Accelerate your Desktop - Add the Speed of Solid State and SATA III to your Desktop PC or Mac Pro®
Upgrade your system to the latest SATA III interface (6Gbs) and add a high speed SSD to boost the performance to the max.
Take your desktop PC or Mac Pro to the extreme with the Velocity Solo x2. Simple to install and with PCIe 2.0 data transfer speeds up to 550 MB/sec with a single SSD and up to 800 MB/sec when configured with two drives*, the Velocity Solo x2 enables you to experience the blazing speed of an SSD in your desktop via a super fast SATA III connection. The Velocity Solo x2 utilizes a Marvel 9182 chipset and is bootable in both PC and Mac systems.
Takes just minutes to install
The Velocity Solo x2 takes just minutes to install. Simply connect your Solid State Drive to the Velocity Solo and slide the card into an available PCIe x2 slot (or larger) in your desktop. Once installed, transfer your OS and applications from your desktop hard drive to your new SSD using Apricorn’s EZ Gig cloning software for PC systems, or for the Mac Pro use Apple's built-in Disk Utility. For additional capacity, the Velocity Solo also provides an additional SATA III data connection that can be used to connect to another SSD or hard drive.
Ideal for High Performance Applications and Improving Gaming Performance
Running your OS and applications on an SSD provides a measureable performance increase, but the Velocity Solo is also the perfect upgrade for improving gaming performance.
SSDs Improve Game Performance - As games become too large for their assets to be fully cached on modern graphics cards and main memory, the addition of an SSD for faster disk access during game play results in less in-game pauses and a smoother playing experience. Games are also faster to load and save when using an SSD.
Boot in an instant, open applications in a flash, slash save and import times
Velocity Solo fits PCIe 2.0 x2 slots and larger
Comparison of Velocity Solo X1 and Velocity Solo X2
Specs
Velocity Solo X1
Velocity Solo X2
SATA Controller Chipset
Asmedia 1061
Marvel 9182
Read/Write Performance
400/400 MBs
550/550 MBs - Single drive 800/800 MBs - Two drives (RAID 0)
Max Performance
PCIe x1 interface
SATA 3 interface - Single drive PCIe x2 interface - Two drives
Bootable OS Support
Windows Vista, 7, 8 Mac OSX 10.5.8 and later Drivers required for Windows XP * Linux
Windows Vista, 7, 8 Mac OSX 10.5.8 and later Drivers required for Windows XP * Linux
32bit / 64bit
32/64 Windows 32/64 Mac
32/64 Windows 64 Mac
Bootable Mac Pro support
Mac Pro Models 1,1 2,1 3,1 4,1 5,1
Mac Pro Models 3,1 4,1 5,1
* Check your Linux Kernel for support of the SATA Controller Chipset on the Velocity Solo
Blending Performance and Capacity – Apricorn’s EZ Gig Cloning Software with Data Select makes it easy
The Solo is bundled with Apricorn’s EZ Gig Cloning software with Data Select. Data Select provides a simple method to deselect data folders from the cloning process which is helpful when migrating from a large HDD to a smaller SSD and perfect for creating a Boot Disk. This gives you the option to run your OS and applications from a fast, smaller SSD boot drive, while keeping your documents and media files on your original hard drive.
EZ Gig enables you to clone your hard drive in just three simple steps
Step 1 Select your Source drive This is your computer’s internal drive and is denoted by the prefix IDE
Step 2 Select your Destination drive This is your SSD connected to your computer by Apricorn’s Velocity Solo
Optional Data Select tool Select any folders you wish to exclude from the clone, such as photos, videos, music or documents. This is helpful when migrating from a large HDD to a smaller SSD or when creating a Boot Disk.
Step 3 Press the "Start Clone" button EZ Gig will clone everything (with the exception of any folders your deselected) to the SSD drive on the Velocity Solo. It really is that simple
Compatible with 2.5” SATA III and SATA II SSDs and hard drives
Uses a single PCIe 2.0 x2 slot or larger for data transfer speeds up to 550 MB/sec*
When configured with two drives data transfer speeds up to 800 MB/sec*
Auxiliary SATA III port for additional expansion to any hard drive or SSD
Ideal for use as a boot disk or scratch disk
Includes Apricorn’s EZ Gig Cloning Software with Data Select
Macs clone using Apple's Built-in Disk Utility
TRIM Compatible
and can access capacities in excess of 2.2TB
Fits Standard Desktop Systems (not compatible with low profile systems)
Velocity Solo X2
Software Download
Apricorn EZ Gig for Windows®
Quick Start Guide
Velocity Solo X2 Windows XP Driver DownloadClick to Download Driver Type: Zipped File | Size: 1.2 MB For driver installation instructions click on the FAQs tab
MacPro Compatibility
The Velocity Solo x2 will function in all Mac Pro models, but will only boot in EFI64 machines which are the last 3 models known as Mac Pro 3,1 4,1 and 5,1 Your Mac model can be found by doing an "About This Mac", and then "More Info". The first two models known as Mac Pro1,1 and 2,1 are EFI32 so won't boot from the Velocity Solo x2, but will function as high performance storage.
Data Transfer Rate
550 Read / 550 Write (max) when used with one SSD | Up to 800 MB Read when configured with two SSDs
Interface
PCIe 2.0 x2 with two SATA III (6Gbps)
Dimensions
Fits Standard Desktop PC Systems and Mac Pro (full size PCI card)
Warranty
3 Year Limited Warranty
System Requirements
DESKTOP PC
Full size desktop system with PCIe x2 card slot or larger (usual installations will use a x4 slot or larger)
For optimal speeds use with PCIe 2.0 slot or higher
Velocity Solo X2 Windows XP Driver Download Click to Download Driver Type: Zipped File | Size: 1.2 MB For driver installation instructions click on the FAQs tab.
MAC PRO
The Velocity Solo x2 will function in all Mac Pro models, but will only boot in EFI64 machines which are the last 3 models known as Mac Pro 3,1 4,1 and 5,1 Your Mac model can be found by doing an "About This Mac", and then "More Info". The first two models known as Mac Pro1,1 and 2,1 are EFI32 so won't boot from the Velocity Solo x2, but will function as high performance storage.
Happy with this sata card Review by Vols
Price
Value
Quality
installed on an old asus P5B premium board using an empty pci-e x16 slot..i installed card without ssd first and windows installed the drivers. i shut it back down and inserted a windows 7 boot ssd (samsung 830) in to the card. tried several times to boot up to it but it would not work. shut down and unplugged my storage drive that was connected to the motherboard. started it back up and boot drive worked. plugged storage drive back in and it works great. sequential read went from 275 to 407 and write went from 258 to 315. i did lose a little on the randoms read and writes (IOPS). windows 7 index went from 7.7 to 7.9..also it added about 4 seconds to bios boot time for it has to initialize each time. you can see this during bios boot up. but after that you dont even hardly see the splash screen. i am very happy with this product. (Posted on 4/22/13)
Good upgrade, XP driver install needs extra steps Review by AMD64mobo
Value
Quality
Price
The Win XP software installation was no problem. The hardware driver installation required manual intervention as the OS did not find a matching hardware ID (Question mark shown during new hardware detected). The driver wizard had to be pointed to the Velocity Solo x2 folder. Once that was done the driver installation was successful.
Retail price seems high for a SATA adapter. (Posted on 3/29/13)
Apricorn Velocity Solo x2 using Samsung 840 PRO 256gb: Intel p55 RST sata2 vs. apricorn Review by Bender
Just got the VSx2 on sale at microcenter for 79.99.
Not bad at all, no configuration hassles, trim works, random iops as good as it's gonna get on p55 mother board.
Haven't researched where the bottleneck is with this controller bridge, but perhaps a specific driver or firmware update (if possible) could get those numbers higher in the future.
I will get a second one for my older MSI p45neo3 as it made a noticeable improvement over the native sata2.
Dont junk your sata2 motherboards yet!
Get the VSx2, two cheap SSD's, OS RAID them then grin when you see the difference.
Please modify the sata connector so that both ports can routed off the card so that I won't have to use the mating portion from a dead drive and wire a cable to it.
(Posted on 2/17/13)
Easy to install, nearly doubled performance Review by kosst46
Price
Value
Quality
My darn Intel X58 mobo only supports SATA-II. Was envious of all the guys with their SATA-III ports. My boot SSD was already a Patriot Wildfire 256GB which supports SATA-III but was running at 284/265 Mbps (ATTO). I used the process where you install the Solo x2 and the drivers first (I used an x8 slot), then physically moved the SSD to the Solo. Nearly doubled my speeds (91% improvement) to 535/503 Mbps (r/w). Whole process took about a half-hour and that included cleaning dust bunnies out of my case. Best $100 bucks I've ever spent. (Posted on 12/20/12)
The Velocity Solo can be used in any of the slots shown below.
What version of PCI Express does the Velocity Solo card use?
The Velocity Solo uses PCI Express 2.0. It is backwards compatible with PCI Express 1.0 but it will work at the slower speed.
What is the difference in data rate between PCIe 1.0 and PCIe 2.0?
Version 1 has a max data rate of 250 MB/s and Version 2 has a max rate of 500MB/s.
What kind of drives can be used with the Solo?
Any 2.5 SATA hard drives can be attached on the card and any standard SATA drive (Laptop or Desktop style) can be attached using the open SATA connector. It will work with both Generation 1 and 2 SATA drives but best performance is seen with Gen 2 or SSD drives.
Can the Velocity Solo card be used in a Mac?
Yes. Please purchase the Velocity Solo X1, the Velocity Solo X2, or the Mac Edition of the Velocity Solo to use with a Mac Pro system.
How do I set the Velocity Solo to be my boot drive?
Clone your original drive to the new disk on the Velocity Solo. Then enter the BIOS settings during the boot up and navigate to the section of the BIOS where the boot sequence is identified. Move the drive on the Velocity Solo ahead of the currently selected boot drive.
Will the Velocity Solo work in a low profile desktop computer?
No. The Velocity Solo is a “Full Height” (4.376 in) add-in card and will not fit in a low profile or “slim” computer?
Do I have to use the Apricorn EZ GIG software with my Velocity Solo?
No. Apricorn provides EZ GIG as easy to use software intended to clone your existing operating system to a disk attached to the Velocity Solo. You are not restricted from using any other software.
Am I required to attach my original disk to the expansion port on the back of the Solo?
No. The expansion port on the back of the Solo is a SATA 3 connection that may provide additional performance to any disk attached to it, but you are not required to use it. Your original disk can remain attached directly to your motherboard or if unneeded can be removed completely.
How fast is SATA III?
SATA I max uncoded transfer rate is 150 MB/s (Megabytes per second), SATA II is 300 MB/s and SATA III is 600 MB/s. Most spinning disks cannot deliver data faster than SATA II and for this reason, Apricorn recommends using a high speed Solid State Disk with the Velocity Solo to achieve the greatest performance.
Can I just move my existing 2.5” HDD or SSD to the Solo and use it for my boot drive?
Yes. You would first put the Velocity solo into the PCIe slot on the motherboard and boot the computer with the existing hard drive in its current location. Windows will detect the new hardware and automatically install drivers. Next, shut down the computer and move your SSD to the Velocity solo. During next boot up, enter the BIOS of your computer and assign the SSD on the Velocity Solo as your boot device.
Are there any BIOS requirements for the Velocity Solo?
The computer BIOS must support AHCI. (Most computers do. To verify, enter the BIOS setup and look for AHCI support. It is typically listed under either Integrated Peripherals and/or SATA operation in most BIOS. If AHCI is an option, the Velocity Solo will work.)
How do I clone Mac OSX using Apple's built-in Disk Utility?
Starting in Mac OSX 10.4 it is possible to use the Disk Utility application to perform a Restore operation of the Boot disk to another disk. Starting in OSX 10.7 this operation needs to be performed while booted in Recovery mode, but the process is still the same.
Open Disk Utility from Applications / Utilities / Disk Utility. Select the Restore tab located at the top of the application window. Carefully drag your original boot volume to the Source field, and then drag the new SSD mounted to the Velocity Solo to the Destination field. Click the Restore button and the process will begin. Once the process has finished you will quit the Disk Utility application, and open the System Preferences. Use the Startup Disk preference pane to choose your new Velocity Solo as the startup disk. Reboot the Mac and the OS will start from the new disk.
Installing the Velocity Solo Windows XP Driver
To use the Velocity Solo with Windows XP, you will need to download drivers from the Apricorn web site, and then follow these instructions.
1. Power down your workstation before installing the Velocity Solo card.
2. Remove the cover panel, and install the Velocity Solo in an available PCIe expansion slot.
3. Replace the cover panel, and boot your computer into Windows XP.
4. Download the appropriate driver installation file: Velocity Solo X1 XP Driver Velocity Solo X2 XP Driver
5. Extract the contents of the .zip file to a folder on your desktop.
6. Browse the expanded files and double click drvSetup.exe. It will be located in the folder AHCI.
7. Reboot your computer.
8. The drive attached to the Velocity Solo should now be visible in the Windows disk manager.
Oct 12, 2012 | William Wong | Publication: Electronic Design
I have looked at products from Apricorn before like its Aegis Padlock 3 encrypted USB 3.0 hard disk drive (see Secure USB 3.0 Hard Drive). I actually use it to back up important data on my servers. I carry the flash drive version on trips so I have my passwords and accounts handy.
I recently had the chance to install their Velocity Solo x2 (Fig. 1) in an older PC in the lab. This PC was new enough to have PCI Express slots (I have older PCs that do not) but not as new as the one I built using Gigabyte's GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard (see Gigabyte's Core i7 Motherboard) with SATA III support.
The Velocity Solo x2 is essentially a SATA III dual port controller based on a Marvell chip. There is not much other than the Marvell chip on one side of the card. On the other side there is a socket for a disk drive drive. The drive can be a hard drive or flash drive What I did put in that space was a 240 Gbyte flash drive, SanDisk's Extreme. This product like actually tops out at 480 Gbytes. It only uses 0.6W and supports 6 Gbit/s SATA III. It can deliver 44K/46K random IOPS (read/write) and it has a sequential bandwidth of 540/460 Mbytes/s (read/write). It is an ideal match for the Apricorn drive.
Dec 28, 2012 | Joel Santo Domingo | Publication: PC Magazine
If you're still rocking the Apple Mac Pro because the Xeon(s) in it are more useful to you than the Core i7 in a new iMac, then you may want to add an SSD to keep your system feeling speedy. The Apricorn Velocity Solo X2 ($99 list) can add a speedy SSD to your Mac Pro or other tower PC, plus you won't have to use a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch drive bay bracket. It's got a large appeal to a limited group of computer users, the very definition of a niche product.
So you've maxed out the four drive bays in your Mac Pro with hard drives, or you've filled the internal SATA ports on your PC. You don't want to remove any of the installed drives, because maybe you've set them up together in a RAID configuration, or simply have data capacity you can't lose. What now? The Apricorn Velocity Solo X2 can be used to add a 2.5-inch drive plus another SATA 2.5/3.5-inch drive in a matter of minutes. It's a PCIe X2 card that fits on your motherboard in any PCIe X4 card slot or larger. That is, it can even fit in a PCIe X16 slot if that's the only one free.
Dec 28, 2012 | Jon L. Jacobi | Publication: PC World
If your PC lacks a SATA 6-gigabits-per-second interface, you can't get top performance out of any of the latest consumer-grade solid-state drives. Such drives bump up against the 6-gbps limit of that bus, while the older second-generation SATA interface maxes out at just 3 gbps. Apricorn's Velocity x2 should remove that roadblock for you.
Lo and behold, Apricorn contacted me about its Velocity Solo PCIe cards. These will not only add SATA 6-gbps capability to any system with an available PCIe slot, but they’ll also serve as a caddy for a single SSD. Apricorn sent two cards for me to evaluate: the $50 Velocity x1 and the $99 Velocity x2. I tried both and you get nice boost from each, with the x2 adding about another 100MBps of throughput.
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Oct 12, 2012 | 
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