- Joined
- Nov 13, 2011
- Messages
- 44
- Motherboard
- GA-Z97X-UD7 TH
- CPU
- i7 4690
- Graphics
- GTX 690
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
So, figured you’d like to know that the OWC Thunderbolt Drive dock (https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB2U3DKR2/) is the only Thunderbolt 2 peripheral that allows hot swapping of drives via Thunderbolt.
The one catch with existing Thunderbolt 2 Hackintosh systems, is that the drives attached via Thunderbolt don’t allow hot-swapping. For most cases this is not a huge priority, as most high speed drives are permanently attached. This instances where external archival drives get swapped, pros using Hackintosh systems can ‘endure’ rebooting between drive swaps.
The OWC Drive Dock changes all of that - making a hot swappable device available, that allows Mac professionals access to a peripheral that allows them to swap out archival drives, allowing true hot-swapping (albeit only of a single drive, despite the Dock providing space for two drives. The caveat listed in the product description applies “it is possible to unmount either drive from the OS without impacting the other drive, but you cannot power a bay on or off, or physically connect or disconnect one of the drives, without causing the other drive to temporarily unmount.”)
At $250, the OWC Drive Dock is somewhat expensive for drive docks, but if you need a hot-swappable archiving solution, it provides that and works very well - I have tested it with the GA-Z97X-UD7 TH board. Don't know if it works with any of the newer Thunderbolt 3 connections, or if OWC has any plans for a Thunderbolt 3 version (or if that one would work the same way).
The one catch with existing Thunderbolt 2 Hackintosh systems, is that the drives attached via Thunderbolt don’t allow hot-swapping. For most cases this is not a huge priority, as most high speed drives are permanently attached. This instances where external archival drives get swapped, pros using Hackintosh systems can ‘endure’ rebooting between drive swaps.
The OWC Drive Dock changes all of that - making a hot swappable device available, that allows Mac professionals access to a peripheral that allows them to swap out archival drives, allowing true hot-swapping (albeit only of a single drive, despite the Dock providing space for two drives. The caveat listed in the product description applies “it is possible to unmount either drive from the OS without impacting the other drive, but you cannot power a bay on or off, or physically connect or disconnect one of the drives, without causing the other drive to temporarily unmount.”)
At $250, the OWC Drive Dock is somewhat expensive for drive docks, but if you need a hot-swappable archiving solution, it provides that and works very well - I have tested it with the GA-Z97X-UD7 TH board. Don't know if it works with any of the newer Thunderbolt 3 connections, or if OWC has any plans for a Thunderbolt 3 version (or if that one would work the same way).
