SoftRAID takes advantage of your computer's processor versus the slow processors found in most hardware RAID enclosures. The result is a fast and flexible RAID array with no discernible impact on your favourite apps. SoftRAID drive certification tells you whether or not a drive is up to the task before creating a RAID array. Advanced monitoring tools work behind the scenes to keep your RAID running in tip-top shape.

OWC External Drives OWC External Drives

It's smaller and easier to fit into your workflow, studio and on stage. It's faster with four easy-access M.2 slots so you can swap, upgrade or expand your Express 4M2 to configure and reconfigure it to serve any project need. Game-Changing NVMe SSD Performance The OWC Express 4M2 comes equipped with OWC SoftRAID which provides the amazing capability to RAID across multiple drive enclosures. You can also add more Express 4M2 drives to your storage pool using Windows Storage Spaces. Configure and reconfigure your storage however you need by combining multiple OWC Express 4M2 drives together on Mac and Windows. Connect to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 Systems with Ease It’s worth noting that the Sonnet has two drive bays, and I’m currently only using one. So it’s possible that heat could be an issue if both bays were in use, but I don’t have two drives to be able to test this and find out one way or the other. Unfortunately, there’s an obscure incompatibility between this drive’s USB 3.0 implementation and the Mac Pro 6,1. Glyph’s engineers worked with me on this and came to the conclusion that it would never work properly on a Mac Pro 6,1. The main benefit of the 4M2 is capacity. It can benefit performance with the slight inconvenience of software RAID.

The need to speed, made in USA

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a hyper-efficient communications interface protocol built from the ground up to properly take advantage of SSD technology and high-performance connection buses like PCIe. The result is exponentially faster and efficient SSD storage, and the OWC Express 4M2 has room for four NVMe SSDs. DisplayPort The M.2 form factor (also known as the Next Generation Form Factor, or NGFF) is a more modern type of internally mounted expansion card that replaces the previous mSATA (Mini-SATA) standard. Unlike standard HDDs and SSDs, M.2 drives aren’t connected to a motherboard via a cable, they’re instead plugged directly into the motherboard using a dedicated M.2 connector slot, making M2 a form factor rather than a drive format.

OWC Express 4M2: Drive Compatibility OWC Express 4M2: Drive Compatibility

MB/s requires software raid (either SoftRAID or Disk Utility). You can't boot from RAID so if you want to boot, you need to boot from a single drive and RAID the other 3 or boot from part of one drive and RAID all four - one drive can be larger than the other three, then you can RAID all of the 3 smaller drivers and part of the larger drive, and the remaining part can be for boot. You like to explore your own independent path, and digital storage is where you have fun, push hard and spark the imagination. You explore, you refine, and when ready, you share your vision with the world. The OWC Express 4M2 is the external drive built for the journey before you and the path yet to be explored.

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With these portable solutions, which depend on passive cooling, remember that excessive heat will cause throttling and you won’t get the expected performance. When choosing a portable solution you need to satisfy yourself that the manufacturer has taken the appropriate steps to cool the power-hungry NVMe drives. x M.2 - 2280 "M Key" (PCIe 3.0 x1 per slot). Note: Each SSD uses x 1 lane only. To get the full Thunderbolt 3 supported speed you need to install 4 SSD`s and set it to RAID. Only when fitted with 4 SSD`s together they will run on PCIe 3.0 x 4 lanes. Also, note that smaller size SSD`s are generally slower than higher size SSDs. Display connection flexibility is yours with a convenient DisplayPort located right on the rear of the OWC Express 4M2. There's no need to worry about adapters or extra long cables. Just plug your display directly into the Express 4M2 and you're all set. Multi-Drive

OWC Express 4M2 | VI-CONTROL OWC Express 4M2 | VI-CONTROL

If you are looking to push performance to the limit then you are more likely to need to go for a fan-based solution because at peak performance we understand that when these drives and their onboard controllers get hot they can start to throttle performance. SoftRAID protects your data by alerting you to issues before anything happens, ensuring you're protected when you're on a critical deadline. SoftRAID rebuilds your RAID in a fraction of the time it would take a hardware RAID to complete the same task, sparing you from significant downtime when you're ready to upgrade or replace a drive. Silence: so I could use this storage in the same room as the Mac Studio and not be forced to run long cables into my basement machine room. I'm running mostly Samsung 980 Pro M.2 drives in different external Sonnet Thunderbolt 3 expansion chassis-old Sonnet GPU chassis or an Echo Express 3 slot chassis with multiple PCIe to M.2 cards in it.”

Slot NVMe M.2 SSD Enclosure with SoftRAID. Four easy-to-access M.2 NVMe SSD slots customizable for any workflow with up to 32TB of capacity and up to 2800MB/s performance. These solutions are based on the combination of a PCIe Thunderbolt enclosure with PCIe NVMe cards inside. But be aware that it would appear that not all PCIe chassis are the same when it comes to how the PCIe lanes are handled. Some split one lane across multiple cards, reducing access to the available bandwidth. You need to make sure that all of the PCIe lanes can be directed to all of the cards in the enclosure to maximise speed and bandwidth, otherwise, your investment in fast NVMe cards may be wasted.