• Thunderbolt - PCIe Cards
ArrowCompatibility Charts


Hard DriveThunderbolt Compatibility with PCIe Cards in Sonnet Echo Express, Echo Express Pro, Echo Express II, Echo Express SE, and xMac mini Server and xMac mini Server 2H


All Sonnet Thunderbolt products are designed to comply with comprehensive Thunderbolt compatibility requirements, and have passed the Apple/Intel compatibility certification tests.

For PCIe card expansion products, there is an additional requirement that each PCIe card's driver must also be compatible with Thunderbolt technology. PCIe cards' Thunderbolt compatibility requirements include: 1) the card driver must enable the correct card ID to be recognized over Thunderbolt, and 2) it must properly support hot-plug/unplug, recover from sleep, etc. as defined in the Thunderbolt device interconnect paradigm.

All cards identified on this list have either been tested for compliance with Intel's Thunderbolt connectivity requirements in Sonnet's labs, by the PCIe card developer using Sonnet's Thunderbolt PCIe expansion products, or both. The compatibility list is broken out with a column for each Sonnet product and, in the case of xMac mini Servers, a column for each of its PCIe slots. Because they are too large to fit, some PCIe cards are not marked as compatible with the Echo Express (non-pro model) and in xMac mini Servers' low profile slot.

We will update this list as new cards are tested and verified to be compatible. Please download the latest drivers from the PCIe card developer's website before attempting to use the card in one of our Thunderbolt expansion products.


Pro Audio
Ethernet Adapters (Gigabit)Ethernet Adapters (10 Gigabit)Fibre ChannelFireWire/USB
PCIe Bus ExtenderSAS/SATASSDVideo Capture & ProcessingStorage

Information updated February 10, 2014

Pro Audio
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Avid HD Native   (6A)
Avid Pro Tools|HDX       (11)      
Lynx AES16e   (6A)
Lynx AES 16e-SRC   (6A)
Lynx AES16e-50   (7) (8) (8) (6A)
RME HDSPe Madi   (6D) (6A) (6D)
RME HPSDe MADI FX   (6D) (6A) (6D)
RME HDSPe RayDAT   (6D) (6A) (6D)
RME HDSPe AIO   (6A)
RME HDSPe AES   (6D) (6A) (6D)
RME HDSPe PCI (with Multiface, Multiface II & Digiface)  
Solid State Logic MadiXtreme 64   Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development
Solid State Logic MadiXtreme 128   Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development Driver In Development
Universal Audio UAD-2 PCIe DSP Accelerator   (6A)
Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo DSP Accelerator  
Universal Audio UAD-2 Duo/Quad/Octo DSP Accelerator   (6A)
Top

Ethernet Adapters (Gigabit)
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Small Tree GbE PEG1, PEG1F  
Small Tree GbE PEG2, PEG2F  
Small Tree GbE PEG4   (6A)
Small Tree GbE PEG2G6I   (6A)
Sonnet Presto Gigabit Pro PCIe        
Top

Ethernet Adapters (10 Gigabit)
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
ATTO Fast Frame NS11, NT11  
ATTO Fast Frame NS12, NT12  
ATTO Fast Frame NS14   (6A)
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-1S+E  
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-2C  
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-2S  
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-C  
Myricom 10G-PCIE-8B-S  
Myricom 10G-PCIE2-8B2-2C  
Myricom 10G-PCIE2-8B2-2S  
Myricom 10G-PCIE2-8C2-2S  
Myricom 10G-PCIE2-8C2-2S+E   (6A)
Small Tree 10GbE PETG2NDA, PETG2-CAT6, PETG2-CX4, PETG1SFP+, PETG2SFP+  
Small Tree 10GbE PETG4NDA, PETG4SFP+   (6A)
Small Tree 10GbE PETG6NDA, PETG6SFP+   (6A)
Sonnet Presto 10GbE 1-Port  
Sonnet Presto 10GbE 2-Port  
Top

Fibre Channel
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Apple Dual-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Card(1)   (10)
Apple Quad-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Card   (6A)
ATTO Celerity FC-81EN  
ATTO Celerity FC-82EN  
ATTO Celerity FC-84EN   (6A)
Sonnet 8Gb Single Channel Fibre Channel Host Adapter PCIe 2.0  
Sonnet 8Gb Dual Channel Fibre Channel Host Adapter PCIe 2.0  
Top

FireWire/USB
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Sonnet Allegro FW800 PCIe   (6A)
Sonnet Allegro FW400 PCIe   (6A)
Top

PCIe Bus Extender
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Accusys ExaSAN QSFP to PCIe HBA  
Sonnet PCIe 2.0 Bus Extender Card  
Top

SAS/SATA
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Areca ARC-1202 2-port SAS RAID Adapter (9)
Areca ARC-1212x/1222x 4/8-port SAS RAID Adapters (9)
Areca ARC-1300-4e/-4x 4-port SAS Adapters (9)
Areca ARC-1320-8x 8-port SAS Adapter (9)
Areca ARC-1882x 8-port 6Gb SAS RAID adapter (9)
ATTO ExpressSAS H680 Adapter  
ATTO ExpressSAS H6F0 Adapter   (6A)
ATTO ExpressSAS H644 Adapter  
ATTO ExpressSAS R680 RAID Adapter(2)   (10)
HighPoint Rocket RAID SAS 2711/2722  
HighPoint Rocket RAID SAS 4522    
HighPoint Rocket RAID SATA 644L   (6A)
Sonnet Tempo SATA 6Gb Pro 2-port  
Sonnet Tempo SATA 6Gb Pro 4-port   (6A)
Sonnet 6Gb/s SAS/SATA RAID Controller(2)   (10)
Top

SSD
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe R0  
Sonnet Tempo Single/Dual SSD PCIe Adapter   (3) (3) (6A) (3)
Sonnet Tempo Pro Dual SSD PCIe Adapter   (6B) (6B) (6A) (6B)
Top

Video Capture & Processing
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
AJA Kona LHe Plus   (6A)
AJA Kona LHi   (6A)
AJA Kona 3G   (6C) (12) (6A) (6C)
Black Magic Intensity Pro   (6A)
Black Magic Decklink 4K   (6A)
Black Magic Decklink Quad   (6C) (12) (6A) (6C)
Black Magic Decklink HD Extreme 3D   (6D) (6A)
Black Magic Decklink Studio   (6D) (6A)
Black Magic Decklink Studio2   (6D) (6A)
Black Magic Intensity Duo   (6A)
Black Magic Decklink SDI   (6A)
Bluefish444 Create HD          
Bluefish444 Create 3D          
Bluefish444 Create 3D Ultra          
Bluefish444 Epoch 2K Horizon          
Bluefish444 2K Core          
Bluefish444 2K Ultra          
Matrox Mojito MAX   (6B) (6B) (6B) (6B)
Sienna Automation X   (6A)
Top

Storage(4)
Product
Mac
PC
Echo
Express SE
Echo Express & Echo Express II Echo
Express Pro
xMac mini Server
xMac mini Server 2H
      Full Height
Half Length
Full Height
1/2 Length+
Full Height
Full Length
Low Profile
Half Length
Full Height
Full Length
Full Height
Half Length
Sonnet Fusion D400QR5/R400QR5(5)  
Sonnet Fusion DX800RAID   (13)
Sonnet Fusion RX1600RAID   (13)
Tandberg Data LTO-2, LTO-5   (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4)
TOLIS TGSHH4S-EXT LTO-4 HH SAS Drive  
TOLIS TGSHH5S-EXT LTO-5 HH SAS Drive  
TOLIS TGSHH4S-LIB LTO-4 HH SAS Drive  
TOLIS TGSHH5S-LIB LTO-5 HH SAS Drive  
Storage DNA Evolution D100  
Storage DNA Evolution X100, X100-8, X100-24  
Storage DNA Evolution X200, X200-24, X200-48  
Storage DNA Evolution X400-48  
Top

 

Technical Notes

  1. Some older versions of the Apple/LSI Fibre Channel Card may not be compatible with Thunderbolt technology. Here's what we know:
    • Compatible Versions: H3-2507-01D, H3-250770-01D, L3-25077-00E, L3-25007-00G
    • Incompatible Versions: L3-00137-01D, L3-00137-01E, LSI 7104-EP-LC, LSI 7404-EP, H3-25077-01E
    • Please send an email to support@sonnettech.com if you have another version that does or does not work.
  2. 30ºC maximum ambient operating temperature.
  3. Single SSD in this chassis.
  4. SAS LTO models used with compatible SAS card such as ATTO H680 or H644.
  5. Recommended with Sonnet Tempo SATA 6Gb Pro 2-Port or Pro 4-port.
  6. Not marked as compatible because the size of the card (height or length) does not fit the space available:

    A) Full-height cards don't fit in the xMac mini Server's low-profile slot, but do fit in its full-height slot and in all Echo Express models. 
    B) Full-length cards fit in the Echo Express Pro, and in the xMac mini Server's full-length slot. They don't fit in the Echo Express SE, the Echo Express, the xMac mini Server's low-profile slot, or the xMac mini Server 2H.
    C) Medium-length cards (longer than 6.6" [half-length] but not longer than 7.75") don't fit in the Echo Express SE, the Echo Express II, or the xMac mini Server 2H, but do fit in the Echo Express and Echo Express Pro, as well as in the xMac mini Server's full-length slot. 
    D) Double-width cards (double cards or single cards with an auxiliary I/O plate) fit in the Echo Express and Echo Express Pro, but not the Echo Express SE or xMac mini server.
  7. Limited clearance within the chassis to connect to RJ45 port on AES16e-50 card.
  8. Limited clearance within the chassis to connect to RJ45 port on AES16e-50 card without special modification. RPM Dynamics is currently providing the expansion chassis with an approved modification.
  9. See www.areca.com.tw/support/s_thunderbolt/thunderbolt.htm for the latest information.
  10. Although this is a low profile card, a low profile bracket is not included in the box.
  11. Requires Echo Express Pro Serial Number Bxxx and greater (shipping beginning  Feb. 2013) and requires Sonnet's Pro Tools|HDX2 PCIe Card Power Adapter Cable for Echo Express Pro.
  12. The Kona 3G fits in the Echo Express, but not the Echo Express II.
  13. There is not enought airflow in this low-profile slot to properly cool these cards.
  14. Supports up to three Avid Pro Tools|HDX cards.

Sonnet Thunderbolt Expansion Partners

Sonnet works closely with the following partners to ensure Thunderbolt compatibility for their products.


AdobeAJAAppleATTOAvidBlack Magic DesignBlueFish 444CalDigitExaSANFocusrite
Fusion ioLynx Studio TechnologyMatroxMyricomREDRMESiennaSmall Tree Softron Media ServicesSolid State LogicStorageDNATandberg DataTolis GroupTools On AirUniversal Audio