Streamline your professional workflow with the versatile OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure, which includes two 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 ports to connect to your computer and daisy chain compatible devices such as additional storage drives and displays. This powerful enclosure supports up to eight 3.5" and 2.5" SATA and SAS drives, or a combination with up to four U.2 NVMe solid-state drives for exceptionally fast performance. Installed drives can be put into RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 4, 5, or JBOD configuration using the hardware-based controller, with transfer speeds reaching up to 2750 MB/s. A hardware SATA/SAS drive RAID controller is pre-installed in the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, and you may swap it out for expansions such as network adapters, capture cards, and M.2 SSD storage adapters. Please note that the ThunderBay Flex 8 does not support dedicated GPUs.

Other features include a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port and two USB-A ports, which can transfer up to 10 Gb/s with compatible devices. The front panel has integrated SD and CFexpress card readers that allow you to quickly transfer video footage, photos, and other files to the installed drives. For added convenience, there is also a DisplayPort 1.4 output that supports 8K displays, so you can quickly view your work in high detail. The ThunderBay Flex 8 works with macOS 10.15 or later systems and limited support for Windows computers.

8 x 3.5" / 2.5" SATA / SAS Drive Bays    4 x U.2 NVMe SSD Compatible Drive Bays    2 x Thunderbolt 3 Ports    USB 3.2 Gen 2 | DisplayPort    Supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 4, 5 & JBOD    Up to 2750 MB/s Data Transfer Speeds    1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 Slot    SD Card Reader | CFexpress Card Reader    Hardware Controller | 1 x 120mm Fan    Works with MacOS 10.15 or Later

Up to eight 3.5/2.5" SATA storage drives can be put into RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 4, 5, or JBOD configuration with transfer speeds reaching up to 2750 MB/s.

The ThunderBay Flex 8 supports up to four U.2 NVMe solid-state drives, which can deliver exceptionally fast performance that can take fuller advantage of the 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth for ProRes footage and other extremely large files. Alternatively, you can install M.2 SSDs into the enclosure by using separately purchased U.2 adapters.

Thunderbolt 3 is a hardware interface that utilizes the reversible USB-C connector. Doubling the speed of its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3 features a maximum throughput of 40 Gb/s when used with compatible devices. The connector also transmits data via USB 3.1 at up to 10 Gb/s, and dual-bandwidth DisplayPort 1.2 allows you to connect up to two 4K displays simultaneously. Additionally, you can daisy chain up to six devices from a single Thunderbolt 3 port.

The ThunderBay Flex 8 features USB-C and USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. Doubling the speed of its predecessor, USB 3.2 Gen 2 features a maximum throughput of 10 Gb/s when used with compatible devices.

This enclosure includes a PCIe 3.0 x16 x4 slot that allows you to install compatible expansions such as network adapters, capture cards, SSD storage devices, and more. Please note that the ThunderBay Flex 8 does not support GPUs.

The front panel includes SD and CFexpress card readers that allow you to quickly transfer video footage, photos, and other files.

A 120mm fan helps to maintain optimal temperatures.

With SoftRAID, you can quickly access and protect your data by quickly creating RAID volumes through a guided process. Multiple RAID options are available, letting you decide which configuration best suits your needs to balance between performance and data redundancy.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Is it possible to use eight(u.2) drives if I change the controller to something like Megaraid 9560-8i that supports 8 u.2 drive?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure only has four U.2 NVMe SSD compatible drive bays.

Q: 2. Is the internal PCIe slot compatible with the Sonnet MacFiver expansion card?

A: The OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure (Software Controller) should be compatible with the Sonnet McFiver.

Q: 3. I'd like to figure this with 4 SSD and 4 HDD with Two separate RAID configuration one for the SSDs and one for the HDD?

A: Yes, SoftRAID can be used to establish a wide array of different configurations in the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Port Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure.

Q: 4. I purchased one of these units - along with 4x16TB 3.5inch drives, and am running this in Raid 5. I have filled up the drives and just wandering - Can I purchase 4 new drives and set it up as a fresh Raid-5, but still have the option in the future to plug back in my old drives and access the data? Will the enclosure recognise previously created volumes?

A: In order to create a new RAID setup with the OWC ThunderBay 4 4-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Enclosure, you will need to purchase the SoftRAID XT software from OWC. That will allow you to have a new RAID setup. But when you put in the old drives, the enclosure will recognize the old drives. Make sure that you number the drives and input them in the same bay as removed.

Q: 5. I believe the drives in this device are not spec'd as being enterprise - is this correct?

A: Correct, they are not Enterprise drives.

Q: 6. What adapter would I need to mount 4 x NVMe drives in bay one?

A: M.2 NVMe drives can be used with the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure's U.2 bays with a U.2 2.5" adapter such as B&H #OWCU2SHTLONE.

Q: 7. Reviews complain about drives sleeping. Is there a way to set sleep schedule on when using Mac?

A: MacOS does not have a sleep schedule setting for external storage devices like the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure (Software Controller), B&H # OWTBF80C000. It does, however, have a setting (which you can turn on or off) that you can find in your Mac's "System Settings" inside "Energy Saver". This setting is labeled as "Put hard disks to sleep when possible".

Q: 8. How does a Windows user set up Raid 1? What software is used?

A: Setting up a RAID volume for Windows requires the use of the Disk Management application, as SoftRAID is Mac only at this time.

Q: 9. Would there be a performance difference if I install 8x SATA III SSDs versus 4x U.2 SSDs and 4x HDDs?

A: While NVMe U.2 and M.2 drives will perform very similarly, U.2 drives have the advantage of being available in larger capacities that are easier to handle, while being externally swappable in enclosures

Q: 10. How noisy is it?

A: There is no official acoustic rating for the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8 8-Port Thunderbolt 3 RAID 5 Enclosure BH #OWTBF80C000 since that will also depend on what you end up installing inside the unit but with all the bays filled up, it won't be absolutely silent.