Sonnet Echo Express SEL – Thunderbolt 2 Edition

Sonnet Echo Express SEL – Thunderbolt 2 Edition

1-slot Desktop Thunderbolt 2 Expansion System for Low-profile PCIe Cards

Connect a Low-profile PCIe Card to Computers with Thunderbolt 2 Ports

Ultra-light notebooks, small form factor and all-in-one Mac®, Windows(1), and Linux® computers are slender marvels of engineering that come with a cost—there’s nowhere to install PCIe cards that provide additional connectivity and processing capabilities. Sonnet’s Echo™ Express SEL is a compact, desktop Thunderbolt™ 2 to PCIe card expansion system that fixes that issue, enabling you to connect a low-profile PCIe card to any computer with Thunderbolt 2 ports.

Thunderbolt 2 Connectivity

Through its x8 PCIe 2.0 slot, this little expansion system supports many low-profile PCIe cards (including 16Gb and 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SAS and SATA host bus adapters, and RAID controllers) and connects to your computer through a single Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Nearly Every Thunderbolt-Compatible, Low-profile PCIe Card Supported

The Echo Express SEL accommodates a wide variety of PCIe cards. Do you have a card in mind but aren’t sure it’s compatible? We’ve put together a list in our 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.

Smart Design, Inside and Out
Aluminum Enclosure. Auto Power On/Off.

Constructed of rugged and lightweight aluminum, Echo Express SEL securely houses the installed PCIe card. Inside, the card is protected through the use of a variable-speed, temperature-controlled fan which ensures the card and chassis’ components remain reliably cool. The internal fan automatically speeds up as necessary to cool the installed card when it’s hot, and slows down when it’s cool. 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.

Designed for Low-profile PCIe Cards

Echo Express SEL supports one half-length (up to 6.6 inches long), low-profile, single-width PCIe card; PCIe 1.1, PCIe 2.0, and PCIe 3.0 cards are supported.

Quiet Please

Echo Express SEL is designed to be ultra-quiet so that it can be comfortably used in noise-sensitive environments. The airflow path within the chassis has been specially designed to enable the temperature-controlled, variable speed fan to quietly and efficiently cool the installed card at all times, even during peak operation.

Included at No Extra Charge
Thunderbolt 2 Cable. ThunderLok.

Sonnet includes a 1-meter Thunderbolt 2 cable and a Sonnet ThunderLok Thunderbolt connector retainer clip(2) to avoid 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.

20Gbps Thunderbolt 2 Interface

Echo Express SEL features 20Gbps Thunderbolt 2 which provides ample bandwidth for many of the most demanding, highest performance PCIe cards, and incorporates support for the DisplayPort 1.2 protocol which enables video streaming to a 4K video monitor. While the SEL delivers maximum performance when connected to a computer with Thunderbolt 2 ports, it is also fully compatible with computers with 10Gbps Thunderbolt, supporting most cards at full-performance.

Thunderbolt 2 – Bandwidth. Performance. Versatility.

The original 10Gbps Thunderbolt interface provided breakthrough bandwidth for external expansion, more than sufficient to support the maximum performance of most PCIe cards. However, some high bandwidth adapters such as the BlueFish 444 Epoch 4K Neutron video I/O card, or other bandwidth-hungry cards require more than 10Gbps. Thunderbolt 2 removes this barrier by providing more bandwidth for demanding applications.

Specifications

Compatibility

Mac Compatibility

• Mac with a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt port
• Mac with a Thunderbolt 3 port with an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter (sold separately) plus a Thunderbolt 2 cable
• OS X® 10.8.5+
• macOS Catalina compatible

Windows Compatibility(1)

• PC with a Thunderbolt 2 port
• Windows® 10, 8, 7

Linux Compatibility

• Linux computer with a Thunderbolt 2 port
• Linux Kernel 5.0+

PCIe Card Compatibility

• For a list of compatible PCIe cards, view the PDF of Sonnet’s PCIe Card Thunderbolt Compatibility Chart

Hardware

Warranty

• 2-year

Form Factor

• Desktop expansion system

External Connectors

• Two Thunderbolt 2 ports
• 12V power port

Expansion Slot

• One x8 (x4 electrical) PCIe 2.0 slot

PCIe Cards Supported

• One low-profile PCI card

Power Adapter

• Universal 60W, 100-240V AC, 50-60 Hz
• NRTL Certified

Operating Temperature

• 0ºC to 35ºC (32ºF to 95ºF)

Dimensions (WxDxH)

• 4 x 8.25 x 2.8 in. (10.3 x 21 x 7.28 cm)

Weight

• 1.85 lbs (.84 kg)

RoHS Compliant

• Yes

Package Contents

• Echo Express SEL
• Universal power adapter
• Power cord
• 1-meter Thunderbolt 2 cable
• ThunderLok Thunderbolt Connector Retainer Clip(2)
• Documentation

Technical Notes

1. Windows requires a Thunderbolt 2 interface in the computer and in the expansion system to support more than two PCIe controllers. Note that some PCIe cards have a bridge to multiple controllers, so it is possible for a single dual-controller PCIe card to reach the limit if not connected via Thunderbolt 2. Not all Mac-compatible PCIe cards are also compatible with Windows. See Sonnet’s PCIe Card Thunderbolt Compatibility Chart (PDF) for details.
2. ThunderLok compatible with all copper Thunderbolt cables. Not compatible with optical Thunderbolt cables.