OWC’s ThunderBay 4 Moves to Thunderbolt 5 With a Faster Downstream Port and Up to 128TB
OWC’s ThunderBay 4 moves to Thunderbolt 5 with a faster downstream port, up to 128TB of capacity and pricing from $549.99 for the empty enclosure.
OWC announced a Thunderbolt 5 version of its ThunderBay 4 four-bay RAID enclosure on Tuesday. The new model moves both the host connection and the downstream port to Thunderbolt 5. Maximum capacity rises from 96TB to 128TB.
Pricing starts at $549.99 for the empty enclosure and $1,499.99 for preconfigured systems. OWC expects shipments to begin the week of November 16.
What the Thunderbolt 5 Upgrade Changes
The previous ThunderBay 4 already had a second Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy-chaining, according to Adorama’s listing. The new downstream port is Thunderbolt 5. OWC suggests connecting a fast SSD such as the Envoy Ultra for current cuts, renders or media headed to the colorist.
OWC says the array can stay connected for ingest while shuttle drives and memory card readers plug into that port. The port also accepts Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4 and USB-C devices. OWC pitches this at DIT carts and edit stations, where ports run short.
Drive speeds are not the headline. OWC lists up to 1,268MB/s with hard drives and up to 1,703MB/s with 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, and says the real upgrade is enhanced connectivity.
128TB Raw, About 96TB Usable in RAID 5
Maximum raw capacity rises from 96TB to 128TB. Models ordered with storage installed arrive preconfigured as RAID 5, which keeps the array working if one drive fails.
In the 128TB configuration, one drive’s worth of space goes to that protection. OWC puts usable capacity at about 96TB before formatting, against about 72TB on the previous 96TB model.
For other RAID levels, OWC points to SoftRAID 9, which also monitors drive health in the background. The enclosure works with Strada, OWC’s tool for browsing, previewing and editing media remotely without cloud uploads.
Competitive Context
The ThunderBay 4 relies on software RAID, while some Thunderbolt 5 rivals use hardware controllers. ThePostFlow’s July roundup listed Areca’s four-bay Thunderbolt 5 hardware-RAID enclosure at $1,980 diskless, the cheapest such box it found with a published US price.
The ThunderBay 4’s $549.99 empty price undercuts that. It also means parity is calculated by the host computer instead of a controller in the box, which is the trade for the lower price.
The Signal in the Noise
The Thunderbolt 5 upgrade matters most for the port. A single ThunderBay 4 with hard drives is limited by its four SATA drives, not by the connection. OWC’s older Thunderbolt 3 listing cited up to 1,527MB/s sustained, per a reseller’s copy of that page, so the SSD gain is modest.
The capacity jump is real, but RAID 5 protects against one drive failure, not deletion, theft or a failed array. A 128TB array still needs a backup elsewhere.
OWC’s announcement gives starting prices only, so check its ThunderBay 4 page for the 128TB price.
Specs & Pricing
- Host connection: Thunderbolt 5
- Downstream port: Thunderbolt 5, compatible with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4 and USB-C devices
- Bays: Four
- Maximum capacity: 128TB raw, about 96TB usable in RAID 5 before formatting
- RAID: Factory-configured models preconfigured as RAID 5; other levels through SoftRAID 9
- Speed: Up to 1,268MB/s with hard drives, up to 1,703MB/s with 2.5-inch SATA SSDs
- Price: $549.99 for the empty enclosure, $1,499.99 and up for preconfigured systems
Do you give up a bay’s worth of capacity to RAID 5 on a DIT cart, or run a separate backup drive instead?
