Built to handle high speed backups, multiple media card offloads, and intense raw photo and 8K video editing sessions, the Express 4M2 4-Bay USB4 External SSD Enclosure from OWC / Other World Computing is designed for DITs and filmmakers, professional video editors, VFX artists, colorists, photographers, and other creative. Equipped with four NVMe M.2 SSD slots, the Express 4M2 supports four M.2 2230, 2242, or 2280 SSDs. Depending on your choice of SSD, data transfers speeds can reach as high as 3200 MB/s. OWC built the Express 4M2 with a software RAID controller that supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, and 10, each of which provides performance, data redundancy, or a combination of both. For those who do not need a RAID, JBOD is also available.
The Express 4M2 may be formatted for use with macOS 14 and later, Windows 10 (32-/64-bit), Windows 11, and Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022. It connects to your host system using a 40 Gb/s USB4 port, but is backward compatible with 10 Gb/s USB 3.2 Gen 2, which delivers real world speeds of up to 990 MB/s. Its aluminum enclosure offers rugged protection while keeping the drive cool for improved performance, although additional cooling is provided by dual 40mm fans that spin up to 4000 rpm. The Express 4M2 may also be used as a boot drive, but only on Mac. It is plug-and-play, meaning no drivers are required for use, while bus power means that the drive is powered solely using the included USB-C cable.
- DITs and filmmakers wanting to build an affordable yet high-performance NVMe SSD RAID with up to 32TB of capacity, RAID 5 capabilities, and the ability to deliver maximum offload speeds and thermal stability when backing up media cards from multiple cameras on set.
- Professional video editors, VFX artists, colorists, and high-volume photographers seeking an easy DIY assemble high-performance NVMe SSD RAID to handle demanding post-production and editing workflows including 8K RAW video, VFX compositing work, multi-cam sequences in 4K raw or ProRes video, and batch editing ultra-high-resolution pictures.
- Anyone looking for a lower cost RAID option to the four NVMe M.2 based OWC ThunderBlade and are willing to accept the Express 4M2's larger form factor, fan cooling, no additional connectivity ports, and no ballistic shipping case for shuttle use.
- High performance RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) volumes
- Predictive Health Monitoring proactively notifies of volume and disk issues well before failure, provided on your computer and remotely
- Seamless Cross-Platform Sharing with support for Apple-formatted APFS and HFS+ SoftRAID volumes between Mac and Windows at no additional cost
- 35+ years of experience with pro support to provide peace-of-mind with setup help, ongoing questions, or urgent disk issues
- And many more unique features