Sonnet Echo Express SE IIIe 3-Slot Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards - Macfixit Australia Skip to content
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Sonnet Echo Express SE IIIe 3 - Slot Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards - Macfixit Australia

Sonnet Echo Express SE IIIe 3-Slot Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards

SKU ECHO-EX-SE3E-T3
by Sonnet
$1,799.00 - $1,799.00
$1,799.00
$1,799.00 - $1,799.00
$1,799.00

This product normally ships within 1-2 weeks

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Connect three half-length, full-height PCIe cards to systems with a Thunderbolt 3 port using the Echo Express SE IIIe Thunderbolt 3 Expansion Chassis from Sonnet. The Echo Express SE IIIe is useful for expanding the connectivity of systems like the MacBook Pro, which does not have the PCIe slots needed for pros working in creative fields. Instead, the Echo Express SE IIIe connects to Thunderbolt 3 hosts to leverage this connectivity via PCIe expansion slots that are outside of the computer. This chassis has two PCIe 3.0 x8/x8 slots and one PCIe 3.0 x8/x4 slot. These three slots can support one half-length+ (up to 7.75" long), double-width, full-height PCIe x8 card, plus one single-width card, or three half-length+, full-height PCIe x8 cards for video capture, audio DSP, 6Gb or 12Gb SAS or SATA host bus adapters, 10Gb, 25Gb, or 40Gb Ethernet cards, RAID controllers, and more.

The Echo Express SE IIIe features two 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 ports, one of which is used to connect to your host Windows, Mac, or Linux system and provides up to 100W of power. The second Thunderbolt 3 port, which provides up to 15W of power, can be used to daisy-chain up to 5 additional Thunderbolt devices, plus one 5K display at 60 Hz, two 4K displays at 60 Hz, or one USB 3.0 device. For power hungry cards, there is an additional internal 6-pin PCIe power connector.

Cool operations are driven by an internal 80 x 80 x 25mm cooling fan. Included with this chassis is a Thunderbolt 3 cable, a ThunderLok 3 retainer clip, a 120W universal power adapter, and a power cord. Protection is provided by a limited 2-year warranty and free lifetime technical support.

Please note that the Echo Express SE IIIe does not support GPUs. Also, two 4K displays requires a monitor with multi-stream transport support (DP out) or a Thunderbolt 3 to Dual DisplayPort Adapter.

General Features
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" long. Do you have a card in mind but aren't sure it's compatible? Sonnet 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 - Aluminium Enclosure, Auto Power On/Off
The inside of the Echo Express SE IIIe is wrapped in a rugged, yet lightweight aluminium 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
T‍he 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
‍The 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 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 by a large, quiet, temperature-controlled fan to efficiently cool the system. The fan automatically speeds up and slows down smoothly as needed, so there's no guesswork in deciding which fan speed to select.

Thunderbolt 3 Cable and ThunderLok 3 Included
Sonnet includes a 2.3' 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 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 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, the ThunderLok remains on the cable so it won't get lost when not in use.

Fast External Interface
The Echo Express SE IIIe features a 40 Gb/s 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.

Thunderbolt 3 / USB Type-C
The Echo Express SE IIIe includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The first connects it to your computer, while the second supports the daisy-chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices to a single port on your computer. The SE III also includes 10 Gb/s 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, 15W is provided to connected bus-powered devices. With the ability to handle multiple demanding, high-performance PCIe cards, support for connecting two 4K displays at 60 Hz or one 5K display at 60 Hz, and support for a vast array of Thunderbolt and USB devices, Thunderbolt 3 is a leap forward.

Fast Performance
With 2750 MB/s of bandwidth, connect your computer to one Thunderbolt 3 port on the Echo Express SE IIIe, then use the second Thunderbolt 3 port to daisy chain up to five additional Thunderbolt devices, plus two 4K display, one 5K display, or one USB 3.0 device.

OS Compatibility

Mac
  • Mac system with Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Mac system with a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt port with an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 cable
  • macOS 10.12.6 or later
  • macOS Catalina compatible

    • Windows
  • Windows system with Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Windows 10 (64-bit edition, version 1809 or greater)

    Note: Windows computers require the latest BIOS and Thunderbolt drivers to support this product. Check with your computer manufacturer for update information.
    • Linux
  • Linux system with Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Linux Kernel 5.0 or later

    •  Mac Compatibility

    • Mac (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max) with PCIe cards that have M1 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 Monterey compatible

     

    Windows Compatibility

    • Windows 10 computer with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports
    • Windows 11 does not support multiple-slot Thunderbolt expansion systems. We are working with Microsoft to resolve the issue.

     

    Linux Compatibility

    • Linux computer with Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 3 ports
    • 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

    Compatibility Chart

    Hardware

     

    Part Number

    • ECHO-EX-SE3E-T3

     

    Warranty

    • 2-year

     

    Form Factor

    • Thunderbolt desktop enclosure

     

    External Connectors

    • Two Thunderbolt ports
    • 12V power port

     

    Internal Connector

    • 6-pin Mini-Fit Jr (same type as on legacy Mac Pro motherboard; provides power for PCIe card that requires supplemental power)

     

    Expansion Slots

    • One x8 mechanical (x4 electrical) PCIe 3.0
    • Two x8 mechanical (x8 electrical) PCIe 3.0

     

    PCIe Cards Supported

    • One half-length+ (up to 7.75 inches long), double-width, full-height x8 PCIe card, plus one single-width card or
    • Three half-length+, single-width, full-height x8 PCIe cards

     

    Power Adapter

    • Universal 120W, 100-240V, 50-60 Hz
    • NRTL Certified

     

    Fan

    • Noctua NF-R8 redux-1800 at 17.1dBA

     

    Operating Temperature

    • 0ºC to 35ºC (32ºF to 95ºF)

     

    Dimensions (WxDxH)

    • 6.5 x 11 x 4.6 in. (16.5 x 27.9 x 11.7 cm)

     

    Weight

    • 2.6 lbs. (1.18 kg)

     

    Compliance

    • RoHS 3 (Directive 2015/863)
    • EC62368-1 and IEC62368-2 Safety

     

    Package Contents

    • Echo Express SE IIIe Desktop Enclosure
    • Universal power adapter
    • Power cord
    • 0.7-meter Thunderbolt cable
    • ThunderLok 3 Thunderbolt connector retainer clip(1)
    • Documentation

     

    Support Links

    Product Manual

    Product Manual

    Technical Notes

     

    1. ThunderLok 3 compatible specifically with Sonnet 0.5- and 0.7-meter Thunderbolt cables; Sonnet 1- and 2-meter Thunderbolt cables require ThunderLok 3L.
    2. While the Echo Express SE IIIe features a 40Gbps Thunderbolt interface, some computers equipped with Thunderbolt 3 use an x2 PCIe lane implementation of Thunderbolt 3 technology that limits PCIe performance to 20Gbps.
    3. Full performance requires the use of the included or comparable 40Gbps Thunderbolt cables; look for the Thunderbolt icon AND the number 3 on the connector housings to identify these cables. Full performance supported by any Thunderbolt 4 cable.
    4. Second Thunderbolt port supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gb) or Gen 2 (10Gb) devices when connected with proper cable or adapter (sold separately).

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