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Most types of desktop computer parts are agnostic of the vendor. For example, you can use a DDR RAM from any vendor on a motherboard from any vendor, as long as they have the same standards.

If I search eBay for TPM Module, top list shows ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI. ASUS' contains "for ASUS motherboards". This looks as if it would only work for ASUS' motherboards. Can I buy a TPM module from any vendor, or should I buy a TPM module from the same vendor as that of the motherboard?

5 Answers 5

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I don't think they are especially specific to a manufacturer. However, your motherboard has to have a slot to fit one. This is still relatively rare and so standardisation may still be poor.

The TPM chip sits on the LPC bus so that the BIOS has access to it without needing drivers.

So start by checking your motherboard specs to see whether it is capable of taking a chip & what connector it uses.

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  • I have three motherboards, and the TPM ports look the same to me. Jun 8, 2015 at 11:21
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I checked the motherboard user manuals of 4 vendors: Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Asrock and they are not compatible with each other. As far as I can tell as of 2020 there is no standard TPM header so you must buy TPM from the same vendor as motherboard and even in that case check how many pins you have.

Asus 20-1 (19 pin, old) asus 20-1

Asus 14-1 (13 pin, new) asus 14-1

MSI 14-1 (13 pin, different layout than Asus 14-1) msi 14-1

Gigabyte 12-1 (11 pin) gigabyte 12-1

Asrock 18-1 (17 pin) asrock 18-1

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TL;DR: remapping one motherboard vendor's TPM pin layout to match another vendor's TPM chip doesn't work.

I've tried using an ASUS TPM module on my MSI motherboard. I used lots of cables to remap the layout from the MSI pins to match the ASUS TPM pin layout. Computer boots and BIOS lets me enable the TPM chip, but then nothing. So, even if you're willing to spend a couple of hours trying to remap one vendors TPM chip to match your motherboards pins, it likely won't work (except maybe if they're using exactly the same TPM chip)

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The answer above is not entirely true. I've found information suggesting that sometimes TPM modules will work on non-matching motherboards, but I have an ASUS TPM 2.0 module that does not work on an MSI motherboard (both are 14 pin). I found another user with a similar experience to mine. The computer will not boot, only flicker the power and the fans will start and stop continuously until you power down.

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    Did you read the other answer carefully? I don't think you're presenting anything contradictory here.
    – fixer1234
    Jul 12, 2018 at 0:50
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    I also tried an ASUS TPM 2.0 module on an MSI motherboard and experienced the same behavior. Checked the manuals of the MSI motherboard and some ASUS motherboard and learned that indeed they both use the 14-1 pin configuration, but the pin mapping is different. Aug 19, 2018 at 12:45
  • @GiladBeeri Any idea what works with MSI and Asus boards? I can buy only Gigabyte and Asrock modules in my country and in the current situation I am not sure an international delivery would arrive any time soon... The MSI would be more important, the Asus can wait. I have an MSI c236m and an Asus z97-p. In theory both support TPM 1.2 and 2.0.
    – inf3rno
    Mar 26, 2020 at 11:29
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    @inf3rno you should check the user manual of the board in interest for the pin layout of the TPM module, and then compare vendors. It is safe to assume that boards from vendor X work with TPM modules from vendor X, so you can compare the board pin layout and if they are the same - you can mix vendors of modules and boards. In your example, if you can get Gigabyte and ASRock modules, but have MSI and ASUS boards, go to a user manual of a Gigabyte/ASRock board and check the TPM pin layout. If they are exactly the same as the MSI/ASUS board pin layout, I expect the modules to work. Mar 31, 2020 at 6:43
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    @GiladBeeri I checked meanwhile, none of the manufacturers (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, Asrock) are compatible with each other. Asus and MSI have 13 pin TPMs, but they have different layouts. Asus has a 19 pin TPM too, which is older. Gigabyte has 11 pin TPM. Asrock has a 17 pin TPM. I wonder why there is no standard TPM connector.
    – inf3rno
    Apr 1, 2020 at 12:09
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I just checked my Supermicro M12SWA-TF motherboard, which specifies a Supermicro branded AOM-TPM-9665V (TPM 2.0), 9665V-S (same but provisioned for Intel TXT), 9655V (TPM 1.2), or 9655V-S (same but provisioned for Intel TXT).

The TPM pinout according to the Supermicro motherboard is almost but not quite identical to the Asus.

So even two TPMs that have the same number of pins are unlikely to be compatible.

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