Name: 16.0TB OWC Gemini Ultra X2 - Thunderbolt (USB-C) Dock and Dual-Drive SSD RAID External Storage Solution
Brand: OWC
SKU: OWCTB3GMA2X16
Price: 2299.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Two photographers reviewing images with OWC Gemini Ultra on desktop

Ultra-Performance and Convenience for Production Workflows

While our base model Gemini is great for everyday content creators, you are worlds beyond ordinary. Your workflow is at the extreme edge of resolutions, codecs, and framerates. We understand your need to push into an ‘other world’ of capability, and pros like you are the reason we created the Gemini Ultra.

Powered by up to six NVMe SSDs, you’ll have the horsepower to handle the most demanding photography, video, and editing tasks you face. Edit ultra-high resolution files on the fly, ingest several media cards in parallel and render dailies without a hitch, and rip through 8K footage with up to 2381MB/s real world speed.¹

Beyond performance, with Gemini Ultra’s seven connectivity ports, you will experience an incredible level of versatility. Use your favorite accessories and charge small mobile devices via two USB ports. Daisy chains up to five Thunderbolt devices so that you can create additional backups. Offload media cards faster and easier with the frontside UHS-II slot or external card readers via Thunderbolt or USB-C. Transfer files and work up to 2.5x faster over wired networks and enjoy increased productivity when working with NAS devices with 2.5Gb/s Ethernet. Add an external monitor with up to 8K resolution via HDMI.

Ultra-fast

NVMe SSDs and Thunderbolt combine to deliver up to 2381MB/s real world speed

Innergize™ enabled

A complete health, performance, and field update management tool when using OWC Atlas SD memory cards with Gemini's SD reader

Advanced SoftRAID options

Use the world’s most user-friendly fully featured software RAID package to manage your advanced RAID 0, 1, or 5 arrays²

See more

HDMI port for connecting up to an 8K display

Connect more

Seven ports for using your favorite accessories

Expand

Second Thunderbolt 40Gb/s port for daisy-chaining, adding a USB-C device, adding another display, or charging Thunderbolt (USB-C) devices

Faster network transfer

Transfer files up to 2.5x faster than standard Ethernet

Whisper quiet

Heat-dissipating aluminum with low noise cooling fan

Ingest easier

Frontside SD4.0 UHS-II memory card reader

Informative

Separate front panel LEDs for instant drive status

Your Choice of Ultra Speed or Protection

Gemini Ultra’s two models let you decide what’s most important in your workflow: maximum performance or the optimal balance of speed and data protection.

Put Ultra X2 to Work

Make your dream of becoming an editing powerhouse a reality by utilizing the performance of NVMe SSDs. With dual drives preset in SoftRAID RAID 0, you’ll have 1446MB/s³ of bandwidth to handle demanding media workflows such as 8K video and 6K multicam sequences using advanced 10 bit and 12 bit codecs, high framerate footage, and ultra-high resolution RAW pictures. Plus, you’ll have all the advanced drive health monitoring benefits of SoftRAID so you can work worry-free. You can also use SoftRAID to change to RAID 1 data protection with speeds up to 721MB/s.

Up to 1446MB/s Real-World Performance

Ultra X2 Models

Pro photographers and photography studios on tight deadlines can batch edit and export thousands of 60 Megapixel RAW pictures at blazingly fast speeds.

Documentary filmmakers can easily ingest media and cut through hours of 4K footage at up to 1446MB/s using RAID 0 with this all-in-one solution to keep all the files in one place.

Professionals working in a studio with NAS devices can benefit from the faster speeds of the built-in storage as an active drive and backup their files back to the NAS at up to 2.5Gb/s when projects are completed.

Put Ultra X6 to Work

Level up to the ultimate production grade workflow storage and docking convenience solution on the market. This dual drive model adds higher capacity and RAID configuration possibilities – like RAID 0 for speed or RAID 5 for data protection – to empower you with advanced performance. And SoftRAID is there helping you manage it all easily.

Up to 2381MB/s Real-World Performance

Ultra X6 Models

Production companies and video editors can easily backup and edit hours of 8K RAW video with advanced codecs (ProRes RAW, R3D, Blackmagic RAW) at up to 2381MB/s using RAID 0.

DITs working for Netflix can offload and backup camera files at 1761MB/s using RAID 5 data protection technology.

VFX compositors and artist can benefit from the insane speeds of the NVMe RAID when using EXR files or 3D simulations while streamlining NAS-based workflows with Gemini’s 2.5GbE connection.

Gemini Ultra at A Glance

	Gemini	Gemini Ultra X2	Gemini Ultra X6
Purpose	Capacity	Performance	Advanced Performance	Ultra Performance
SATA	(HDD)	(SDD)	–	–
NVMe	–	–
Performance RAID 0 Speeds	up to 562MB/s read up to 562MB/s write	up to 855MB/s read up to 956MB/s write	up to 1446MB/s read up to 1350MB/s write	up to 2381MB/s read up to 2123MB/s write
Protected RAID 1 Speeds	up to 281MB/s read up to 279MB/s write	up to 425MB/s read up to 475MB/s write	up to 721MB/s read up to 678MB/s write	N/A
Protected RAID 5 Speeds	N/A	N/A	N/A	up to 2012MB/s read up to 1761MB/s write
Compatibility	Mac, PC, iPad, Chromebook, Android		Mac, Windows PC
RAID	Built-in		SoftRAID
RAID Levels	RAID 0, RAID 1, Span, JBOD		RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD	RAID 0, RAID 5, JBOD
Advanced Drive Health Monitoring	–
APFS Support
RAID Rebuild	Yes (RAID 1)		Fast Rebuild (RAID 1, RAID 5)
Uses	Up to 4K resolutions and compressed codecs	8K single and 4K multicam video sequence with compressed codecs, slow motion video, 10 bits footage, and ultra-high resolution RAW pictures	8K video and 6K multicam sequence using advanced 10 bit and 12 bit codecs, high framerate footage, and ultra-high-resolution RAW pictures	Ultra 8K RAW video with advanced codecs (ProRes RAW, R3D, Blackmagic RAW) or thousands of 60 Megapixel RAW pictures

Reclaim Your Desktop

With multi-drive media dumps, controllers, A/V outputs, and a mess of device cables, it can be hard enough to find space for your notebook let alone room to work. Cure your clutter woes by reclaiming your workspace with Gemini Ultra’s centralized design. The latest technology advances in storage, ethernet speed, connection speeds, and display support deliver the professional results your work demands while neatly consolidating all your devices.

Stay Connected to Your Team and Media

Stay connected to your team and workflow faster with Gemini Ultra’s 2.5Gb Ethernet port.⁵ Great for shared workspaces and workflows, file transfers happen in a blink, so you have more creative work time. It’s also great for sending your files over to a NAS to keep them safely archived.

Gain a 8K Perspective

Add the fresh, crisp perspective of an 8K display to your workflow with Gemini Ultra’s latest generation HDMI port.⁶ Whether in your home office or on a mobile studio job, seeing your work in full detail is just one connection away. Use it to free up your laptop port, so you can dock in and out quickly and stay mobile.

Ready to Work Anywhere

At 3.3"W x 5.8"H x 9.4"D and weighing a little over 4 pounds with drives, Gemini Ultra can travel wherever you need a compact yet super-fast storage and connectivity solution. It connects to Thunderbolt Macs and PCs and can work cross-platform using OWC MacDrive 11 Pro software (available separately).⁷

OWC Innergize - Photographer on mountaintop

Innergize Your Workflow with Highest Performance and Reliability

OWC Innergize™ is the first stage of the Capture to Completion™ ecosystem of OWC products designed to seamlessly propel professional photographers, videographers, and content creators to the highest level of workflow performance and reliability. This OWC custom-designed app is a complete health, performance, and field upgrade management tool when using OWC Atlas memory cards with OWC Atlas readers and reader equipped products.

Learn More »

Work with Maximum Confidence and Reliability

Health

Over time and use cycles, flash memory does wear out. Innergize verifies and reports the percentage of use life remaining. Now you can work with full confidence your OWC flash memory product will deliver the reliability you can trust.

Sanitize

Writes, deletes, and formatting all take their toll on memory cards. Innergize cleans and restores the flash memory performance of OWC memory cards so you can get the best results on every use.

Field Upgrade

When new cameras or firmware updates to existing cameras are introduced, they may not work properly with flash memory cards and drives. Innergize gives OWC memory card users the ability to quickly upgrade their firmware in the field for full compatibility, additional performance enhancements, and bug fixes for optimal reliability.

Easy RAID Management

Harness the full capability of your NVMe array in Gemini Ultra with the easiest to use, broadest selection of RAID levels available. SoftRAID XT is a powerful and intuitive software RAID utility that guides your setup. It offers maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes. SoftRAID is ideal for anyone who needs to safely store and backup massive amounts of data, including video editors, audio producers, photographers and graphic designers.

Professional Grade = Ready to Work

We understand having confidence in gear reliability is paramount to creative professionals. That’s why every Gemini Ultra configured solution goes through an intensive performance certification prior to shipping. This ensures your Gemini Ultra arrives operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.

From the Rocket Yard Blog

OWC Gemini Makes 3-2-1 Video Archival Easy. Here’s How to Protect Your Files

Pro video teams should always back up at least three copies of their videos in two locations. OWC Gemini makes the process easy. Here are our tips for archival strategy with this all-in-one wonder.

OWC Gemini - One-Cable Archival Workflow

Disconnect in One Click

Safely disconnect multiple drives in a single click. OWC Dock Ejector was designed by OWC hardware and software engineers to ensure all data is written before disconnection, saving time and protecting against data loss. It makes losing your hard-earned work a thing of the past.

Stabilize Thunderbolt and USB-C Cables

Active workspaces expose gear to bumps, shoves, or even the random tail wag from a pet. OWC ClingOn custom cable stabilizers (sold 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 confidence even in the highest traffic environments.

OWC Thunderbolt Cable Included

OWC Gemini comes with a certified 0.7M OWC Thunderbolt Cable. But if your workflow demands a different length to make the connection, OWC Thunderbolt (USB-C) Cables are the perfect choice.

2123MB/s write / 2381MB/s read peak performance with 2 x OWC U2 Shuttles (6 x 1.0TB OWC Aura Pro III M.2 NVMe SSDs) in OWC Gemini Ultra connected to a 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 (MacBookPro18,1) with 16GB RAM and Apple M1 Pro 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 64GB file size, 16 bit RGBA codec, single file test).
RAID 5 and certain performance results are exclusive features of the Ultra X6 version. For more information, check the model comparison chart below.
1350MB/s write / 1446MB/s read peak performance with 2 x 1.0TB Western Digital U.2 SSDs in OWC Gemini Ultra connected to a 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 (MacBookPro18,1) with 16GB RAM and Apple M1 Pro 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 64GB file size, 16 bit RGBA codec, single file test).
Use of HDMI display via Thunderbolt port requires USB-C to HDMI adapter sold separately.
Requires 2.5Gb/s Ethernet compatible hardware components and cabling (Cat 5e cable minimum, Cat 6 or later strongly recommended).
Actual display support depends upon computer. Please review the display specifications for your specific computer model to determine the maximum supported resolution, refresh rate, color depth, and number of external displays over Thunderbolt.
Some Windows PC manufacturers use PCIe resource-limited designs which may be incompatible with switch-based PCIe devices (such as the OWC U2 Shuttle) in Ultra X6 configurations. Please contact OWC support if you experience this limitation.