Quickly Add Workstation-Class PCIe and More Ports with the New Thunderbolt 5 OWC Mercury Helios 5S

Designed for modern creator workflows

• Capture & Live: Pair Helios 5S with a professional SDI/HDMI I/O card for live switching, multi-cam ingest, or color-accurate monitoring while downstream TB5 ports feed fast storage and reference displays.
• Cut & Conform: Use an NVMe RAID PCIe card for blazing scratch/cache speeds and keep your Thunderbolt 5 storage and archive connected to the same chassis.
• Mix & Master: Run PCIe audio DSP or multi-channel interfaces and leave your Mac’s ports free for controllers and instruments. Quiet cooling keeps the studio vibe intact.

Cards install in seconds

To get going with Helios 5S, you don't have to be an IT professional thanks to this enclosure's tool-free design. Helios 5S is compatible with half-length, full-height, single- or double-width pro-level PCIe cards from leading brands like AJA, Apogee, ATTO, AudioScience, Avid Pro Tools, Blackmagic Design, Intel, RME Audio, Solid State Logic, Universal Audio, and OWC.

And you can install a card in seconds:

1. Disconnect the Thunderbolt cable and power cord from Mercury Helios 5S
2. Loosen the two captive thumb screws and
3. Reconnect the Thunderbolt cable and power cord to Mercury Helios 5S

Key capabilities

• PCIe expansion, simplified: (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (x16 mechanical) slot supports half-length, full-height, single/double-width cards. No tools needed thanks to captive thumb screws.
• Headroom for heavy lifts: Up to 6000MB/s of available bandwidth for simultaneous read/write operations.
• More Thunderbolt ports: Further expansion comes through three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) 80Gb/s ports, 15W each for bus-powered devices.
• Built for real studios: Aircraft-grade aluminum enclosure with efficient, low-noise cooling. Includes TB5 80Gb/s cable and power-cord retainer.
• Broad compatibility: Works with Thunderbolt 5/4, USB4 Macs & PCs and Thunderbolt 3 Macs.

Specs, pricing & availability

• Interface: Thunderbolt 5 (80Gb/s) host; three downstream Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports (15W each)
• PCIe slot: (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (x16 mechanical), half-length / full-height, single or double-width
• Bandwidth: Up to 6000MB/s available for simultaneous read/write workloads
• Cooling: High-efficiency, low-noise fan; aluminum chassis
• In the box: Thunderbolt 5 80Gb/s cable; power-cord retainer
• Compatibility: Thunderbolt 5/4/USB4 Macs & PCs; Thunderbolt 3 Macs

The OWC Helios 5S is generally available now for $329.99. Get the full details and order here.