Sonnet Launches Echo Express II Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCI Express Cards

Looking for a more compact way to bridge the gap between your PCI Express cards and your Thunderbolt machine?

A smaller footprint distinguishes Sonnet’s Echo Express II.

Sonnet has the solution: the Echo Express II, the newest addition to the company’s Echo line of Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards.

Available now for $699, the Echo Express II features two PCIe slots. This new Thunderbolt-to-PCIe expansion chassis enables the use of a wide variety of high-performance PCI Express cards — originally designed for use in desktop computers — with any computer equipped with a Thunderbolt port.

Here’s a deeper explanation, straight from Sonnet:

“The Echo Express II was designed for users needing a compact solution to connect two PCIe cards to their computers, and supports the majority of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe cards. Based on the original Echo Express expansion chassis, the Echo Express II adds a second slot to support two half-length (up to 7.25 inches long), full-height, single-width PCIe 2.0 x16 cards. Like its siblings, the Echo Express II expansion chassis has dual Thunderbolt ports to support daisy-chaining of devices.

The new Echo chassis includes three temperature-controlled, variable-speed fans for cooling the cards and the chassis’ components, and a universal 100W internal power supply. This Sonnet solution also conserves energy by powering on and off with the computer to which it is attached.

The Echo Express II enables iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro computers equipped with a Thunderbolt port to use Thunderbolt-compatible professional video capture, audio interface, SAS and SATA HBA, 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10Gb Ethernet, and RAID controller cards. The list of compatible cards is available on Sonnet’s website and is continually expanding as more cards are tested and certified. Like the other models in the Echo family, the Echo Express II was designed, engineered, and built by Sonnet in California. The system is backed with Sonnet’s Pro five-year warranty.

‘Similar to the Echo Express Pro, the Echo Express II was designed to accommodate the needs of users requiring two slots for expansion cards, but not the extra length afforded by the Echo Express Pro’s longer design,’ said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies.

More information on the Echo Express II and compatible PCIe expansion cards is available here.”

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