OWC StudioStack being released

[b17777]

After showing it at NAMM 2022 looks like it's finally getting released.

OWC StudioStack: Thunderbolt & USB4 Storage for Mac Studio

Max out your Mac Studio with the fastest and highest capacity stackable hybrid storage on the planet. Get up to 32TB of storage and up to 6202MB/s speeds.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Tdude96]

After showing it at NAMM 2022 looks like it's finally getting released.

OWC StudioStack: Thunderbolt & USB4 Storage for Mac Studio

Max out your Mac Studio with the fastest and highest capacity stackable hybrid storage on the planet. Get up to 32TB of storage and up to 6202MB/s speeds.

eshop.macsales.com

That looks really interesting. I'm a little soured on OWC, I had an awesome thunderbolt SSD from them, which I loved and it did everything promised. Being satisfied with that, I bought one of their thunderbolt docks and it was nothing but trouble. I've not purchased from them since. Wonder if it's worth the risk with my 50/50 track record from them.

 

[maflynn]

That's what I wanted when I bought my studio last summer - I wished they came out with that 6 months ago. Its not like the Studio is a brand new product for apple.

Still, I will serious consider it, even though I already have an OWC thunderbolt drive.

 

[Ifti]

Been eyeing this for a while. Will deffo be picking it up. I have a spare 8TB NVMe SSD ready and waiting to be installed!

 

[Daydog]

Been eyeing this for a while. Will deffo be picking it up. I have a spare 8TB NVMe SSD ready and waiting to be installed!

1+👍

 

[b17777]

Been eyeing this for a while. Will deffo be picking it up. I have a spare 8TB NVMe SSD ready and waiting to be installed!

I would've pulled the trigger a couple years ago, but after waiting too long I went with another external. Right now I have other things I need to spend money on but will probably circle back to this next year.
Please keep us updated when you get yours and give us a review.

 

[Ifti]

I would've pulled the trigger a couple years ago, but after waiting too long I went with another external. Right now I have other things I need to spend money on but will probably circle back to this next year.
Please keep us updated when you get yours and give us a review.

Will do ;o)
The only concern I have with the StudioStack is that it comes with active cooling. Granted, the fan apparently only comes on when temp thresholds have been reached, so most of the time (depending on how hard your using the unit) it should run quiet - but I sure hope that fan isn't too noisy when it does ramp up!

I'm also not too keen on the SATA addition. You can add a standard 3.5" HDD if you wanted, which is good for archiving I guess - but again, it the noise of a HDD scratching away on top of your desk that would irritate me......a 2.5" SATA SSD may be more suited, albeit a bit slow.....

 

[Varmann]

Looks interesting!
I have so far only good experience from OWC, 10+ items during 15 years. Hard disks, memory, TB-dock, 6 different enclosures and a eGPU box. Their support have been spotless, even the time I had been clumsy and asked them for advice on an item not bought from them.

 

[philipma1957]

Not a fan of owc. Since 2005 many purchases from them some good some bad some neutral. but the mini stack i got god knows when say 2013 was terrible. fan was way too loud and the drop outs were endless. Still I would have purchased this to try it as I occasionally get good gear from them. I have an acasis t-5 with a samsung 4tb and use it . it is close to perfect. I have a t-5 dock it is perfect.

spent solid money to get them

200 for acasis t5 case
+500 for t5 dock
+300 for 4tb nvme

so 1000 works great but does not look good like the stack does

if i got the stack

330+300=630 and I would add a 8tb sata ssd so about 900 to 1000

would look better have less ports than my dock and have more storage.

and if it does not drop out like mad it would be worth it. spend the same more get more storage and less ports.

the cal digital t5 plus dock is unreal in its lack of issues.

i would love to know if the mini stack would do that.

btw if i had a stack shell with a screen top I could sqeeze in the cal digital t5 and the acasis it would look good.

hmm maybe I can source something and build that.

 

[OWC_TAL]

2013 was terrible

Heya- it has been 13 years since then, and I hope you’ll consider giving us another chance. The StudioStack is Thunderbolt certified, which means it undergoes rigorous testing and qualification.

 

[hpucker99]

After showing it at NAMM 2022 looks like it's finally getting released.

OWC StudioStack: Thunderbolt & USB4 Storage for Mac Studio

Max out your Mac Studio with the fastest and highest capacity stackable hybrid storage on the planet. Get up to 32TB of storage and up to 6202MB/s speeds.

eshop.macsales.com

It looks interesting, but it appears to be too high stacked with the Mac Studio to fit under the Studio Display.

 

[quadra605]

Next year I'm going to upgrade from my 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 to a Studio -- Would this be a good way to house all my internal HDD's & NVMe's? I've been avoiding upgrading because I like the convenience of all the internal bays on the Mac Pro, but I just don't see Apple upgrading the MP any longer with new chips.

 

[philipma1957]

Next year I'm going to upgrade from my 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 to a Studio -- Would this be a good way to house all my internal HDD's & NVMe's? I've been avoiding upgrading because I like the convenience of all the internal bays on the Mac Pro, but I just don't see Apple upgrading the MP any longer with new chips.

it looks like it is well suited for a studio. and you can go with an 8tb sata ssd along with a 4tb nvme at decent prices.

my studio is setup but I may get another studio if I do i would try the stack out.

 

[Ifti]

Heya- it has been 13 years since then, and I hope you’ll consider giving us another chance. The StudioStack is Thunderbolt certified, which means it undergoes rigorous testing and qualification.

Does that mean all versions of the StudioStack are Intel Certified? Even the empty base enclosure that comes with no installed drive?
I thought Intel only certified drives that are not user serviceable and have the SSD pre-installed?....

 

[Ifti]

Next year I'm going to upgrade from my 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 to a Studio -- Would this be a good way to house all my internal HDD's & NVMe's? I've been avoiding upgrading because I like the convenience of all the internal bays on the Mac Pro, but I just don't see Apple upgrading the MP any longer with new chips.

You can install one NVMe SSD and one SATA drive internally.
You then have the external TB5 ports for adding additional drives if you prefer.

 

[maflynn]

Next year I'm going to upgrade from my 2012 Mac Pro 5,1 to a Studio -- Would this be a good way to house all my internal HDD's & NVMe's? I've been avoiding upgrading because I like the convenience of all the internal bays on the Mac Pro, but I just don't see Apple upgrading the MP any longer with new chips.

The studio uses daughter cards for their nand storage. there's a thread here about people upgrading their storage on their Studios. Personally if you have the budget, do it through Apple. If not you can opt for something from Ali Express. Avoid Polysoft (the person/company that started the thread). He has been charging people's cards but never shipping the product - lots of complaints.

I went the other way because I'm budget conscience, I went with the base Studio build and I'm using an OWC Envoy external drive - very happy with that. Now that StudioStack is announced I may see about getting that down the road.

 

[quadra605]

The studio uses daughter cards for their nand storage. there's a thread here about people upgrading their storage on their Studios. Personally if you have the budget, do it through Apple. If not you can opt for something from Ali Express. Avoid Polysoft (the person/company that started the thread). He has been charging people's cards but never shipping the product - lots of complaints.

I went the other way because I'm budget conscience, I went with the base Studio build and I'm using an OWC Envoy external drive - very happy with that. Now that StudioStack is announced I may see about getting that down the road.

I just need something I can install 3 HDD's & 4 NVMe's. The non-expandability in this current generation of Macs frustrates the heck out of me. I guess I'm just lazy & stubborn about having to change!

 

[OWC_TAL]

Does that mean all versions of the StudioStack are Intel Certified? Even the empty base enclosure that comes with no installed drive?
I thought Intel only certified drives that are not user serviceable and have the SSD pre-installed?....

That only applies to bus powered devices that cannot be certified 0GB. Due to power limitations.

StudioStack is wall powered so it can be certified 0GB. Same as the ministack STX, previous Express 4m2, Thunderbay Flex-8, Gemini, etc.

 

[rb2112]

I went the other way because I'm budget conscience, I went with the base Studio build and I'm using an OWC Envoy external drive - very happy with that. Now that StudioStack is announced I may see about getting that down the road.

Something else to think of, I had forgotten for awhile, the storage you buy also relates to the speed of the storage.
When I shopped the Refurbished store, I wanted a lower storage (512 or 1T) to get a lower price, but the only model they had at the time was 2T so I got it. Later on I was happy to see that the 2T drive is faster than the 512 or 1TB, I had forgotten that fact.

I also went with an OWC external solution (and an ACASIS one) and think is works fantastic for the price for extra storage.

I wouldn't dream of upgrading internal storage since I have a 2TB, but I admit I probably would have considered it for the speed factor if I had slower internal drives.

 

[Ifti]

I just need something I can install 3 HDD's & 4 NVMe's. The non-expandability in this current generation of Macs frustrates the heck out of me. I guess I'm just lazy & stubborn about having to change!

OWC 4M2 will allow you to install 4 NVMe's into the one housing. You also have the flexibility to run them individually, in pairs, or as a 'set' using RAID if you wish to do so.....

That only applies to bus powered devices that cannot be certified 0GB. Due to power limitations.

StudioStack is wall powered so it can be certified 0GB. Same as the ministack STX, previous Express 4m2, Thunderbay Flex-8, Gemini, etc.

Ah got it! Thanks!
Out of interest, would you know the wattage of the adapter that comes with the StudioStack?