Overview
OWC Thunderbay Flex 8
Whether you call it a workflow workhorse, a productivity platform, or a configurable command centre, one description of the ThunderBay Flex 8 says it best. It is a groundbreaking workflow solution for digital imaging, VFX, video production, and video editing professionals from the world’s leading Thunderbolt accessory manufacturer.
Flex Your Way Through Every Workflow
ThunderBay Flex 8 offers eight drive bays that support a mix of SATA/SAS and U.2/M.2 NVMe drives for virtually limitless storage capacity. Next, there’s a plethora of ports including 2 x Thunderbolt 3, 1 x USB-C, and 2 x USB-A for device docking and charging.
See your work in greater detail by adding up to an 8K display via a built-in DisplayPort 1.4 connection. Ingest hi-res images and video via front-side SD 4.0 and CFexpress card readers. And when you want to expand your desktop capabilities, there’s a PCIe slot waiting for your specific project needs.
ThunderBay Flex 8 is the one Thunderbolt 3 desktop device that rules them all. With an irresistible economy of scale, this consolidated solution is ideal for anyone waiting for the right moment to invest in Thunderbolt technology.
NVMe. PCIe. What’s It Mean to Me?
At the heart of the ThunderBay Flex 8 capabilities are two cutting-edge technology standards: NVMe and PCIe. Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) optimises the performance of modern flash technology over the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) standard. It enables significantly faster SSD performance with a more direct and optimised path to a computer’s processor.
Muscle-FLEXing Data Performance
Right out of the packaging, all eight bays are configured with SATA 6Gb/s 3.5-inch HDDs. With real-world read/write speeds of 2750MB/s that saturates the Thunderbolt 3 speed threshold, you’re ready to handle 4K/8K and even Phantom high-speed files.
Docking FLEXibility
A virtual buffet of productivity-enhancing possibilities awaits you with the docking connections built into ThunderBay Flex 8. Power your notebook with up to 85W power delivery while capturing multi-stream hi-res footage at full frame rate. Connect audio and video mixers, digital camera, keyboards, and other peripherals and charge mobile devices via one USB-C and two USB-A 10Gb/s ports. Ingest and work with 4/8K RAW video and RAW photo files immediately at speeds up to 985MB/s with frontside SD 4.0 and CFexpress card readers. Add more viewing space with up to an 8K monitor via the DisplayPort 1.4 interface. And if all that’s not enough to satisfy your project needs, daisy-chain up to five additional Thunderbolt 3 devices!
FLEXpandable for Unique Needs
By removing the enclosure’s side panel, you can expand your capabilities by installing a half-length, full-height, single-width expansion card in the PCIe x16 connector/x2 lanes slot. Add a 4K video capture card for direct ingest of multi-stream high-res footage. Record high-quality tracks with an audio card and then edit and archive tracks.
A Protective, Economical Post-Production Solution
Sending a drive from set to post-production typically entails tedious and time-consuming drive enclosure disassembly to access the storage drive or costly shipping of the entire enclosure to the post lab. But ThunderBay Flex 8 offers yet another option.
By installing an OWC U.2 NVMe Interchange System carrier tray (sold separately) with a built-in U.2 connector into a ThunderBay Flex 8 drive tray, you can protect the U.2 SSD drive’s connector from repeated install/removal wear for improved drive longevity and investment. When done with your shoot, just ship the lightweight protective carrier and drive to the lab where the carrier can be installed into an OWC Helios 3S equipped with the OWC Interchange System. It’s a complete solution to safeguard your data while lowering shipping costs.
OWC Upgrade + Support Plan
A free one year enrolment in the Upgrade + Support plan is included with standalone software purchases and OWC enclosures without drives. Three years of coverage from the plan applies to the purchase of OWC enclosures with drives. Please note, if you decide not to renew your Upgrade + Support plan SoftRAID will continue to work with the OS it was designed for without limitation. Although no further updates will be provided once your initial Upgrade + Support Plan expires.
- Eight drive bays: use a mix of SATA/SAS and U.2/M.2 NVMe drives 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
- Do more: second Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy chaining devices or additional display(s)
- See more: DisplayPort 1.4 for connecting up to an 8K display
- Fast media ingest: front-side SD 4.0 and CFexpress card readers with up to 985MB/s speed
- Play your card: 1 x PCIe slot for audio/video capture, networking, SSD storage, hardware RAID card, or I/O card
Video
Introducing the OWC ThunderBay Flex 8. Tame your workflow with this highly configurable productivity platform for digital imaging, VFX, video production, and video editing professionals.
Compatibility
Compatible with the devices listed below.
MacBook Air
MacBook Pro
Mac Pro
iMac
Mac mini
Mac Studio
iMac Pro
Specifications
- Mechanisms Supported
-
- 3.5 inch SATA and SAS drives
- 2.5 inch SATA and SAS drives
- 2.5 inch U.2 drives (top 4 bays only)
- NVMe M.2 drives (via U.2 adapter)
- Total Capacity
-
- 32TB
- Chipset
-
- Thunderbolt: Intel JHL7440
- PCIe RAID controller: Areca: ARC-1226-8i
- USB controller: Genesys Logic GL-3590
- Certifications
-
- BSMI, CE, FCC, RCM, VCCI
- Data Transfer Rate (Max)
-
- Thunderbolt 3: up to 40 Gb/s (or 5000 MB/s)
- RAID Levels Supported
-
- RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, JBOD, RAID 3, RAID 6, RAID 30, RAID 50, RAID 60, RAID 10
- RAID Features
-
- Hardware 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
- macOS 13.x Ventura
- PC OS Compatibility
-
- Not compatible with Windows PCs
- Other Requirements
-
- macOS 10.15.1 or later required
- Host Port Requirements
-
- Thunderbolt (USB-C) port (backward compatible with Thunderbolt 2/Thunderbolt)
- Supported PCIe Cards
-
- Supports PCIe 3.0 x16 physical, x2 electrical, full-height, half-length, single-width (driverless or with Thunderbolt-aware driver)
- GPUs not supported
- Cards that require more than 75W are not supported
- Power Supply
-
- Internal UL-listed universal auto-switching power supply
- AC Input
-
- 100-240V, 50-60Hz, 3.5A-7.0A
- DC Output
-
- +12V, 37A
- Power Delivery
-
- 2 x Thunderbolt 3 ports (15W, 85W)
- Number of Bays
-
- 8
- Expansion Slots
-
- 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 physical, x2 electrical, full-height, half-length, single-width
- Device Ports
-
- 1 x Host port - Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) up to 40 Gb/s (5000 MB/s)
- 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port
- 1 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type-C port up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2 type-A ports up to 10Gb/s (1250MB/s) - USB 2.0/3.0 backwards compatible
- 1 x DisplayPort port
- Memory Card Slots
-
- 1 x CFexpress Type B
- 1 x Secure Digital (SD)
- Cooling
-
- 1 x 120mm 1,600RPM cooling fan
- Security Slot
-
- Yes
- Power Button
-
- Yes
- Dimensions
-
- H: 349 x L: 390 x W: 149 mm
- Weight
-
- 9200 g
What's in the box?
- 1 x OWC ThunderBay Flex 8
- 1 x Thunderbolt Cable
- 1 x External Power Cable
- 2 x Keys for Front Panel Lock
- 1 x Hex Key
- 1 x Assembly Manual and User Guide
- 1 x Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (1 Year Subscription)
Warranty
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
Part Number
- OWCTB3F8H0D032