OWC has announced StudioStack and Mercury Helios 5S.
OWC StudioStack, is claimed to be the world’s first, fastest, and highest-capacity Thunderbolt 5 stackable hybrid storage solution for Mac Studio and Mac mini machines. In addition, the company announced the OWC Mercury Helios 5S, a powerful and easy way to utilize PCIe cards with Thunderbolt 5/4/3 and USB4 notebooks and small form factor computers like the Mac Studio, as well as add more Thunderbolt 5 ports.
OWC StudioStack
With the OWC StudioStack, users can upgrade their Mac Studio and Mac mini devices with the fastest and highest-capacity stackable hybrid storage solution possible. The enclosure is wrapped up in aircraft-grade aluminum.
You can add up to 64x MORE storage capacity, get up to 6302MB/s speeds that rival the latest Mac Studio models, and utilize a six-port Thunderbolt/USB-A hub for additional connectivity.
Key Features:
- Internal Class Speed: Up to 6302MB/s real-world performance
- Capacity: Up to 8TB NVMe SSD and up to 24TB HDD storage space
- Expanded Connectivity: Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) 80Gb/s and three USB-A 10Gb/s ports for more device, display, and drive possibilities
- Widely Compatible: Use with Thunderbolt 5/4, USB4 Macs and PCs, and Thunderbolt 3 Macs
- Highly Reliable: Aircraft-grade aluminum offers rugged protection of installed SSDs plus effective heat dissipation to keep everything cool for consistent top speed
- Near Silent Operation: Engineered with a smart, adaptive fan that activates only when needed, making it ideal for uninterrupted creative focus
- Future Flexible: Both DIY “build your own” and ready-to-run solutions are easily future upgradeable with a faster, higher capacity 2280 NVMe M.2 SSD and a higher capacity SATA 3.5″ HDD or 2.5″ SSD
- Complete: Includes Thunderbolt 5 80Gb/s cable
With StudioStack’s three Thunderbolt 5 and three USB-A ports, you can increase the connectivity of your Mac mini M1/M2 machine. There are two side-located USB-A ports that make plugging in flash drives, card readers, and other frequently used devices easy.
Engineered to support any NVMe M.2 2280 SSD and any 3.5″ SATA HDD, the StudioStack gives users the flexibility to choose the drive configuration they want, including the fast, highly reliable OWC Aura SSDs with up to an 8TB capacity. When tomorrow’s 16TB and larger NVMe SSDs hit the scene, you can easily boost your StudioStack’s capacity.
OWC Mercury Helios 5S
Modern notebooks, small form factor computers, and “all-in-one” desktop computers lack internal space to install PCIe cards for added functionality. The OWC Mercury Helios 5S opens a world of pro-grade, full-size workstation capabilities to those machines via a single Thunderbolt or USB4 connection.
Whether you want to use an ultra-fast storage, 8K video capture, audio DSP, or high-speed networking PCIe card, Mercury Helios 5S makes it easy via a single Thunderbolt or USB4 connection and with no tools required. Plus, with three additional Thunderbolt 5 ports, it also gives you a handy next-gen connectivity hub.
Key Features:
- Expands Small Machines: Use video capture, high-speed fiber/Ethernet, NVMe RAID, audio I/O, and other cards to unlock the potential of MacBooks, Mac Studio, Mac mini, and other space-confined computers lacking a PCIe slot
- Internal Class Speed: Up to 6000MB/s bandwidth available for simultaneous read/write
- Pro Level Card Ready: (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (x16 mechanical slot) for half-length, full-height, single or double-width cards
- Expanded Connectivity: Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) 80Gb/s ports, each with 15W power delivery for more device, display, and drive possibilities
- Widely Compatible: Use with Thunderbolt 5/4, USB4 Macs and PCs, and Thunderbolt 3 Macs
- Whisper Quiet: Aircraft-grade aluminum housing and high-efficiency cooling fan provide cool, nearly silent operation
- Easy Card Installs: Captive thumb screws, so no tools required
- Complete and Secure: Includes Thunderbolt 5 80Gb/s cable and power cord retainer
The Mercury Helios 5S delivers up to 6000MB/s of bandwidth so you can run modern PCIe 4.0 cards at full speed while still accommodating data-hungry external Thunderbolt drives. Whether you’re editing multi-cam 8K footage, running real-time audio processing, or transferring terabytes across a 25GbE network card, Mercury Helios 5S gives you the performance you’d expect from an internal PCIe slot with the flexibility of an external one.
The Mercury Helios 5S features a tool-free design. Compatible with half-length, full-height, single or double-width pro-level PCIe cards from leading brands like AJA, Apogee, ATTO, AudioScience, Avid Pro Tools, Blackmagic Design, Intel, RME Audio, Solid State Logic, Universal Audio, and OWC, you can use a wide range of pro-level options in seconds.
Pricing & Availability
The OWC StudioStack is available for pre-order now at a starting price of $329.99 USD, with shipping planned for mid-December. To learn more, please visit: https://www.owc.com/solutions/studiostack.
The OWC Mercury Helios 5S is available now for $329.99 USD. To learn more and order, please visit: https://www.owc.com/solutions/mercury-helios-5s.
