The Sonnet Echo Express SE I Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe card expansion system provides a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot for Thunderbolt 3 equipped laptops and computers without a PCIe slot. It supports full-height PCIe cards up to 7.75" in length. It supports full-height and half-length PCIe cards up to 7.75", double-wide PCI cards or PCIe cards with a daughter card, whether these are for professional video capture, network cards or audio interfaces running over Thunderbolt.
Its 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports, which transmit data at up to 40Gbps, allow up to 6 cascaded devices to be daisy-chained. This Sonnet expansion box also integrates a fan to cool the PCI card and the SE I internal components. The 1.6' Thunderbolt 3 cable is supplied along with a Thunderbolt 3 connector retention clip to ensure the cable stays connected.
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Sonnet Echo Express SE I Thunderbolt3 Expansion System PCIe
SON-ECHO-EXP-SE1-T3
The Sonnet Echo Express SE I Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe card expansion system provides a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot for Thunderbolt 3 equipped laptops and computers without a PCIe slot. It supports full-height PCIe cards up to 7.75" in length. It supports full-height and half-length PCIe cards up to 7.75", double-wide PCI cards or PCIe cards with a daughter card, whether these are for professional video capture, network cards or audio interfaces running over Thunderbolt.
Its 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports, which transmit data at up to 40Gbps, allow up to 6 cascaded devices to be daisy-chained. This Sonnet expansion box also integrates a fan to cool the PCI card and the SE I internal components. The 1.6' Thunderbolt 3 cable is supplied along with a Thunderbolt 3 connector retention clip to ensure the cable stays connected.
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€392.00
Tax excluded
474,32 €
Con IVA
- Delivery date in 2-3 days
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Expansion system via Thunderbolt 3 for half-height and full-length PCIe cards.
Allows a PCIe card to be connected to computers without expansion bays, which have a Thunderbolt3 port. The expansion box has a PCIe 3.0 x8 bay, so thanks to the high bandwidth of Thunderbolt3 (40Gbps) it is possible to install 16Gb and 8Gb Fibre Channel Ethernet or 40Gb and 10Gb Ethernet cards in it, as well as SAS and SATA host bus adapters, RAID controllers and 4K video capture cards at high frame rates. It also supports connection of graphics with support for 2 4K@60Hz displays or a 5K@60Hz display and support for a wide range of Thunderbolt and USB peripheral devices.The Echo Express SE I features a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot and supports half-height and double-wide cards. Some professional audio and video interface cards, such as Blackmagic Design's DeckLink 4K Extreme and RME's HDSPe MADI FX card, include a daughter card that mates with the main card and provides additional external connections to the main card. The Echo Express SE expansion box has adjacent space that would also accommodate these.
It includes two Thunderbolt3 ports; the first connects to the computer, while the second supports daisy-chaining of up to five Thunderbolt peripheral devices, additional to a single port on the computer. The expansion box includes support for USB3.1 Gen2 at 10Gbps, which means you can connect a USB device to the second port using the appropriate cable or adapter. The Echo Express SE I also provides full support for connecting two 4K displays at 60Hz or one 5K display at 60Hz. For connected devices requiring additional power, 15 watts is provided to connected bus-powered devices.
Constructed of rugged, lightweight aluminum, the outer casing of the Echo Express SE I - Thunderbolt3 Edition securely protects the installed PCIe card. The card is also protected on the inside: the Echo SE I uses a variable-speed, temperature-controlled fan to ensure that the card and chassis components remain reliably cool. The fan automatically speeds up as needed to cool the installed card when it is hot and slows down when it is cold. Since Echo Express products automatically turn on and off with your computer, there is no power switch on the chassis, ensuring you won't waste energy by forgetting to turn it off. It was designed to be ultra-quiet for comfortable use in noise-sensitive environments. The airflow path inside the chassis has been specially designed to allow the fan to quietly and efficiently cool the installed card at all times, even during peak operation.
Sonnet Echo Express SE1 Expansion Enclosure Features
- Connects a PCIe expansion card to computers without bays via a Thunderbolt 3 port
- PCIe 3.0 x8 Bay
- 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 interface, offering up to 2750MB/s PCIe bandwidth
- Small, full-performance PCIe expansion enclosure, compatible with most popular PCIe cards
- 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Extraordinarily quiet, with temperature-controlled variable speed fan
- Power-saving mode with automatic power on/off
- Rugged aluminum chassis
- Power for peripherals up to 15W
- Includes 0.5m Thunderbolt 3 cable and ThunderLock 3 connector retention clip
Data sheet
- Video Inputs
- Thunderbolt 3
- Outputs
- Thunderbolt 3
- Data and Control
- Thunderbolt
- Connector A
- Thunderbolt 3
- B Connector
- USB-C
- Compatible
- Blackmagic
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What exactly is the Sonnet Echo Express SE I and what is it used for?
It is a PCIe expansion chassis that connects to a computer via a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port. Its main function is to allow a laptop or desktop computer without internal PCIe slots to use high-performance expansion cards, such as video capture cards, 10 Gigabit Ethernet network cards, or professional audio cards. Essentially, it is an “extension” that gives your computer the functionality of a PC tower.
What kind of PCIe cards can I install in the Echo Express SE I?
The Echo Express SE I has a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot (which operates electrically at x4 due to Thunderbolt interface limitations). This means it can accommodate half-length (up to 7.75 inches long), single- or dual-width, full-height PCIe cards. It's ideal for video capture and playback cards from Blackmagic Design, AJA, or high-speed network cards.
Is it compatible with my M1/M2/M3 chip Mac and my Windows PC?
Yes, it is compatible with Mac (both Intel and Apple Silicon M-series processors) and Windows computers that have a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port. It is important to verify the compatibility of the PCIe card driver you plan to install, as some cards require a specific driver to work with Apple's new hardware.
Does it offer enough bandwidth for my 4K/8K projects?
The Thunderbolt 3 interface provides up to 40 Gbps of bandwidth, which translates to up to 2,750 MB/s of PCIe performance. While this is sufficient for many 4K video capture cards and compressed RAW video editing, it is crucial to verify the bandwidth requirements of your specific card and workflow. For workflows with multiple uncompressed 4K video signals or 8K projects, a higher-performance or multi-slot chassis may be required.
Can I connect other devices to the Echo Express SE I?
Yes. The chassis has two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
One is used for connection to your computer, and the other allows for daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices. This means you can connect 4K monitors, RAID storage drives, and other peripherals without losing the port on your computer.
What is the included ThunderLok 3 clip?
The ThunderLok 3 is a small retaining clip designed by Sonnet that screws into the chassis. Its function is to secure the Thunderbolt 3 cable and prevent accidental disconnections that could interrupt a recording or editing session. It's a small but important detail that reinforces the reliability of the system in a real-world work environment.
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Form Factor
Desktop Thunderbolt 3-to-PCIe card expansion system
External Connectors
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
12V power port
Expansion Slot
One PCIe 3.0 slot
x8 Mechanical
x4 Electrical (Thunderbolt 3 Spec)
PCIe Cards Supported
One half-length (up to 7.75 inches long), single-width, full-height x8 PCIe card plus one daughter card
Note: PCIe cards old separately
Compatible PCIe Cards
For a list of compatible PCIe cards, see the following PDF
Power Adapter
Universal 60W, 100-240V, 50-60 Hz
Operating Temperature
0ºC to 35ºC (32ºF to 95ºF)
Dimensions (WxDxH)
5.63 x 8.63 x 3.5 in. (14.29 x 22.01 x 8.85 cm)
Weight
2.6 lbs. (1.18 kg)
RoHS Compliant
Yes
SO Compatibility
Mac (M series) with PCIe cards that have compatible drivers
Mac (Intel) with Thunderbolt 3 ports
Mac (Intel) with a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 1 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 Ventura compatible
Windows computer with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports Windows 11 and 10
Linux computer with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports Linux Kernel 5.0+
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