OWC Mercury Pro U.2 Dual
SCORE
PRICE Diskless, $300 from megamac.com
The problem with M.2 NVMe SSDs is simple: size. The form factor’s minimal surface area limits the number of NAND modules that can be mounted on it, currently topping out at 8TB. U.2 is a relatively new specification that provides more space for modules and, therefore, much greater capacities.
Always at the pointy end of storage developments, OWC has sent us a product designed to exploit U.2 technology for rapid external storage. This Thunderbolt 3 drive enclosure can accept two U.2 drives and use them in a RAID configuration. Or, via an adapter, up to eight M.2 SSDs.
As we went to press, OWC only had US prices, but its UK release is set for mid-January so you won’t have long to wait to find out exactly how much you’ll be paying. It will be offered either as a bare drive or with preinstalled U.2 drives, and OWC intends to sell it with its own SoftRAID software in the future. As a
