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OWC StudioStack being released

OWC StudioStack, direct from OWC Macsales, arrived a couple of days ago in addition to Express 1M2 80G and Mercury Elite Pro mini enclosures for my Mac Studio M4 MAX setup, CalDigit T5 dock and ASD.


Loaded the StudioStack with:
  • 16TB Seagate IronWolf Pro 3.5" HHD, created 2 partitions — 2TB for Time Machine and 14TB for files and archives
  • 4TB Crucial T710 PCIe Gen5 SSD
Express 1M2 80G loaded with 2TB Crucial T710 PCIe Gen 5 SSD and Mercury Elite Pro mini with Samsung EVO 870 4TB SSD.

IronWolf Pro makes usual noises but it's not loud or intrusive with day to day work, teams calls, etc.

Overall quite impressed with the StudioStack in regard to build, temps, drive speeds and noise – haven't heard the internal fans.

IMG_1925.jpeg



IronWolf Pro 12TB partition bench

Screenshot 2026-03-11 at 4.15.39 PM.png


Crucial T710 4TB bench

Screenshot 2026-03-11 at 4.06.58 PM.png


Express 1M2 80G w/Crucial T710 2TB bench

Screenshot 2026-03-11 at 4.10.37 PM.png
 
Last edited:
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Ifti said:
Connected the new OWC 4M2 Ultra to my StudioStack. I think I'm done for storage now!

Click to expand...
Nice!
Maybe an upgrade for my 4 x 8TB 4M2 (TB4)?
I set it up last year (before the SSD price jump). But it does feel sufficient fast as is. Glad I got it then instead of waiting for a TB5 upgrade.
 
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Varmann said:
Nice!
Maybe an upgrade for my 4 x 8TB 4M2 (TB4)?
I set it up last year (before the SSD price jump). But it does feel sufficient fast as is. Glad I got it then instead of waiting for a TB5 upgrade.
Click to expand...

You could just transfer them across to a 4M2 ultra, although bear in mind they need to be at least Gen4 drives to get the added speed advantage......
 
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The OWC 4M2 Ultra appears to be an outstanding device. However, people should realize that access to a single NVMe SSD is "only" 1,600 MB/s. That's still pretty fast, but when you see advertised over 6,000MB/s, it's a bit of a let-down. Apparently each NVMe is assigned a single PCIe lane. This is the usual for multi-bay devices.

From OWC's site:

Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 1.39.27 PM.png


I realize that I'm not in the target market -- that it's meant to be used with RAID in some video workflow or something, but it would be so sweet if I could use it with only one or two NVMe SSDs now, with full speed 6GB/s access to each, and leave the other slots to be filled in the future. I think it can be done by building in a "PCIe switch", but I expect it would add a lot to the cost.

I spent time looking for a multi-bay Thunderbolt 3/4 enclosure that provided full-speed access to each individual chip and only found one, IIRC. I've lost track of it, but I think it was an Acasis model.
 

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Brian33 said:
The OWC 4M2 Ultra appears to be an outstanding device. However, people should realize that access to a single NVMe SSD is "only" 1,600 MB/s. That's still pretty fast, but when you see advertised over 6,000MB/s, it's a bit of a let-down. Apparently each NVMe is assigned a single PCIe lane. This is the usual for multi-bay devices.

From OWC's site:

View attachment 2634523

I realize that I'm not in the target market -- that it's meant to be used with RAID in some video workflow or something, but it would be so sweet if I could use it with only one or two NVMe SSDs now, with full speed 6GB/s access to each, and leave the other slots to be filled in the future. I think it can be done by building in a "PCIe switch", but I expect it would add a lot to the cost.

I spent time looking for a multi-bay Thunderbolt 3/4 enclosure that provided full-speed access to each individual chip and only found one, IIRC. I've lost track of it, but I think it was an Acasis model.
Click to expand...

Yes, the 4M2 Untra is geared more towards a RAID solution. If you want the flexibility of using JBOD at full speed, the Acasis TB504 does this perfectly!
I will have a review of it on the channel in the next few days 😉

img_4473-jpg.2633924
 
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JesterJJZ said:
Does the StudioStack sleep with the system ok? Spin down, power off and wake drives etc.
Click to expand...

Ive been using mine, permanently connected to my Mac Studio, for months now. Absolutely no issues at all.
The only time I disconnect all drives etc is when I'm doing a Mac OS update......not that you have to, but 'just in case'....
 
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Ifti said:
Ive been using mine, permanently connected to my Mac Studio, for months now. Absolutely no issues at all.
The only time I disconnect all drives etc is when I'm doing a Mac OS update......not that you have to, but 'just in case'....
Click to expand...
Great. Coming from MacPro, I'm looking for a solution for drives that acts as if they are internal. Meaning no ejecting, no power buttons or sleep / wake/ disconnect issues.

Ideally, I'm looking for a two 3.5" drive solution like this, but it doesn't seem to exist.
 
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