Press

Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, announced today the OWC Mercury Helios™ PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis as the solution for using half-length professional-level PCIe 2.0 adapter cards with Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and other Thunderbolt-equipped computers that do not have PCIe slots due to size and/or design limitations.

More Users Can Now Tap Into Power of PCIe and Thunderbolt
Desktop workstations used to be the only way computer users could access high-performance PCIe cards made for video capture/editing, media transcoding, audio processing, and data storage. Now, with Mercury Helios, users of portable and all-in-one computers can enjoy the functionality and productivity gains of these PCIe cards wherever their work takes them.

Boosts Workflow Productivity
Mercury Helios is fast and flexible with throughput up to 10Gb/s, and is the perfect solution to massively boost workflow productivity. It's bootable with AHCI compliant cards and can daisy-chain up to six devices. Types of PCIe cards Helios can use include: Fibre Channel • 10Gb Ethernet • RAID controller • Video capture • Digital audio • Solid State Drive • SAS controllers such as the OWC Jupiter • and FireWire, USB 3.0, eSATA host adapter cards.

Pricing and Availability
The $399.95 MSRP Mercury Helios is now available for order and will begin shipping within 7-10 days directly from OWC and select retailers. Additionally, specially priced Mercury Helios/Mercury Accelsior SSD bundles are available for supercharged data transfer performance up to 620MBs* and with capacities up to nearly 1.0TB:

• 120GB Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis/Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD - $679.99
• 240GB Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis/Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD - $799.99
• 480GB Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis/Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD - $1079.99
• 960GB Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis/Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD - $1819.99

For more information on the OWC Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis, including reseller inquires, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/PCIe_Chassis/Mercury_Helios/

Features and Specifications

• Use any half-length, single width, full height x1, x4 or x8 Thunderbolt compliant and AHCI compliant PCIe card
• Expansion slots: One PCIe 2.0 x8 (x4 mode)
• Connection interfaces: Two Thunderbolt ports
• Daisy-chain up to six devices
• Bootable with AHCI compliant cards
• External case dimensions: 5.7 in (W) x 8.8 in (D) x 2.9 in (H)
• Weighs 2.4 lbs (without card)
• Ventilated quiet cooling with a variable speed fan
• Automatically powers on/off with computer
• Warranty: 3-year
• Compatible with any computer that can support Thunderbolt technology

"With the advanced processors modern MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros, iMacs, and even the Mac mini offer, these machines are very capable of running advanced applications and processes that rival the Mac Pro," said Larry O'Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. "Now with the Mercury Helios, users of these non-PCIe slot equipped machines can tap into the power of PCIe cards and experience capabilities previously unattainable."