OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution
The Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution offers a convenient enclosure, which affords installation of your own set of four matched 3.5" Serial ATA (SATA I/II) hard disk drives into a stylish RAID enclosure that supports data transfers up to 3.0Gb/s. The Qx2 is equipped with a custom Oxford 936 Chipset that's compatible with eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0/1.1 connectivity. The single eSATA port offers the fastest data transfer rates, up to 3.0Gb/s or 300MB/s. The dual 9-pin FireWire 800 ports facilitate 800Mbps or 100MB/s transfer rates, while the 6-pin FireWire 400 interface supports transfer rates up to 400Mbps or 50MB/s. The USB 2.0 port, which is also backwards compatible with USB 1.1, supports up to 480Mbps or 60MB/s transfer rates, as well as 12Mbps or 1.5MB/s USB 1.1 transfer rates. Supporting four different interfaces ensures that you'll achieve the fastest data transfers possible on your PC or Mac. Plus, by offering a USB 2.0/1.1 port, eSATA port, dual FireWire 800 ports and a FireWire 400 port, all your interface needs are covered and as an added measure of convenience, all supported interface connector cables are included.
Besides offering quad connectivity, the Qx2 also supports user selectable Hardware RAID settings. With the help of a front panel selector switch, the Qx2 enables easy configuration of NRAID, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10. This allows you to select the best combination of speed, capacity, redundancy or any combination of all three. NRAID (Span) combines capacity of two or more drives of equal size into one volume, as well as combining the capacity of varying size drives based on the lowest capacity in the set. RAID 0 (Stripe) means that data is split into blocks over two or more drives at the same time for high-speed and large capacity. RAID 1 (Mirror) allows data to be written at the same time to two drives for the highest level of data safety and redundancy. RAID 5 (Stripe with Parity) is similar to RAID 0; data is striped while incorporating redundancy over three or more drives for the best combo of speed, capacity and redundancy. Like other quad interface, 4-bay RAID solutions, the Qx2 is pre-configured as RAID 5. Finally, RAID 10 ensures that data is striped over two mirrored sets of drives for fast redundancy.
- Blend of Performance & Convenience
- Install your own set of four matched (same part number and firmware version) 3.5" Serial ATA (SATA I/II) hard disk drives into the stylish, brushed aluminum enclosure with Hardware RAID setting flexibility. Plus, experience up to 300MB/s data transfer speed for high performance data storage and redundancy
- Quad Interface
- This enclosure supports four different interfaces for ultra-flexibility. There's one eSATA port, two FireWire 800 ports, one FireWire 400 port and one USB 2.0 port that's backwards compatible with USB 1.1
- User Selectable Hardware RAID Settings
- Thanks to a front panel selector switch, the Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 enables easy configuration of the Hardware RAID settings - NRAID, 0, 1, 5, 10 - so you can select the best combination of speed, capacity, redundancy, or any combination of the three
- NRAID (Span)
- Combines capacity of two or more drives of the same size without any RAID data distribution scheme into one logical desktop volume. Will also combine the capacity of varying size drives based on the lowest capacity drive in the set
- RAID 0 (Stripe)
- Data is split into blocks over two or more drives at same time for high speed and large capacity
- RAID 1 (Mirror)
- Data is written at same time to two drives only for highest level of data safety and redundancy
- RAID 5 (Stripe with Parity)
- Data is striped, similar to RAID 0, while incorporating redundancy over three or more drives for the best combination of speed, capacity, and redundancy. Plus, the Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 RAID Enclosure is pre-configured as RAID 5
- RAID 10 (1+0)
- Data is striped, similar to RAID 0, but over two mirrored sets of drives like RAID 1. This setting is designed for fast redundancy
- Re-Builds with No Computer Connection
- RAID 1, 5 and 10 enable you to keep working even if one drive fails
- Windows & Mac Compatibility
- The enclosure is compatible with Windows 98SE or later, Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, Mac OS 10.0.x or later and Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later including 'Lion' 10.7.x
- Cables Included
- All interface connector cables are included
| Material | Brushed aluminum |
| Chipset | Custom Oxford 936 Chipset with eSATA, FW800(1394B), FW400(1394A) & USB 2.0/1.1 compatibility |
| Drive Types Supported | 3.5" Serial ATA (SATA I/II) Hard Disk Drives Drive rotation speed varies with drives installed Drive cache size varies with drives installed |
| Qualified Hard Drives | Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 Hitachi Deskstar A7K2000 Enterprise Western Digital Caviar Black Western Digital Caviar Green Western Digital RE3 Western Digital RE4 Samsung Spinpoint F1 RAID-Class Samsung Spinpoint F3 Samsung Spinpoint EcoGreen Samsung Spinpoint F4EG Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 Seagate Barracuda LP Seagate Barracuda ES.2 Seagate Barracuda XT Seagate Constellation ES |
| Recommended eSATA Cards | 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 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 FirmTek SeriTek/2SE4 Four-Port External PCI-X OWC ExpressCard/34 eSATA SATA I/II ExpressCard/34 APIOTEK EXTREME Dual eSATA SATA I/II Express Card |
| Interfaces/Ports | eSATA port x 1 FireWire 800 (1394B) ports x 2 FireWire 400 (1394A) port x 1 USB 2.0/1.1 port x 1 |
| Maximum Data Rate | eSATA: up to 3.0Gb/s (300MB/s) FireWire 800: up to 800Mbps (100MB/s) FireWire 400: up to 400Mbps (50MB/s) USB 2.0/1.1: up to 480Mbps (60MB/s)/12Mbps (1.5MB/s) |
| RAID / JBOD Support | RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 Hardware RAID Modes NRAID Span Options Solutions are pre-configured as RAID 5 for optimum speed, protection & capacity |
| Software | Intech Hard Disk SpeedTools Utilities OEM (For Mac OS 8.6 - X only) ProSoft Engineering Data Backup for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows 2000 or later Carbon Copy Cloner for Mac OS X 10.4 or later Over 1.5GB of Freeware, Shareware, Public domain software installed |
| Windows System Requirements | Minimum Intel Pentium III CPU 500MHz, 128MB RAM Windows 98SE or later and an available FireWire 400 or USB 2.0/1.1 port Windows 2000 or later and an available USB 2.0/1.1, FireWire 800/400, or eSATA port |
| Mac System Requirements | Minimum Apple G4 processor, 128MB RAM Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, 10.0.x or later and an available USB 1.1 or FireWire 400 port Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later including 'Lion' 10.7.x and an available USB 2.0/1.1, FireWire 800/400 port, or eSATA port Time Machine Compatible: Mac OS X 10.5 (version introduced) and later |
| Linux Requirements | Linux compatible via supported USB and FireWire interfaces |
| Hard Disk Space | Internal Auto-Switching US/Intl. AC 100 - 260 V, 50-60Hz (UL, cUL, CE, TUV approved) |
| Power Output | DC 5V/8.4A DC 12V/6A (12V peak current 4A/10sec) |
| Protection | OCP OVP Short |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 5.3 x 7.0 x 9.7" (13.5 x 17.7 x 24.5 cm) |
| Weight | With No Accessories: 8.6 lb (3.9 kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviews(based on 7 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
86%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
- Primary use:
- Personal (4), Business (3)
- Computer Platform:
- Mac (7)
Reviewed by 7 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-7
Pros
- High Capacity
Cons
- Noisy
- Unreliable
Best Uses
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
The Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 is in fact compatible with 4TB hard drives. The units that I bought from B&H on 3/26/12 were not however. After a week of testing and hours on the phone with tech. support we finally concluded that the Qx2s that I purchased were older units and simply would not work properly with 4TB hard drives. I ended up returning the Qx2s to B&H (which they too back without question but it did cost me $35.00 to ship) and bought directly from OWC.
Once I received the the new units from OWC and tested them they appeared to be working quite well. Both Qx2s have four 4TB hard drives in them and are set up for a RAID 5. I ran some speed tests and then actually pulled a drive to simulate a disk failure. I replace the hard drive with a new one and within 12 hours the RAID completely rebuilt itself and I was back up and running. Great. Then, several days later, my computer froze up and I ended up having to manually power everything down. When I fired it back up my Qx2 was rebuilding itself for no apparent reason. I let it work for a couple days before calling tech. support. They couldn't tell me why the unit was rebuilding itself or why it was still rebuilding after 72 hours. They said that with four 4TB hard drives, 4-5 days would be a typical rebuild time..... Hmmmm. That didn't seem to go along with my test results....
So here I am. 12 days later. The unit is still rebuilding..... I'd call tech support again but OWC tech support was barely helpful at best. I'll probably need to reformat my drives and move my 6TB of video back over to it..... Anyway, I gave the Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 one star for these reasons and several more that I didn't even list here. It would take me two days to explain all the little hiccups I've had with these. Thanks OWC.
I should also note that I have had these units connected to my Mac Pro via eSATA. I didn't seem to have any major problems when connecting via firewire 800 although testing was limited.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Attractive Design
- Easy To Set Up
- Easy to use
- Quiet
Cons
Best Uses
- Backup
- File Transfer
- Photo Storage
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
I'm currently using this with 2TB Hitachi SATA drives in RAID5 and Firewire 800. It's maxing out the firewire speed, and in regular use the fan is nearly silent. I wish it had a Thunderbolt interface as well, but at this price that would be a little unrealistic. The only speed limit seems to be the Firewire bus, haven't tried to fail a drive and see how fast a rebuild happens.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Easy To Collaborate Across Programs
- Easy to Customize
- Easy to Navigate
- No Tape Costs
- Raid-5 for both Mac PC
- Safe
- Versatile
Cons
- None
Best Uses
- Camera ISO Records
- Crucial Media Backup
- Educational Purposes
- Eliminate Tape Costs
- Multimedia
- Show Recordings
- Storage
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
I have been looking for a standalone Raid system of this caliber for a long time and forever it has been over $2,000, if not more. Now, with OWC, I can have a Raid-5 9TB partition that is rock solid. With eSata and other connectors to interface, I can hook it up to almost any computer with very quick transfer speeds.I bought one to test the waters and have already placed an order for several more. I love this product.
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
It is the fastest & most versatile 4 bay enclosure we've seen.
Esata interface screams, and it takes just 15 minutes to install 4 drives and get going. It is set up out of the box for fast RAID5, so just most people will just get 4 of their favorite 3tb drives (they should all be the same), and suddenly you'll have a 9tb usable RAID system.
It's made of heavy gauge metal, so it's not light.
So far it just works like you'd expect.
If you want maximum performance on a macbook, you need to have an express/34 slot and eSata adapter card ($20-40). WIth an older 15 or 17" macbook with the express/34 you really don't need thunderbolt. This is cheaper than any similar thunderbolt device and almost as fast.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
- Backups
- Multimedia Storage
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
Like that it supports RAID 5 out of the box with an option to use 3 disk RAID 5 keeping the fourth drive as an extra safety swap in. Well built, easy to use and fast enough for video work. Only drawback is that it won't support JBOD if you want to connect multiple drives through one esata port. If it did support that, I'd give it 5 stars.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
- Easy to Customize
- Reliable
- Versatile
Cons
- None
Best Uses
- Home Personal Use
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
This OWC product is solidly built, easy to configure, and operates very quietly. All of the OWC products that I have ever used are built extremely well. This included. This 4-Bay RAID system is flexible and allows you to configure with multiple back-up options. You just pick the balance between big HD space, fast write to disk, and safety of backup based on the descriptions in the manual and you are all set. Comes with multiple ways to connect to your computer. AND they supply ALL the cables that you need for EVERY connection solution.
- Primary use:
- Personal
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
- Educational Purposes
- Multimedia
Comments about OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Qx2 Quad Interface 4-Bay RAID Solution:
i have had several backup solutions but this one is the easiest to use and built like a tank - i am running 4 3tb Hitachi deskstars (9tb with parity) and they are VERY VERY quick using eSATA - i use it with firewire as well and it is maxed out on the read write for that as well. - ROCK SOLID! only thing i can look forward to is a thunderbolt version of this (or another version with SATA3 (6GB) connection. OWC is always at the bleeding edge of mac tech but their process of testing is second to none in my opinion. you can be pretty confident that when they bring a product to market it has already been throughly tested for bugs etc. (i have RAM and SSD drives as well and their quality is evident throughout their lineup.)
- Primary use:
- Business
- Computer Platform:
- Mac
Displaying reviews 1-7
Tools
- Price: $7.95
Replacement Drives
- Price: $139.00
Host Adapters
- Price: $24.95
Surge Protection
- Price: $28.76
What's in the Box
- 39" (99.1 cm) High-Quality Double Shielded eSATA Connecting Cable (9-9 Pin Cable)
- 72" (182.9 cm) High-Quality Double Shielded FireWire 800 Connecting Cable (9-9 Pin Cable)
- 68" (172.7 cm) High-Quality Double Shielded FireWire 400 Connecting Cable (6-6 Pin Cable)
- 76" (193.0 cm) High-Quality Double Shielded USB 2.0/1.1 Connecting Cable
- UL Listed Power Cord
- 2 x Keys for Front Panel Lock
- Backup & Utility Software CD: Intech SpeedTools Utilities OEM (for Mac OS 8.6 - X only) Prosoft Engineering Data Backup (for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later) NovaStor NovaBACKUP (for Windows 2000 or later) Carbon Copy Cloner (for Mac OS X 10.4 or later)
- 1-Year Warranty with 48-Hour Turnaround Time
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