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k-hawinkler

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2011
260
88
I am looking for Thunderbolt enclosures that can be daisy chained and can accommodate two 4 TB Hitachi Deskstar drives each.

Reliability is more important to me than raw performance.

Intended use is on nMP and 15" rMBP.

Your recommendations with rational please. TIA.
 

FreakinEurekan

macrumors 603
Sep 8, 2011
5,366
2,438
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/METB7DK0GB/

Because... it's the only 2-drive Thunderbolt diskless chassis out there? If there's another one I'm not familiar.

owc_mercurypro_dual.jpg
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
you can find a thread from me on TB enclosures, but that one had embarrassingly slow speeds via TB with RAID0 (2xSSD). USB3 via the same enclosure was faster.
Perhaps it was slow for SSDs but for HDDs it it blazingly fast. I get 350/360 on BlackMagic from mine over TB (I haven't tried USB yet). That's the fastest I have seen for any 2-drive RAID0 yet (faster by far than the LaCie 2big).
 

k-hawinkler

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2011
260
88
Perhaps it was slow for SSDs but for HDDs it it blazingly fast. I get 350/360 on BlackMagic from mine over TB (I haven't tried USB yet). That's the fastest I have seen for any 2-drive RAID0 yet (faster by far than the LaCie 2big).

Thanks for all the feedback.

The OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Dual Multi-Interface Performance RAID Enclosure Kit doesn't seem to be currently in stock anywhere if I am not mistaken. But I can wait a few weeks.

I have one question though. If you use it in RAID 1 configuration and one drive goes bad, how do you find out which drive it is?
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
Thanks for all the feedback.

The OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Dual Multi-Interface Performance RAID Enclosure Kit doesn't seem to be currently in stock anywhere if I am not mistaken. But I can wait a few weeks.

I have one question though. If you use it in RAID 1 configuration and one drive goes bad, how do you find out which drive it is?
According to the manual it has LEDs for each hdd that light up if the drive is bad.
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
http://www.caldigit.com/T3/

They use HGST Deskstar for 4TB drives, so just a thought. No bare case available.
Now THAT would have been the perfect solution for me if they sold it without drives or with mixed size drives. I would put 2 2TB drives in RAID 0 and 1 4TB drive JBOD for backup. Unfortunately when I looked a few weeks ago it was not yet shipping. Do you actually have one of these? How quiet is it?
 

thedeske

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2013
963
58
Now THAT would have been the perfect solution for me if they sold it without drives or with mixed size drives. I would put 2 2TB drives in RAID 0 and 1 4TB drive JBOD for backup. Unfortunately when I looked a few weeks ago it was not yet shipping. Do you actually have one of these? How quiet is it?

I have an AV PRO with 4tb & one with 2tb. The T3 is built with the same case/tray components. The small fans on the V are quiet. No idea on the T3, but likely it's quality. Cal's raid is hardware and it's good.
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
I have an AV PRO with 4tb & one with 2tb. The T3 is built with the same case/tray components. The small fans on the V are quiet. No idea on the T3, but likely it's quality. Cal's raid is hardware and it's good.

Just read a review that said the T3's large fan was quiet for a 3-bay whatever that means and that it uses software RAID only. Still a winner for speed at over 500 MBps in RAID 0 mode. I might consider sending mine back and getting this instead.

EDIT: Nevermind, the warranty on the T3 is only 12 months and the extended 3-year warranty is an extra $150 minimum. Everybody else seems to give 3-year warranties as standard. 12 months seems very sparse considering that they insist on providing the drives.
 
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analog guy

macrumors 6502
Mar 6, 2009
387
12
Thanks for all the feedback.

The OWC / Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Dual Multi-Interface Performance RAID Enclosure Kit doesn't seem to be currently in stock anywhere if I am not mistaken. But I can wait a few weeks.

I have one question though. If you use it in RAID 1 configuration and one drive goes bad, how do you find out which drive it is?

i have one sitting here (the 0GB version). i was planning to return it. got it, plugged in 2 SSDs and ran my tests. decided i am going to keep the R4 or Sonnet enclosure.

so, back to OWC it goes. however, if it helps you out i can send it to you directly.
 

g4cube

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2003
760
13
Perhaps it was slow for SSDs but for HDDs it it blazingly fast. I get 350/360 on BlackMagic from mine over TB (I haven't tried USB yet). That's the fastest I have seen for any 2-drive RAID0 yet (faster by far than the LaCie 2big).

Danny,

This video contradicts your claim, and actually shows the 2big being much faster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spFL22T75Ng

What drives did you use to test the LaCie? Or perhaps you are referring to an older LaCie 2big Triple interface that had USB2.0 and FireWire. On that latter, older version, I would agree.

LaCie has several variations of the 2big:
- USB 3.0 only
- Thunderbolt only
- USB 3.0 + FireWire
- USB 2.0 + FireWire

It's been around for several years in various configurations.

The Thunderbolt configuration is the newest.
 
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k-hawinkler

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 14, 2011
260
88
i have one sitting here (the 0GB version). i was planning to return it. got it, plugged in 2 SSDs and ran my tests. decided i am going to keep the R4 or Sonnet enclosure.

so, back to OWC it goes. however, if it helps you out i can send it to you directly.


Thanks, but I think I'll wait and see what else does come up.

My nMP is supposed to arrive in March.
I have several Firmtek eSATA enclosures that I already have two Thunderbolt converters for http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/ttpwq6g.html.

A performance test can be found here: http://macperformanceguide.com/Thunderbolt-FirmTek-Q6G.html

With my question here I am trying to narrow down which Thunderbolt enclosure to get for my daughter's new 15" rMBP.

Thanks again for your kind offer.
 
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danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
Danny,

This video contradicts your claim, and actually shows the 2big being much faster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spFL22T75Ng

What drives did you use to test the LaCie? Or perhaps you are referring to an older LaCie 2big Triple interface that had USB2.0 and FireWire. On that latter, older version, I would agree.

LaCie has several variations of the 2big:
- USB 3.0 only
- Thunderbolt only
- USB 3.0 + FireWire
- USB 2.0 + FireWire

It's been around for several years in various configurations.

The Thunderbolt configuration is the newest.
I was going from reviews that I had seen (sorry I don't remember where from at the moment) and from LaCie's own claims (Shocking speeds up to 327MB/s); I do not have one and so have not tested it myself. I do like the host swappable drive bays but don't like the size or looks of the unit. I do see that LaCie has a refurb unit on their website right now for only $270 right now (4TB) which is a real steal except for the 180-day warranty.
 

g4cube

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2003
760
13
LaCie's specs were likely when the unit first shipped. Since then, they are likely using newer drives which may be faster, or the specs are conservative. The limitation is not the chassis, but rather the drives that are installed.

In any case, the OP was looking for a chassis, so with that special on the LaCie website, it's worth considering at a lower cost. Even includes a Thunderbolt cable.
 

danny_w

macrumors 601
Mar 8, 2005
4,462
297
Cumming, GA
LaCie's specs were likely when the unit first shipped. Since then, they are likely using newer drives which may be faster, or the specs are conservative. The limitation is not the chassis, but rather the drives that are installed.

In any case, the OP was looking for a chassis, so with that special on the LaCie website, it's worth considering at a lower cost. Even includes a Thunderbolt cable.
Yes that is a good deal OP. That is cheaper than any empty enclosure on the market and you get 2 free drives with it! I would snap that up in a second if I were you.
 
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