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The Thunderbolt PCIe expansion chassis have been tested and certified by Apple and Intel for Thunderbolt compatibility. However, in order to use this device, a compatible PCIe card must be installed. Also, that card's driver must be compatible with requirements for Thunderbolt technology (e.g. hot-plug support and recovery from sleep).

Please download the latest drivers for your PCIe card from the corresponding manufacturer's website before attempting to use the card in the external Thunderbolt PCIe expansion chassis.

If a card is not on the compatibility list below, it does not necessarily mean that it is incompatible, it just means that we have not had the opportunity to test it in our lab and haven't received any user reports so far. If you would like to send us a card for testing or report a card that you are using yourself, please let us know.

1. Full-length cards are not supported
2. Chelsio T5 cards require driver version 1.10.11 or later
3. NVMe drives require macOS 10.13 or later (learn more about NVMe and AHCI)
4. The connector can physically not be plugged into the last port at the bottom of the PCIe card
5. Requires 3rd-party power adapter cable
6. 3/4 length cards are not supported
7. Akitio has not verified this card but it has been reported as incompatible by the user community.
8. Akitio has not verified this card but it has been reported as compatible by the user community.
9. When the Intel 750 Series SSD is connected to a Thunderbolt 3 computer, the Thunderbolt cable has to be unplugged and reconnected for it to be recognized.
10. The performance of the PCIe card will be limited due to the limited amount of PCIe lanes (e.g. x2 or x4) in the Thunderbolt chassis.

Remarks:

• Not designed for use with graphics cards.
• The PCIe card driver must be compatible with requirements for Thunderbolt technology.
• This compatibility list is updated whenever a new card has been tested and verified.
• Cards that are not listed are not necessarily incompatible, it just means that we have not tested it (yet).
• If you own a card that is not listed above and know that it works, please let us know.

PCIe Card Interface & Speeds

PCIe Interface

The PCIe interface can affect both the compatibility and the speed. If a card requires 8 PCIe lanes, it might not work at all in an enclosure with only 4 PCIe lanes. Check with the PCIe card manufacturer for more information about backwards compatibility. If a PCIe 2.0 x8 card is installed in a PCIe 3.0 x2 enclosure, it might be compatible and work OK but the performance will be limited to PCIe 2.0 x2 (~770 MB/s), due to the limited amount of PCIe lanes.

• Thunder2 PCIe Box : PCIe 2.0 x4 (~1375 MB/s)
• Thunder3 PCIe Box : PCIe 3.0 x4 (~2750 MB/s)
• Node Lite : PCIe 3.0 x4 (~2750 MB/s)
• Node Duo : PCIe 3.0 x2 per slot (~1375 MB/s per slot)
• Node Pro : PCIe 3.0 x4 (~2750 MB/s)

Thunderbolt Interface

The speed of the Thunderbolt connection depends on the computer and on the Thunderbolt version. Using multiple devices in a daisy chain simultaneously can also affect the speeds.

• Thunderbolt 1 : 770 MB/s
• Thunderbolt 2 : 1375 MB/s
• Thunderbolt 3 : 2750 MB/s

Some Thunderbolt 3 laptops are designed with only two PCIe lanes for the Thunderbolt interface. To reach the maximum of the Thunderbolt 3 interface at 40Gbps, four PCIe lanes are required, so having only two lanes will effectively cut the speed in half and you will only get 20Gbps. For laptops from Dell, check this page at www.dell.com. For laptops from Lenovo, have a look at this article on www.reddit.com. For other laptops, check your documentation, do a search on Google or contact the manufacturer for more information.

PCIe Card Dimensions

Disclaimer:
Information in this article is subject to change without notice. AKiTiO does not make any representations or warranties (implied or otherwise) regarding the accuracy and completeness of this document and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. All brand names and product names used in this document are trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective holders.