Sonnet Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card

• Compatible with 2023 and 2019 Mac Pro
• Eight 10Gbps USB-C Ports On a Single Card
• Supports Eight USB-C Cables
• Four Independent USB Controllers, Full 10Gbps Bandwidth Per Port – Features Four USB 3.2 controllers and an x8 PCIe Bridge Chip that Enables Each Port to Support Data Transfers at Up to 1000 MB/s, Even While Transferring Files From Multiple Drives Concurrently
• Advanced Data Traffic Management
• Powered Ports
• Protected Power Delivery
• Supports Four Independent Physical Connections to Virtual Machines (VMs)
• Supports Hot-Swappable Device Connections
• Broad USB Device Support and Compatibility

Sonnet Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card

8-port, USB-C 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) PCIe Card with Four USB Controllers Plus USB-C Charging

Pro Ports. Max Performance from Each One – First pro PCIe adapter card with eight external USB-C ports, four USB 3.2 controllers, and an x8 PCIe 3.0 bridge chip.

Even in computers with multiple expansion card slots, every slot is valuable—there may not be space to install two 4-port adapter cards. Sonnet’s Allegro™ Pro USB-C® 8-Port PCIe Card is the first adapter card ever to feature eight high performance USB-C ports, fitting them neatly on a standard full-height PCIe card bracket. Ports are spaced to enable connection of eight cables (and even USB-C male to USB-A female adapters).

Why Sonnet? Many multi-port USB cards split a single USB controller’s bandwidth among their ports, limiting performance when two or more devices are connected and operating. When installed in a computer's PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 slot, Sonnet’s card provides full 10Gbps bandwidth to every one of its eight ports, ensuring maximum performance from each one.

The Most Capable 10Gbps USB Card – USB SSD Nirvana

Equipped with NVMe SSDs, the fastest USB 3.2 Gen 2 drives available can transfer data at incredible speeds. Chances are your computer has few ports capable of supporting their full performance. Upgrade your workflow in a major way by installing Sonnet’s Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card in your Mac Pro®, Windows, or Linux computer; or Echo™ III Thunderbolt™ to PCIe card expansion system to support up to eight NVMe USB drives at maximum performance*, no power adapters needed.

High Speed Simultaneous Transfers – 10Gbps from Every Port!

Many multi-port USB cards are simple hubs that split a single USB controller’s bandwidth between all its ports, which limits their performance when two or more devices are connected and operating. When installed in a computer's PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 slot, the Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card supports eight simultaneous 10Gbps transfers. It is ideal for transferring data from multiple drives to the computer (and from drive to drive)—data transfers from a single USB 3.2 NVMe SSD device at up to 1000 MB/s. Compared to using a USB 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.0 adapter card, transfers complete in half the time!

Built to Perform – Advanced Bandwidth Management Architecture

With its advanced architecture, the Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card can deliver full 10Gbps bandwidth to each of its ports*. This is accomplished by providing each USB controller access to two lanes of PCIe 3.0 via an x8 PCIe 3.0 bridge chip, plus by implementing advanced data traffic management to eliminate bandwidth congestion. By providing full-bandwidth PCIe bridging to four controllers and by eliminating bandwidth congestion, this Sonnet card is the highest-performing USB 3.2 Gen 2 PCIe card ever made.

Virtually Independent – Supports Four Independent Physical Connections to Virtual Machines (VMs)

The Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card’s four independent USB 3.2 controllers control a pair of ports each. If your VM software supports direct physical connections, then each of these four controllers can be independently attached to a separate virtual machine.

* Performance may be limited when the Allegro card is installed in a PCIe 2.0 slot, or in a Thunderbolt expansion system

Broad Device Support – Easy Card Installation

The Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card offers hot-pluggable and hot-swappable device connection support with automatic device configuration and works with all USB-IF compliant USB peripherals. This full-height Sonnet card installs easily into a PCIe x16 slot and does not require a driver installation.

Got an Echo III Thunderbolt Expansion System? Add Eight USB-C Ports Using Only One PCIe Slot

Does your computer have a Thunderbolt connection, but no PCIe card slot? The Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card provides great performance, and is ideal for use in a Sonnet Echo III Desktop, Echo III Rackmount, or a DuoModo Echo III Module Thunderbolt expansion system. The combo enables you to connect eight USB devices to any Mac, Windows or Linux computer with Thunderbolt ports, supporting aggregate transfers up to 2750 or 3000 MB/s when used with a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt host, respectively.

SPECS

• Easy Installation
• Great for Use in Thunderbolt Expansion Systems
• Mac, Windows, and Linux Compatible
• 2-year Product Warranty
• Free Lifetime Customer Technical Support
• Designed in the USA

Mac Compatibility

• Mac Pro 14,8 (2023)
• Mac Pro 7,1 (2019)
• Mac Pro 5,1
• macOS® 10.12+
• macOS Sonoma compatible

Windows Compatibility

• Windows computer with an available x16 PCIe slot
• Windows 11 and 10

Linux Compatibility

• Linux computer with available x16 PCIe slot
• Linux Kernel 5.4+
• Ubuntu 20.04+

Thunderbolt Expansion System Compatibility

• PCIe card installed in a Thunderbolt Expansion System with an available x16 PCIe slot
• Any Mac, Windows, or Linux computer with Thunderbolt ports

Warranty

• 2-year

Form Factor

• Full-height PCIe computer card

Bus Interface

• PCI Express 3.0 x8 electrical, x16 mechanical

Peripherals Supported

• Industry standard USB 3.2 Gen 1, Gen 2 and 2x2; USB 3.1 Gen 1 and 2; USB 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1
• Thunderbolt-only peripherals are NOT supported

Bus-Powered Peripherals Supported

• HD, SSD, SSD RAID, etc.
• 1.5A per port advertised using USB Type-C Charging
• 7.5W per port for operation or charging

Cables Supported

• USB-C (10Gbps)
• USB4
• Thunderbolt 3 (<1 meter)
• Thunderbolt 4

Chipsets

• 4x ASMedia 3142

USB 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 10.12+, Windows 11 and 10

Hot Plug

• Supports hot-pluggable and hot swappable device connection

Boot Support

• Computers do not support booting from any USB 3 PCIe cards

Operating Temperature

• 0ºC to 35ºC (32ºF to 95ºF)

Compliance

• RoHS 3 (Directive 2015/863)
• IEC62368-1 and IEC62368-2 Safety

Package Contents

• Allegro Pro USB-C 8-Port PCIe Card
• Documentation

Technical Notes

1. Performance may be limited when the Allegro card is installed in a PCIe 2.0 slot, or in a Thunderbolt expansion system.