OWC ThunderBay 8
- 8 Universal Drive Bays
- RAID
- Mac & Windows
- Thunderbolt 3
The Storage Array Built for Creative Pros
- Work faster: up to 2586MB/s real-world speed for up to 8K multi-stream video editing and AR/VR workflows
- Work bigger: access, backup, and archive irreplaceable footage, images, and files on either HDD or SSD storage
- Built for RAID: bundled with OWC SoftRAID; the fastest and most flexible RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) tool. Also supports Apple RAID and Windows Disk Manager.
- Expansive: daisy-chain up to five additional ThunderBay 8 or other Thunderbolt storage devices via the second Thunderbolt port
- Flexible: mix and match 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch HDDs and SSDs
- 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty
DIY Enclosure
Add your own RAID software
DIY Enclosure
With SoftRAID XT — RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) or JBOD
Enterprise Hard Drive Models
With SoftRAID XT — RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) or JBOD
An enterprise HDD is a variation of the consumer HDD models with a focus on longer lifespans, reliability, and even larger storage capacities. An enterprise HDD has extra features for RAID (redundant array of individual disks) configuration.
Pro Storage Built by Creators for Creators
We understand your needs as a creative professional, and we understand that every project is unique. We designed ThunderBay 8 with the speed, capacity, and flexibility to adapt to your evolving needs. Whether you’re changing cameras from a Sony FX9 to a Canon C300 or RED KOMODO, ThunderBay 8 has you covered.
Daisy-Chain Possibilities
ThunderBay 8 isn’t just about high capacity, high-performance storage. It’s about giving you all the options you need to work at your best. Attach a 5K Thunderbolt display or two 4K displays. Place a USB-C device at the end of a daisy chain. With an extra Thunderbolt port, you have the flexibility to add to your daisy-chain and master any task at hand.
Mac-Ready Across the Board
ThunderBay 8 checks all the functional boxes to make you a more efficient content creator: lightning-fast data access, massive capacity, centralized file location and it works with Macs (Intel-based as well as the latest Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4 machines) and Windows PCs. What makes ThunderBay 8 the best 8-bay storage solution available is its ability to give you peace of mind your data is safely protected today and tomorrow. Gone is the fear of a costly slow down or – gulp – losing irreplaceable data because you didn’t select the right RAID solution.
The Most Powerful RAID Tool on the Planet.
SoftRAID is the world’s fastest and most flexible application to configure, maintain, and protect your RAID volumes on Mac and PC. OWC enclosures include 3 Years of SoftRAID Premium.
- High-Performance RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) volumes
- Predictive Health Monitoring proactively notifies of Volume and Disk issues well before failure — provided on your computer and remotely
- Seamless Cross-Platform Sharing with support for Apple-formatted APFS and HFS+ SoftRAID volumes between Mac and Windows at no additional cost
- 35+ Years of Experience of Pro Support to provide peace-of-mind with setup help, ongoing questions, or urgent disk issues
- And many more unique features.
M1 Macs require macOS 11.3 or later. SoftRAID is licensed per computer.
8 Drive Bays of Multi-RAID Gold
Featuring 8 universal drive bays that support large capacity 3.5-inch hard drives, and 2.5-inch blazing fast SSDs, the ThunderBay 8 opens up an entirely new realm of multi-RAID capabilities — all from a single desktop solution.
You can create two RAID 5 arrays, four RAID 1 arrays, four RAID 0 arrays, or create RAID arrays on-the-fly to suit any project or data need. Heck, with so many drive bays available, you could leave a few empty — enabling you to create a new RAID, or add an additional drive with ease.
Swap and Identify Drives with Ease
ThunderBay 8 makes it easy to keep large data sets organised for every project thanks to its eight hot-swappable drive bays. Whether you’re using 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch HDDs and/or SSDs, the drives mount in alphabetically labeled trays for easy identification and are secured by a thumb screw. If you want to access a collection of drives quickly, you can create a drive “bullpen” with additional OWC drive trays (sold separately).
A Data Safe-House
With a locking front panel and backside security slot, the ThunderBay 8 is like a safe house for precious data. Additionally, implementing a redundant RAID setup, such as RAID 5 on SoftRAID, will protect against data loss from disk failure.
Professional Grade = Ready to Work
We understand having confidence in gear reliability is paramount to creative professionals. That’s why every ThunderBay 8 undergoes OWC’s multi-hour “burn-in” performance certification prior to shipping. This ensures your ThunderBay 8 arrives operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.
Thunderbolt Made Easy
We make it easy to choose the right gear. Our Thunderbolt Certified products offer the same performance and functionality whether they are Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4. And if you’re rocking a beloved Thunderbolt 2 machine, we offer an adapter so you can plug into our universe of award-winning solutions. No hassles, no confusion. That’s the OWC Difference.
Apple Mac models with Thunderbolt 2 ports can be connected using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
Work with Ultimate Confidence
Active workspaces expose gear to unexpected bumps and shoves. OWC ClingOn custom cable stabilizers (available separately) screw into the OWC Dock or OWC Drive housing to reduce – if not completely eliminate – cable strain on Thunderbolt and USB-C connections so you can work with ultimate confidence even in the highest foot traffic environments.
OWC Thunderbolt Cable Included
OWC ThunderBay solutions come with a certified 0.7M OWC Thunderbolt (USB-C) Cable. But if your workflow demands a different length to make the connection, OWC Thunderbolt (USB-C) Cables are the perfect choice.
OWC, Trusted by Pros & Enthusiasts the World Over
We build our hardware to the highest standards of reliability and performance. Because 100% reliability is always the goal, we rigorously quality test and back our hardware with up to a 5 Year OWC Limited Warranty and award-winning customer support.
- Sequential read/write performance with 8 x 2.0TB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD in RAID 0 connected to iMac Pro Late 2017 (iMacPro1,1) with 32GB RAM and 3.2GHz processor running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 64GB file size, 10-bit RGB codec, single file test).
- Apple Mac models with Thunderbolt 2 ports can be connected using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable (available separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
- 5 Year OWC Limited Warranty for Enterprise Hard Drive solutions. 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty for Hard Drive solutions. 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty for Enclosure only.
