IRVINE, CA—November 10, 2009—Sonnet Technologies, a leader in upgrades and useful accessories for Apple® Mac® desktop and notebook computers, announces the immediate availability of the Allegro™ FireWire 800 PCIe (PCI Express) adapter card. This easy-to-install adapter delivers faster FireWire 800 performance to Mac Pro, and Power Mac® G5, Xserve®, and Windows® PCs with PCI Express slots. Installation is simple, and for maximum convenience, Allegro FW800 PCIe is backward compatible with FireWire 400 drives and other devices.

Sonnet’s Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe features the fastest FireWire 800 controller, the Texas Instruments XIO2213A. To satisfy the high-bandwidth demands of video and pro audio applications, this latest generation controller enables the Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe to deliver up to 70 MB/sec write speeds, 40% faster than most other FireWire 800 products. This card also powers bus-powered external drives and audio interfaces, so there is no need to connect an external power brick to them. Offering plug-and-play simplicity, this card works in both PCIe 1.1 and 2.0 slots, supports all FireWire 800 and FireWire 400 peripherals, and features hot-pluggable and hot-swappable device connection with automatic device configuration.

Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe Key Benefits

Simple way to add three FireWire 800 ports to any compatible computer

Backward compatible with FireWire 400 devices with adapter or adapter cable

Compatible in any PCI Express slot

Mac Compatibility

Mac Pro

Power Mac G5 (with PCI Express slots)

Xserve (with PCI Express slots)

Mac OS X Version 10.5 and later

Mac OS X Server Version 10.5

PC Compatibility

Desktop computer with PCI Express slot

Windows 7

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Pricing and Availability
Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe (part number FW800-E) is available now
for the suggested retail price of USD $99.95.

For more information on Sonnet’s Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe adapter card, visit the Sonnet web site at: <http://www.sonnettech.com/product/allegrofirewire800pcie.html>