Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I don't track the thermals on my external SSD
I was worried about the passively cooled nature of OWC Envoy Ultra. That external drive has a sensor that I was able to add to iStat Menus. I'm not obsessing but I wanted to know how it performed under load.

Sitting on my desk 38 to 40 (depending on ambient temps), and on top of my Mac (upside), I'm seeing 30-32c.

I've owned OWC products before and I've been impressed with the quality and speed, this external drive does not disappoint
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ifti and pshufd


The fans above are really good . I have a set for the mac mini 4 i have them out of site and cool my 6tb crucial x10 [time machine]
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.


The fans above are really good . I have a set for the mac mini 4 i have them out of site and cool my 6tb crucial x10 [time machine]

Do you use it to cool the mini? I was thinking more of just one fan.

I have a dual but it's AC powered and I can't find the transformer.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I'm about to move from my Mac Pro 7,1 to a M4 Ultra Mac Studio and have a few PCIe cards with various NVMe SSD RAID configurations in my setup as well as a Pegasus RAID that it’s time to retire.
The only obvious solutions for external PCIe enclosures for the cards seem to be Sonnet’s offerings. I have good experience with Sonnet and I have a couple of their Echo units I’ll use with the Studio. Are there other ( ’name’ not Amazon knock-off) external enclosures anyone suggests for PCIe SSD RAID?

- I am thinking of perhaps going with the OWC 4m2 enclosure as a SSD RAID TimeMachine box, but I’m a bit ‘meh’ about OWC from experience.
 
Same as you going to a M4 Max Studio from MP 7.1. I don't see an M4 Ultra Studio listed anywhere?

I have a PCIe card with 4 NVMe SSDs. I have been looking for TB5 PCIe chassis and have found none currently available. I found this that is supposed to be available at the end of August. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1885256-REG/sonnet_echo_2ddv_tb5_echo_ii_dv_thunderbolt.html

Plenty of TB3 chassis out there but will the speed be much difference between TB3 or TB5 with NVMe SSDs?

Apple released the M3 Ultra Studio. It appears that they couldn't do the fabric between the two Max chips on the M4 or chose not to try at this time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MarkC426
Yes I wish it was the Ultra as I am a little concerned with only 128GB of RAM in the Max.
 
I am using a QNAP TS 410-E with 4x 4TB SSD for my data. I like this combination because I can access it from different devices, it is fast, has data protection (RAID) and because it is quiet (the ts410-E has passive cooling - no fan).
QNAP: https://www.qnap.com/de-de/product/ts-410e
SSDs: https://www.amazon.de/optimierter-schnellen-Dauerbetrieb-verringert-Leistungsfähigkeit/dp/B07YFGTXHT?th=1

I also have a 2TB Samsung EVO SSD for my Time Machine, that secures my main HD in a Gewokliy 40MB/S enclosure
 

Attachments

  • CleanShot 2025-08-09 at 10.28.39@2x.png
    CleanShot 2025-08-09 at 10.28.39@2x.png
    732 KB · Views: 16
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I need read/write speed and PCIe RAID works well for me.
The Sonnet cards are great and customer support is excellent in my experience.
While their Echo enclosures are a touch slow for my needs with their Thunderbolt 3, they are bringing out upgrade cards for the Echo boxes that will bring them up to Thunderbolt 5.

So I’ve decided to just add another Sonnet M.2 4x4 PCIe Card for a total of two, with 8TB of SSD each in Sonnet Echo enclosures. And have a OWC 4M2 on its way for TimeMachine - adding my own 8TB of SSD's (I have a OWC 4M2 PCIe card already). It'll keep me going for now with the Mac Studio and soon enough I'll be all set with TB5.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kikote
I have sitting on my desk a new OWC Envoy Ultra, and a Sabrent XTRM TB5. Will test both and report back soon!
I was debating between these two. I opted for the OWC due mainly for the positive track record of the owc. The sabrent had no reviews - at least when I was in the market

I’m interested in what you find
 
I was debating between these two. I opted for the OWC due mainly for the positive track record of the owc. The sabrent had no reviews - at least when I was in the market

I’m interested in what you find

The only real issue I have with the OWC Envoy Ultra is I believe it still comes with the Aura Pro IV SSD installed inside. Don't get me wrong - it is a VERY capable SSD, but it's an SSD from 2022 and it's starting to show its age. In fact it's the same SSD that suppled in a pre-populated 1M2. On the plus side, it shows no slowdown as the SSD is filled - even near full capacity. It doesn’t seem to care what you’re doing, it’ll just plain perform. It shows its slowest write performance when it was full, but it is by a tiny margin of less than 40 MB/s. Otherwise, it is remarkably consistent. Its thermal management is also on point here as it continues to perform at peak consistently throughout. Repeated speed tests of the Envoy Ultra showed no such slowing or throttling — ever - it just performed remarkably well no matter what you throw at it.

I'm currently abroad but will test further on my main editing computer when I get home next week..... ;)
 
The only real issue I have with the OWC Envoy Ultra is I believe it still comes with the Aura Pro IV SSD installed inside.
That was my issue as well. I have a better feeling and more experience with Sabrent drives. The lack of a track record and looking at both enclosures, I thought the OWC would be better at shedding heat. My SSD's temps are in the 30s under normal usage so I'm very happy with the OWC drive.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ifti
That was my issue as well. I have a better feeling and more experience with Sabrent drives. The lack of a track record and looking at both enclosures, I thought the OWC would be better at shedding heat. My SSD's temps are in the 30s under normal usage so I'm very happy with the OWC drive.

I know you can replace the 'attached' cable in the OWC Envoy drives by opening it up.......I wonder if you can change the drive or whether its firmware locked.....

seems you can - watch from 7:50....... although OWC do state the drive included is chosen for its power draw as well as compatibility.......

 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.