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- OWC Express 4M2 Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure for 4 x M2 SSD with SoftRAID XT Lite OWC Express 4M2 Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure for 4 x M2 SSD with SoftRAID XT Lite
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4-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.
Infinitely configurable. Infinitely reconfigurable.
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.
Customize your Express 4M2 with up to four NVMe SSDs, RAID them however you wish and connect it all with Thunderbolt 3 — the fastest and most flexible interface around. The sheer performance of the Express 4M2 helps you meet deadlines faster, giving you more time to explore your creativity and push your projects further.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Small in stature. Big on capability. The OWC Express 4M2 is ready to serve with four easy-to-access M.2 NVMe SSD slots customizable for any workflow with vibration damping feet that allow for vertical or horizontal orientation. Install up to 8TB of capacity and experience up to 2800MB/s of mind-bending performance via Thunderbolt 3. The Express 4M2 is an amazingly small digital workhorse with world-renowned OWC quality and award-winning support built-in.
Ingest and duplicate dailies at breakneck speeds, work with higher resolutions, smoothly scrub through demanding timelines, and plow through thousands of photos with ease. The OWC Express 4M2 is one seriously fast drive to have by your side to take your digital capabilities to a new level.
Built Smaller and Faster from Input by Pros Like You
The OWC Express 4M2 is designed with superior ease-of-use in mind. We worked with award-winning creatives and listened to the kudos they heaped onto the OWC ThunderBay mini, and we put all that shared knowledge to good use when we set out to build the next-gen Thunderbolt 3 multi-bay drive. The result is 57% smaller and 2.5x faster OWC Express 4M2.
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
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
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
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.
SoftRAID: Conventional Wisdom Turned on its Head
It's often thought that hardware RAID is better than software RAID, but we've proven that not to be true. We've combined the performance and capacity of the OWC Express 4M2 with our robust SoftRAID engine. Experience breathtaking performance, multi-enclosure capability, advanced drive monitoring, e-notifications and downloadable updates. Once you do, you'll see how hardware RAID doesn't even come close.
The Better and Simpler Way to RAID
We created SoftRAID to make it easier to maintain mission-critical workflows to save you time and money. With SoftRAID you no longer need to be locked into expensive hardware RAID technology that's not upgradeable or expandable. SoftRAID future-proofs your data and storage with software updates that provide cutting-edge capabilities and robust stability.
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.
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.
RAID and Storage Spaces
The OWC Express 4M2 comes with SoftRAID Lite XT ready to be set up in RAID 0 performance or RAID 1 mirrored drive mode. So you can customize your Express 4M2 for speed or data redundancy. If you need more options, you can easily upgrade to add extra capabilities and RAID modes to meet any workflow demand.
The OWC Express 4M2 fully supports Windows workflows as well. Using Windows Storage Spaces you can pool the four M.2 NVMe SSDs together with support for all the Storage Spaces configuration options including the ability to add another OWC Express 4M2 to expand your storage pool on the fly.
Connect to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 Systems with Ease
The OWC Express 4M2 is fully backwards compatible with Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2. Utilize Thunderbolt 3 performance to work at full speed, and step back to Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 whenever connectivity compatibility is needed for your workflow. Add a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter along with the appropriate Thunderbolt cable, and you're all set.
OWC Thunderbolt 3 Cable
OWC Express 4M2 comes with an OWC Thunderbolt 3 cable which is Thunderbolt certified for Mac and Windows, with an additional 0.5 meter to 2.0 meter lengths available separately.
Quality You Can Trust
Like all OWC drives, the OWC Express 4M2 is built to the highest standards of reliability and performance and Thunderbolt Certified for Mac and Windows. Because 100% reliability is always the goal, Express 4M2 is rigorously quality tested and backed by our one-year limited warranty plus award-winning, 24/7 customer support.
Highlights
- Up to 32TB (as 4 x 8TB NVME SSD)
- Up to 2800MB/s
- Four M.2 NVMe SSD bays
- Compact design
- Advanced SoftRAID engine
- Thunderbolt Certified for Mac and Windows
- Thunderbolt 3 cable
What is in the box
1 x OWC Express 4M2 Enclosure
1 x SoftRAID XT Lite
1 x Thunderbolt 3 cable (40Gb/s)
1 x External power supply and cable
1 x Quick Start guide
1 Year OWC Limited Warranty
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.
- Mechanisms Supported
- NVMe 2280 M.2 SSDs
- Software
- MacOS 10.12 or later*
- Windows 10 or later
- *SSDs using 512b sector sizes require macOS 10.13 or later
- Hardware
- Any computer with a native Thunderbolt 3 port
- Boot Support
- Mac: macOS 10.12 or later
- Windows: Booting not supported
- All four drive bays are bootable on macOS. SSDs with 512-byte sectors require macOS 10.13 or later.
- Hot Plug Support
- Yes
- Chipset
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 - Alpine Ridge DSL6540
- Interface
- Thunderbolt 3
- Device Ports
- 2 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C)
- 1 x DisplayPort 1.22
- Display Support
- Up to one 4K display @ 60Hz, or one 4K display @ 30Hz, or two 4K displays @ 60Hz
- Display Support by Port Mini DisplayPort 1.2: Up to 4K @ 60Hz
- Drive Bays
- 4m 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 SSDs and set it to RAID. Only when fitted with 4 SSDs together they will run on PCIe 3.0 x 4 lanes. Also, note that smaller size SSDs are generally slower than higher size SSDs.
- Drive Support
- M.2 NVMe
- M.2 AHCI (PCIe only)
- Data Transfer Rate (Maximum)
- Thunderbolt 3: 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s)
- RAID Capable
- Yes
- RAID Levels Supported
- RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5, RAID 10, JBOD, RAID 6
- RAID Features Software RAID
- Host Port Requirements
- Thunderbolt 3 or later
- Driver Required
- No
- Power Supply
- External UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
- AC Input
- 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 1-2A
- DC Output
- +12V, 6A
- Wattage
- 72W Watts
- External Power Adapter
- Yes
- Power Delivery
- Two Thunderbolt 3 ports with 15W power delivery each.
- Number of SSD Bays
- 4
- Device Ports
- (2) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Ports
- (1) DisplayPort Port
- Cooling
- (1) 60mm 2,800RPM None cooling fan
- Power/Activity LED
- Yes
- Housing Color
- Black
- Housing Material
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- Height: 6.0 cm (2.4 in)
- Length: 11.3 cm (4.4 in)
- Width: 13.6 cm (5.4 in)
- Weight: 800.0 g (1.76 lbs)
- Notes
- Hynix Gold P31 SSD’s are only compatible with Windows 10 when installed in this enclosure.
- Does not support Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++), however, it does support Multi-Stream Transport (MST) in Windows 10.
- Mac OS Compatibility
- macOS 10.12 Sierra
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra
- macOS 10.14 Mojave
- macOS 10.15 Catalina
- macOS 11.0 Big Sur
- macOS 11.1 Big Sur
- macOS 12.x Monterey
- macOS 13.x Ventura
- macOS 14.x Sonoma
- PC OS Compatibility
- Windows 10 32-bit Edition
- Windows 10 64-bit Edition
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows 11
- Other Requirements
- When using Express 4M2 with Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) or Mac Pro (M2 Ultra), some drives may require macOS 13.5 or later for proper operation.
When using one or more SSDs with 512 byte sectors, macOS 10.13 or later is required.
SoftRAID works with macOS 10.14 or later and Windows 10 or later. SoftRAID is licensed per computer. The SoftRAID serial number will work with both Mac and Windows but can only be active on one computer at a time. Additional seats can be purchased. RAID 4/1+0 (10) are currently Mac only at this time. - Compatible Models
- iMac
- iMac | 2017 iMac18,1 - A1418 - EMC3068
- iMac | 2017 iMac18,2 - A1418 - EMC3069
- iMac | 2017 iMac18,3 - A1419 - EMC3070
- iMac | 2019 iMac19,1 - A2115 - EMC3194
- iMac | 2019 iMac19,2 - A2116 - EMC3195
- iMac | 2020 iMac20,1 - A2115 - EMC3442
- iMac | 2020 iMac20,2 - A2115 - EMC3442
- iMac | 2021 iMac21,1 - A2438 - EMC3663 - M1
- iMac | 2021 iMac21,2 - A2439 - EMC3664 - M1
- iMac | 2023 Mac15,4 - A2874 - EMC8207 - M3
- iMac | 2023 Mac15,5 - A2873 - EMC8206 - M3
- iMacPro
- iMacPro | 2017 iMacPro1,1 - A1862 - EMC3144
- MacBookAir
- MacBookAir | 2018 MacBookAir8,1 - A1932 - EMC3184
- MacBookAir | 2019 MacBookAir8,2 - A1932 - EMC3184
- MacBookAir | 2020 MacBookAir9,1 - A2179 - EMC3302
- MacBookAir | 2020 MacBookAir10,1 - A2337 - EMC3598 - M1
- MacBookAir | 2022 Mac14,2 - A2681 - EMC4074 - M2
- MacBookAir | 2023 Mac14,15 - A2941 - EMC8301 - M2
- MacBookAir | 2024 Mac15,12 - A3113 - EMC8611 - M3
- MacBookAir | 2024 Mac15,13 - A3114 - EMC8612 - M3
- MacBookPro
- MacBookPro | 2016 MacBookPro13,1 - A1708 - EMC2978
- MacBookPro | 2016 MacBookPro13,2 - A1706 - EMC3071
- MacBookPro | 2017 MacBookPro13,3 - A1707 - EMC3072
- MacBookPro | 2017 MacBookPro14,1 - A1708 - EMC3164
- MacBookPro | 2017 MacBookPro14,2 - A1706 - EMC3163
- MacBookPro | 2017 MacBookPro14,3 - A1707 - EMC3162
- MacBookPro | 2018 MacBookPro15,1 - A1990 - EMC3215
- MacBookPro | 2018 MacBookPro15,2 - A1989 - EMC3214
- MacBookPro | 2018 MacBookPro15,3 - A1990 - EMC3215
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro15,1 - A1990 - EMC3359
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro15,2 - A1989 - EMC3358
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro15,3 - A1990 - EMC3359
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro15,4 - A2159 - EMC3301
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro16,1 - A2141 - EMC3347
- MacBookPro | 2019 MacBookPro16,4 - A2141 - EMC3347
- MacBookPro | 2020 MacBookPro16,2 - A2251 - EMC3348
- MacBookPro | 2020 MacBookPro16,3 - A2289 - EMC3456
- MacBookPro | 2020 MacBookPro17,1 - A2338 - EMC3578 - M1
- MacBookPro | 2021 MacBookPro18,1 - A2485 - EMC3651 - M1 Pro
- MacBookPro | 2021 MacBookPro18,2 - A2485 - EMC3651 - M1 MAX
- MacBookPro | 2021 MacBookPro18,3 - A2442 - EMC3650 - M1 Pro
- MacBookPro | 2021 MacBookPro18,4 - A2442 - EMC3650 - M1 Max
- MacBookPro | 2022 Mac14,7 - A2338 - EMC8162 - M2
- MacBookPro | 2023 Mac14,10 - A2780 M2 Pro
- MacBookPro | 2023 Mac14,5 - A2779 M2 Max
- MacBookPro | 2023 Mac14,6 - A2780 M2 Max
- MacBookPro | 2023 Mac14,9 - A2779 M2 Pro
- Mac Pro
- Mac Pro | 2019 MacPro7,1 - A1991 - EMC3203
- Mac Pro | 2023 Mac14,8 - A2786 - EMC8163 - M2 Ultra
- Mac Pro Rack
- Mac Pro Rack | 2019 MacPro7,1 - A2304 - EMC3413
- Mac Pro Rack | 2023 Mac14,8 - A2787 - EMC8164 - M2 Ultra
- Mac Studio
- Mac Studio | 2022 Mac13,1 - A2615 - EMC3988 - M1 Max
- Mac Studio | 2022 Mac13,2 - A2615 - EMC3988 - M1 Ultra
- Mac Studio | 2023 Mac14,14 - A2901 - EMC8292 - M2 Ultra
- Mac Studio | 2023 Mac14,13 - A2901 - EMC8292 - M2 Max
- Macmini
- Macmini | 2018 Macmini8,1 - A1993 - EMC3213
- Macmini | 2020 Macmini9,1 - A2348 - EMC3569 - M1
- Macmini | 2023 Mac14,3 - A2686 - EMC8003 - M2
- Macmini | 2023 Mac14,12 - A2816 - EMC8180 - M2 Pro
- MacBook
- MacBook | 2015 MacBook8,1 - A1534 - EMC2746 - Core M
- MacBook | 2016 MacBook9,1 - A1534 - EMC2991
- MacBook | 2017 MacBook10,1 - A1534 - EMC3099
-
PC Compatible
PC must have a compatible Thunderbolt port
- Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt compatibility requires a certified Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
- SoftRAID works with macOS 10.14 or later and Windows 10 or later. M1 Macs require macOS 11.3 or later. SoftRAID is licensed per computer.
- SoftRAID works with macOS 10.14+, Windows 10+, and Windows Server 2019/2022. M1 Macs require macOS 11.3 or later.
- RAID 1+0 (10) coming soon to Windows.
- SoftRAID is licensed per computer.
- Maximum single drive performance is 817 MB/s Reads and 711MB/s Writes due to the bandwidth of the 1X PCIe3.0 bus.
- When installed, the following SSDs will only be compatible with Windows 10 systems: Hynix Gold P31, Samsung PM981a
- Does not support Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++), however it does support Multi-Stream Transport (MST) in Windows 10.
- Dual display support, including available resolution and refresh rates, is dependent on host hardware and drivers.
Apple silicon M1/M2/M3 Pro, M1/M2/M3 Max, and M1/M2 Ultra Mac models, Apple Intel-based Mac models, and Thunderbolt 4 PCs can support up to two displays at up to 4K @ 60Hz via Thunderbolt.
Apple silicon M1/M2/M3 Mac models can support one external display up to 4K @ 60Hz via Thunderbolt.
- The following Apple silicon M1/M2/M3 Mac models support a single display over a Thunderbolt port:
- MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3, 2023)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) - MacBookPro17,1
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, M2, 2022) - Mac14,7
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020) - MacBookAir10,1
- MacBook Air (M2, 2022) - Mac14,2
- Mac mini (M1, 2020) - Macmini9,1
- The following Mac models provide only partial support for DisplayPort 1.4, including limiting resolution to 5K or 6K at 60Hz. Please review Apple's display specifications for your specific Mac to determine the maximum supported resolution and color depth:
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - MacBookPro15,1
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - MacBookPro15,2
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - MacBookPro15,2
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) - MacBookPro15,1 and MacBookPro15,3
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - MacBookPro15,4
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) - MacBookPro16,1 and MacBookPro16,4
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - MacBookPro16,2
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - MacBookPro16,3
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018) - MacBookAir8,1
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) - MacBookAir8,2
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - MacBookAir9,1
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) - iMac19,1
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - iMac19,2
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) - iMac20,1 and iMac20,2
- Mac mini (2018) - Macmini8,1
- Mac Pro (2019) - MacPro7,1
- Mac Pro (Rack, 2019) - MacPro7,1
- Multiple drives will not be recognized by a Thunderbolt 4 PC connected over a Thunderbolt 4 port when using Aura Ultra IV SSDs with the Express 4M2.
- When using Express 4M2 with Mac Studio (M2 Max or M2 Ultra) or Mac Pro (M2 Ultra), some drives may require macOS 13.5 or later for proper operation.
Im video editing on my M1 MAX MacBook Pro. Ive built this enclosure up to 8TB (with 4 x 2tb Sabrent SSD drives inside it). And it works really fast - The setup is so easy as well there are videos online.
The after sales and pre-sales customer service is also fantastic as I had never used a RAID system before, this was the first time building it for me and there was lots of stuff on Youtube to help and the people at OWC are excellent too.
I highly recommend it and look forward to more products from this company which I want to use for my movie work.
I bought this item as I was moving from a MacPro 4,1 to a 6,1 (trash can). As the newer MacPro had no drive bays nor PCI slots, the OWC Express 4M2 seemed the only option, and based on it boasting up to 2800mbs I thought it’d be the best solution.
It is mostly a tool-less design; you don’t need tools to open it, but you do need a screwdriver to install the SSDS, which made me wonder why bother making it partly tool-less at all, but it was effortless to get up and running. Once you’ve installed your drives, simply reassemble the unit (3 minutes tops) then connect it to your computer.
However, that 2800mbs reported speed is VERY misleading. You can ONLY get that speed if you’ve installed four m.2 drives AND configured them for RAID 1, anything else will leave you with a maximum of 800mbs, which is little more than SATA speeds, and hugely underwhelming considering the price of the unit AND m2. drives. OWC doesn’t report this anywhere, not in their included literature, not on the box nor their website. I had to email support and wait for a response in order to learn this. Therefore, this product is deliberately misleading, so buyer be aware. Without four m.2 drives striped as RAID 1, this is a very expensive waste of money.