Other World Computing announced today lower pricing for the OWC Mercury Accelsior_E2, a Mac and PC-bootable, high-performance PCIe SSD card that features up to 960GB of SSD capacity, up to 820MB/s of sustained data performance and external storage expansion with two 6Gb/s eSATA interface ports. Built to exceed the demanding needs of video editing and creative professionals, the Mercury Accelsior_E2 offers the best combination of speed, capacity, connectivity for simultaneous internal and external storage performance and value.
OWC will be showcasing the Accelsior at CES 2014, Booth #30472, in Las Vegas January 7-10, 2014.
Designed to Enhance and Transform the Apple Mac Pro 2006-2012 and PCs
By utilizing the fastest data interface available in a Mac Pro or PC — the PCIe slot — the Accelsior_E2 offers nearly 3x the performance vs. an SSD in a SATA 2.0 3Gb/s drive bay with well beyond even 6Gb/s speeds of up to 820MB/s. Fully bootable in both a Mac or a PC, the Accelsior removes bottlenecks and unleashes the incredible performance that is already there at the ready. Users can boot faster, launch faster and enjoy an instant boost in performance with I/O-intensive apps like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro or Avid Pro Tools.
A More Efficient, More Reliable Computing Experience
The massive boost in data transfer rates is only one of the benefits with the Accelsior_E2. With its custom LSI SandForce Driven OWC Mercury SSD blades, the Accelsior_E2 card enables Mac and PC users to enjoy a more responsive, more productive computing experience along with cooler, quieter and more energy efficient operation, compared to standard hard drives. These benefits don’t come at the expense of dependable use as SandForce RAISE™ technology provides RAID-like data redundancy protection and reliability.
Even at the Accelsior’s original price point, reviewers described it as:
“…a very high level of performance … outstanding.” – Lloyd Chambers, DigLloyd Mac Performance Guide
“Accelsior’s performance is among the best SSDs we’ve seen…” – Ken Bartelman, Macworld
“…incredibly … very versatile …may be one of the best performance and storage upgrade options for Mac Pro owners.” – Tom Nelson, About.com
Upgrade as Capacity Needs Grow
With OWC factory configurations from 120GB (2 x 60GB) up to 960GB (2 x 480GB), the built-in eSATA 6Gb/s expansion ports and the ability to upgrade to larger Mercury Accelsior SSD blades in the future, the Mercury Accelsior_E2 is future-ready for growing capacity needs.
User-Friendly, Professionally Robust
As easy to install as a memory module, yet robust enough to handle the rigors of professional multimedia production environments, the half-height Accelsior_E2 card is the clear choice for pro audio and video studios producing HD-quality work. This game-changing, high-performance upgrade is designed and built in the U.S. from domestic and imported parts and backed by a three-year warranty.
Pricing, Availability
The Mercury Accelsior_E2 PCIe SSD card is available for immediate ordering in the following dual Mercury Accelsior blade SSD capacity configurations:
- 120GB (2 x 64GB for 128GB total flash) previously $349.79, now $319
- 240GB (2 x 128GB for 256GB total flash) previously $479.99, now $429
- 480GB (2 x 256GB for 512GB total flash) previously $749.99, now $699
- 960GB (2 x 512GB for 1.0TB total flash) previously $1,329.99, now $1,199
The final capacity figures represent each drive’s useable capacity after the 7 percent over-provisioning allocation for wear-leveling and drive management. OWC Mercury brand SSDs use over-provisioning to ensure high reliability over the life of the drive in addition to providing exceptional drive longevity and consistent, high data performance with I/O stability. Without the over-provisioning and other technologies built into OWC SSDs, other brand SSDs lose consistency and/or performance over time and/or as unused space on the drive declines.
“Upgraded in 2013 and now more competitively priced, Our Mercury Accelsior_E2 completely transforms the Mac Pro,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. “In addition to better-than- new responsiveness, it provides bootability and the overall performance boost of providing a ‘new Mac’ experience at first use, plus an external interface that’s up to 6x faster than existing Mac Pro (2006-2012 models) provide. It’s truly a remarkable, cost-effective solution that can even be used with other desktop and notebook machines that don’t offer an available PCIe slot via an expansion chassis like the Mercury Helios for Thunderbolt.”
Most Comprehensive SSD Line for Macs and PCs
The Accelsior_E2 SSD joins OWC’s Mercury line of performance-leading, world speed record-breaking SSDs for nearly every Mac and PC produced over the past decade in capacities from 44GB to 960GB starting from $54.99. For more information, visit macsales.com.
Why didn’t the Helios/Accelsior_E2 combo drop a like number of dollars? The 960 GB version seems to be selling for the same price it has been for weeks or months.