Express 4M2
Four-Slot USB4 (40Gb/s) External Storage Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSDs
- Highly Capable: Up to 3200MB/s real-world performance1,2
- Highly Compatible: Use with USB4, Thunderbolt, and USB-C Macs and PCs
- Highly Reliable: Aircraft grade aluminum offers rugged protection of your installed SSDs while the quiet fans keep everything cool for consistent top speed
- Near Silent Operation: Engineered with smart, adaptive fans that activate only when needed or under heavy load, making it ideal for uninterrupted creative focus
- DIY easy: Use your choice of NVMe M.2 2230, 2242, or 2280 SSDs
- RAID Ready: Certain models include OWC SoftRAID; the fastest and most flexible RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) tool. Also supports Apple RAID and Windows Disk Manager.
- Complete: Includes USB-C 40Gb/s cable
- Worry-free: 2 Year OWC Limited Warranty
The Best DIY RAID You Wanted
We heard you loud and clear (pun intended) when you said you loved everything about the Express 4M2 but wanted it quieter. After adding smart adaptive fans that only turn on when needed for near silent operation, we decided to give it USB4 connectivity for the optimum blend of compatibility, performance, and affordability. Now you can build a desktop/shuttle high-performance RAID with your choice of NVMe M.2 SSDs and get up to 3200MB/s performance with USB4, Thunderbolt, and USB-C Macs and PCs.
Maximum Speed from Your Machine
The Express 4M2 is the fastest multiple NVMe SSD enclosure we offer and was purposefully built so you can utilize the maximum performance capability of your Mac or PC with full compatibility:
| Express 4M2 Connected To... | Runs As | Up to Real-World Speed |
|---|---|---|
|
Mac computers with Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4 |
USB4 (40Gb/s) |
3200MB/s |
|
USB4 (40Gb/s) port on any PC |
USB4 (40Gb/s) |
3200MB/s |
|
Thunderbolt 5 port on any Mac or PC |
USB4 (40Gb/s) |
3200MB/s |
|
Thunderbolt 4 port on any Mac or PC |
USB4 (40Gb/s) |
3200MB/s |
|
Thunderbolt 3 port on Intel Mac |
Thunderbolt (40Gb/s) |
3000MB/s |
|
Thunderbolt 3 port on PC |
USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) |
990MB/s |
|
USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) port on PC |
USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) |
990MB/s |
Highly Capable
Up to 3200MB/s real-world performance1,2
Highly Compatible
Use with USB4, Thunderbolt, and USB-C Macs and PCs
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 smart, adaptive fans that activate only when needed or under heavy load, making it ideal for uninterrupted creative focus
DIY Easy
Use your choice of NVMe M.2 2230, 2242, or 2280 SSDs
RAID Ready
Certain models include OWC SoftRAID; the fastest and most flexible RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) tool. Also supports Apple Disk Utility RAID, Windows Disk Management RAID, and Windows Storage Spaces.
Complete
Includes USB-C 40Gb/s cable
Stable
Included stand ensures maximum desktop placement stability
Worry-Free
2 Year OWC Limited Warranty
The Power of Choice is Yours
Engineered to support any NVMe M.2 2230, 2242, or 2280 SSD, this compact powerhouse gives you the ultimate flexibility to choose the drive you want today — including OWC Aura SSDs with up to a massive 8TB capacity each. When tomorrow’s 16TB and larger drives hit the scene, you can easily boost your Express 4M2’s capacity.
One Cool RAID for Diverse Workflows
High speed backups, multiple media card offloads, and intense RAW photo and 8K video editing sessions mean one thing… Heat. You can put aside any thermal throttling and noise concerns because the Express 4M2 utilizes a heat dissipating solid aluminum body along with smart, adaptive fans that activate only when needed or under heavy load. Diversity of use also means being able to easily work cross-platform with Macs and PCs. We help you keep your cool in mixed environments with our MacDrive software (avaialble separately).
Express 1M2 is Ideal for:
- DITs and Filmmakers wanting to build an affordable yet high-performance NVMe SSD RAID with up to 32TB of capacity, RAID 5 capabilities, and the ability to deliver maximum offload speeds and thermal stability when backing up media cards from multiple cameras on set.
- Professional Video Editors, VFX Artists, Colorists, and High-Volume Photographers seeking an easy DIY assemble high-performance NVMe SSD RAID to handle demanding post-production and editing workflows including 8K RAW video, VFX compositing work, multicam sequences in 4K RAW or ProRes video, and batch editing ultra-high-resolution pictures.
- Anyone looking for a lower cost RAID option to the award-winning four NVMe M.2 based OWC ThunderBlade and are willing to accept the Express 4M2’s larger form factor, fan cooling, no additional connectivity ports, and no ballistic shipping case for shuttle use.
The Most Powerful RAID Tool on the Planet.
SoftRAID is the world’s fastest and most flexible application to configure, maintain, and protect your RAID volumes on Mac and PC. OWC enclosures include 3 Years of SoftRAID Premium.
- High-Performance RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) volumes
- Predictive Health Monitoring proactively notifies of Volume and Disk issues well before failure — provided on your computer and remotely
- Seamless Cross-Platform Sharing with support for Apple-formatted APFS and HFS+ SoftRAID volumes between Mac and Windows at no additional cost
- 35+ Years of Experience of Pro Support to provide peace-of-mind with setup help, ongoing questions, or urgent disk issues
- And many more unique features.
- Learn more about SoftRAID
M1 Macs require macOS 11.3 or later. SoftRAID is licensed per computer.
Your Data’s Reliability is Our #1 Priority
Anyone can put a bunch of components in a housing and call it an enclosure or a drive. OWC is not just anyone. We’re a group of filmmakers, musicians, designers, content creators, and parents just like you wanting to capture and preserve that irreplaceable moment. Our data storage products go through countless hours of ongoing development testing and certification processes. We then subject them to extreme real-world abuses. The priority for some storage devices is to be a mass-produced, lowest price commodity. We do it differently because the reliability of your data and the longevity of an OWC product is priority #1.
OWC Aura SSDs: The perfect match for Express 4M2
Combine Express 4M2 with its perfect performance match – four blazing fast OWC Aura NVMe M.2 SSDs - and enjoy incredible transfer speeds, capacity, and most importantly, OWC reliability you can count on.
OWC USB-C (40Gb/s) Cable Included
OWC Express 4M2 comes with a 0.7M (28") OWC USB-C (40Gb/s) Cable. But if your workflow demands a different length to make the connection, OWC USB4 Active Optical Cables are the perfect choice.
Discover the OWC Difference
Since 1988, our mission has focused on maximizing the usefulness and longevity of your technology investment. Our business operations share that same sustainability commitment. As the first 100% on-site wind powered technology manufacturer/distributor in the U.S., we now generate excess power. 97% of solid waste is recycled. These and other actions have resulted in our headquarters being Energy Star® and LEED® Platinum certified. Learn more about our passion for the planet we share here: Environmental Sustainability
- Drive not included. Performance results will vary depending on user installed drive. 3200MB/s performance based on testing a Software RAID 0 4x2TB OWC Aura Pro IV equipped Express 4M2 connected to a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 64GB file size, 16bit RGBA codec, single file test).
- Single drive performance up to 1600MB/s.
- For best performance, the USB mode switch should be kept in the factory USB4 40Gb/s setting when connecting the Express 4M2 to the following systems:
- Mac: Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 4, USB4, or Thunderbolt 3 Intel based systems running macOS 15.x and later.
- Windows: Thunderbolt 5, Thunderbolt 4, and USB4 systems.
- To ensure compatible performance, the USB3.2 10Gb/s mode should be selected when connecting the Express 4M2 to the following systems:
- Mac: Thunderbolt 3 Intel based systems running macOS 14.x or earlier.
- Windows: Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 10Gb/s systems.