Connect a Full-Height, Half-Length+ PCIe Card to Computers Without Expansion Slots
Are you in the market for a new computer? It's amazing how much processing power the latest ultra-light notebooks, small form factor computers, and all-in-one desktop computers pack in such small and thin enclosures. But, thinness comes with a cost-there's nowhere for you to install PCIe cards for the additional connectivity and processing capabilities beyond what's offered by a computer's standard ports. Although thin Mac® and Windows® computers with Thunderbolt™ 3 ports offer processing power to spare, for many, such as pros in the creative fields, onboard processing power alone is not enough. Fortunately, your choices are not limited to desktop workstations-think external. With the Echo Express SE I - Thunderbolt 3 Edition, Sonnet has created a solution that enables you to connect a single PCIe card outside of your computer. This compact desktop Thunderbolt 3-to-PCIe card expansion system supports one professional video capture, audio interface, 6Gb or 12Gb SAS or SATA host bus adapter, 8Gb or 16Gb Fibre Channel, 10Gb or 40Gb Ethernet, or RAID controller PCIe card, and connects it to your computer through a thin cable.
The Echo Express SE I - Thunderbolt 3 Edition features 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3, 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. With the ability to handle the most demanding, highest performance PCIe cards, support for connecting two 4K displays @ 60Hz or one 5K display @ 60Hz, and support for a vast array of Thunderbolt and USB devices, Thunderbolt 3 is a leap forward in every way.
One PCIe 3.0 Slot and Space for a Daughter Card
The Echo Express SE I - Thunderbolt 3 Edition features an x8 PCIe slot, and supports one half-length+, full-height, single- or double-width PCIe card. Double-width? Some pro video and audio interface cards, such as Blackmagic Design's DeckLink 4K Extreme, and RME's HDSPe MADI FX card, include a daughter card that mates with and provides additional external connections to the main card. The daughter card occupies the adjacent space without filling a PCIe slot.
Thunderbolt 3 - The USB C That Does It All
The Echo Express SE I - Thunderbolt 3 Edition includes two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) 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 I 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. The SE I also provides full support for connecting two 4K displays @ 60Hz or one 5K display@ 60Hz. For connected devices requiring extra power, 15 watts is provided to connected bus-powered devices.
