Built to handle 12K raw video, 8K multi-cam sequences, batch processing of high-res images, and large data sets, the Express 4M2 Ultra 32TB Four-Slot Thunderbolt 5 External Storage Enclosure from OWC / Other World Computing is designed for DITs and filmmakers, professional video editors, VFX artists, colorists, photographers, professionals, and power users. Equipped with 32TB of storage, which is configured as four 8TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 SSDs, the Express 4M2 comes preformatted as a software RAID 0 for Mac, with data transfer speeds that can reach as high as 6622 MB/s and single drive performance reaching as high as 1600 MB/s. Other software RAID configurations that are supported include RAID 1, 4, 5, 6, and 10, each of which provides performance, data redundancy, or a combination of both via included SoftRAID software. For those who do not need a RAID, JBOD is also available.
The Express 4M2 Ultra may be formatted for use with macOS 14 and later, Windows 11, iPadOS, Linux/Ubuntu, and Chrome. It connects to your host system using an 80 Gb/s Thunderbolt 5 port but is backward compatible with 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 4, 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, and 40 Gb/s USB4. For system expansion, a second Thunderbolt 5 port lets you daisy-chain five additional Thunderbolt devices, including more Express 4M2 Ultras, plus one USB peripheral. An aluminum enclosure offers rugged protection while keeping the drive cool for improved performance, although additional cooling is provided by a 40mm fan that spins up to 4000 rpm. The Express 4M2 Ultra may also be used as a boot drive, but only on Mac. It is plug-and-play, meaning no drivers are required for use. Included is a Thunderbolt 5 cable, a 90W power supply, and a US power cable.
- A Mac computer with Apple Silicon M3/M4/M5 or newer with Thunderbolt 5 running via 80 Gb/s Thunderbolt 5 can achieve speeds up to 6622 MB/s
- A Mac computer with Apple Silicon M-Series with Thunderbolt 3/4 running via 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 4 can achieve speeds up to 3200 MB/s
- A Windows computer running via 80 Gb/s Thunderbolt 5 can achieve speeds up to 6622 MB/s
- A Windows computer with USB4/Thunderbolt 4 running via 40 Gb/s USB4 can achieve speeds up to 3200 MB/s
- An Intel Mac with Thunderbolt 3 running via 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 can achieve speeds up to 2800 MB/s
- Production companies and creative studios wanting turnkey Thunderbolt 5 NVMe RAID storage that arrives pre-configured and tested, ready to deploy across editing bays without dedicating time to building drives.
- Video editors, VFX artists, colorists, and high-volume photographers who need dependable, ready-to-run NVMe RAID performance for 12K raw video, VFX compositing, 8K multicam sequences, and batch editing of ultrahigh-resolution images.
- DITs and on-set teams needing a fast, reliable array to offload and back up media cards without configuring drives themselves, with daisy-chain support for connecting additional arrays or devices in the field.
- IT managers and procurement teams who want consistent, prequalified storage configurations that are easy to deploy at scale across multiple workstations.
- Customers who'd rather build it themselves can start with the bare enclosure, with or without SoftRAID, and install their own choice of NVMe M.2 SSDs.
- 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 of Pro Support to provide peace-of-mind with setup help, ongoing questions, or urgent disk issues