The Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade Card from Sonnet upgrades your Thunderbolt 2 system to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3. By replacing the existing Thunderbolt interface board on your Echo Express III-D and III-R with this upgrade board, your chassis will instantly support higher performance and connect to your Thunderbolt 3-equipped computer without needing an adapter.

With the Thunderbolt 3 interface card installed, your upgraded Echo Express Thunderbolt 2 system gains from 30 to 100% more bandwidth over the original system. Installed in an upgraded system, PCIe cards with high bandwidth requirements, such as 16 Gb Fiber Channel and 4K Video I/O cards supporting high frame rates, will be able to perform better than before.

Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3 Upgrade    40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3    Increased Bandwidth    Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports    Optimal Thunderbolt 3 Daisy Chaining    ThunderLok 3-Compatible

Replaces existing 20 Gb/s Thunderbolt interface board

Easy to install

Two Thunderbolt 3 ports, one port reserved for connection to the computer; second port supports daisy-chaining of up to five additional Thunderbolt devices, attaching a single USB peripheral device, or connecting up to two 4K displays or one 5K display

Compatible with ThunderLok 3 retainer clip

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Does this take PCIe cards?

A: Yes, the Sonnet Echo III Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe Card Rackmount Expansion System has one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and two PCIe 3.0 x8 slots.

Q: 2. Will the Blackmagic Design DeckLink Duo 2 work in this?

A: Yes, I use a deck link quad in mine. Works great!

Q: 3. Will a DeckLink 8K Pro G2 PCIe card with the HDMI daughter card fit in this? And if so, will it leave one slot open for use?

A: Yes, the Blackmagic Design DeckLink 8K Pro G2 Capture Card would fit inside the Sonnet Echo III Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe Card Rackmount Expansion System, and you should be left with one open slot to use.

Q: 4. My notebook has one "USB type C 3.1 Gen 1". it's compatible?

A: This is not compatible. USBC can only carry up to 20GB/s bandwidth while Thunderbolt 3 (over a USBC plug) carries 40 GB/s. You would need all of the 40 GB/s bandwidth offered only by a Thunderbolt 3 capable mother board to effectively utilize this device. Anything less than Thunderbolt 3 speeds for the interface will have undesirable results.

Q: 5. Would the DeckLink Quad 2 card work in this? It's a 8 lane pcie card.

A: That card is 6.3" and this enclosure can support up to 7.75" so it could work.

Q: 6. Can it be used with a Mac Studio that is already powered by the original power cable?

A: The Sonnet Echo 5 Thunderbolt 4 Hub can be used with a powered Mac Studio, and must be used with its own power supply regardless of how the host machine is powered.

Q: 7. Two Questions1. Does this support daisy chain? that is can I connect this to my iMac and then connect my GPU box to the Sonnet? 2. Can I connect it to my iMac with Thunderbolt2 adapter?

A: Yes, it supports daisy chain, via a second Thunderbolt3 port on the back.I connect my MacBook Pro using a Thunderbolt2 adapter. You lose performance, of course, but the functionality is all there.

Q: 8. Besides rack mount, how is this different from Sonnet Echo Express SE?

A: As far as the software and capabilities, the two models are very similar.

Q: 9. Will Black Magic Decklink 8K work in this?

A: Yes, the Black Magic Decklink 8K will work with the Sonnet Echo Express SE PCIe Card Expansion System.

Q: 10. Can I use this card to add two more Thunderbolt 3 ports to a Echo Express III-R (Thunderbolt 3 Edition), so that I have a total of four Thunderbolt 3 ports available for use?

A: These cards only compatible as replacement cards within our chassis, and can not be used as a generic Thunderbolt Add-In-Card to add more Thunderbolt ports to our chassis, nor other computers and devices And only one of these upgrade cards can be installed at a time in our chassis.