Do TPM modules only work for motherboards of the same vendor?

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?

Solution 1:

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.

Solution 2:

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 14-1 (13 pin, new)

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

Gigabyte 12-1 (11 pin)

Asrock 18-1 (17 pin)

Solution 3:

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.