Request for configuration check based on your working experience M4 Max 3 displays and 2 external SSD NVMe 4-bay enclosures

[Mac Arthur1]

Hi all,
I spend a lot of time setting up this upcoming configuration. Your experience has been of great help.
I would appreciate any comment to validate, improve, or any "warning". Main potential issues are TB-related power issues and display setup.

I plan to have
- the entry-level Mac Studio M4 Max

- 3 Dell UltraSharp 32 4K USB-C Hub Monitor U3223QE

Dell UltraSharp 32 Inch 4K Computer Monitor - U3223QE | Dell USA

View the Dell UltraSharp 32 Inch 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U3223QE) with an intelligent 4K webcam & IPS Black technology or view all Dell computer monitors at Dell.com.

www.dell.com

- 2 Acasis 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4/3 M.2 NVMe 4 Bay RAID SSD Enclosures as I have 6SSD NVMe (I currently use 2 Hackintoshes).

Acasis 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4/3 M.2 NVMe 4 Bay RAID SSD Enclosure

40Gbps Thunderbolt 4/3 transfer speed, ensuring instant access to your editing and design materials with zero wait time.- Read SSD×1: Up to 27Gbps (MAX)- Read SSD×4: Up to 16Gbps (MAX) per drive Supports software RAID array configuration, with each bay accommodating SSDs up to 8TB. When...

www.acasis.com

The 2 Acasis will be plugged into 2 TB ports at the back.
2 monitors will be plugged into the 2 remaining TB ports and 1 through HDMI. It seems to be the simplest, most reliable solution.

I will get on the 3 monitors a 4K 3840 x 2160 at (only) 60 Hz display, which is fine with me as I am not a gamer. Could you please confirm?
As the Acasis bay has its own power supply, it should not put too much pressure on the Mac, and the whole 5 connected units (3 screens and 2 bays) will work properly together without unexpected disconnection. Could you please confirm?

I hope the added keyboard and mouse will not ruin the entire system.

Any additional comments or remarks are obviously welcomed.
Thanks again for your help.
Mac

 

[Chancha]

Dell U3223QE
These were fine displays when they were new, but not so much nowadays, there are many 4k60 31.5" IPS out there, and then there are even OLEDs and miniLEDs. But this Dell has an advantage that it has more ports than the usual displays with KVM especially the ethernet port.
If you can get a good enough discounted price for them I 'd say ok, especially since you are buying 3 at once. Having 2 on type-C (DisplayPort) and one on HDMI means the HDMI is the odd one, you will likely go into color mismatch since they get signal differently from the Mac than the DP ones, need some work in finding out if that's the case. There are also reports of using identical displays would sometimes confuse macOS which one is which, mis-remembering the icon / window layout between them.

TB enclosure and power issue
That problem only happens with bus-powered devices. This Acasis as you know has its own DC power, so the problem is irrelevant. I myself have used a few of their TB3/USB4 enclosures and have very positive experience, but never tried the ones with multiple slots, not sure how good or bad they are. But just speaking on bandwidth bottlenecking alone it seems to be a bit of a mismatch to have that many NVMe sticks stripped together while limiting them to just a 28-32Gbps link. But if the main aim is to strip into a larger volume then well yeah, they are fine.

I think what you are envisioning is fine, on paper they should work, but there are quite a few points of failure and you are already taking up all the available TB ports of the Studio, so all else need to go to either the front USB3.2 ports or the Dell's KVM ports, which further adds complexity. With luck you may be fine though.

 

[Mac Arthur1]

Thanks so much for your input. I know how time consuming it is to write as I contribute to many Mac french forums.

Beyond the SSD issue that I guess is solved (speed is to consider but not a major one for me), I am now investigating more in depth the potential issues with monitors connections.
It seems that DELL is really facing big problems, especially since the M4 Max.
ASUS seems to be less problematic but... In fact you really know the day you buy and plug them.
3 4K monitors of decent quality is almost as expensive as the Mac Studio, and I really need to change my 3 existing old (and basic) Mi.

Official monitor websites are there to promote advantages that are mainly only true in windows environment.

Therefore I would really appreciate guidance regarding monitor compatibility if some of you have valuable experience.

Thanks again
Mac

 

[Mac Arthur1]

Dell U3223QE
These were fine displays when they were new, but not so much nowadays, there are many 4k60 31.5" IPS out there, and then there are even OLEDs and miniLEDs. But this Dell has an advantage that it has more ports than the usual displays with KVM especially the ethernet port.

I forgot to mention that I live in a "remote" country, where we usually get novelties 2 or 3 years after developed countries. They are currently, for me, "state of the art."
The Acasis bays will be carried by a friend travelling from Europe; 3 32" is a bit more challenging.