OWC 8TB Mercury Elite Pro Dual 2-Bay USB 3.0 RAID Array

The OWC 8TB Mercury Elite Pro Dual 2-Bay USB 3.0 RAID Array is a media storage solution that is compatible with your Windows, Mac, or Linux system. Designed for creative workflows, HD video, and project archives in different situations, these drives have been pre-configured for RAID 0. There are plenty of space for files, including music, photos, movies, and documents. Since configured for RAID 0, you can achieve data transfer speeds of up to 388 MB/s.

Within the array are two SATA III 3.5" drive bays that each house a single 4TB 7200 rpm SATA III 3.5" hard drive, each of which has a 64MB cache, for a total system cache of 128MB. Since the array ships with two drives, they can be hardware configured as RAID 0, 1, SPAN, or Independent modes, each of which offers performance, data redundancy, or a combination of both. However, please be aware this array is preconfigured as a RAID 0 volume, which provides increased read and write speeds, but no data redundancy.

When using the single USB 3.0 port, this volume will be recognized on systems running OS X 10.6.8 and later, Windows XP or later, and Linux Kernel v. 2.6.31 or later. When connected via one of the dual FireWire 800 ports, the Windows and Linux requirements remain the same, although OS X 10.2 and later is supported. When connected to a compatible Mac via USB 3.0/2.0 or FireWire 800, the Mercury Elite Pro Dual may also be used as a boot drive, except when using Boot Camp. To help ensure a smooth operating environment, the array uses a cooling fan, and its included 100~240 VAC power supply runs at 50/60 Hz to help ensure worldwide compatibility.

Also included with the with the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual is a 2.0' USB 3.0 Type-B to Type-A cable, a 1.0' FireWire 800 cable, and a power cable. Protection is provided by a limited 3-year warranty that includes complimentary Level 1 data recovery for one year.

Hardware RAID

The two 3.5" hard drives in the Mercury Elite Pro Dual come configured in a high-speed RAID 0 mode for maximum sustained performance. With speeds up to 388 MB/s, the drives are fast enough for HD video workflows. You may be reconfigure the Mercury Elite Pro Dual with a flick of a switch in RAID 1 mode for extra security of mirrored data, as a single span of the two drives, or two independent disks.

Connectivity

The Mercury Elite Pro Dual comes built with a high-speed USB 3.0 port as well as two FireWire 800 ports to offer connectivity and versatility. A heat-dissipating, brushed-aluminum chassis and a variable-speed fan deliver cool and quiet operations. In addition, drive activity LEDs give you an instant snapshot of the status of your RAID, and intelligent power management conserves energy and reduces wear by automatically spinning down the drives when inactive.

Included Software

• Intech Hard Disk SpeedTools Utilities OEM for Mac OS X 10.4
• ProSoft Engineering Data Backup 3 for Mac OS X 10.4 or later
• NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows 7