Sonnet Allegro Pro USB-C PCIe Card

USB 3.1 2-port USB-C connector 10Gb PCIe card

The Sonnet Allegro Pro USB 3.1 PCIe card enables you to add superspeed USB-C connectivity to any Mac or PC with a PCIe slot or thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion chassis such as the Echo Express series.  Connect bus powered hard drives, SSDs, Blu-Ray devices and more.  The USB3.1 ports are fully backwards compatible meaning you can use any USB 2.0 devices when connected using the correct cable or adapter.

Part No:
SON-USB3C-2PM-E
Usually Ships in 1-2 Days
£105.00 £87.50
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Add SuperSpeed+ USB Technology

Add Two Powerful 10Gbps USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) Connections to Your Mac Pro Tower, Windows PC, Linux Computer(1), or Thunderbolt to PCIe Card Expansion System

Up to 2 Times As Fast As USB 3.0 Connections
When it comes to supporting the fastest USB drives available, your computer’s USB 3.0 ports are perfectly adequate… for connecting peripherals that don’t depend on the ultimate USB 3.1 speeds. However, common USB 3.0 ports can be underachievers—at 5Gbps, they can’t support the maximum performance from many storage devices, and may not provide enough power to enable them to operate. You need SuperSpeed+ USB. You need Sonnet’s Allegro USB-C PCIe card.

The Allegro USB-C PCIe supports data transfers at up to twice as fast as USB 3.0, and can also deliver 15W of power per port to USB-C bus-powered devices (three times the 4.5W specified in the USB 3.0 spec). Don’t settle for mediocre performance or insufficient power for the fastest SSDs—install an Allegro USB-C card to instantly add two Gen 2 USB 3.1 ports to your system and take full advantage of today’s SSD performance.

Speed and Power
Sonnet's Allegro USB-C PCIe computer card supports data transfers up to 960 MB/s when connected to a USB-C Gen 2 SSD RAID device—transfers complete in half the time compared with using a USB 3.0 2.5-inch SSD! Sonnet specially engineered the Allegro USB-C card to provide 15W of power through each of its ports. The ports communicate with the host that 3A of VBUS current is available, enabling this Sonnet solution to support USB-C bus-powered SSDs and SSD RAID devices that need 15W during demanding write operations.

Sonnet Advantages:

Regulates Power to Each Port
Ordinary USB-C adapter cards deal with power delivered through the ports as an afterthought, requiring an additional power source for the card and providing little regulation. The Allegro USB-C PCIe is no ordinary adapter card. The Allegro card regulates its own power without requiring a back-of-the card power cable connection, thus enabling full compatibility in any computer or Thunderbolt expansion chassis that doesn’t have these power connectors available.

Sonnet’s Allegro USB-C is unique in regulating power to each port independently, giving each one protection from power glitches on the adjacent port. Without this protection (such as found on an ordinary card), connects and disconnects of one device may cause auto-disconnects of the other.

Resettable Fuses
The Allegro USB-C card features a resettable fuse on each port to protect the card and computer should there be a cable or peripheral failure. Should a fuse trip on the Sonnet card, you can reset it simply by shutting down the computer.

PCIe Auto-Negotiation
Sonnet's Allegro USB-C PCIe features PCI Express auto-negotiation. The card automatically negotiates to a x1 data link in a PCIe 3.0 slot, and to a x2 link in a PCIe 2.0 slot, giving full bandwidth to both generations of PCIe slots, ensuring great performance in any configuration.

Optimized for Thunderbolt
Got a Thunderbolt connection, but no PCIe slot? The Allegro USB-C PCIe card is ideal for use in any Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe card expansion chassis, including Sonnet’s Echo Express or xMac Thunderbolt to PCI Express card expansion systems, offering full performance wherever you install it—now you can add dual USB-C ports in any current Sonnet Thunderbolt chassis.

Easy Installation
This Allegro USB-C PCIe card installs easily into any PCIe x4 (mechanical) slot; both low-profile and full-height mounting brackets are included. The Sonnet card features hot-pluggable and hot-swappable device connection support with automatic device configuration, and works with all USB-IF compliant USB peripherals

SuperSpeed+ USB Technology
Adds two 10Gbps USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) ports to your Mac Pro with PCIe slots, Windows PC, Linux computer or Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion system; transfers data up to 2x as fast as USB 3.0 connections

Super-Powered Ports
Supports USB-C bus-powered SSD, SSD RAID, and hard drive devices with up to 15W (3.0A) power per port

Protected Ports
Independent power regulation isolates each port to prevent cross-coupled power glitches that may cause accidental disconnects

Resettable Fuses
Device overcurrent fuses are resettable—just shut down your machine to reset a fuse without permanent damage to card or computer

PCIe Data Link Auto-Negotiation
Card auto-negotiates one lane data link in a PCIe 3.0 slot and two lanes in a PCIe 2.0 slot, ensuring full 10Gbps performance in either generation PCIe slot

Broad USB Device Support & Compatibility
Supports storage, hubs, and other USB-IF compliant USB devices

Supports Hot-Swappable Device Connection
Plug in and disconnect peripherals without shutting off your computer

Optimized for Thunderbolt
Provides maximum performance over Thunderbolt

Easy Installation
Quick and easy user installation into any available PCIe slot

More Information
Description

Add SuperSpeed+ USB Technology

Add Two Powerful 10Gbps USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) Connections to Your Mac Pro Tower, Windows PC, Linux Computer(1), or Thunderbolt to PCIe Card Expansion System

Up to 2 Times As Fast As USB 3.0 Connections
When it comes to supporting the fastest USB drives available, your computer’s USB 3.0 ports are perfectly adequate… for connecting peripherals that don’t depend on the ultimate USB 3.1 speeds. However, common USB 3.0 ports can be underachievers—at 5Gbps, they can’t support the maximum performance from many storage devices, and may not provide enough power to enable them to operate. You need SuperSpeed+ USB. You need Sonnet’s Allegro USB-C PCIe card.

The Allegro USB-C PCIe supports data transfers at up to twice as fast as USB 3.0, and can also deliver 15W of power per port to USB-C bus-powered devices (three times the 4.5W specified in the USB 3.0 spec). Don’t settle for mediocre performance or insufficient power for the fastest SSDs—install an Allegro USB-C card to instantly add two Gen 2 USB 3.1 ports to your system and take full advantage of today’s SSD performance.

Speed and Power
Sonnet's Allegro USB-C PCIe computer card supports data transfers up to 960 MB/s when connected to a USB-C Gen 2 SSD RAID device—transfers complete in half the time compared with using a USB 3.0 2.5-inch SSD! Sonnet specially engineered the Allegro USB-C card to provide 15W of power through each of its ports. The ports communicate with the host that 3A of VBUS current is available, enabling this Sonnet solution to support USB-C bus-powered SSDs and SSD RAID devices that need 15W during demanding write operations.

Sonnet Advantages:

Regulates Power to Each Port
Ordinary USB-C adapter cards deal with power delivered through the ports as an afterthought, requiring an additional power source for the card and providing little regulation. The Allegro USB-C PCIe is no ordinary adapter card. The Allegro card regulates its own power without requiring a back-of-the card power cable connection, thus enabling full compatibility in any computer or Thunderbolt expansion chassis that doesn’t have these power connectors available.

Sonnet’s Allegro USB-C is unique in regulating power to each port independently, giving each one protection from power glitches on the adjacent port. Without this protection (such as found on an ordinary card), connects and disconnects of one device may cause auto-disconnects of the other.

Resettable Fuses
The Allegro USB-C card features a resettable fuse on each port to protect the card and computer should there be a cable or peripheral failure. Should a fuse trip on the Sonnet card, you can reset it simply by shutting down the computer.

PCIe Auto-Negotiation
Sonnet's Allegro USB-C PCIe features PCI Express auto-negotiation. The card automatically negotiates to a x1 data link in a PCIe 3.0 slot, and to a x2 link in a PCIe 2.0 slot, giving full bandwidth to both generations of PCIe slots, ensuring great performance in any configuration.

Optimized for Thunderbolt
Got a Thunderbolt connection, but no PCIe slot? The Allegro USB-C PCIe card is ideal for use in any Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 to PCIe card expansion chassis, including Sonnet’s Echo Express or xMac Thunderbolt to PCI Express card expansion systems, offering full performance wherever you install it—now you can add dual USB-C ports in any current Sonnet Thunderbolt chassis.

Easy Installation
This Allegro USB-C PCIe card installs easily into any PCIe x4 (mechanical) slot; both low-profile and full-height mounting brackets are included. The Sonnet card features hot-pluggable and hot-swappable device connection support with automatic device configuration, and works with all USB-IF compliant USB peripherals

Specification

Hardware

  • Warranty: 1-year
  • Form Factor: PCIe x4 low-profile computer card; full-height mounting bracket attached, low-profile bracket included
  • Bus Interface: PCI Express 2.0 x2, or 3.0 x1 auto-negotiate
  • Peripherals Supported: Industry standard USB 3.1 Gen 2, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.1
  • Bus Powered Peripherals Supported:        
    • HD, SSD, SSD RAID, DVD & Blu-ray devices
    • 3A per port advertised using USB-C CC (Channel Configuration)
    • Up to 15W per port for operation or charging

Cables Supported:        

  • USB-C 10Gbps
  • USB-C 5Gbps
  • Thunderbolt 3 40Gbps (0.5-meter only)
  • Thunderbolt 3 20Gbps

 

  • Chipset: ASMedia 1142
  • RoHS Compliant: Yes

 

USB Support        

  • Number of Ports: 2 external
  • Standard: Complies with OHCI (Open Host Controller Interface), EHCI (Enhanced Host Controller Interface), and xHCI (eXtensible Host Controller Interface) standards
  • UASP: USB attached SCSI protocol supported under macOS 10.10 & 10.12+, Windows 10
  • Chipset Throughput: 10 Gbps combined port throughput
  • Number of Devices Supported: Up to 31
  • Hot Plug: Supports hot-pluggable and hot swappable device connection
  • Boot Support: No computers support booting at this time.

 

Mac Compatibility

  • Mac Pro 3,1 4,1 or 5,1
  • macOS 10.10.5, 10.12.6+ (not compatible with macOS 10.11)
  • macOS High Sierra compatible

 

Windows Compatibility

  • Computer with PCIe slots
  • Windows 10, 8.1, 7
  • Windows Server 2016, 2012, 2008 (64-bit editions)

 

Linux Compatibility

  • Computer with PCIe slots
  • Linux 4.12+(1) Kernel (LTS version only)

 

Thunderbolt Compatibility

  • Mac or Windows PC via a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 PCIe expansion system
  • macOS 10.12.6+(2)
  • Windows 10 Build 1703 or newer (64-bit edition)
  • Allegro USB-C PCIe Adapter Card with attached full-height mounting bracket
  • Low-profile mounting bracket
  • Documentation