Sonnet, the makers of high-speed expansion cards, has announced Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade Cards for Thunderbolt 2-to-PCIe Card Expansion Systems.
These cards are designed for their existing Thunderbolt 2 Echo Express SE II, III-D, and III-R expansion systems, so as to offer owners of those models greater bandwidth and provide Thunderbolt 3 connectivity to work with the latest MacBook Pro and iMac computers. Sonnet says of the new cards...
We are proud to deliver on our promise of a simple upgrade path by offering our customers Thunderbolt 3 upgrade cards for their current Thunderbolt 2-based Echo Express SE II, III-D, and III-R expansion chassis," said Greg LaPorte, vice president of sales and marketing, Sonnet Technologies. "More than simple adapters, these upgrades offer users better performance, plus 40Gbps bandwidth and Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connectivity for daisy-chaining additional peripheral devices.
Sonnet Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade Card Features
- Dual 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports that support the daisy-chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt peripheral devices.
- Backward compatibility for 20Gbps Thunderbolt 2 and 10Gbps Thunderbolt-equipped devices when connected via the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C)-to-Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.
- As an added benefit, the second Thunderbolt 3 port also supports a variety of displays and a multitude of USB 3.1, USB 3.0, and USB 2.0 devices when connected with the proper cable, and fully supports the DisplayPort 1.2 protocol, which enables streaming to one 4K display at 120 Hz, two 4K displays at 60 Hz, or one 5K display at 60 Hz.
Installation - Plug And Play
Sonnet's Thunderbolt 3 upgrade cards are simple to install, merely requiring the user to remove the existing Thunderbolt 2 interface card and plug in its replacement. There are no software updates to install to support the upgraded chassis.
Spec and Price
Thunderbolt 3 upgrade cards for the Echo Express SE II (part number BRD-UPGRTB3-SE2), and the Echo Express III-D or III-R (part number BRD-UPGRTB3-E3) are available now, each with an MSRP of $149. More information on these products on the Sonnet website.