- OWC Express 4M2 CLOSURE offers an alternative route to large and fast external storage
- Thunderbolt 3 in the Windows performance paralyzes at the maximum speed announced
- SSD OWC Express 4m2 slots are only PCIE 4.0 x1, so individual transmission speeds are limited
In a saturated market for expensive high capacity storage, the OWC Express 4M2 enclosure offers an alternative route to large and fast external storage without immediately violating the $ 3000 mark.
At $ 239.99 for the base configuration, this cheaper device than the Terramaster D4 SSD and offers a flexible base to build what could be equivalent to a 32 TB configuration when combined with four 8 TB NVME units.
The company promotes this device as capable of up to 3200 MB/s of performance, but real world performance is very variable.
Maximum speed requires raid and careful system configuration
The four m.2 NVME slots only admit PCIe 4.0 x1, which limits the performance of individual unit to approximately 1600 Mb/s.
Reach maximum speeds, therefore, requires RAID settings and optimal conditions, factors that introduce complexity.
It provides support for RAID 0, 1, 4, 5 and 10, but again, achieving these benefits depends on the software license, the quality of the impulse and knowledge of the user.
Users can be drawn by the velocity of the enclosure, but they must be aware that performance profits require effort and understanding.
The compatibility with the USB4 and Thunderbolt standards in Macos and Windows gives the enclosure a great attraction, although the host device will be closed by the real speed.
For example, the systems that are executed in the oldest Thunderbolt 3 ports in Windows are limited well below the complete bandwidth.
While macOS users obtain additional features, such as starting from RAID matrices, this is limited to systems that execute at least macOS 11.3.
The Express 4M2 delivers in terms of construction and thermal management.
Its aircraft grade aluminum chassis is combined with a double fan system that is activated only under a high thermal load, which guarantees silent operation in most scenarios.
The inclusion of Softraid of OWC in some models introduces the functionality typically reserved for more expensive storage systems.
For those who try to gather a portable SSD configuration or replace their external HDD with something faster, this enclosure makes economic sense, but only fair.
However, the cost of filling the four bays with quality 8TB SSD still pushes the total towards $ 3000, which makes this option practice only for those who can supply their own units or who already have SSD by hand.
