Akitio has announced the release of the its Thunder3 Quad Mini, a 2.5" four-bay Thunderbolt 3 external storage solution for the latest MacBook Pro.

akitio-quad-thunderbolt-3
The aluminum storage device has removable trays designed to house up to four 2.5" SATA SSDs or hard drives purchased separately. The device is equipped with two Thunderbolt 3 ports—the first one connects to the MacBook Pro, and the second one can be used to connect or daisy chain Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C peripherals.

With Software RAID, Akitio said four striped SSDs can reach data transfer speeds of up to 1375 MB/s, while four striped hard drives max out at around 400 MB/s. Thunderbolt 3 provides sufficient bandwidth to connect dual 4K displays to the latest MacBook Pro and complete other data transfers simultaneously.

akitio-thunder3-quad-mini
A dedicated DisplayPort 1.2 video output provides connectivity to the 4K displays at 60Hz, while the device supports Power Delivery up to 15W to notebooks that support charging from a 5V/3A power source. 15W is hardly sufficient wattage for the latest MacBook Pro, which fully charges at up to 85W with Apple's own charger.

Akitio said the Thunder3 Quad Mini will be available in March for $329 alongside five other Thunderbolt 3 storage devices it sells.

Related Roundups: 13" MacBook Pro, 14 & 16" MacBook Pro
Tag: Thunderbolt 3
Buyer's Guide: 13" MacBook Pro (Buy Now), 14" & 16" MacBook Pro (Caution)
Related Forum: MacBook Pro

Top Rated Comments

Joe Rossignol Avatar
Joe Rossignol
73 months ago
what is raid mode in simple terms?
This Thunder3 Quad Mini uses RAID 0, which essentially combines the four drives into one, but there is a risk of data loss as there is no redundancy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xp2tl/eli5what_is_raid_and_what_does_it_do_for_your/

Imagine you are storing a song on your computer, but instead of bits and bytes, there are little people in there that sing it back to you. You don't want to lose your song (singers quit all the time), and let's also pretend you want it sung as fast as possible. What do you do? You configure RAID.


* RAID-0: 2 or more people sing alternate words in the song. This is faster because they can breathe, turn the page, etc. while they're waiting for their next turn. If one of them quits, the song will be ruined forever, though. Hopefully you have a backup band!
* RAID-1: 2 or more people sing the song at the same time. If one of them quits, the song will still be sung because everyone else knows all the words, too. You can hire a new singer who will quickly learn the song from everyone else.
* RAID-5: 3 or more people sing alternate words, like RAID-0. But this time, every word in the song has exactly one backup singer. So it's faster and if one quits, someone else can jump in and cover the missing parts. It will take some time to get a new singer up to speed, though, and until the new singer is caught up, if you lose another one you will lose the song!

Replace all references to "singers/bands" and "words" with "hard drives" and "blocks of data", respectively, and you've got RAID. There are more types of RAID but in the past 30 years or so these have been the most popular types. Why, you might ask, doesn't everyone just do RAID 5? Well, singers cost money, and it slows them down just a bit to learn each other's lines.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hfg Avatar
hfg
73 months ago
what is raid mode in simple terms?


:D

Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
Joe Rossignol
73 months ago
any details on speeds WITHOUT being in a RAID mode for SSDs? assuming it does support JBOD and would show as 4 separate drives if setup for that.
Looks to be around 400-500 MB/s.


Attachment Image
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lincolntran Avatar
lincolntran
73 months ago
The potentials of the new MacBook Pro are starting to show.

I predict "multiple cables" will be a thing of the past by the end of 2018.......



.....except for a few people on MR of course.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsbeamer Avatar
bsbeamer
73 months ago
any details on speeds WITHOUT being in a RAID mode for SSDs? assuming it does support JBOD and would show as 4 separate drives if setup for that.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kwikdeth Avatar
kwikdeth
73 months ago
This Thunder3 Quad Mini uses RAID 0, which essentially combines the four drives into one, but there is a risk of data loss as there is no redundancy.

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/1xp2tl/eli5what_is_raid_and_what_does_it_do_for_your/
That is one of the best layman's explanations for RAID I have ever read.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

ios 16 beta 5 battery percent

iOS 16 Beta 5: Battery Percentage Now Displayed in iPhone Status Bar

Monday August 8, 2022 10:43 am PDT by
With the fifth beta of iOS 16, Apple has updated the battery icon on iPhones with Face ID to display the specific battery percentage rather than just a visual representation of battery level. The new battery indicator is available on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, with the exception of the 5.4-inch iPhone 12/13 mini. It is also available on the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, XS and XS Max, and...
Read Full Article • 348 comments
iPhone 14 Lineup Feature Purple

Color Options for All iPhone 14 Models: Everything We Know

Monday August 8, 2022 3:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are rumored to be available in a refreshed range of color options, including an all-new purple color. Most expectations about the iPhone 14 lineup's color options come from an unverified post on Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this year. Overall, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro's selection of color options could look fairly similar to those of the ...
Read Full Article • 40 comments
iOS 16 battery percentage

Apple Limiting iOS 16 Beta 5 Battery Percentage Display to Select iPhones: Here Are the Supported Devices

Tuesday August 9, 2022 2:51 am PDT by
Apple this week brought back one of the most highly requested features from iOS users since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017: the ability to see your battery percentage directly in the status bar. Ever since the launch of the iPhone X with the notch, Apple has not allowed users to show their battery percentage directly in the status bar, forcing them to swipe down into Control Center to...
Read Full Article • 132 comments
ios 16 battery indicator 2

Everything New in iOS 16 Beta 5: Battery Percentage in Status Bar, Find My Changes and More

Monday August 8, 2022 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of iOS 16 to developers for testing purposes, introducing some small but notable changes to the iOS operating system. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up everything new in the fifth beta below. Battery Percentage in Status Bar The battery icon in the status bar now displays the exact battery percent, a feature that ...
Read Full Article • 110 comments
iphone 14 pro max camera bump compared lipilipsi 16 9

Bigger iPhone 14 Pro Max Camera Bump Shown Alongside iPhone 13 Pro Max

Monday August 8, 2022 4:33 am PDT by
The camera bump on the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro Max is expected to be the largest rear lens housing Apple has ever installed on its flagship smartphones, and a new photo offers a rare glimpse at just how prominent it is compared to Apple's predecessor device. iPhone 14 Pro Max dummy (left) vs iPhone 13 Pro Max All iPhone 14 models are expected to see upgrades to the Ultra Wide camera on the...
Read Full Article • 129 comments
cook sept 2020 event

Gurman: Apple Preparing Pre-Recorded iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 Event

Sunday August 7, 2022 6:13 am PDT by
Apple has "started to record" its virtual September event, where it's expected to announce the upcoming iPhone 14 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 8, and a new "rugged" Apple Watch model, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the event, which is expected to take place in the early part of September, is already under production, implying...
Read Full Article • 128 comments
airpods pro black background

Beyond iPhone 14: Five Apple Products Expected to Launch Later This Year

Monday August 8, 2022 9:43 am PDT by
While the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 are expected to be announced in September as usual, there are several more Apple products rumored to launch later this year, including new iPad and Mac models and more. Beyond the iPhone and Apple Watch, we've put together a list of five Apple products that are most likely to be unveiled by the end of 2022. Second-Generation AirPods Pro Apple...
Read Full Article • 45 comments