- General Information
- Manufacturer
- Other World Computing
- Manufacturer Website Address
- https://www.owc.com/
- Brand Name
- OWC
- Product Line
- Mercury Helios 3S
- Packaged Quantity
- 1
- Product Type
- Expansion Chassis
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 backward compatible ports), 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 thumb screws and insert a card to start enjoying productivity gains wherever your work takes you.
- Warranty
- Limited Warranty
- 3 Year
- Interfaces/Ports
- Host Interface
- Thunderbolt 3
- DisplayPorts Quantity
- 1
- Power Description
- Power Source Type
- Power Adapter
- Physical Characteristics
- Color Family
- Black
- Product Color
- Black
- Product Material
- Aluminum
- Form Factor
- Desktop
- Height
- 3.2"
- Width
- 5.6"
- Length
- 9.2"
- Weight (Approximate)
- 3.53 lb
- Miscellaneous
- Package Contents
- Mercury Helios 3S PCIe Expansion Solution
- 1 x Thunderbolt Cable
- 1 x External Power Supply
- 1 x Power Cable
- 1 x Quick Start Guide for OWC Mercury Helios 3S
- 1 x Assembly Manual & User Guide for OWC Mercury Helios 3S
- Additional Information
- Expansion Slots
- PCIe 3.0 interface (x4) with x16 physical slot
- One Thunderbolt 3 port with 85W power delivery
- One Thunderbolt 3 port with 15W power delivery
- (1) Host Port - Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) up to 40 Gb/s (5000 MB/s)
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Port
- (1) DisplayPort Port
- Thunderbolt 3: Titan Ridge (JHL7440)
- Thunderbolt (USB-C) port (backward compatible with Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt1)
- 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
- Windows 11
- Windows 10 64-bit Edition
- Windows Server 2016
- 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 not supported
- If the card requires a driver it must be Thunderbolt-aware.
- Cards that require more than 75W are not supported.
- Yes
- External power supply
- Need an additional power supply? Secondary/replacement power supplies are also available.
- 100-240V, 50-60 Hz, 2.2A
- +12V, 12.5A
- 150W
- Application/Usage
- Desktop
- Mac
- Compatibility
Apple Products:
- iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2017)
- iMac (Retina 4.5K, 24-inch, Late 2023)
- iMac (Retina 4.5K, 24-inch, Mid 2021)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Early 2019)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Mid 2017)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Early 2019)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2017)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2020)
- iMac Pro (27-inch, Late 2017)
- Mac mini (Early 2023)
- Mac mini (Late 2014)
- Mac mini (Late 2018)
- Mac mini (Late 2020)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013)
- Mac Pro (Late 2019)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2023)
- Mac Pro Rack (Late 2019)
- Mac Pro Rack (Mid 2023)
- Mac Studio (Early 2022)
- Mac Studio (Mid 2023)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2020)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2024)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2018)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Late 2020)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2017)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2019)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2022)
- MacBook Air (15-inch, Early 2024)
- MacBook Air (15-inch, Mid 2023)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2022)
- MacBook Pro (14-inch, Early 2023)
- MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2021)
- MacBook Pro (14-inch, Late 2023)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, Early 2023)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, Late 2021)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, Late 2023)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2016)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2017)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, Touch Bar, 13-inch, Late 2016)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, Touch Bar, 15-inch, Late 2016)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Late 2020)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2017)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2018)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2019)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 13-inch, Mid 2020)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Late 2018)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2017)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2018)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 15-inch, Mid 2019)
- MacBook Pro (Touch, 16-inch, Mid 2019)
- Environmentally Friendly
- Yes
- Environmental Compliance
- Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
- Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE)
- Country of Origin
- Taiwan
- TAA Compliant
- Yes