Sonnet Announces Industry-First Thunderbolt 5 PCIe Expansion Solutions

Sonnet Technologies has launched the Echo™ II DV Thunderbolt™ 5 Module, Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 Desktop, Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 Rackmount, and xMac Studio/Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5, the newest members of the company's award-winning family of Thunderbolt to PCI Express® (PCIe®) card expansion systems.

Each of these products enables the use of two high-performance, bandwidth-hungry PCIe cards at maximum performance at the same time with the new Mac Studio®, MacBook Pro® with M4 Pro and M4 Max, and Mac mini® with M4 Pro; and other computers equipped with Thunderbolt 5 ports, doubling the available PCIe bandwidth per slot (up to 6,000 MB/s) compared to previous generation Thunderbolt PCIe expansion chassis.

The Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 Module is offered as an upgrade for use in Sonnet modular rackmount enclosures, as well as the Sonnet xMac Studio pro 3U rackmount and Thunderbolt expansion system for Apple® Mac Studio computers. The Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 Desktop is an easy-to-transport, standalone expansion system, while the rackmount version is a 2U stand-alone expansion system with space for an additional expansion module. The xMac Studio/Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 is a preconfigured system including the Echo II DV module.

The Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 Module — the heart of all Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 products — allows users to connect two PCIe cards to their computer with Thunderbolt 5. The module features two x16 PCIe 4.0 slots, each equipped with its own Thunderbolt interface; accommodates up-to full-height, full-length (up to 12.28 inches long) PCIe cards; and connects them to a computer’s Thunderbolt ports via two included Thunderbolt 5 (120Gbps) cables. The module integrates a universal 400W power supply and includes two 75W auxiliary power connectors for non-GPU cards that require extra power.

Pro audio and video users often require specific interfaces to support the I/O, digital signal processing, video capture and playback needs of their workflow. Sonnet Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 systems enable users to add these solutions to the computers with Thunderbolt 5 support favoured by pro users, like the new Mac Studio, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. Sonnet Echo II DV expansion systems also enable users to save space and money by mounting two up-to full size PCIe cards, each supported through its own Thunderbolt interface, in a single transportable desktop or rackmount enclosure and connecting them to their computer through Thunderbolt cables. Additionally, using PCIe cards in a Sonnet expansion system gives pro users flexibility to easily connect and use these cards on different computers, great for shared workspaces like production studios.

Mac® computers with M4 Pro, M4 Max, and M3 Ultra chips— including the latest Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and Mac Studio, and some pro PCs — have two or more 120Gbps Thunderbolt 5 ports, each providing 6,000 MB/s of PCIe bandwidth, that are perfect for connecting Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion systems. Employing a separate Thunderbolt interface for each card slot, Echo II DV Thunderbolt 5 systems are equipped to provide full Thunderbolt PCIe bandwidth to each slot when connected to two computer Thunderbolt 5 ports that also have independent PCIe bandwidth. This design enables users to exploit two cards’ full potential performance at the same time, which is ideal for cards with high-bandwidth requirements such as DV I/O, NVMe SSD storage, and multiport 25Gb Ethernet adapters.

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