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Key Features
Compatibility
Product Description
Featuring dual Thunderbolt 40Gb/s ports with up to 85W notebook charging, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt 3 certification for Mac and Windows. Use PCIe cards with your Thunderbolt 3 Mac and Windows PC.
Highlights
- Lightning-fast 40Gbps transfer speeds: (2) Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Play your card: physical slot and enclosure support cards up to half-length, full-height, double-width
- See more: DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting up to an 8K display
- Easy card installs: No tools required
- Charge while working: 85W of notebook charging
Maximize Your PCIe Card Investment with An External PCIe Slot
A New World of Expansion Flexibility
Using a video, audio, storage, network, or even gaming PCIe card with a Mac Pro or PC desktop is a simple matter of inserting your card into an open slot. But what do you do if you have a laptop or even a space-confined desktop like an iMac or Mac mini that doesn't contain a PCIe slot?
The OWC Mercury Helios 3S is an easy to use yet powerful expansion solution that adds an external PCIe slot to your Thunderbolt 3 equipped computer. Now you can maximize your existing PCIe card investment — or expand it! — while enjoying the flexibility of adding professional-class video production, transcoding, audio processing, data storage, and high-speed network connectivity to your machine.
Retask Without Limits
Instead of buying one or more function-dedicated Thunderbolt interface devices, you can use Mercury Helios 3S like a dock for multiple PCIe cards. Capture incredibly high-quality audio with a PCIe audio card and then retask Helios 3S with a PCIe SSD card to edit and archive tracks. You can swap cards in minutes, adding a new level of flexibility to your workflow.
Capture, Stream, and Share in Seconds
With dual 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 (Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt backwards compatible), the Mercury Helios 3S offers the bandwidth needed to support data-intensive 4K capture cards to speed up diverse video workflows such as vlogging. Boost your DAW with external DSP acceleration and run larger mixes with multiple plug-ins. Livestream the action in your gaming sessions or share files over a 10GbE or Fibre Channel network without any speed throttling.
Pro-Level Performance Cards for Every Need
Mercury Helios 3S supports a wide variety of half-length, full-height, single or double-width pro-level PCIe cards from leading brands like AJA, Apogee, ATTO, Avid Pro Tools, Blackmagic Design, CalDigit, HighPoint, Intel, Solid State Logic, Universal Audio, and OWC:
Video capture
Digital audio
Solid State Drive (SSD)
40GbE/10GbE network adapters
SAS controllers
Firewire, USB, or eSATA host adapters
Add New Capabilities to Your Workflow
Thunderbolt 3 offers more than just speed. Mercury Helios 3S leverages the full power of Thunderbolt 3 to deliver added potential to your Mac or PC. Daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt peripherals for incredible capabilities to work or play. Charge your notebook with 85W while you work. Even add up to an 8K display via the DisplayPort interface to expand your viewing space.
Plug and Play
No special software or drivers needed...just plug the Mercury Helios 3S into an open Thunderbolt 3 port on your computer with the included cable to immediately expand your system capabilities.
No tools required either...just remove two thumbscrews and insert a card to start enjoying productivity gains wherever your work takes you.
Includes
- (1) Mercury Helios 3S
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 cable
- (1) External power supply
- (1) Power cable
- (1) User guide
- 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Specifications
- OWC Part Number: HELIOS3S
- Colour: Black
- Material: Aluminum
- Form Factor: PCIe
- Interface: Thunderbolt 3
- OS Compatibility: macOS 10.13 or later; Windows 10 or later
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PCIe Cards Supported:
- Mechanical: x16 slot and enclosure support cards up to half-length, full-height, and double-width
- Bandwidth: PCIe 3.0 x4. Cards that require a minimum of x8 or more PCIe lanes are not supported.
- GPUs are not supported. If the card requires a driver, it must be Thunderbolt-aware. Cards that require more than 75W are not supported.
- RoHS: Yes
- Ports: (2) Thunderbolt 3; (1) DisplayPort 1.4
- Chipset: Thunderbolt 3: Titan Ridge (JHL7440)
- Expansion Slot: PCI Express 3.0 interface (x4) with x16 physical slot
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Display Host Capabilities:
- Supports dual display configurations via Thunderbolt 3 and DisplayPort
- The DisplayPort does not support DP++
- When using a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, make sure to use an active adapter.
-
Power:
- AC Input: 2.2A 100-240V 50-60Hz
- DC Output: 12.5A 12V
- Wattage: 150W
-
Dimensions:
- Height: 8.2 cm (3.2 in)
- Width: 14.3 cm (5.6 in)
- Length: 23.3 cm (9.2 in)
- Weight: 1.6 kg (3.64 lbs)
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Notes:
- The Mercury Helios 3S can deliver up to 85W of power for host charging when the host is connected to the 85W port.
- If the PCIe card installed uses more than 25W of power, plug in the power adapter to your host.
- You can use the Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter from Apple to connect this device to a Thunderbolt 2 computer. Power Delivery is not supported in this configuration and bandwidth will be limited to ~ 1375 MB/s.
- Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt compatibility requires a certified Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
- OWC Mercury Helios 3S can deliver up to 85W of power for charging via host port.
- If the PCIe card installed uses more than 25W of power, plug in the power adapter to your host.
- Full DisplayPort 1.4 capabilities including 8K resolution depends on host computer support of DisplayPort 1.4 specification through its Thunderbolt 3 connection, host computer GPU capabilities, and connecting cable capabilities.
Compatibility
Operating System Compatibility
MacOS
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra
- macOS 10.14 Mojave
- macOS 10.15 Catalina
- macOS 11.x Big Sur
- macOS 12.x Monterey
- macOS 13.x Ventura
- macOS 14.x Sonoma
- macOS 15.x Sequoia
- macOS 26.x Tahoe
Windows
- Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Windows 11
- Windows Server 2016
Platform Support
- Mac Intel (Thunderbolt / USB-C)
- Mac Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5)
- Windows PC with Thunderbolt / USB-C
- Intel / AMD desktop and laptop PCs with built-in Thunderbolt ports
Mac Pro Rack
- Early 2020 – MacPro7,1 (8-Core, 12-Core, 16-Core, 24-Core, 28-Core)
- Mid 2023 – Mac14,8 (Apple M2 Ultra)
Mac Pro
- Late 2019 – MacPro7,1 (8-Core, 12-Core, 16-Core, 24-Core, 28-Core)
- Mid 2023 – Mac14,8 (Apple M2 Ultra)
Mac Studio
- Early 2022 – Mac13,1 / Mac13,2 (M1 Max / M1 Ultra)
- Mid 2023 – Mac14,13 / Mac14,14 (M2 Max / M2 Ultra)
- Late 2023 – M3 Series (M3 Max / M3 Ultra)
- Late 2024 – M4 Series (M4 Max / M4 Ultra)
Mac mini
- Late 2018 – Macmini8,1
- Late 2020 – Macmini9,1 (M1)
- Early 2023 – Mac14,3 / Mac14,12 (M2 / M2 Pro)
- Late 2024 – Mac16,10 / Mac16,11 (M4 / M4 Pro)
iMac Pro
- Late 2017 – iMacPro1,1
iMac
- Mid 2017 – iMac18,1 / iMac18,2 / iMac18,3
- Early 2019 – iMac19,1 / iMac19,2
- Mid 2020 – iMac20,1 / iMac20,2
- Mid 2021 – iMac21,1 / iMac21,2 (M1)
- Late 2023 – Mac15,4 / Mac15,5 (M3)
- Late 2024 – Mac16,2 / Mac16,3 (M4)
- Compatible with all Apple Silicon iMac models up to M5
MacBook Pro
- Late 2016 – Intel Thunderbolt 3 models
- 2020 – M1
- 2021 – M1 Pro / M1 Max
- 2022–2023 – M2 / M2 Pro / M2 Max
- 2023 – M3 / M3 Pro / M3 Max
- 2024 – M4 / M4 Pro / M4 Max
- 2025 – M5
MacBook Air
- Late 2018 – Intel models
- 2020 – M1
- 2022–2023 – M2
- 2024 – M3
- 2025 – M4
Extended Compatibility (Thunderbolt 2 Macs)
- Requires Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) Adapter and Thunderbolt 2 cable
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 – MacPro6,1)
- iMac (2011–2015 models)
- Mac mini (2011–2014 models)
- MacBook Pro Retina (2012–2015 models)
- MacBook Air (2011–2015 models)
Product Videos
Shipping & Returns
- Free UK Shipping: Delivered in approx. 2 working days
- Express Options: Faster methods available at checkout
- Free Shipping to Ireland: For orders over £100.00
- International Delivery: Times vary by destination; shipped via FedEx or DHL
- 30-Day Returns: Return within 30 days from order date
- UK, Ireland and EU Customers: Free return label provided
- Full Return Policy: Read Here
- Full Shipping Details: Read Here
Payment
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Pay by card, Klarna, PayPal, Apple Pay, G-Pay, Shop Pay, Revolut, Bancontact, iDeal, or even bank transfer.
Customer Service
Email and chat available 24/7
Free number UK: 08001954072
International: +442838341148
Phone Line Opening Hours
- Monday - Friday: 09:00-17:00
