Best Thunderbolt 3 PCIE WIFI Cards in 2024

Are you on the hunt for the fastest means of making connections between multimedia pairing devices? Looking for the best connectivity ports to have them included in your next purchase of laptops or PCs? Whatever your reason might be, your visit presumably here is due to your search for the best Thunderbolt cards. Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E is the fastest technology in the whole world when it comes to multimedia sharing.

This is the reason why thunderbolt slots are included only in some of the high-end laptops or latest models of monitors coming at skyrocketed prices. Thunderbolt 3 is an upgrade of thunderbolt 2 and has twice the speed set at 40 GBPS which makes it 4 times swift than the fastest USB connection. If you are missing the thunderbolt port in your device you can have the thunderbolt card inserted in it and make an innovative change in it.

So, we have come up with the review of Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E WIFI Cards which will help you in picking the best model. Are you in a rush? Don’t worry we have brought you the top pick of today’s’ selection and the vote goes to Gigabyte Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt, which is the right contender with its dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and the bidirectional 40 GBPS bandwidth.

Contents

Best Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E WIFI Cards

If you are ready to have a detailed review of the Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E WIFI Cards then you must get yourself prepared for diving into a joyous and swift ride into the quick features and in-depth detail of these aspects of the top five Thunderbolt 3 Cards.

PRODUCT NAMEFEATURESPRICE
ASUS Thunderbolt EX 3-TR USB Type C, 100 W, Quick ChargeCHECK PRICE
Gigabyte Alpine Ridge ThunderboltDisplay Port 1.2, 4K video supportCHECK PRICE
ASUS Expansion CardUSB Type-A and C, Display PortCHECK PRICE
SoNNeT Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade4K UHD resolution support, USB C portCHECK PRICE
Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge 2.0Display Port 1.4CHECK PRICE

1. ASUS Thunderbolt EX 3-TR 

ThunderboltEX 3-TR Expansion Card for Z490

PROS

  • Intel 10th GEN support
  • 100W power output
  • Dual thunderbolt 3 ports
  • 8K video support
  • Daisy-chaining supportive

CONS

  • Only compatible with latest Intel Chipset

QUICK FEATURES

  • This is the latest card among all the Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E cards and is compatible with Intel 10th GEN Chipsets.
  • It is compatible with all the modern-day motherboards such as Intel H470 and Z490.
  • This port is capable of making a connection to the most advanced protocols when it comes to connectivity.
  • It is the most expensive PCI-E card.
  • It offers 100 Watts power delivery and has a quick charging base with 27 watts of power supply as output.
  • For alternate connections, this card features an HDMI, Display Port, and USB C support.

Starting from the most praiseworthy feature of this thunderbolt card, it is a real delight to have the latest chipset compatible card that will make the best pair with all the latest technologies. This card also features daisy-chaining support for up to 12 devices which is the highest value among all the thunderbolt cards and thus makes it the best one.

This Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card is fully compatible with the Intel 10th GEN chipsets. Other than this absolute goodness, this card has a wide range of perks and privileges such as the  100 watts of power delivery as the output of connection and in addition to this a quick recharging output of 27 watts that make it the fastest card in the list.

VERDICT:

This is the most expensive Thunderbolt card and requires you to spend a lot of fortune in exchange for all the latest technologies that a connection port can offer at the moment.

Check: PCI-E Risers and Extension Cables

2. Gigabyte Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt

GC-Alpine Ridge

PROS

  • HDMI port
  • 36 W power delivery
  • 12 devices Daisy Chaining
  • Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Budget-friendly

CONS

  • Complicated installation

QUICK FEATURES

  • This is the cheapest and most cost-effective among Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E WIFI cards.
  • It is supportive of PD 2.0 having power delivery of 36 Watts
  • This amazing card is compatible with all types of motherboards.
  • It is offering HDMI compatibility along with a range of connectivity options.
  • It has 4 interfaces including a Thunderbolt Header

FEATURES IN DETAIL

Coming towards a cost-effective alternative to the costly ASUS Thunderbolt device, this GIGABYTE PCI-E card is coming as the cheapest one on our list. Despite its inexpensive price tag it is feature-packed and has a lot of capabilities making it the best among all. You can make use of its enriched feature base and wide range of connection support with several motherboards.

This card can be used for the daisy-chaining process for up to 12 devices and is offering you two Thunderbolt 3 Ports that can be utilized as the USB Type C cards as an alternative to fast connections. The power delivery value of this card is not the best one like the aforementioned model but has 36 watts making it a worthwhile addition.

VERDICT:

This is the best Thunderbolt card that has wireless connectivity (WIFI 6) and a range of flexible connectivity options that will allow the users

3. ASUS Expansion Card

ThunderboltEX 3 Motherboard Card

PROS

  • USB 3.1 compatible
  • Reasonably Priced
  • Easy  installation
  • 36W power delivery
  • Compatible with a wide range of devices

CONS

  • Lack of HDMI or Display Port

QUICK FEATURES

  • In addition to all the fundamental features of Thunderbolt’s latest chipset, the EX 3 card will provide users with USB 3.1 support along with USB 2 and USB type C support.
  • This card has Daisy Chaining facility of connecting 6 devices
  • The networking bandwidth of this card is 10 gigabytes and has 4K UHD video compatibility as max resolution support.
  • This Titan Ridge has 36 watts of power delivery.
  • It is compatible with many motherboards like the ASUS motherboards and Dell Precision ones.

FEATURES IN DETAIL

If you are looking for a thunderbolt PCI-E card that can provide you with flexible connectivity offering you all the significant input or output ports then this ASUS Expansion EX card can be a great option. This Thunderbolt card will allow you to make a connection with the Display Port 1.2 USB 3.1 and the USB Type C port which is the latest and most desired one connectivity port in recent days.

This thunderbolt card will provide you the fastest media transmission at the rate of 40 GBPS and features an easy installation setup that will take few seconds of your busy schedule to make a strong and lasting connection with the hardware interface inside the motherboard. This card can be put to use with a wide range of motherboards of which ASUS motherboards are an absolute option.

VERDICT:

This PCI-E 3 card is for all those people who are looking for a reason yet feature enriched Thunderbolt card.

4. SoNNeT Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade

Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade Card

PROS

  • 4K video support
  • 36 W power delivery
  • 5 devices Daisy Chaining
  • Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Cheap

CONS

  • Suitable for Sonnet broadband devices only

QUICK FEATURES

  • This card is coming with dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and has 3cho express support for all the Thunderbolt 2 devices.
  • This is a cheap and inexpensive Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card that has a range of benefits of which increasing the speed of media transmission is most significant.
  • The maximum resolution support of the Sonnet Thunderbolt 3 upgraded card is 4K UHD which is although less than the 8K support but is good enough to be included in budget-friendly cards.
  • The power delivery of the output is 36 watts only which is the probable reason for its low price.
  • This card has a 1-year limited parts warranty.

FEATURES IN DETAIL

Sonnet is a relatively less heard brand when it comes to motherboards and connectivity cards but due to the prestigious products launched under its banner, it is enjoying a pristine position in the market. It is now not hard to believe that its products are included among the best ones in various categories of which this Thunderbolt PCI-E 3 card is a one.

This card has a power delivery of 36 watts and is coming with Daisy Chaining facility for up to 5 devices which is not the best one like the 12 device support of the latest cards but given the price concerned it is good to have this capability onboard.

VERDICT:

This product is a very worthy choice for a thunderbolt card since it has the potential to pay the users back more than their investment in it.

5. Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge 2.0

Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 PCIe Card

PROS

  • 8K video support
  • Two Thunderbolt 3 slots
  • 12 devices Daisy Chain
  • 100W power delivery
  • Supports a wide range of motherboards

CONS

  • Lack of HDMI port

QUICK FEATURES

  • It has a 36 watts power delivery capacity which is mediated by its PD 2 slots.
  • It has a Thunderbolt Header which makes it compatible with most of the motherboards coming in the market making it a flexible choice.
  • Card offers the standard USB type C support of the Thunderbolt 3 paired devices but in addition to this users can have the Display Port, HDMI port, and dual Thunderbolt port for a flexible range of connectivity options.
  • Capable of Daisy Chaining itself with 12 devices which are mediated by the TB3 card.
  • For connectivity to the motherboard, users can have 4 interfaces of PCI-E slots and I header.

FEATURES IN DETAIL

Another of the GIGABYTE Thunderbolt 3 card and this time it is coming straight from the Titan Ridge lineup which means that it is already having the best standing in the technological world of the motherboards and connectivity ports for the fastest media sharing. This card is having all the top-notch features that were found in the ASUS cards but at much-reduced prices.

This card has Daisy-chaining support for up to 12 devices and the power delivery is the same 36 watts as all other standard thunderbolt cards in the field. The card also has the video support of 8K resolution which makes the devices have the best in the town crustal clear display and that’s all to make it a great option.

VERDICT:

Given the fact that this card is coming at a reasonable price in exchange for its 8K video support, 12 devices daisy-chaining, 36 watts power delivery, fast recharging, and easy installation it is a very worthy purchase that needs not to be missed.


FAQs

What is a Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card?

Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card is an alternative technology to make the traditional devices capable of using the latest technology. As it is evident that Thunderbolt 3 port is only coming in some of the high-end and latest devices only, therefore, all those devices that are missing this facility can make use of the Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E card. This card will act like the installed hardware giving the perks of onboard technologies.

Is Thunderbolt 3 the same as USB C?

Well, not precisely. Thunderbolt 3 is the fastest connectivity port which is morphologically similar to the USB type C port and the two ports are quite interchangeable in use. But the speed of connection and media transmission is remarkably higher in Thunderbolt 3 ports comparative to the USB c which makes them distinguished from one another despite the physical similarity.

Conclusion

Thunderbolt 3 PCI-EWIFI cards are the most demanding technology these days since the busy lifestyle cannot counter the time-consuming connections mediated by the HDMI or display ports.

Therefore it is necessary to have the USB C or thunderbolt connectivity ports for having the capability of swift media sharing. But the downside of this technology is that it is only available in some of the premium high-end devices and is generally not affordable to have onboard.

Thunderbolt 3 PCI-EWIFI cards will enable all those budget-friendly devices coming with the built-in thunderbolt ports to make use of its efficiency and effectiveness by using it as installed hardware.

This review has provided you with the five best Thunderbolt 3 cards and you can make a preferred selection out of them for having a wiser and efficient use of your device. This review will also help you sort out your ambiguities regarding the USB ports and Thunderbolt superiority.

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Nick Miller

It's Nick Miller a 25 year old tech enthusiast and senior editor at Flexgate, i try to make tech simple for the everyday person. You will find review about tech, tools and Computer hardware here.

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