Sonnet Echo Express SE3 Thunderbolt 3 To PCIe Expansion Chassis 3-Slot

The Sonnet Echo Express SE3 Thunderbolt 3 To PCIe Expansion Chassis 3-Slot connects three full-height, half-length+ PCIe cards to Mac®, Windows® and Linux® computers with Thunderbolt™ 3 ports.

 

 Echo Express SE IIIe 3-slot Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards

Although thin Mac®, Windows®, and Linux® computers with Thunderbolt™ 3 ports offer processing power to spare, for many users (such as pros in the creative fields) onboard processing power alone is not enough. Sonnet’s Echo™ Express SE IIIe is a compact, desktop Thunderbolt™ 3 to PCIe card expansion system that enables you to connect three professional PCIe cards at the same time to any computer with Thunderbolt 3 ports.

The Thunderbolt 3 Connection

This compact desktop expansion system supports three professional PCIe cards (video capture; audio DSP; 6Gb or 12Gb SAS or SATA host bus adapter; 10Gb, 25Gb, or40Gb Ethernet; or RAID controller; etc.) and connects them to your computer through a single Thunderbolt 3 cable.

Nearly Every Thunderbolt-Compatible, Non-GPU PCIe Card Supported

Smaller than the 3-slot Echo Express III-D (Thunderbolt 3 Edition), the Echo Express SE IIIe is still large enough to support nearly every Thunderbolt 3 compatible card available. With its three x8 slots, the SE IIIe supports PCIe 3.0, PCIe 2.0, and PCIe 1.1 cards up to 7.75 inches long. Do you have a card in mind but aren’t sure it’s compatible? Sonnet have put together a list in their supporting PCIe Card Thunderbolt Compatibility Chart (PDF). There you’ll find cards identified as conforming to Thunderbolt technology requirements, and organized by fit and power compatibility with specific expansion system.

Design Smarts
Aluminum Enclosure. Auto Power On/Off.

The inside of the Echo Express SE IIIe is wrapped in a rugged, yet lightweight aluminum outer shell, resulting in a lightweight system small enough to carry in your backpack, yet durable enough to protect the installed PCIe cards securely. Since Echo Express products automatically power on and off with your computer, there is no power switch on the chassis, ensuring you don’t waste energy by forgetting to turn it off.

Three PCIe 3.0 Slots for Demanding Professional Needs

Echo Express SE IIIe’s PCIe 3.0 x8 slots support three half-length+, full-height, single-width PCIe cards, or one single-width card plus one double-width card.

Double-width?

Some specialty cards, such as RME’s HDSPe MADI FX, Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink 4K Extreme, and the Lynx AES16e 50, include a daughter card that mates with and provides additional external connections to the main card.

Power to Spare

Echo Express SE IIIe includes an auxiliary PCIe power connector, enabling you to install a card requiring extra power, such as the AJA® Kona® 5 or Blackmagic DeckLink 4K Extreme 12G, and Bluefish444’s Epoch and KRONOS SDI cards.

Quiet Please

The Echo Express SE IIIe is designed to be ultra-quiet so that it can be comfortably used in noise-sensitive environments. Its enclosure is ventilated front and back to facilitate airflow over the cards bya large, quiet, temperature-controlled fan to efficiently cool the system. The fan automatically speeds up and slows down smoothly as needed—there’s no guesswork in deciding which fan speed to select.

Included at No Extra Charge
Thunderbolt 3 Cable. ThunderLok 3.

Sonnet includes a 0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable that, unlike some other cables, transfers data at Thunderbolt 3’s full 2750 MB/s bandwidth, and supports up to 100W of Power Delivery (PD). Sonnet also provides a ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt connector retainer clip(1) that prevents accidental cable disconnections—just slide it over one end of the cable, and then plug in the connector and secure it to the chassis by turning a thumbscrew. Because of its unique design, ThunderLok remains on the cable so it won’t get lost when not in use.

Fastest External Interface Available

Echo Express SE IIIe features a 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface, which offers double the PCIe bandwidth and connectivity of Thunderbolt 2, and yields up to 2750 MB/s of bandwidth, enabling it to support 4K video capture and processing cards at high frame rates, and 16Gb FC cards and dual-port 10GbE cards at full performance.(2)(3)

Thunderbolt 3 – The USB C That Does It All

Echo Express SE IIIe includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports; the first connects it to your computer, while the second supports daisy chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices to a single port on your computer. The SE III also includes 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 support, meaning you can connect a USB device to the second port using the proper cable or adapter. For connected peripherals requiring extra power, 15 watts is provided to connected bus-powered devices. With the ability to handle multiple demanding, high performance PCIe cards, support for connecting two 4K displays @ 60Hz or one 5K display @ 60Hz(4), and support for a vast array of Thunderbolt(5) and USB(6) devices, Thunderbolt 3 is a leap forward in every way.

Technology Guides

    Sonnet Thunderbolt Expansion Systems

•     Connect PCIe Cards – Use multiple high-performance PCIe cards with any computer with a Thunderbolt 3 port.
•     Three PCIe 3.0 x8 Slots – Supports three full-height, half-length+ (up to 7.75 inches long), single-width cards, or one double-width card plus one single-width card.
•     40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 Interface – Offers 2750 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth, doubling the performance capabilities of Thunderbolt 2.
•     Pro Performance. Compact Design. – Takes up little space on the desktop, but large enough to support nearly every Thunderbolt-compatible non-GPU PCIe card at full performance.
•     Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports – One port connects to computer; second port supports daisy-chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices.
•     Remarkably Quiet – Temperature-controlled,variable-speed fan automatically and quietly cools the cards.
•     Energy Saver Mode – Powers on/off automatically with the computer.
•     Rugged Aluminum Housing – Provides robust and secure protection.
•     Pro Power – Auxiliary PCIe power connector for a power-hungry card; daisy chain port provides up to 15W of power to connected peripherals.

IN THE BOX:

•     Echo Express SE IIIe
•     Universal power adapter
•     Power cord
•     0.7-meter Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable
•     ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt Connector Retainer Clip(1)
•     Documentation

Mac Compatibility

    Mac with Thunderbolt 3 ports
    Mac with a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt port with an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter plus a Thunderbolt 2 cable (both sold separately)
    macOS® 10.12.6+
    macOS Catalina compatible

Windows Compatibility

    PC with Thunderbolt 3 ports
    Windows 10 (64-bit Edition Version 1809 or greater, see note)
    Important Note: Windows computers require the latest BIOS and Thunderbolt drivers to support this product. Check with your computer manufacturer for update information.

Technical Notes

    ThunderLok 3 compatible specifically with Sonnet 0.5- and 0.7 meter Thunderbolt 3 cables; Sonnet 1- and 2-meter Thunderbolt 3 cables require ThunderLok 3L.
    While the Echo Express SE IIIe features a 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface, some computers equipped with Thunderbolt 3 use an implementation of Thunderbolt 3 technology that limits PCIe performance to 20 Gbps. The MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) has this limitation in the two right-hand Thunderbolt 3 ports, while offering full performance from the left-hand ports.
    Full performance requires the use of the included Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cable, or comparable Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) cables; look for the Thunderbolt icon AND the number 3 on the connector housings to identify these cables.
    One 4K monitor directly supported. Two 4K monitors requires either a 4K monitor with multi-stream transport support (DP out), or a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort adapter. One Thunderbolt 3 5K monitor directly supported. All Thunderbolt 3 Macs support two 4K monitors. Most Thunderbolt PCs support two 4K monitors.
    Second Thunderbolt 3 port supports Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 peripheral devices on Macs used with the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter (sold separately).
    Second Thunderbolt 3 port supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gb) or Gen 2 (10Gb) devices when connected with proper cable or adapter (sold separately).