<
  • Overview
  • Tech Specs
  • Performance

Professional SSD Upgrade Solutions

If you’ve been thinking about fast, bootable storage, you’ve read the stories and seen the reviews; SSDs are hot right now. Not only do they offer tremendous performance and easily outperform hard disk drives, they're more reliable, their prices are dropping and you can get more capacity than ever. If you’ve got a Mac Pro® or older Windows® desktop computer, you could just get a couple of 2.5" SSDs (plus necessary adapters) and install them in some empty drive bays (if there are any) and be done with it—but the 3Gb/s SATA interface in your computer won’t support fast 6Gb/s SSDs at full speed. You could also get a 6Gb/s eSATA adapter plus external mount SSD storage, but they come with the excess baggage of power adapters and cable clutter. Sonnet engineered a great alternative—Tempo™ SSD Pro. It's a fast 6Gb/s SATA PCI Express adapter card that enables you to attach readily available 2.5" SSDs and install the assembly neatly into a single PCIe slot, no cables or drivers necessary.

Mount 1 or 2 2.5" SATA SSDsUnlike other PCI Express SSD cards that rely on proprietary, premium priced SSD modules, Tempo SSD Pro uses standard 2.5" SATA drives that you choose. You get to select from the widest variety of SSDs, and buy the ones that best suit your capacity and performance needs while working within your budget. Because 2.5" SSDs are readily available, you’re not tied to one retailer or SSD manufacturer should you decide to upgrade to higher capacity, faster SSDs.

It's About the Performance

Tempo SSD Pro is a full-length, full-height card to which you can install two SSDs; if you’ve got the space and need the best performance possible, this is the card for you. This Sonnet solution also supports OS X® or Windows® RAID features. The card uses a faster 6Gb/s SATA controller chipset and PCIe 2.0 x4 interface to deliver read speeds up to 960 MB/s from a pair of SSDs configured as a RAID 0 set. AHCI compliance ensures installation of the card is simple—attach your SSDs with provided screws, mount the card in an available PCIe slot, and turn on your computer—the necessary drivers are installed automatically. Drive health monitoring is supported through S.M.A.R.T. data reporting. This card is backed with Sonnet’s Pro 5-year warranty.

Thunderbolt™ Port? Instant SSD Solution

Got a Thunderbolt connection, but no PCIe slot? Tempo SSD Pro is ideal for use in Sonnet's Echo™ Express Pro Thunderbolt™ Expansion Chassis for PCIe Cards or the xMac™ mini Server PCIe 2.0 expansion system/1U rackmount enclosure for Mac mini with Thunderbolt ports—the combo enables you to add high-speed SSDs to iMac®, Mac® mini, MacBook® Air, and MacBook Pro computers!

MacBook Pro with Echo Express Pro Chassis

Add High-Speed SSD Drives to Your Thunderbolt Equipped Mac: Install SSD drives onto a Tempo SSD Pro and install the card into a Sonnet Echo Express Pro chassis for super fast access to all your data.

 

Tempo SSD Pro Key Features

Adds Fast SSDs to Your System—Mounts two high-performance 6 Gb/s SSDs (sold separately) in your Mac Pro's, desktop PC's, or Thunderbolt expansion chassis' PCIe slot

High-Performance PCIe Interface—PCI Express 2.0 x4 host bus interface for high-performance applications

Superior Performance—Data transfers speeds up to 960 MB/sec(1)

Includes Optional PCIe BNC Connector Bracket—Supports installation of BNC connectors like those used with the RED ROCKET

Optimized for Maximum Performance Over Thunderbolt—Perfect for use in Sonnet's Echo™ Express Pro and xMac mini Server Thunderbolt expansion products

RAID Support—Supports OS X and Windows RAID features

Boot Support—Supports booting from attached drives under OS X or Windows 7 and 8 (see Tech Specs for details).

AHCI Compliant—No drivers required

Supports S.M.A.R.T. data reporting

Shadow

Tempo SSD Pro

Tempo SSD Pro: Includes PCIe bracket with opening for BNC connectors. The optional PCIe bracket supports the installation of two BNC connectors for HD-SDI output.


The Perfect RED ROCKET Companion

BNC ConnectorsIf you’re a RED ROCKET user, you already know that the card takes up two PCIe slots; one for the card itself and another for the BNC connector bracket. Tempo SSD Pro includes an optional PCIe bracket with that supports the installation of the BNC connectors, and allows you to use both the ROCKET and Tempo cards without requiring a third slot. With the combination of cards plus the Echo Express Pro chassis, you’ll have a high-performance transcoding station in a single, compact package. Tempo SSD Pro offers a fresh twist on high-performance storage connectivity.


Tempo SSD Pro PCIe Bracket

The Route Way: By swapping the Tempo SSD Pro card's attached bracket with the optional PCIe bracket, you can add a Tempo SSD and a RED ROCKET card in two PCIe slots and route the HD-SDI out the back without needing a third slot, such as shown here with Sonnet's Echo Express Pro Thunderbolt expansion chassis.

Tempo SSD Pro Configuration Ideas

See Tech Specs Tab for footnotes
Part No.  
TSATA6-SSDPR-E2 Discontinued
Hardware  
Warranty 5-year
Internal Connectors Two SATA for 2.5" SSD or HD(3)
Drives Supported  

SATA 6 Gb/s, SATA 3 Gb/s, and SATA 1.5 Gb/s  

Data Transfer Rate Up to 960 MB/s (1700 MB/s with two cards)(4)
Firmware Flash-ROM upgradeable to latest firmware version
Boot Support

Mac OS Single SSD or up to six SSDs in a
RAID 0 (macOS 10.13+ does not support RAID boot):

  • Mac Pro 3,1 (early 2008 and newer)(5)
  • Any Thunderbolt Mac(10)

Single SSD only:

  • Windows 7, 8, or Server 2012 PCs(6)
Advanced Features Supports S.M.A.R.T. status data reporting
RoHS Compliant Yes
Package Contents (Tempo SSD Pro)
  • Tempo SSD Pro 6Gb/s SATA PCIe 2.0 Drive Card for SSDs
  • Drive mounting screws
  • Optional PCIe bracket
  • Documentation

    Note: SSDs sold separately

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Compatibility

Mac Pro (with PCIe slots)(7)

Power Mac G5

Xserve (Intel with PCIe slots)(8)

Any Thunderbolt Mac with Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion system (such as Sonnet's Echo Express Pro, Echo Express, or Echo Express SE)

OS X 10.5+

OS X Server 10.5+

OS X Mavericks compatible(9)

Windows Compatibility

PC (with PCIe slots)

Windows® 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista®

Windows Server 2012, 2008 R2, 2008

Thunderbolt Compatibility

Any computer with a Thunderbolt port and Thunderbolt to PCIe card expansion system (such as Sonnet's Echo Express Pro, Echo Express, or Echo Express SE)

Sonnet's xMac mini Server


Technical Notes

  1. Pair of SSDs configured as a RAID 0 set.
  2. SSDs sold separately.
  3. Support for only 5V devices.
  4. See Performance Tab for details.
  5. Cards with a serial number starting with "B" or later support booting OS X from attached SSDs out of the box. A card with a serial number starting with "A" may be upgraded to support booting OS X from attached SSDs by updating its firmware using the firmware updater.
  6. Windows BIOS does not support booting from a RAID 0 of multiple SSDs.
    Will not boot Windows on a Mac under Boot Camp.
  7. Tempo SSD Pro is recommended for Mac Pro 1,1 2,1 and 3,1 instead of Tempo SSD. These early Mac Pros have PCIe 1.1 slots which will negotiate the two-lane Tempo SSD card down to one lane. These early Mac Pros will correctly negotiate with the four-lane Tempo SSD Pro.
  8. Xserve supports only one SSD.
  9. When upgrading to OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) you must reinstall your product's Sonnet driver software.
  10. Does not currently boot a Mac with Thunderbolt 2. Sonnet is working to identify the issue.


Specifications subject to change without notice.


Mac Logo Windows LogoPCI Express LogoroHS Logo

 

 

Tempo SSD Pro & Tempo SSD Performance Comparison

One SSD Configuration

Number 1
One SSD
(PCIe 2.0 or 3.0 slot)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 500 MB/s 460 MB/s
Tempo SSD 500 MB/s 460 MB/s
Shadow
One SSD with Mac Pro Performance Chart
 
One SSD
(PCIe 1.1 slot)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 500 MB/s 460 MB/s
Tempo SSD 350 MB/s 280 MB/s
Shadow
One SSD with Mac Pro Performance Chart
 
One SSD
(Thunderbolt)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 450 MB/s 330 MB/s
Tempo SSD 450 MB/s 330 MB/s
Shadow
One SSD with Thunderbolt Performance Chart
Two SSD Configuration

Number 1

Two SSDs
(PCIe 2.0 or 3.0 slot)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 960 MB/s 850 MB/s
Tempo SSD 700 MB/s 610 MB/s
Shadow
Two SSDs with Mac Pro Performance Chart
 

Two SSDs Mac Pro
(PCIe 1.1 slot)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 730 MB/s 600 MB/s
Tempo SSD 370 MB/s 300 MB/s
Shadow
Two SSDs with Mac Pro Performance Chart
 
Two SSDs
( Thunderbolt 2)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 940 MB/sec 730 MB/sec
Tempo SSD 700 MB/sec 540 MB/sec
Shadow
Two SSDs with Thunderbolt Performance Chart
   
Two SSDs
( Thunderbolt)
Read Write
Tempo SSD Pro 700 MB/sec 560 MB/sec
Tempo SSD 600 MB/sec 380 MB/sec
Shadow
Two SSDs with Thunderbolt Performance Chart
Four SSD Configuration

Number 1







Four SSDs
(PCIe 2.0 or 3.0 slot)
Read Write
2 x Tempo SSD Pro 1710 MB/sec 1320 MB/sec
Shadow
Two SSDs with Thunderbolt Performance Chart
 







Four SSDs
(Thunderbolt 2)
Read Write
2 x Tempo SSD Pro 1270 MB/sec 1230 MB/sec
Shadow
Two SSDs with Thunderbolt Performance Chart