Best affordable 4-bay external hard drive caddy? Thunderbolt?

[fs454]

So I'm looking to downsize from my Mac Pro + MacBook Air setup to just the Retina MBP. Considering I'm going cross country and am going to be mobile between LA and Boston, carrying around a 75lb Mac Pro and a monitor to do video work is illogical, and now that the rMBP is out, I'm all over switching it up.

My only concern is, I have so much archived data and just plain stuff, probably 3TB+ worth, and when I sell my Mac Pro, I'll be pulling at least two of my bays and keeping them with me. I also work on large projects via alternate drives. The only thing that I seem to be losing with the rMBP is the 4 swappable drive bays and I've been looking to find a solution to that. However, the big names like Drobo seem to be offering what I want at really high prices, like $400-800, which to me doesn't make too much sense.

Are there any good devices that will do what I need with a fast interface without being a huge cost? I know Thunderbolt is fairly new but I haven't been following the release of these products as this will be my first computer with TB. I don't need any included storage.

Thanks.

 

[heisenberg123]

So I'm looking to downsize from my Mac Pro + MacBook Air setup to just the Retina MBP. Considering I'm going cross country and am going to be mobile between LA and Boston, carrying around a 75lb Mac Pro and a monitor to do video work is illogical, and now that the rMBP is out, I'm all over switching it up.

My only concern is, I have so much archived data and just plain stuff, probably 3TB+ worth, and when I sell my Mac Pro, I'll be pulling at least two of my bays and keeping them with me. I also work on large projects via alternate drives. The only thing that I seem to be losing with the rMBP is the 4 swappable drive bays and I've been looking to find a solution to that. However, the big names like Drobo seem to be offering what I want at really high prices, like $400-800, which to me doesn't make too much sense.

Are there any good devices that will do what I need with a fast interface without being a huge cost? I know Thunderbolt is fairly new but I haven't been following the release of these products as this will be my first computer with TB. I don't need any included storage.

Thanks.

unless you define affordable, there are not many thunderbolt accessories that are exactly cheap

 

[fs454]

unless you define affordable, there are not many thunderbolt accessories that are exactly cheap

Yeah, seems that way. You'd think someone would come out with something affordable by now though.

Would USB 3.0 be a decent alternative? I'd really prefer the bandwidth of TB for video but I guess if I'm only polling one project drive at once for the most part, it won't be that bad.

 

[ugahairydawgs]

Drobo announced these today.

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/06/21/drobo-announces-thunderbolt-enabled-storage-devices/

Not sure if they fall in line with your definition of "affordable" or not though.

 

[fs454]

Drobo announced these today.

http://www.tuaw.com/2012/06/21/drobo-announces-thunderbolt-enabled-storage-devices/

Not sure if they fall in line with your definition of "affordable" or not though.

Yeah, that's what prompted me to make the topic, those are pricey.

Hm, I might not dump my Mac Pro just yet. I can't believe the prices on some of this stuff.

 

[jcpb]

TB stuff are expensive due to Intel's pricing (those TB cables are no run-of-the-mill USB3 cabling) and spec enforcement policies, and anemic adoption (device makers can charge a premium and the market will bear higher prices relative to USB3).

 

[fizzwinkus]

I was in much the same situation, albeit for photo work. I ended up managing to pare down everything to 2.2tb so a 768gb MBPr and 2tb wd passport worked out for me. (with a Time Capsule as backup)

If I couldn't manage to fit, I would have gotten a CalDigit T2 in 2x4tb raid 1 - and maybe another for Time Machine.

 

[Kcatthedog]

Caldigit is thinking about a caddy byod but won't decide till sept worth the wait if you can make do !