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OWC
AR/VR Development Platform
Helios FX + Express 4M2
Mac / PC / Thunderbolt 3
Powerful eGPU and SSD storage enclosures to drive AR/VR workflows
The OWC AR/VR Development Platform consists of the Thunderbolt 3 connected Mercury Helios FX and the Express 4M2 enclosures to deliver a robust, yet flexible, platform to build your AR/VR masterpieces upon. You have the power to choose the SSDs and the GPU that will power your creative vision across the finish line. When project requirements change, the OWC AR/VR Development Kit can easily adapt with new SSDs and GPU.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse
AR/VR development needs fast storage and a lot of it — the OWC Express 4M2 has the job covered. Express is ready to serve with four easy-to-access M.2 NVMe SSD slots customizable for any workflow and vibration damping feet that allow for vertical or horizontal orientation. Install up to 8TB of capacity and experience up to 2800MB/s of mind-bending performance via Thunderbolt 3.
The eGPU chassis built to empower
Add the power of a high-performance GPU to your Mac and Windows PC via Thunderbolt 3. Whether you're bringing an AR/VR creative vision to life, playing the latest hardware-punishing game, or connecting additional displays — the OWC Mercury Helios FX is built to empower everything you do.
Highlights
- Thunderbolt Certified for Mac and Windows
- Elevate computational performance
- Up to 2800MB/s performance
- Compact design
- GPU power + notebook charging
Helios FX Specifications:
Software Requirements
- macOS 10.13.4 or later
- Windows 10 (64-bit, version 1709) or later
Hardware Requirements
- Any eGPU-compatible Thunderbolt 3 Mac or PC
PCIe Card Support
- Any driverless PCIe card or PCIe card with a Thunderbolt-aware driver
Housing Color
- Black
Housing Material
- Aluminum
External Connectivity
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 port
Transfer Rate (Max)
- Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps)
Expansion Slots
- (1) PCIe 3.0 (x4)
Power
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching
- Supplies 550 W
Environmental
- Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C)
Dimensions
- Height: 20.0 cm (7.9 in)
- Length: 34.0 cm (13.4 in)
- Width: 18.5 cm (7.3 in)
Weight
- 3.22 kg (7.10 lbs)
Notes
- For non-GPU PCIe cards, 10.12.6 or later is required.
- Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 Macs do not support external graphics.
- All cards which require a driver must have a Thunderbolt-aware driver (Mac and Windows).
- Not Compatible with Boot Camp.
- 2018 Mac mini: As of 10-18-19, not recommended with 10.15 Catalina (Click For Details).
Express 4M2 Specifications:
Software Requirements
- macOS 10.12 or later1
- Windows 10 or later
Hardware Requirements
- Mac or PC featuring Thunderbolt 3 interface
- Mac or PC featuring Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 interface
Interface (Chipset)
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 (Alpine Ridge DSL6540)
- (2) USB-C and Power Delivery (Texas Instruments TPS65983)
- (1) DisplayPort
Max Transfer Rate
- Thunderbolt 3: 40 Gb/s (5000 MB/s)
Display Support
- 4K @ 60Hz
Bootability
- Bootable with systems that support booting from RAID volumes. Not bootable with macOS 10.14 Mojave or later.
Plug and Play
- No
Drives Bays
- (4) M.2 - 2280 "M Key" (PCIe 3.0 x1 per slot)
Drives Supported
- (4) M.2 NVMe or
- (4) M.2 AHCl (PCle only)
RAID Levels Supported
- RAID 0
- RAID 1
- RAID 4
- RAID 5
- RAID 10
- JBOD
- SPAN
Fan Quantity
- 1
Kensington Security Slot
- No
LED
- Yes (Power and Activity)
Housing Material
- Aluminum
Color
- Black
Certifications
- CE
- FCC
Power
- Power Supply
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching
- AC input: 100 ~ 240V, 50/60Hz
- DC output: 12V, 7.5A
Environmental
- Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 32°F to 104°F (0°C to 40°C)
- Non-Operating: -4°F to 158°F (−20°C to 70°C)
Dimensions
- Height: 6.0 cm (2.4 in)
- Length: 11.3 cm (4.4 in)
- Width: 13.6 cm (5.4 in)
Weight
- 800.0 g (1.76 lbs)
Notes
- SSDs using 512b sector sizes require macOS 10.13 or later.
- Host computers with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port require the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.
- Does not support Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++). Adaptable to HDMI, DVI, and VGA via active adapters. Supports Multi-Stream Transport (MST), although MST is not currently supported by macOS.
- Some Samsung drives may require a firmware update to work with the Express 4M2. Samsung 970 EVO drives must use version 2B2QEXE7 or later, while 970 EVO+ drives must use 2B2QEXM7 or later. More information is available at the following link regarding OWC Express 4M2 Drive Compatibility.
Gallery
This product is compatible with...
Learn how to find your Mac's model ID
Mac Pro Rack (Early 2020)
(January 2020)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.5GHz 8-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro Rack (Early 2020)
(January 2020)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.3GHz 12-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro Rack (Early 2020)
(January 2020)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.2GHz 16-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro Rack (Early 2020)
(January 2020)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.7GHz 24-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro Rack (Early 2020)
(January 2020)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.5GHz 28-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro (Late 2019)
(December 2019)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.5GHz 8-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro (Late 2019)
(December 2019)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.3GHz 12-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro (Late 2019)
(December 2019)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.2GHz 16-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro (Late 2019)
(December 2019)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.7GHz 24-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac Pro (Late 2019)
(December 2019)
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.5GHz 28-Core
Install videos coming soon
Mac mini (Late 2018)
(November, 2018)
Model ID: Macmini8,1
3.6GHz i3, 3.0GHz i5, 3.2GHz i7
iMac Pro
(27-inch Late 2017)
(27-inch Late 2017)
(December 2017)
Model ID: iMacPro1,1
3.2GHz 8-core, 3.0GHz 10-core, 2.3GHz 14-core, 2.5GHz 18-core
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Mid 2020)
(27-inch Mid 2020)
(August 2020)
Model ID: iMac20,1; iMac20,2
3.1GHz i5, 3.3GHz i5, 3.8GHz i7, 3.6GHz i9
Detailed specs coming soon
Install Videos coming soon
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Early 2019)
(27-inch Early 2019)
(March 2019)
Model ID: iMac19,1
3.0GHz i5, 3.1GHz i5, 3.7GHz i5, 3.6GHz i9
iMac w/Retina 4K display
(21.5-inch Early 2019)
(21.5-inch Early 2019)
(March 2019)
Model ID:iMac19,2
3.6GHz i3, 3.0GHz i5, 3.2GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Mid 2017)
(27-inch Mid 2017)
(June 2017)
Model ID:iMac18,3
3.4GHz i5, 3.5GHz i5, 3.8GHz i5, 4.2GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 4K display
(21.5-inch Mid 2017)
(21.5-inch Mid 2017)
(June 2017)
Model ID:iMac18,2
3.0GHz i5, 3.4GHz i5, 3.6GHz i7
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2020)
(May, 2020)
Model ID: MacBookPro16,3
1.4GHz i5, 1.7GHz i7
Detailed specs coming soon
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2020)
(May, 2020)
Model ID: MacBookPro16,2
2.0GHz i5, 2.3GHz i7
Detailed specs coming soon
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (16-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(November, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro16,1
2.6GHz i7, 2.3GHz i9, 2.4GHz i9
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(May, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,1; MacBookPro15,3
2.6GHz i7, 2.3GHz i9, 2.4GHz i9
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(July, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,4
1.4GHz i5, 1.7GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(May, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.4GHz i5, 2.8GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2018)
(July, 2018)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,1
2.2GHz i7, 2.6GHz i7, 2.9GHz i9
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2018)
(July, 2018)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.3GHz i5, 2.7GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,3
2.8GHz i7, 2.9GHz i7, 3.1GHz i7
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,2
3.1GHz i5, 3.3GHz i5, 3.5GHz i7
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina display Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,1
2.3GHz i5, 2.5GHz i7
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,3
2.6GHz, 2.7GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,2
2.9GHz, 3.1GHz, 3.3GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina display Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,1
2.0GHz, 2.4GHz
MacBook Air (13-inch Early 2020)
(March 2020)
Model ID: MacBookAir9,1
1.1GHz i3, 1.1GHz i5, 1.2GHz i7
Includes
- Mercury Helios FX Expansion Chassis
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 cable (40Gbps)
- (2) 6+2 pin internal power cables for GPUs requiring 6 or 8-pin power
- (1) Power cable
- Quick start guide
- Mac Host Guide (download only)
- Windows Host Guide (download only
- GPU Compatibility (download only)
- OWC Express 4M2 SSD enclosure
- SoftRAID Lite XT
- Power supply and cable
- Thunderbolt 3 cable
- Quick Start Guide
- SoftRAID Lite XT Quick Start Guide (download only)
OWC
AR/VR Development Platform
Helios FX + Express 4M2
Mfr P/N: ARVRDEVP
OWC SKU: OWCARVRDEVP
Add sheer GPU computational power and four M.2 NVMe SSD slots for up to 8TB and 2800MB/s to your AR/VR workflow
OWC Helios FX: 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
OWC Express 4M2: 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty
OWC Express 4M2: 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty
