OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure
The Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure is an exceptional way to create your own high-capacity, high-performance external storage out of any SATA 2.5" internal hard disk or solid-state drives. This enclosure can hold two of these drives of up to 2.2TB capacity. It supports RAID 0, 1, and NRAID (or spanning) and can also be used as an external boot drive.
In terms of connecting to your computer, this enclosure features four different interfaces. At your disposal, you will have two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port, one eSATA port, and one USB 2.0 port. With the eSATA port, you can transfer data at a speedy rate of up to 300MB/s. Also, with the FireWire 800 port, you can power the enclosure.
Beyond these ports, this enclosure is shock-resistant, near-silent and fanless in operation. While it comes formatted for Macs and is Time Machine and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard ready, it can also be reformatted to work with your Windows or Linux computer system.
- Includes two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port, one USB 2.0 port, and one eSATA port 1
- With the eSATA port, you can transfer data at up to 300MB/s. With either FireWire 800 port, you can transfer data at up to 100MB/s. With the FireWire 400 port, you can transfer data at up to 50MB/s. With the USB 2.0 port, you can transfer data at up to 60MB/s
- The enclosure supports hardware RAID Modes: 0, 1, and NRAID (Span)
- During RAID 0 (Stripe), data is split into blocks over two or more drives at same time for high speed and large capacity
- During RAID 1 (Mirror), data is written at same time to two drives only for highest level of data safety and redundancy
- With NRAID (Span), you can combine the capacity of two or more drives of the same size into one logical desktop volume without any RAID data distribution scheme. This will also combine the capacity of varying size drives based on the lowest capacity drive in the set
- System status LEDs
- Near silent fan-less operation
- Heat dissipating aircraft grade machined aluminum enclosure
- Ultra-protective Shock Isolation System
- Bus-powered design through FireWire 800 ports
| Interface |
2x FireWire 800 ports 1x FireWire 400 port 1x eSATA port |
| Chipset | Oxford 936DS chipset with eSATA, FW400 (1394A), FW800 (1394B), and USB 2.0 |
| RAID |
RAID 0 (Stripe) RAID 1 (Mirror) NRAID (Span) |
| Data Transfer Rate |
eSATA: up to 3.0Gbps (or 300MB/s) FireWire 800: up to 800Mbps (or 100MB/s) FireWire 400: up to 400Mbps (or 50MB/s) USB 2.0: up to 480Mbps (or 60MB/s) |
| Drive Types Supported | 2.5" SATA Solid State or Hard Disk Drives up to 2.2TB in capacity as well as 9.5mm and 12.5mm in size |
| Shock | Up to 1500G |
| Vibration | Dependent on drives installed |
| MTBF | Dependent on drives installed |
| System Requirements |
Mac: Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2.2 compatible, OS X 10.1.x and later (10.2 or later required for FW800 and USB 2.0) eSATA: Macintosh with eSATA interface, either built in or via 3rd party PCI eSATA card FireWire 800: Macintosh with FireWire 800 interface, either built in or via 3rd party PCI FireWire 800 card USB 2.0: Macintosh with USB 2.0 interface, either built in or via 3rd party PCI USB 2.0 card Windows: Windows ME and later Windows 2000 or later required for FW800 Operation Linux: Linux compatible via supported USB and FireWire interfaces 1 Please Note:Windows XP and earlier versions of the Windows OS do not support drives that are of a 2TB capacity or greater close |
| Recommended |
eSATA products for use with the enclosure eSATA Extender Cable for Mac Pro: Newer Technology eSATA Extender Cable Adapter for Mac Pro PCIe (PCI Express) eSATA Cards for Desktop: Sonnet Technology Tempo SATA E2P NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 Card Firmtek Seritek/2SE2-E PCI Express NewerTech MAXPower 6G eSATA RAID card w/ port multiplier DAT Optic PCIe 8x 4 Channel eSATA host adapter HighPoint RocketRaid 2314 PCI-Express eSATA 4 Port RAID FirmTek SeriTek/2ME4E Four-Port External PCI-Express Sonnet Tempo SATA E4P Serial ATA Host Adapter HighPoint RocketRaid 2522 PCI-Express x8 eSATA 2 Port HighPoint RocketRaid 3522 PCI-Express x8 mini-SAS 2 Port PCI for Desktops and Towers: FirmTek SeriTek/2SE4 Four-Port External PCI-X ExpressCard/34 for Laptops: OWC ExpressCard/34 eSATA SATA I/II ExpressCard/34 APIOTEK EXTREME Dual eSATA SATA I/II Express Card |
| Boot Requirements |
Below are the requirements for using the enclosure (and separately-purchased drives within it) as an external startup drive. eSATA General Requirement For either Mac or Windows Computers: bootable eSATA host controller Mac: Built-in: Any SATA based Mac using a built-in SATA connection adapted to an eSATA connection will support booting. Port multiplier enclosures are not supported. Card/HBA: Most eSATA expansion cards or host board adapters will not be bootable. Check with your specific card manufacturer regarding Mac boot support. PC: Will boot as long as your BIOS supports booting from the eSATA interface. BIOS support will vary by motherboard and host board adapters. FireWire 800 Boot/Startup Mac: Intel Macs and some PowerPC Macs running OS 8.6 or later. Please note, non-Intel Macs will not be able to boot external enclosures that have over 2.2TB support enabled. This is a hardware limitation of the computer. PC: Will boot as long as your BIOS supports booting from the FireWire 800 interface. BIOS support will vary by motherboard and host board adapters. FireWire 400 Boot/Startup Mac: Intel Macs and some PowerPC Macs running OS 8.6 or later. Please note, non-Intel Macs will not be able to boot external enclosures that have over 2.2TB support enabled. This is a hardware limitation of the computer. PC: Will boot as long as your BIOS supports booting from the FireWire 400 interface. BIOS support will vary by motherboard and host board adapters USB 2.0 Boot/Startup Mac: All Intel Macs. Unofficial support exists for various PowerPC models running OS 8.6 or later, but OWC cannot guarantee any particular boot support. Please note, PowerPC Macs will definitely not be able to boot external enclosures that have over 2.2TB support enabled. This is a hardware limitation of the computer. PC: Will boot as long as your BIOS supports booting from the USB 2.0 interface. BIOS support will vary by motherboard and host board adapters. |
| Power Requirements |
Bus power via FireWire 800 supported on all models equipped with an available FireWire 800 port either factory stock or via add on FireWire 800 PCI Card Note: eSATA connection requires FireWire bus power or external power supply and USB port requires external power supply Note: AC adapter not required for most applications provided computer bus supplies appropriate power needs |
| Operating Environment |
Temperature Operating: up to 32° to 158°F / 0° to 70°C Non-operating: up to -40° to 185°F / -40° to 85°C Relative Humidity Operating: up to 5% to 90% RH (non-condensing) Non-operating: up to 5% to 90% (non-condensing) |
| Dimensions (DxWxH) | 5.6 x 6.1 x 1.1" / 14.4 x 15.4 x 2.8cm |
| Weight | 1 lb / 0.46kg |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 5 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
80%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Attractive (4)
- Easy to set up (3)
- Easy to use (3)
- Portable (3)
Cons
Best Uses
- Reviewer Profile:
- Power user (4)
- Primary use:
- Personal (3)
- Computer Platform:
- Mac (4)
Reviewed by 5 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-5
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Portable
Cons
- Bad esata chipset
- No Power Supply
- Slow
Best Uses
- Paper weight in office
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure:
I bought 2 of these for a job , trying to power both of them and use esata was a nightmare. Also didnt work well with Sonnet QIO or Sonnet Echo.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Compact
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- Fast
- No power brick
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
- Cables are CRAZY short
Best Uses
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure:
bought from b&H experience was fine, but planned to use it in "singledisk" mode, where each drive can stand on its own... wasnt working, contacted owc... they confirm only new units have the oxford 946 chipset, vs the 936 in the one i got at b&h 1/12/12. seek out newer part number if this is an important feature to you.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- Portable
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Additional Storage
- Backup
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure:
Was really easy to setup (no drivers/no software) just works!!! Main reason for buying this was the FW800 + Portable RAID. I love it that you don't need to plug power adapter when the FW800 is connected.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
Cons
- No external power adpater
Best Uses
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure:
Purchased this enclosure to store old 2.5" SATA drives I did not have in use. The firewire connections are great to attach to my Mac Mini HTC. The only draw back to this enclosure is that a separate power adapter is not included so if you need to use as USB, you will have to buy the suggested power adapter. This is not really disclosed on the product.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Easy To Collaborate Across Programs
- Easy to Customize
- Easy to Navigate
- Versatile
Cons
- Not Enough Audio Tools
Best Uses
- Backup
- Decoration
- Educational Purposes
- Multimedia
- Scratch drive
- Storage
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual mini RAID Enclosure:
RAID controller seems to be pretty fast with eSATA scorpio black 320gb, so I can imagine it would be even faster with SSD drives. USB2 and Firewire performance limited by the protocol's bandwidth limit. Feels very solid, almost same metal as mac pro and such. Was pretty silent with 2 7200rpm drives.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- PC
Displaying reviews 1-5
Tools
- Price: $7.95
Cables & Adapters
- Price: $9.99
This is a special order item. Est. arrival at B&H is 2-3 days (subject to availability). Your order will be charged at the time of shipment.
Replacement Drives
- Price: $59.99
Host Adapters
- Price: $19.00
Hubs & Adapters
- Price: $22.24
Surge Protection
- Price: $11.49
What's in the Box
- High Quality Double Shielded eSATA connecting cable
- High Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 connecting cable (9-9 Pin cable)
- High Quality Double Shielded USB 2.0/1.1 connecting cable
- FireWire 800 to 12 Volt Power Cable (For optimum results when using eSATA data connection)
- Color Product Guide
- 1-Year Limited Warranty
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