled first (which is contrary to my understanding of this - you either have Intel PTT enabled or you have the MoBo Manufacturer Hardware PTM enabled, not both?), and
- the Gigabyte press releases in 2021 suggest the '100' series MoBos were excluded from the firmware updates that implemented Intel PTT via fw post the Win11 announcement). My full MoBo model is H110M-S2H-CF (U3E1) so if anyone knows for sure its got the fTPM would be nice to know...
(P.S. I've read through a few threads here, such as If you are going shopping for a TPM 2.0 module, here are some things to know, Windows security, and Changing from firmware TPM to discrete TPM for example to see if there's been much coverage but couldn't see anything notable.)
Appreciate any insights and TIA.

- Windows Build/Version
- Windows 10 Pro 22H2 (looking to upgrade to W11)
My Computers
System One System Two
-
- OS
- Windows 11 Pro 23H2
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Manufacturer/Model
- Bespoke Home Build
- CPU
- Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7700K 4.20Ghz 14nm
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte H110M-S2H-CF (U3E1)
- Memory
- 2 x Crucial 8GB 2400 DDR4 (CL17)
- Graphics Card(s)
- Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 AERO OC 8GB GDDR6
- Sound Card
- Integral Realtek Hi-Def Audio and GPU NVIDIA High Def Audio
- Monitor(s) Displays
- DELL S2721QS 4K and DELL S2721DS QHD
- Screen Resolution
- 3840 x 2160 and 2560 x 1440
- Hard Drives
- 1 x 500GB Samsung SSD 750 EVO (Windows OS)
1 x 500GB Samsung SSD 870 EVO (Gaming Installs)
2 x 2TB Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB 5,900rpm (User Data, etc)
- PSU
- Thermaltake 750W
- Case
- SilverStone Temjin TJ06 (black)
- Cooling
- NOCTUA NH-D9L CPU Cooler (single fan)
- Keyboard
- Cooler Master CK550 RGB Mechanical Gaming
- Mouse
- Logitech M150 3-Button (wireless) and Razer Copperhead 7-Button Green Mouse (wired)
- Browser
- Brave
- Other Info
- QNAP TS-421 NAS (12TB RAID5)
QNAP HS-453DX NAS (4TB RAID1)
-
- Operating System
- macOS 14 Sonoma
- Computer type
- Laptop
- Manufacturer/Model
- Apple MacBook Pro 18.3 (14" 2021)
- CPU
- Apple M1 Pro
- Motherboard
- Apple
- Memory
- 32GB
- Graphics card(s)
- Apple M1 Pro integral GPU
- Sound Card
- MacBook Pro Integral
- Monitor(s) Displays
- 14" Liquid Retina XDR Display
- Screen Resolution
- 3024 x 1964
- Hard Drives
- 2TB
- PSU
- MacBook Integral
- Case
- MacBook Pro 2021 14"
- Mouse
- MacBook Touchpad and Sony VAIO N50 Aluminium 3-Button Compact Bluetooth Mouse
- Keyboard
- MacBook Integral and Logitech K380 Multi-Device Compact Bluetooth Keyboard
- Browser
- Brave
- Other Info
- QNAP TS-421 NAS (12TB RAID5)
QNAP HS-453DX NAS (4TB RAID1)