OWC
Express 4M2
4-Slot M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure
Mac / PC / Thunderbolt 3
Infinitely configurable. Infinitely reconfigurable.
You like to explore your own independent path, and digital storage is where you have fun, push hard and spark the imagination. You explore, you refine, and when ready, you share your vision with the world. The OWC Express 4M2 is the external drive built for the journey before you and the path yet to be explored.
Customize your Express 4M2 with up to four NVMe SSDs, RAID them however you wish and connect it all with Thunderbolt 3 — the fastest and most flexible interface around. The sheer performance of the Express 4M2 helps you meet deadlines faster, giving you more time to explore your creativity and push your projects further.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse
Small in stature. Big on capability. The OWC Express 4M2 is ready to serve with four easy-to-access M.2 NVMe SSD slots customizable for any workflow with vibration damping feet that allow for vertical or horizontal orientation. Install up to 8TB of capacity and experience up to 2800MB/s of mind-bending performance via Thunderbolt 3. The Express 4M2 is an amazingly small digital workhorse with world-renowned OWC quality and award-winning support built in.
Ingest and duplicate dailies at breakneck speeds, work with higher resolutions, smoothly scrub through demanding timelines, and plow through thousands of photos with ease. The OWC Express 4M2 is one seriously fast drive to have by your side to take your digital capabilities to a new level.
Highlights
- Up to 8TB
- Up to 2800MB/s
- Four M.2 NVMe SSD bays
- Compact design
- Advanced SoftRAID engine
- Thunderbolt Certified for Mac and Windows
- Thunderbolt 3 cable
- 1 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Built Smaller and Faster from Input by Pros Like You
The OWC Express 4M2 is designed with superior ease-of-use in mind. We worked with award-winning creatives and listened to the kudos they heaped onto the OWC ThunderBay mini, and we put all that shared knowledge to good use when we set out to build the next-gen Thunderbolt 3 multi-bay drive. The result is the 57% smaller and 2.5x faster OWC Express 4M2.
It's smaller and easier to fit into your workflow, studio and on stage. It's faster with four easy-access M.2 slots so you can swap, upgrade or expand your Express 4M2 to configure and reconfigure it to serve any project need.
Game-Changing NVMe SSD Performance
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a hyper-efficient communications interface protocol built from the ground up to properly take advantage of SSD technology and high-performance connection buses like PCIe. The result is exponentially faster and efficient SSD storage, and the OWC Express 4M2 has room for four NVMe SSDs.
DisplayPort
Display connection flexibility is yours with a convenient DisplayPort located right on the rear of the OWC Express 4M2. There's no need to worry about adapters or extra long cables. Just plug your display directly into the Express 4M2 and you're all set.
Multi-Drive
The OWC Express 4M2 comes equipped with OWC SoftRAID which provides the amazing capability to RAID across multiple drive enclosures. You can also add more Express 4M2 drives to your storage pool using Windows Storage Spaces. Configure and reconfigure your storage however you need by combining multiple OWC Express 4M2 drives together on Mac and Windows.
SoftRAID: Conventional Wisdom Turned on its Head
It's often thought that hardware RAID is better than software RAID, but we've proven that not to be true. We've combined the performance and capacity of the OWC Express 4M2 with our robust SoftRAID engine. Experience breathtaking performance, multi-enclosure capability, advanced drive monitoring, e-notifications and downloadable updates. Once you do, you'll see how hardware RAID doesn't even come close.
The Better and Simpler Way to RAID
We created SoftRAID to make it easier to maintain mission-critical workflows to save you time and money. With SoftRAID you no longer need to be locked into expensive hardware RAID technology that's not upgradeable or expandable. SoftRAID future-proofs your data and storage with software updates that provide cutting edge capabilities and robust stability.
SoftRAID takes advantage of your computer's processor versus the slow processors found in most hardware RAID enclosures. The result is a fast and flexible RAID array with no discernible impact to your favorite apps. SoftRAID drive certification tells you whether or not a drive is up to the task before creating a RAID array. Advanced monitoring tools work behind the scenes to keep your RAID running in tip-top shape.
SoftRAID protects your data by alerting you to issues before anything happens, ensuring you're protected when you're on a critical deadline. SoftRAID rebuilds your RAID in a fraction of the time it would take a hardware RAID to complete the same task, sparing you from significant downtime when you're ready to upgrade or replace a drive.
RAID and Storage Spaces
The OWC Express 4M2 comes with SoftRAID Lite XT ready to be set up in RAID 0 performance or RAID 1 mirrored drive mode. So you can customize your Express 4M2 for speed or data redundancy. If you need more options, you can easily upgrade to add extra capabilities and RAID modes to meet any workflow demand.
The OWC Express 4M2 fully supports Windows workflows as well. Using Windows Storage Spaces you can pool the four M.2 NVMe SSDs together with support for all the Storage Spaces configuration options including the ability to add another OWC Express 4M2 to expand your storage pool on the fly.
Connect to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 Systems with Ease
The OWC Express 4M2 is fully backward compatible with Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2. Utilize Thunderbolt 3 performance to work at full speed, and step back to Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 whenever connectivity compatibility is needed for your workflow. Add a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter along with the appropriate Thunderbolt cable, and you're all set.
OWC Thunderbolt 3 Cable
OWC Express 4M2 comes with an OWC Thunderbolt 3 cable which is Thunderbolt certified for Mac and Windows, with additional 0.5 meter to 2.0 meter lengths available separately.
Quality You Can Trust
Like all OWC drives, the OWC Express 4M2 is built to the highest standards of reliability and performance and Thunderbolt Certified for Mac and Windows. Because 100% reliability is always the goal, Express 4M2 is rigorously quality tested and backed by our one-year limited warranty plus award-winning, 24/7 customer support.
Product Specifications:
Software Requirements
- macOS 10.12 or later1
- Windows 10 or later
Hardware Requirements
- Mac or PC featuring Thunderbolt 3 interface
- Mac or PC featuring Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 interface2
Interface (Chipset)
- (1) Thunderbolt 3 (Alpine Ridge DSL6540)
- (2) USB-C and Power Delivery (Texas Instruments TPS65983)
- (1) DisplayPort3
Max Transfer Rate
- Thunderbolt 3: 40 Gb/s (5000 MB/s)
Display Support
Bootability
- Bootable with systems that support booting from RAID volumes. Not bootable with macOS 10.14 Mojave or later.
Drives Bays
- (4) M.2 - 2280 "M Key" (PCIe 3.0 x1 per slot)
Drives Supported
- (4) M.2 NVMe or
- (4) M.2 AHCl (PCle only)
RAID Levels Supported
- RAID 0
- RAID 1
- RAID 4
- RAID 5
- RAID 10
- JBOD
- SPAN
Fan Quantity
Kensington Security Slot
LED
Housing Material
Color
Plug and Play
Certifications
Power
- Power Supply
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching
- AC input: 100 ~ 240V, 50/60Hz
- DC output: 12V, 7.5A
Environmental
- Ambient Temperature
- Operating: 32°F to 104°F (0°C to 40°C)
- Non-Operating: -4°F to 158°F (−20°C to 70°C)
Dimensions
- Height: 6.0 cm (2.4 in)
- Length: 11.3 cm (4.4 in)
- Width: 13.6 cm (5.4 in)
Weight
- SSDs using 512b sector sizes require macOS 10.13 or later.
- Host computers with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port require the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter.
- Does not support Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++). Adaptable to HDMI, DVI, and VGA via active adapters. Supports Multi-Stream Transport (MST), although MST is not currently supported by macOS.
- Some Samsung drives may require a firmware update to work with the Express 4M2. Samsung 970 EVO drives must use version 2B2QEXE7 or later, while 970 EVO+ drives must use 2B2QEXM7 or later. More information is available at the following link regarding OWC Express 4M2 Drive Compatibility.
Manufacturer provided specifications for Other World Computing p/n TB3EX4M2SL UPC#: 810586030090
Mac mini (Late 2018)
(November, 2018)
Model ID: Macmini8,1
3.6GHz i3, 3.0GHz i5, 3.2GHz i7
iMac Pro
(27-inch Late 2017)
(December 2017)
Model ID: iMacPro1,1
3.2GHz 8-core, 3.0GHz 10-core, 2.3GHz 14-core, 2.5GHz 18-core
Install Videos coming soon
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Early 2019)
(March 2019)
Model ID: iMac19,1
3.0GHz i5, 3.1GHz i5, 3.7GHz i5, 3.6GHz i9
iMac w/Retina 4K display
(21.5-inch Early 2019)
(March 2019)
Model ID:iMac19,2
3.6GHz i3, 3.0GHz i5, 3.2GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Mid 2017)
(June 2017)
Model ID:iMac18,3
3.4GHz i5, 3.5GHz i5, 3.8GHz i5, 4.2GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 4K display
(21.5-inch Mid 2017)
(June 2017)
Model ID:iMac18,2
3.0GHz i5, 3.4GHz i5, 3.6GHz i7
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2017)
(June 2017)
Model ID:iMac18,1
2.3GHz i5
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(May, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,3
2.6GHz i7, 2.3GHz i9, 2.4GHz i9
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(July, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,4
1.4GHz i5, 1.7GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2019)
(May, 2019)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.4GHz i5, 2.8GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2018)
(July, 2018)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,1
2.2GHz i7, 2.6GHz i7, 2.9GHz i9
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2018)
(July, 2018)
Model ID: MacBookPro15,2
2.3GHz i5, 2.7GHz i7
Install Videos coming soon
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,3
2.8GHz i7, 2.9GHz i7, 3.1GHz i7
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,2
3.1GHz i5, 3.3GHz i5, 3.5GHz i7
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina display Mid 2017)
(June, 2017)
Model ID: MacBookPro14,1
2.3GHz i5, 2.5GHz i7
MacBook Pro (15-inch Touch Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,3
2.6GHz, 2.7GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Touch Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,2
2.9GHz, 3.1GHz, 3.3GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina display Late 2016)
(October, 2016)
Model ID: MacBookPro13,1
2.0GHz, 2.4GHz
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2019)
(July 2019)
Model ID: MacBookAir8,2
1.6GHz i5
MacBook Air (13-inch Late 2018)
(November 2018)
Model ID: MacBookAir8.1
1.6GHz i5
PC Compatible
Compatible with Intel / AMD based desktop/laptop PCs with built-in Thunderbolt 3 ports.
Mac Pro
(December, 2013)
Model ID: MacPro6,1
2.7GHz 3.0GHz, 3.5GHz, 3.7GHz
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Late 2015)
(October 2015)
Model ID:iMac17,1
3.2GHz i5, 3.3GHz i5, 4.0GHz i7
iMac w/ Retina 4K display (21.5-inch Late 2015)
(October 2015)
Model ID:iMac16,2
3.1GHz i5, 3.3GHz i7
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2015)
(October 2015)
Model ID: iMac16,1 or iMac16,2
1.6GHz i5, 2.8GHz i5, 3.1GHz i5, 3.3GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Mid 2015)
(May 2015)
Model ID: iMac15,1
3.3GHz i5, 3.5GHz i5, 4.0GHz i7
iMac w/Retina 5K display
(27-inch Late 2014)
(October 2014)
Model ID: iMac15,1
3.5GHz i5, 4.0GHz i7
iMac (27-inch Late 2013)
(September 2013)
Model ID: iMac14,2
3.2GHz i5, 3.4GHz i5, 3.5GHz i7
iMac (27-inch Late 2012)
(October 2012)
Model ID: iMac13,2
2.9GHz i5, 3.2GHz i5, 3.4GHz i7
iMac (27-inch Mid 2011)
(May 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,2
2.7GHz i5, 3.1GHz i5, 3.4GHz i7
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2014)
(June 2014)
Model ID: iMac14,4
1.4GHz i5
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2013)
(September 2013)
Model ID: iMac14,3
2.9GHz i5 or 3.1GHz i7
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2013)
(September 2013)
Model ID: iMac14,1
2.7GHz i5
iMac (21.5-inch Early 2013)
(March 2013)
Model ID: iMac13,1
3.3GHz i3
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2012)
(October 2012)
Model ID: iMac13,1
2.7GHz i5 , 2.9GHz i5, 3.1GHz i7
iMac (21.5-inch Late 2011)
(August 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,1
3.1GHz i3
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011)
(May 2011)
Model ID: iMac12,1
2.5GHz i5 , 2.7GHz i5, 2.8GHz i7
Mac mini (Late 2014)
(October, 2014)
Model ID: Macmini7,1
1.4GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.8GHz, 3.0GHz
Mac mini (Late 2012)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: Macmini6,1 & Macmini6,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz
Mac mini (Late 2012 Server)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: Macmini6,2
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz
Mac mini (Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: Macmini5,1 & Macmini5,2
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.7GHz
Mac mini (Mid 2011 Server)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: Macmini5,3
2.0GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina display Mid 2015)
(May, 2015)
Model ID: MacBookPro11,4; MacBookPro11,5
2.2GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina display Early 2015)
(March, 2015)
Model ID: MacBookPro12,1
2.7GHz, 2.9GHz, 3.1GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Display 2013 - 2014)
(October, 2013 - July, 2014)
Model ID: MacBookPro11,1
2.4GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.8GHz, 2.9GHz, 3.0GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2013 - 2014)
(October, 2013 - July, 2014)
Model ID: MacBookPro11,2
2.0GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2013 - 2014)
(October, 2013 - July, 2014)
Model ID: MacBookPro11,3
2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2013)
(January, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,1
2.4GHz, 2.7GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Display 2013)
(January, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,2
2.5GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.9GHz, 3.0GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch Retina Display 2012-2013)
(October, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,2
2.5GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Retina Display 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro10,1
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro9,1
2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 2.7GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookPro9,2
2.5GHz, 2.9GHz
MacBook Pro (17-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,3
2.4GHz, 2.5GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,2
2.2GHz, 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz
MacBook Pro (13-inch 2011)
(October, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,1
2.4GHz, 2.8GHz
MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,3
2.2GHz, 2.3GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,2
2.0GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz
MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011)
(February, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookPro8,2
2.0GHz, 2.2GHz, 2.3GHz
MacBook Air (13-inch Early 2015)
(March 2015)
Model ID: MacBookAir7,2
1.6GHz i5, 2.2GHz i7
MacBook Air (11-inch Early 2015)
(March 2015)
Model ID: MacBookAir7,1
1.6GHz i5, 2.2GHz i7
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013)
(June, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookAir6,2
1.3GHz, 1.7GHz
MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2013)
(June, 2013)
Model ID: MacBookAir6,1
1.3GHz, 1.7GHz
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookAir5,2
1.8GHz, 2.0GHz
MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2012)
(June, 2012)
Model ID: MacBookAir5,1
1.7GHz, 2.0GHz
MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookAir4,2
1.7GHz, 1.8GHz
MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2011)
(July, 2011)
Model ID: MacBookAir4,1
1.6GHz, 1.8GHz
Includes
- OWC Express 4M2 SSD enclosure
- SoftRAID Lite XT
- Power supply and cable
- Thunderbolt 3 cable
- Quick Start Guide
- SoftRAID Lite XT Quick Start Guide (download only)
Customer Ratings
Write a Review
4 / 5
2 out of 2 (100%) reviewers would recommend this product
Reviewer: Vantage
Location: New Jersey
Age: 35-44
Experience Level: Power User
Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 5/5
Great system!
December 18, 2018
I have two volumes running in this enclosure. One is a RAID 0 with two drives. Expect to see around 1400 MB/s with two drives in RAID 0. This runs flawlessly and quiet! I would recommend this item to a friend!
Customer Videos:
Reviewer: ivarh
Location: Sydney, NSW
Age: 45-54
Experience Level: IT Professional
Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 3/5
A great product but with one flaw
July 25, 2018
I bought this unit (from a australian reseller) and the setup was easy as. I did however notice one thing that should be in the description for the product.
Each of the 4 m.2 pcnvme slots have only 1 pci express lane. This means that the drive in the slot is limited to 8Gbit transfer speeds.
If you populate all 4 slots and use the included softraid software you will be able to reach the announced speed of 2600Mbyte/sec speed but with fewer drives you will loose out on speed.
As long as you are aware of this individual limitation this is a great unit that gives you heaps of fast storage.
I would recommend this item to a friend!
Customer Videos:
