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We recommend OWC Mercury Helios 2 Thunderbolt 2 Dual Slot Expansion Chassis For PCIe Cards (Mfr P/N: HELIOS2TB2) from Other World Computing for $479.00 as a suitable alternative.

OWC
Mercury Helios

Thunderbolt PCIe Expansion Chassis

Mac / Thunderbolt
  • Mac
  • Thunderbolt
Tap Into Power of PCIe and Thunderbolt
The OWC Mercury Helios PCIe Expansion Chassis gives users of Thunderbolt port equipped computers like the Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro the ability to tap into a wide variety of professional-level performance PCIe cards that were once the sole domain of desktop workstations. Helios utilizes any half-length PCIe 2.0 card (up to 6.5") to provide a massive boost to your workflow.

Helios is fast and flexible with throughput up to 10Gb/s, and is the perfect solution for high-performance PCIe cards made for video capture/editing, media transcoding, audio processing, and data storage. Finally, users of portable and all-in-one computers can enjoy the functionality and productivity gains of these PCIe cards wherever their work takes them.
Outstanding Features
  • Use any half-length (up to 6.5" long), full-height, single-width x1, x4 or x8 PCIe card via Thunderbolt technology.
  • PCIe card expansion offers: up to 10Gb/s SSD data transfer, uncompressed HD video capture, 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and more.
  • Daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices and one Mini Display port at end of chain.
  • Plug and Play...no drivers needed.*
  • Ventilated cooling with a variable speed fan.
  • Automatically powers on/off with your computer.
  • Hot-pluggable...connect and disconnect while unit is on.**
  • Bus-powers one Thunderbolt device that supports bus-powering.***
  • Rugged yet lightweight aluminum housing can go anywhere your work takes you.
Boosts Workflow Productivity
Mercury Helios is fast and flexible with throughput up to 10Gb/s, and is the perfect solution to massively boost workflow productivity. It's bootable with AHCI compliant cards and can daisy-chain up to six devices. Types of PCIe cards Helios can use include: Fibre Channel • 10Gb Ethernet • RAID controller • Video capture • Digital audio • Solid State Drive • SAS controllers such as the OWC Jupiter • and FireWire, USB 3.0, eSATA host adapter cards. Click here for compatibility list.

* 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

  • OWC Mercury Helios External Enclosure
  • External Auto-Switching 100/240v 50/60Hz Power Adapter
  • Requires Thunderbolt Cable. NOT included – available separately.
  • Color User Manual (4.2MB PDF)
  • 3 Year OWC Helios Limited Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time

Gallery

Product Specifications:

PCIe cards supported

  • One half-length (up to 6.5" long), single width, full-height PCIe card

Expansion slot

  • One PCIe 2.0 x8 (x4 mode)

Device Interface

  • PCIe (PCI Express)

Port Configuration

  • Thunderbolt – (2) 20 pin port

Max Data Transfer Rate

  • Thunderbolt – 10Gbit/s (or 1250MB/sec)

Port/Interface Bootability

    Bootable as long as the specific PCIe card installed is bootable
  • Thunderbolt: Supported on Macs meeting minimum requirements.

Macintosh System Requirements

  • Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later. Including 'Mavericks' 10.9.x
  • Available Thunderbolt port.

External Case Dimensions

  • 5.7 in (W) x 8.8 in (D) x 2.9 in (H)
  • 114.78mm x 223.52mm x 73.66mm

Enclosure Weight (without card)

  • Approximately 2.4 pounds (1.08kg)

Product Manual

Operating Environment:

Temperature

  • Varies depending on drive mechanism installed

Shock

  • Varies depending on drive mechanism installed

Warranty

3 Year OWC Helios Limited Warranty

The best warranty is one you never have to use – but should the need occur – we're proud to provide a superior level of support and service coverage to our customers. OWC and NewerTech storage solutions come fully backed by an Industry-leading 48-hour turnaround time, for complete peace of mind ownership confidence.

View more information about the 3 Year OWC Helios Limited Warranty

Manufacturer provided specifications for Other World Computing p/n HELIOSTB1 UPC#: 794504764529
Note about compatibility and throughput:
  • Thunderbolt Daisy-chain capable: OWC Mercury Helios can daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices, plus one display.
  • eSATA Compatibility:
    OWC Mercury Accelsior_E2 is compatible with SATA 1.5Gb/s, 3Gb/s, and 6Gb/s eSATA equipped storage solutions.*
  • eSATA Expansion Ports:
    OWC Mercury Accelsior_E2 is compatible with all eSATA equipped storage solutions.*


Compatible with the following Thunderbolt enabled computers:Learn how to find your Mac's model ID
Mac Pro
Mac Pro
(December, 2013)
Model ID: MacPro6,1
2.7GHz 3.0GHz, 3.5GHz, 3.7GHz
iMac Intel
iMac (27-inch Late 2012)
(November, 2012)
Model ID: iMac13,2
2.9GHz i5, 3.2GHz i5, 3.4GHz i7
iMac Intel
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2012)
(November, 2012)
Model ID: iMac13,1
2.7GHz i5, 2.9GHz i5, 3.1GHz i7
iMac Intel
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2011)
(August, 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,1
3.1GHz i3
iMac Intel
iMac (27-inch Mid 2011)
(May, 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,2
2.7GHz i5, 3.1GHz i5, 3.4GHz i7
iMac Intel
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011)
(May, 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,1
2.5GHz i5, 2.7GHz i5, 2.8GHz i7
MacBook Pro Retina
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2013)
(January, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,1
2.4GHz, 2.7GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro Retina
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Display 2013)
(January, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,2
2.5GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.9GHz, 3.0GHz
MacBook Pro Retina
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Display 2012-2013)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,2
2.5GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro Retina
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,1
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (17-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,3
2.4GHz, 2.5GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,3
2.2GHz, 2.3GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (15-inch 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro9,1
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (15-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,2
2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,2
2.0GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (13-inch 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro9,2
2.5GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (13-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,1
2.4GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro Unibody
MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,1
2.3GHz, 2.7GHz
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookAir5,2
1.8GHz, 2.0GHz
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookAir5,1
1.7GHz, 2.0GHz
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookAir4,2
1.7GHz, 1.8GHz
MacBook Air
MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookAir4,1
1.6GHz, 1.8GHz
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Late 2012)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: Macmini6,1 & Macmini6,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Late 2012 Server)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: Macmini6,2
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: Macmini5,1 & Macmini5,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.7GHz
Mac mini Intel
Mac mini (Mid 2011 Server)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: Macmini5,3
2.0GHz
PC Desktop
PC Desktops
Compatible with Intel / AMD Process based PCs capable with the specifications listed above.
* Not compatible with port-multiplier enclosures.
* A sleep conflict may be encountered when using certain eSATA chipsets via the eSATA ports when booted to the Accelsior_E2. See the specifications tab for affected solutions where System Sleep mode MUST be disabled in order to ensure reliable operation. Allowing system sleep to occur while one of the affected external drives is connected via the Accelsior_E2 eSATA ports could result in loss of data following wake from sleep. Although the above are our general recommendations for use, wake from sleep has been determined to only be an issue when the Accelsior PCIe is used for startup (SSD or eSATA connected device). We are working with our partners to see that the sleep/wake function is fully supported with all solutions and startup scenarios.
OWC Mercury Helios Mfr P/N: HELIOSTB1 OWC SKU: OWCHELIOSTB1 Thunderbolt™ PCIe Expansion Chassis 60 Day OWC Limited Warranty
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