OWC
ThunderBay Flex 8
0TB Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure
- Eight drive bays: use a mix of SATA/SAS1 and U.2/M.22 NVMe drives for for virtually limitless capacity and real world speeds up to 2750MB/s
- Future ready: top four bays can use U.2 SSDs…the emerging M&E industry storage standard
- Powerfully easy RAID: create, manage, and monitor advanced RAID sets with SoftRAID
- Do more: second Thunderbolt 3 port3 for daisy chaining devices or additional display(s)
- Connect more: (1) USB-C and (2) USB-A 10Gb/s ports for peripherals and mobile devices
- See more: DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting up to an 8K display4
- Fast media ingest: front-side SD 4.0 and CFexpress card readers with up to 985MB/s speed
- Play your card: (1) PCIe slot for audio/video capture, networking, SSD storage, hardware RAID card, or I/O card
Whether you call it a workflow workhorse, a productivity platform, or a configurable command center, one description of the ThunderBay Flex 8 says it best. It’s a groundbreaking 3-in-1 workflow solution for digital imaging, VFX, video production, and video editing professionals from the world’s leading Thunderbolt accessory manufacturer.
Are you a video pro working with 4K/8K and even Phantom high-speed files? The ThunderBay Flex 8 offers a variety of drive configurations that deliver real-world read/write speeds of 2750MB/s that saturate the Thunderbolt 3 speed threshold. Try any of these options:
- A single U.2 NVMe SSD in Bay A
- Multiple U.2 SSDs installed in top four bays (A-D) in RAID 0
- Six or more SATA SSDs in any bays in RAID 0
- Swap out the built-in SATA drive controller card with a SATA/SAS hardware RAID card and configure 8 x SATA/SAS drives in hardware RAID 0
- Plug and play with no drivers needed and includes Thunderbolt 3 cable
- Free lifetime US-based support
- Worry-free ownership with up to 5 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Notes
- SAS drives are supported with SAS drive controller card (available separately).
- Up to four U.2 drives are supported. M.2 drives are also supported with M.2 to U.2 adapter (available separately).
- Apple Mac models with Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt ports can be connected using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter (sold separately). This configuration provides data transfer at up to 20Gb/s but does not support notebook charging.
- Full DisplayPort 1.4 capabilities depends on host computer support of DisplayPort 1.4 specification through its Thunderbolt 3 connection, host computer GPU capabilities, and connecting cable capabilities.
A UPC (Universal Product Code) or EAN (International Article Number) is a unique code used to identify a product.
- Black
- DAS (Direct Attached Storage)
- Yes
- Yes
Product Specifications
- Mechanisms Supported
- 3.5 inch SATA drives
- 2.5 inch SATA drives
- 2.5 inch U.2 drives (top 4 bays only)
- NVMe M.2 drives (via U.2 adapter)
- 2.5 inch SAS drives (requires SAS card, not included)
- 3.5 inch SAS drives (requires SAS card, not included)
- Display Support by Port
- DisplayPort 1.4: Up to 8K @ 60Hz or 4K @ 120Hz
- Thunderbolt 3: Up to 5K @ 60Hz via a native Thunderbolt 3 display or 4K @ 60Hz via a Thunderbolt display or a USB-C display adapter
- Boot Support
- Dependent upon configuration. Independent Mac volumes should boot in most scenarios.
- Hot Swap Support
- Yes
- Hot Plug Support
- Yes
- Chipset
- Thunderbolt: Intel JHL7440
- PCIe Switch: ASMedia ASM-2824
- USB Controller: Genesys Logic GL-3590
- Certifications
- BSMI
- CE
- FCC
- RCM
- VCCI
- Data Rate
- Thunderbolt 3: 40Gb/s (or 5000MB/s)
- Data Transfer Rate (Maximum)
- Thunderbolt 3 : Up to 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s)
- RAID Capable
- Yes
- RAID Levels Supported
- RAID 0
- RAID 1
- RAID 0+1
- RAID 4
- RAID 5
- JBOD
- RAID Features
- Software RAID
- MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures)
- Varies depending on drive mechanism installed
- Contact Start Stops
- Varies depending on drive mechanism installed
- Mac OS Compatibility
- macOS 10.15 Catalina
- macOS 11.x Big Sur
- macOS 12.x Monterey
- PC OS Compatibility
- Not compatible with Windows PCs
- Other Requirements
- macOS 10.15.1 or later required.
- Host Port Requirements
- Thunderbolt 3
- Supported PCIe Cards
- Supports one full-height, half-length, single-width card (driverless or with Thunderbolt-aware driver). GPUs not supported.
- Driver Required
- SoftRAID Only
- The SoftRAID driver is installed within the SoftRAID application.
- For PCIe cards that require a driver, please check the manufacturer web site. Drivers for PCIe cards must be Thunderbolt-aware to function.
- Power Supply
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
- AC Input
- 100-240V, 47-63Hz, 4.0A-8.0A
- DC Output
- +12V, 42A
- Wattage
- 504W
- External Power Adapter
- No
- Power Delivery
- (2) Thunderbolt 3 Ports (15W, 85W)
- Number of Bays
- 8
- Expansion Slots
- (1) PCIe 3.0 x16 physical, x4 electrical, full-height, half-length, single-width
- Device Ports
- (2) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Ports
- (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Port up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A Ports up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- (1) DisplayPort Port
- Memory Card Slots
- (1) CFexpress
- (1) Secure Digital (SD)
- Cooling
- (1) 120mm 1,600RPM cooling fan
- Security Slot
- Yes
- Power Button
- Yes
- Power/Activity LED
- Yes
- Housing Color
- Black
- Housing Material
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- Height: 34.9 cm (13.7 in)
- Length: 39.0 cm (15.4 in)
- Width: 14.9 cm (5.9 in)
- Weight
- 9.2 kg (20.26 lbs)
- Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 50°F to 95°F (10°C to 35°C)
- Non-Operating: -40°F to 149°F (-40°C to 65°C)
- Altitude
- Operating: -304.8 m to 3,048.0 m (-1,000 ft to 10,000 ft)
- Non-Operating: -304.8 m to 12,192.0 m (-1,000 ft to 40,000 ft)
- Humidity
- Operating: 8% to 90% non-condensing
- Non-Operating: 5% to 95% non-condensing
- Shock
- Operating: Varies depending on drive mechanism installed
- Non-Operating: Varies depending on drive mechanism installed
- Noise
- Varies depending on drive mechanism installed
Notes
- GPUs are not supported.
- While we do not bundle or recommend specific RAID/SAS card setups at this time, we do provide an
unofficial guide as a courtesy, to customers who wish to attempt this workflow.
Manufacturer provided specifications for OWC p/n OWCTB3F80C000
Includes
- (1) OWC ThunderBay Flex 8
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 cable
- (1) External power cable
- (1) Keys for front panel lock
- (1) Hex key
- (1) Assembly Manual and User Guide
- (1) SoftRAID software bundle