OWC Thunder IV vs Akitio Thunder2 Quad

[OldMike]

So I have decided to pick up a 4 bay Thunderbolt 2 enclosure.

I am trying to decide between the OWC Thunder IV:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB2IVKIT0GB/

And the Akitio Thunder2 Quad:
http://www.akitio.com/desktop-storage/akitio-thunder2-quad

They both look somewhat similar. I'm not a big fan of the lock on the OWC, and I like the handle on the Akitio. The drive trays on the Akitio look to be well made, while the drive trays on the OWC are made of plastic. Other than those small differences I can't really seem to find any differences.

Has anyone here had experience with either one or both of these enclosures?

HW RAID is not needed, so either of these options would work. I'm just having a difficult time deciding between the two. Right now I am leaning towards the Akitio. As for pricing, they are pretty close. I can get the Akitio for around $355 and the OWC for $389 - so basically they are the same.

Thanks for any input!

 

[matreya]

They both look somewhat similar. I'm not a big fan of the lock on the OWC, and I like the handle on the Akitio. The drive trays on the Akitio look to be well made, while the drive trays on the OWC are made of plastic. Other than those small differences I can't really seem to find any differences.

The drive trays on the OWC Thunderbay are stainless steel. I have two of the Thunderbolt1 original version. As such I recommend the OWC enclosure to anyone.

The OWC enclosure has the power supply inside, whereas the Akitio uses an external power brick.

 

[dyt1983]

edit: To remove personally identifying information not relevant to the thread.

 

[campyguy]

My business partner went with the AKiTiO, and I borrow it on occasion - neither of us mind the handle. It's a solid unit. We went with that brand over OWC mainly because of the 2-year warranty over the OWC's 1-year warranty.

 

[ColdCase]

The OWC drive trays ship with a plastic spacer that you remove when installing the drive. The drive trays are metal, although they don't have a bottom if that makes any difference. The current OWC fan is quiet, dunno about the akito.

I like stacking my thunderbays, the akito handle will get in the way of that I think. It may be a little easier to add or remove drives from the OWC as all there is is the front cover and drive thumbscrew, no bottom latch or case to shove..

Less money is better

 

[dyt1983]

edit: To remove personally identifying information not relevant to the thread.

 

[hfg]

When you get a good collection going of round security keys, that might make the OWC more difficult.

I believe that all of the keys are the same pattern ... not really "security" in that sense.

The same key opens all of my OWC 4-bay enclosures.

 

[OldMike]

The drive trays are metal, although they don't have a bottom if that makes any difference.

Thanks I didn't realize this. On a review, somewhere, the reviewer had mentioned the trays were plastic and I just took that as fact.