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OWC

Mercury Elite Pro Dock
24.0TB Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution

Thunderbolt 3 / SATA 6.0Gb/s / USB 3.1 / GbE / DisplayPort
Your Multitool for Digital Workflows
With dual drive bays, and seven connectivity ports including an SD 4.0 card reader, the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock is the do-it-all tool that will organize your digital life. You’ll have plenty of room to duplicate footage, create and manage archives, or render and process effects. Connect your favorite peripherals via USB ports. Ingest the day’s shoot or drone footage with the frontside reader.
Hardware RAID: Speed, Reliability, Flexibility
The Mercury Elite Pro Dock utilizes hardware RAID to unleash the full potential of two 3.5" 7200RPM hard drives. Preconfigured in high-speed RAID 0 mode to deliver maximum sustained throughput from its drives, the Mercury Elite Pro Dock offers real-world speeds up to 497MB/s to handle HD video workflows. If you desire the extra security of mirrored data, you can configure the Mercury Elite Pro Dock in RAID 1 mode. Need more drive flexibility? Set up a span to combine the capacity of the two drives into one huge volume or use the drives as independent volumes.
Configure to Your Unique Needs
You can customize the Mercury Elite Pro Dock to quickly adapt to project changes and help you stay ahead of deadlines. With built-in hardware RAID, you have four drive set-up choices:

  • Non-RAID to keep the drives as independent volumes
  • RAID 1 (mirror) for backup reliability
  • RAID 0 (stripe) for optimal performance and maximum speed or use
  • Span to combine the drive capacities into one huge volume for extra-large storage capacities

Done with the drives but need the connectivity? Just eject the RAID from your computer and the Mercury Elite Pro Dock keeps you working smoothly.
Full Stream Ahead
The Mercury Elite Pro Dock features a 1Gb Ethernet port to keep you connected at speeds that leave WiFi in the dust. A must-have for shared workflows and workspaces, Ethernet connectivity speeds up file transfers giving you an edge on your work in progress.
Main Image
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Highlights
  • Performance storage: up to 497MB/s
  • Fast connectivity: (2) Thunderbolt 3 ports (Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt backward compatible)
  • Speed and storage: hardware RAID controller (RAID 0,1, Span or JBOD/Independent)
  • Easy camera uploads: frontside SD 4.0 (UHS-II) card reader
  • A hub of options: (2) USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Type-A) ports
  • Full steam ahead: 1Gb Ethernet port
  • See work in progress: DisplayPort 1.2 for adding up to a 4K monitor
  • Custom configurations: (2) bays for 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives
  • 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Professional Grade = Ready to Work
We understand having confidence in gear reliability is paramount to creative professionals. That’s why every Mercury Elite Pro Dock configured solution undergoes OWC's multi-hour drive "burn-in" performance certification procedure prior to shipping. This ensures it arrives operating properly and immediately ready for demanding use.
Disconnect in One Click
OWC Dock Ejector software safely disconnects drives in a single click. Designed by OWC hardware and software engineers, Dock Ejector ensures all data is written before disconnection, saving time and protecting against data loss. Use it to move quickly between workstations and get the most out of your OWC Dock. Learn more and download the OWC Dock Ejector.
Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt compatibility requires a certified Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable. This configuration provides data transfer at Thunderbolt 2 speeds (up to 20Gb/s) but does not support notebook charging.

Product Specifications

Specifications
  • Mechanisms Supported
    • 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch SATA drives
  • Total Capacity
    • 24TB
  • Total Solution Cache Size
    • 512 MB
  • Standard Mechanism
    • (2) 12TB Toshiba MG07ACA Series 7,200RPM SATA Interface Enterprise Class Hard Disk Drives with 256 MB cache
    • *OWC reserves the right to replace or upgrade to equivalent or better components.
  • Display Support
    • Up to one 5K display @ 60Hz,
    • or one 4K display @ 60Hz,
    • or one 4K display @ 30Hz,
    • or two 4K displays @ 60Hz,
    • or one 4K display @ 60Hz and one 4K display @ 30Hz
  • Display Support by Port
    • 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
  • Bootable
    • Mac only
  • Hot Plug Support
    • Yes
  • Chipset
    • Thunderbolt (2): Intel JHL6540
    • Media Reader: Genesis Logic GL-3227
    • USB (2): Fresco Logic FL1100EX
    • Ethernet (1): Intel i210
    • SATA Controller: ASMedia AS
  • Drive Interface
    • SATA 6.0 Gb/s
  • Format
  • Rotational Speed
    • 7,200RPM
  • RoHS Compliant
    • Yes
  • Certifications
    • CE
    • FCC
    • VCCI
    • BSMI
    • RCM
    • Thunderbolt™technology
  • Data Rate
    • Up to 40 Gb/s
  • Data Transfer Rate (Maximum)
    • Thunderbolt 3 : 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s)
  • Ethernet Speeds (RJ-45)
    • 1Gb/s "Gigabit" (1000BASE-T)
    • 100Mb/s (100BASE-T)
    • 10Mb/s (10BASE-T)
RAID
  • RAID Capable
    • Yes
  • Default RAID Level
    • RAID 0
  • RAID Levels Supported
    • RAID 0
    • RAID 1
    • SPAN
    • JBOD
  • RAID Features
    • Hardware RAID
Reliability
  • Contact Start Stops
    • 600,000
Compatibility
  • Mac OS Compatibility
    • macOS 10.14 Mojave
    • macOS 10.15 Catalina
    • macOS 11.x Big Sur
  • PC OS Compatibility
    • Windows 10 64-bit Edition
    • Windows Server 2016
  • Other Requirements
    • Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt compatibility requires a certified Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 (mDP) adapter and a Thunderbolt 2 cable. This configuration provides data transfer at Thunderbolt 2 speeds (up to 20Gb/s) but does not support notebook charging.
  • Host Port Requirements
    • Mac or PC with a Thunderbolt 3 port or later
    • Mac with Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt port (requires adapter)
  • Driver Required
Power
  • Power Supply
    • External UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
  • AC Input
    • 100-240V, 50-60 Hz, 2.0
  • DC Output
    • +12V, 10A
  • Wattage
    • 120W Watts
  • External Power Adapter
    • Yes
  • Power Delivery
    • Provides up to 27 watts of power via Thunderbolt 3 to charge or reduce laptop and device battery draw.
Physical
  • Number of Bays
    • 2
  • Device Ports
    • (2) Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Ports
    • (1) DisplayPort Port
    • (1) Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) RJ-45 Port
    • (1) 10/100 Base-T Ethernet RJ-45 Port
  • Memory Card Slots
    • (1) Secure Digital (SD)
  • Cooling
    • (1) 60mm 3,000RPM cooling fan
  • Security Slot
    • Yes
  • Housing Material
    • High quality aluminum for optimized heat dissipation
  • Color
    • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
    • Height: 14.7 cm (5.8 in)
    • Length: 23.8 cm (9.4 in)
    • Width: 8.5 cm (3.3 in)
  • Weight
    • 1.6 kg (3.53 lbs)
Environmental
  • Ambient Temperature
    • Operating: 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C)
    • Non-Operating: -4°F to 140°F (-20°C to 60°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
Acoustics
  • Noise
    • Varies depending on drive mechanism installed

Notes

  • This device has to be connected to the computer via Thunderbolt 3 and it cannot be used as a NAS. The Ethernet port provides the computer with an 1GbE network connection over Thunderbolt 3 but it cannot be used to access the data on the drives over the network.
  • When using 8TB or 10TB HDDs from Seagate and connecting the device to a PC running Windows, please make sure to first install the Windows driver. The DisplayPort does not support DP++. When using a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, make sure to use an active adapter.
  • The DisplayPort on this device is not compatible with Apple Cinema Displays that require a Mini DisplayPort connection (2010, 2013 models). The display will not function even when connected via a DP > MDP adapter. This is a limitation of the Thunderbolt chipset in the Elite Pro Dock.
Manufacturer provided specifications for OWC p/n OWCTB3RSDK24T

Gallery


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Benchmarks

Click any of the benchmarks below to view the results.
macOS RAID 0 Test Results
Windows RAID 0 Test Results

Includes

Videos



Customer Ratings

Write a Review 4 / 5 12 out of 16 (75%) reviewers would recommend this product
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Ornery Editor
Rating: 5/5 Great versatile drive for a great price - noise issues only for the most persnickety July 8, 2021 This drive is amazing for the price. I have the 28tb version and for OWC reliability $1K for that much storage is a deal. It does have a fan and the fan does make noise, however, with almost 20 years of broadcast editing experience under my belt, I'll say this: the drive is no louder than ANY other pro standalone drive I've ever used. In fact is is quieter than the G-Speed Q's that I've used for years. If you are used to a perfectly quiet hermetically sealed room they yes, you're going to hear this drive. If you are used to a normal busy media work environment where most things make noise, then you will not be bothered in the slightest by the fan sound.

One more note, this drive is esp cool because its just small and portable enough to where I can take it to set and load cards directly onto it, saving the intermediate step of double copying when I need to.

Thanks for a great product guys.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 28.0TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Response from OWC, Support July 9, 2021 Fabulous review, thanks so much! We really appreciate your dedication and detail. Hope to serve your computer needs again in the future!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Thomas
Rating: 2/5 Bummed—could be perfect. Fan noise is unacceptable. June 19, 2021 The important part right here at the beginning: It was as loud as our white noise machine in our bedroom, which we like, but has its place and purpose—that is not on the computer desk.

Such a good idea and could nearly be perfect but for the fan noise, which is both constant—and very much unacceptable. I was curious after reading some reviews how bad it could be, and thought, I'm sure it's fine... Nope, not a chance. The included cable would keep this bay on the desk and within ~2 feet away. I spent over $100 for a 2 meter (~6 foot) Apple brand Thunderbolt 3 cable, and still it was too close, too loud. With an open and wishful mindset, this was a total bust for me.

I read some reviews that said "not good for audio work", but honestly, who could this be ok for? I'm almost certain that OWC knows this is a serious issue with an otherwise great concept, because they intentionally don't include the dB level of the fan in the product description, like they do for their other docks/bays. And to be sure, I'm a big supporter of OWC's. I'm only leaving this critical review to help others avoid the order/return process like I went through and to put some pressure on OWC to step up their game and release an improved version of this with a near-silent fan. I ended up returning this for the ThunderBay 4 Mini (they have two versions, the newer version is also Thunderbolt 3!) for the exact same price as this empty dock. I'll keep my eye on this, and if they re-release it, I'll likely take another swing on an improved one. But for now, this was a real misfire from a usually reliable company. This dock is so promising, with all its ports and slots, but that fan is a non-starter.

This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: juyeda
Rating: 5/5 Excellent and simple redundancy June 16, 2021 This is the third setup I have purchased. I have two RAID 5 setups purchased elsewhere in addition to these Pro Docks, and the Pro Docks are more reliable than the RAID 5 setups.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 36.0TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Response from OWC, Support June 17, 2021 Thank you for taking the time to review our ThunderBay 4. We are so happy that you love our products. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any further questions, comments, or concerns. Have a Great and Safe day!
Verified Buyer
Reviewer: HealthyGazelle-65718
Rating: 5/5 Excellent Solution May 21, 2021 reliable and efficient solution to backing up data

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Mac Guy
Rating: 4/5 Just shy of excelent. May 16, 2021 Nice piece of hardware with a good number of ports, flexible drive options and excellent build quality.

Downside one is a loud fan; they did use Noctua brand fan, so it is a quality unit. A silicon gasket will help isolate the fan from the case; Noctua also offers an inline cable that will slow the fan speed down. The case is small enough the full speed 60mm of the fan is really not needed. Per support, any modification will void the warranty.

Downside two, Display Port (DP) requires an "Active" adapter to make the display connection work when going to another type of display input, not sure if a DP to DP monitor will work. I know for sure DP to DVI-D will NOT work, support confined this. I did not see any notation on the product page about the need for Active adapters, or will not work when going to DVI ports. Save yourself time a frustration, get with support to make sure the way you plan to use the DP output will work.

Support is top notch, fast to respond and helpful.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: RickBerk
Rating: 5/5 Everything I Needed May 5, 2021 This Dock and RAID solution are perfect for my needs. As a professional photographer, my files add up quickly. This drive will last me a few years before I need another. The fact that it also serves as a dock with an extra Thunderbolt port and 2 USB ports are a bonus and made it easy to integrate into my setup. The one con I will mention is that this thing is LOUD. The fan is always running and is audible from several feet away. Not a huge deal to me as it fades into the background while I have music playing, but could be quieter. If you're recording video nearby, it'll pick up in the audio. Overall, a great solution.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 36.0TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: DistinctSalmon-29790
Rating: 2/5 too loud for audio settings. May 3, 2021 Works fine but my primary use is audio and the fan is very loud. I've returned it and got a different model.

This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: CleanHyena-8782
Rating: 5/5 Excellent! May 1, 2021 Purchased to replace a GRAID Studio and find the unit superior in every way.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: AmusedPigeon-26458
Rating: 5/5 My new OWC Elite Pro Dock works great! April 29, 2021 Found this in your Rocket Yard story about using an Apple adaptor with Thunderbolt 2 to TB 3 then into the OWC Elite Pro Dock. This allowed me to free-up one of my USB3 ports on my Mac Pro late 2013, I use the OWC Elite Pro Dock with two Hard Drives and Time Machine. M. Henderson, Studio 94 Publishing.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: TameWasp-47048
Rating: 3/5 Noisy fans April 26, 2021 The product description suggests that the enclosure would be 'whisper quiet', but then I guess it all depends on your definition of whisper. If you have a library full of people whispering at the same time, I guess it could be rather noisy too. I would not call it whisper quiet, but perhaps 'slow hair dryer' quiet. The fans are on *all the time*, there is no temperature sensor to cut off if the circuits are cool enough, and as a result I turn it off most of the time, only turning it on for backup or when I need to access data on one of the disks. Now I am wondering if I can find a long enough TB3 cable to really distance it from my machine, an M1 Mac Mini, which makes zero noise.

Other than that, the enclosure works fine, I appreciate the TB3 connection to my Mac, it seems plenty fast although I am not a benchmark obsessed kind of person.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: mackolb-85987
Rating: 4/5 It does the job April 25, 2021 My only complaint is the noise level of the RAID. I appreciate the SD card slot and the ability to daisy chain another USB-C RAID. But, as noted, it generates more noise than either my 16TB LaCie or 20TB G-Drive systems.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from 28.0TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: EasyPanda-82551
Rating: 4/5 Does what it says, says what it does... you just can't hear it over itself April 24, 2021 I've been working with computers full time since the early 90's. Yanno, when your tower sounded like a harrier taking off with just one engine, and your modem like an "experimental" Icelandic band. As such, when I read the other reviews griping about the audible fan noise of this device I shrugged it off. "Wimps." I gotta admit though. This thing is loud. Like sitting next to a running microwave loud. I plan to attempt to resolve the matter this weekend I'll report back if I should enjoy success.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from (*) OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: budjoe Location: Bristol, PA Age: Over 65 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: 1-3 months
Rating: 4/5 Great so far. July 13, 2020 Connection options and performance are what I expect from OWC. Using it as a JBOD with one 3.5 inch drive for a TimeMachine backup, and a second 3.5 inch drive for a bootable backup of a new laptop. Unit is a little noisy. Researched the fan in use and alternatives, and it is one of the quietest fans on the market. Not sure that it is running at its minimal noise level for volume of air flow for the requirements. Added some noise dampening padding on the top and bottom of the drive frame to fit tight in the case. That helped reduce sound level some. Then added padding between the case and the desk which helped some more.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from (*) OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Chrisla58 Location: Philadelphia Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Home User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 5/5 Great Dock/Backup solution, but NOISY April 22, 2020 I really wanted to love this product, and I do. OWC/Macsales were really great in trying to help me out with this(swapped a housing to see if it was the fan), but for this user, this set up is just too noisy. Fan noise is really bad for a desktop solution. If you can keep it in a case or off of your desk, you might be okay, but it's very noisy. Did I say noisy. It's really fast, it's really nice to look at(the brightness of the OWC power light is a little much), it's really easy to set up, but the fan noise is...is loud.

This review is from 16.0TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: dzouras Location: Chicago, IL Age: 45-54 Experience Level: Power User Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 3/5 So much potential... so much noise. April 14, 2020 From a technical specification perspective, the Mercury Elite Pro Dock had everything I wanted. I recently switched from an old Mac Pro tower to a Mac Mini. I needed somewhere to put my extra SSD drives and I thought a few extra ports would be helpful as well. I liked that it was a Thunderbolt 3 device so I would not have to sacrifice speed.

I installed my drives, plugged everything in and powered up my computer. The noise was unbelievable. I had only been using the Mac Mini for a couple of days, but already I had grown accustomed to the whisper quiet operation. The roar of a fan and the air rushing through the mostly empty enclosure of the Mercury Elite Pro Dock was as loud as my old Mac Pro under load. There is no way to configure the speed of the fan or even turn it off.

I tried to live with it for a few days, but I knew I couldn't keep it when I tried to record some audio and I could hear it in the result. I contacted OWC support, but they had no additional suggestions to mitigate the noise. They were understanding of my situation and I arranged to return it.

I could not recommend this device unless you work in an already noisy environment. Although this product did not meet my needs, I will definitely continue to do business with OWC.

This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

Verified Buyer
Reviewer: Russbear Location: Southern California Age: 55-65 Experience Level: IT Professional Owned Product: less than a month
Rating: 4/5 Well Made and Very Capable October 28, 2019 This is a great Thunderbolt 3 dock with hardware raid. I spent a few days with the dock and really like a lot of things about it. The speed was great with two SSDs in the drive bays with RAID 0 striping. It's extremely sturdy and well made, takes little foot print on the desk top. SD Card slot on the front is awesome.

I decided to return the dock for one reason. The dock delivers 27 watts of power to the connected laptop. My laptop requires over 80 watts. I really wish it would have worked for me, but in my setup I need a single Thunderbolt cable to my laptop. I'm looking at a couple other OWC docks that will work. I'll just have to attach external storage.

I would recommend this item to a friend! This review is from OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock - Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution.

OWC/ Mercury Elite Pro Dock 24.0TB Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID Solution Mfr P/N: TB3RSDK24T OWC SKU: OWCTB3RSDK24T Supports up to two 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch HDD or SSDs. 2 x Thunderbolt 3 ports (USB-C), 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, Ethernet port, and DisplayPort 3 Year OWC Limited Warranty
Reviews (16)
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Additional Capacities: DIY Enclosure/Dock
  • 0TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Only $299.99
    • Cyber Saver $279.00
Dual-Drive RAID Solution/Dock
  • 4TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Only $479.99
    • OWC Price $449.00
  • 8TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Only $599.99
    • OWC Price $549.00
  • 12TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • OWC Price $699.00
  • 16TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • OWC Price $829.00
  • 20TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Only $849.99
    • OWC Price $799.00
  • 28TB
    • Ships: Same Day
    • OWC Price $1,099.00
  • 32TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Cyber Saver $1,379.00
  • 36TB
    • Ships: 35 Days
    • Cyber Saver $1,579.00
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