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OWC Mercury Helios
Thunderbolt PCIe Expansion Chassis
Mfr P/N: HELIOS1TB3 OWC SKU: OWCHELIOS1TB3
Tap Into Power of PCIe and Thunderbolt
- Daisy-chain support for up to five additional Thunderbolt peripherals
- Near-silent operation
- Plug and Play – no drivers needed
- Support for most PCIe Cards, including: Fibre Channel,10GbE Network Interface Controller, Video capture, Digital audio, Solid-state Drives, SAS controllers such as the OWC Jupiter, FireWire, USB 3.0, or eSATA host adapter cards
- 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
The Little Black Box to do it All. Fast
The OWC Mercury Helios PCIe expansion chassis gives Thunderbolt equipped Macs the ability to tap into a huge variety of pro-level performance PCIe cards, previously the sole domain of desktop workstations.
Leveraging extreme performance Thunderbolt 3 and PCIe 3.0 technologies, Mercury Helios 3 delivers nearly unlimited expansion potential to your Mac. At up to 40Gb/s transfer speed, the sky is the limit with the flexibility to completely customize the capabilities of almost any workflow or workstation.
Expansion Comes Standard
Mercury Helios 3 features one half-length (up to 7.75"), full-height, double-width x16 PCIe 3.0 slot to provide a vast array of expansion options.
Two Thunderbolt 3 ports means Mercury Helios supports up to five additional daisy-chained Thunderbolt peripherals including power delivery.
Mercury Helios 3 also features an additional mini DisplayPort to add additional UHD or HD displays and an included Thunderbolt cable.
Mercury Helios is fast and flexible with phenomenal throughput up to 40Gb/s. The perfectly simple solution to add high-performance PCIe cards made for video production, transcoding, audio processing, data storage and much more.
- * Thunderbolt-aware drivers may be needed for PCIe card.
- ** If any devices are connected to the PCIe card, make sure to properly remove them before disconnecting Helios.
- *** Thunderbolt bus-powered device has to be the last device on the chain.
Includes
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- (1) OWC Mercury Helios External Enclosure
- (1) External Auto-Switching 100/240v 50/60Hz Power Adapter
- (1) Requires Thunderbolt Cable. NOT included - available separately.
- (1) Color User Manual
- 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Specs
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Boot Support
- macOS (requires installed PCIe card be bootable and the Mercury Helios 3 must be connected to a compatible Mac host.)
Expansion Slots
- (1) PCIe 2.0 x8 (x4 mode)
Device Ports
- (2) Thunderbolt Ports
Transfer Rate
- up to 10.0Gb/s
Host Interface Requirements
- Available Thunderbolt port
Mac OS Compatibility
- Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
- Mac OS X 10.7 Lion
- Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
- OS X 10.9 Mavericks
- OS X 10.10 Yosemite
- OS X 10.11 El Capitan
- macOS 10.12 Sierra
PC OS Compatibility
- Windows 7 32-bit Edition
- Windows 7 64-bit Edition
- Windows 8 32-bit Edition
- Windows 8 64-bit Edition
- Windows 8.1 32-bit Edition
- Windows 8.1 64-bit Edition
- Windows 10 32-bit Edition
- Windows 10 64-bit Edition
- Windows 11
Supported PCIe Cards
- One half-length (up to 6.5" long), single width, full-height PCIe card
External Power Adapter
- Yes
Power Supply
- External UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
Dimensions
- Height: 11.5 cm (4.5 in)
- Length: 22.4 cm (8.8 in)
- Width: 7.4 cm (2.9 in)
Weight
- 1.1 kg (2.38 lbs)
RoHS Compliant
- Yes
Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C)
- Non-Operating: -40°F to 149°F (-40°C to 65°C)
- 1. Using the Jupiter mini-SAS PCIe HBA Card in the OWC Helios 3 could cause permanent damage to the card.
Compatibility & Installation Videos
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Apple M4 Pro
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Apple M4 Pro
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Apple M4 Max & Apple M4
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Apple M3 Max
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2023)
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Apple M3 Max
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Late 2023)
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Model ID: Mac15,7
Apple M3 Pro
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2023)
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Model ID: Mac15,6 & Mac15,3
Apple M3 Pro & Apple M3
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Late 2023)
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Model ID: Mac15,11
Apple M3 Max
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2023)
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Model ID: Mac15,10
Apple M3 Max
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Early 2023)
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Model ID: Mac14,9
Apple M2 Pro
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Early 2023)
Early 2023
Model ID: Mac14,6
Apple M2 Max
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Early 2023)
Early 2023
Model ID: Mac14,5
Apple M2 Max
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Early 2023)
Early 2023
Model ID: Mac14,10
Apple M2 Pro
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2022)
Mid 2022
Model ID: Mac14,7
Apple M2
MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2021)
Late 2021
Model ID: MacBookPro18,4 & MacBookPro18,3
Apple M1 Max & Apple M1 Pro
MacBook Pro (16-inch, Late 2021)
Late 2021
Model ID: MacBookPro18,2 & MacBookPro18,1
Apple M1 Max & Apple M1 Pro
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Late 2020)
Late 2020
Model ID: MacBookPro17,1
Apple M1
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2020)
Mid 2020
Model ID: MacBookPro16,3 & MacBookPro16,2
1.4GHz & 1.7GHz & 2.0GHz Core i5 & 2.3GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Touch, 16-inch, Mid 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacBookPro16,1
2.6GHz Core i7 & 2.4GHz & 2.3GHz Core i9
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2019)
Mid 2019
Model ID: MacBookPro15,4
1.4GHz Core i5 & 1.7GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2019)
Mid 2019
Model ID: MacBookPro15,3
2.3GHz & 2.4GHz Core i9
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2019)
Mid 2019
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.4GHz Core i5 & 2.8GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2019)
Mid 2019
Model ID: MacBookPro15,1
2.6GHz Core i7 & 2.3GHz & 2.4GHz Core i9
MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Late 2018)
Late 2018
Model ID: MacBookPro15,3
2.6GHz Core i7 & 2.9GHz Core i9
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2018)
Mid 2018
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.3GHz Core i5 & 2.7GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2018)
Mid 2018
Model ID: MacBookPro15,1
2.2GHz & 2.6GHz Core i7 & 2.9GHz Core i9
MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2017)
Mid 2017
Model ID: MacBookPro14,3
2.8GHz & 2.9GHz & 3.1GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2017)
Mid 2017
Model ID: MacBookPro14,2
3.1GHz & 3.3GHz Core i5 & 3.5GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2017)
Mid 2017
Model ID: MacBookPro14,1
2.3GHz Core i5 & 2.5GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Retina, Touch Bar, 15-inch, Late 2016)
Late 2016
Model ID: MacBookPro13,3
2.6GHz & 2.7GHz & 2.9GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Retina, Touch Bar, 13-inch, Late 2016)
Late 2016
Model ID: MacBookPro13,2
2.9GHz & 3.1GHz Core i5 & 3.3GHz Core i7
MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2016)
Late 2016
Model ID: MacBookPro13,1
2.0GHz Core i5 & 2.4GHz Core i7
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (15-inch, Early 2025)
Early 2025
Model ID: Mac16,13
Apple M4
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2025)
Early 2025
Model ID: Mac16,12
Apple M4
MacBook Air (15-inch, Early 2024)
Early 2024
Model ID: Mac15,13
Apple M3
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2024)
Early 2024
Model ID: Mac15,12
Apple M3
MacBook Air (15-inch, Mid 2023)
Mid 2023
Model ID: Mac14,15
Apple M2
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2022)
Mid 2022
Model ID: Mac14,2
Apple M2
MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2020)
Early 2020
Model ID: MacBookAir9,1
1.1GHz Core i3 & 1.1GHz Core i5 & 1.2GHz Core i7
MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2019)
Mid 2019
Model ID: MacBookAir8,2
1.6GHz Core i5
MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2018)
Late 2018
Model ID: MacBookAir8,1
1.6GHz Core i5
iMac (Retina 4.5K, 24-inch, Late 2024)
Late 2024
Model ID: Mac16,3 & Mac16,2
Apple M4
iMac (Retina 4.5K, 24-inch, Late 2023)
Late 2023
Model ID: Mac15,5 & Mac15,4
Apple M3
iMac (Retina 4.5K, 24-inch, Mid 2021)
Mid 2021
Model ID: iMac21,2 & iMac21,1
Apple M1
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2020)
Mid 2020
Model ID: iMac20,2 & iMac20,1
3.8GHz Core i7 & 3.6GHz Core i9 & 3.1GHz & 3.3GHz Core i5
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Early 2019)
Early 2019
Model ID: iMac19,2
3.6GHz Core i3 & 3.0GHz Core i5 & 3.2GHz Core i7
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Early 2019)
Early 2019
Model ID: iMac19,1
3.0GHz & 3.1GHz & 3.7GHz Core i5 & 3.6GHz Core i9
iMac Pro (27-inch, Late 2017)
Late 2017
Model ID: iMacPro1,1
2.5GHz Xeon W & 2.3GHz Xeon W & 3.0GHz Xeon W & 3.2GHz Xeon W
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2017)
Mid 2017
Model ID: iMac18,3
3.4GHz & 3.5GHz & 3.8GHz Core i5 & 4.2GHz Core i7
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Mid 2017)
Mid 2017
Model ID: iMac18,2
3.0GHz & 3.4GHz Core i5 & 3.6GHz Core i7
Mac Pro
Mac Pro (Mid 2023)
Mid 2023
Model ID: Mac14,8
Apple M2 Ultra
Mac Pro Rack (Mid 2023)
Mid 2023
Model ID: Mac14,8
Apple M2 Ultra
Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.5GHz 8-Core Xeon
Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.3GHz 12-Core Xeon
Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacPro7,1
3.2GHz 16-Core Xeon
Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.7GHz 24-Core Xeon
Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
Late 2019
Model ID: MacPro7,1
2.5GHz 28-Core Xeon
Mac Studio
Mac Studio (Early 2025)
Early 2025
Model ID: Mac16,9 & Mac15,14
Apple M4 Max & Apple M3 Ultra
Mac Studio (Mid 2023)
Mid 2023
Model ID: Mac14,14 & Mac14,13
Apple M2 Ultra & Apple M2 Max
Mac Studio (Early 2022)
Early 2022
Model ID: Mac13,2 & Mac13,1
Apple M1 Ultra & Apple M1 Max
Mac mini
Mac mini (Late 2024)
Late 2024
Model ID: Mac16,11 & Mac16,10
Apple M4 Pro & Apple M4
Mac mini (Early 2023)
Early 2023
Model ID: Mac14,3 & Mac14,12
Apple M2 & Apple M2 Pro
Mac mini (Late 2020)
Late 2020
Model ID: Macmini9,1
Apple M1
Mac mini (Late 2018)
Late 2018
Model ID: Macmini8,1
3.6GHz Core i3 & 3.0GHz Core i5 & 3.2GHz Core i7
PC Compatible
PC Compatible
PC must have a compatible Thunderbolt port
