With each new era of digicam producing bigger information and better bitrates, the demand for quicker switch speeds is relentless. Now, with Apple’s M4 Professional and M4 Max chips ushering within the new Thunderbolt 5 customary, the goalposts have moved as soon as once more. Can the OWC Envoy Extremely ship the following step-change in transportable drive speeds?
Different World Computing, or OWC, has constructed a status for being on the chopping fringe of storage know-how, particularly for the Mac ecosystem. It was no shock, then, that they have been one of many first to market with a transportable drive prepared for this new customary. The OWC Envoy Extremely was the primary Thunderbolt 5 transportable SSD I noticed again at NAB, and my objective was easy: see if this drive can actually sustain with the heaviest calls for of a contemporary artistic workflow.
Construct and Design
Unboxing the Envoy Extremely, the very first thing I observed was its substantial really feel, shared with earlier OWC transportable drives I’ve tried. The black aluminum housing is cool to the contact and has a reassuring heft to it.
At about three-quarters of a pound, it’s not the type of drive you slip into the pocket of a pair of thin denims, but it surely ought to nonetheless simply match into any digicam bag or jacket pocket. The design is clearly centered on sturdiness and warmth dissipation, whereas retaining sufficient portability to not intrude with transport.
OWC states the drive is IP67 rated, which suggests it’s sealed towards mud and may survive being submerged in as much as a meter of water for half-hour. Whereas I didn’t dunk it to check, this ranking offers peace of thoughts for anybody capturing on location or touring with their pictures. The SSD itself additionally provides some inherent resiliency, conferring shock resistance over HDD choices.
The drive has a built-in Thunderbolt 5 cable, and initially, I used to be a bit of disillusioned to see this. Whereas TB5 actually received’t be outdated anytime quickly, captive cables have traditionally been some extent of failure on transportable gadgets. Nevertheless, my concern was eased after I realized OWC has designed that cable to be user-serviceable, with alternative components anticipated to be accessible in 2025. In accordance with OWC, this built-in design is what allows the drive’s climate resistance, so it looks like a good trade-off.
Efficiency
The Envoy Extremely’s primary promoting level is the efficiency enabled by the SSD and the paired TB5 connection. To get essentially the most out of this drive, you want a pc with a Thunderbolt 5 port, so I related it to a brand new M4 Professional MacBook Professional to see what it may do.
In my testing utilizing artificial benchmarks, the outcomes have been gorgeous for a transportable, bus-powered drive. I constantly noticed write and skim speeds above 5,200 MB/s. These are numbers that, till now, have been reserved for the quickest inner NVMe drives.
In real-world testing, outcomes have been equally spectacular. I transferred a 100 GB folder of 8K video information and 100 MP pictures from the pc to the drive in about 30 seconds. Whereas it’d be an unlikely combo, it’s value mentioning that you simply’d want each a TB5 port and a supply drive that may hold as much as get these speeds.
It’s additionally essential to notice that with very massive, steady information writes, the drive’s velocity will settle to a sustained price. OWC charges this write-cache exhaustion velocity at about 1,350 MB/s to 1,700 MB/s, relying on the drive’s capability. It is a regular conduct for SSDs as their cache fills, and this sustained velocity remains to be extremely quick and greater than sufficient for many high-bitrate video enhancing. Learn speeds received’t drop, nonetheless, with the drive delivering nice learn speeds throughout large artificial reads and file integrity checks.
All through these transfers, the aluminum physique solely ever turned lukewarm, and since it’s a fanless design, operation is totally silent. It is a large plus for anybody engaged on a set or in a quiet studio. It bucks a development I’ve seen with some current high-performance gear, which falls again to fan-based cooling or, even worse, an always-on fan.
Should you don’t have a TB5-capable pc simply but, or wish to use this drive throughout gadgets, it is essential to notice that it’s suitable again via TB3 on Mac, however requires TB4, TB5, or a USB4 port on PC. When you are not getting the complete velocity the drive is able to on an older port, it’s reassuring to comprehend it each performs on the most functionality of no matter port you plug it into and may allow you to entry information throughout a spread of current gadgets.
Who Is This For?
The OWC Envoy Extremely is aimed squarely at a selected kind of artistic: knowledgeable who wants the quickest in velocity, in a dependable housing. For anybody utilizing a brand new M4 Professional or M4 Max Mac, the Envoy Extremely provides exterior storage efficiency that may actually match (or exceed?) the velocity of your inner drive.
In case your work includes smaller file sizes on extra relaxed supply schedules, otherwise you don’t have a pc with a Thunderbolt 5 port, this drive is probably going overkill. You will discover glorious Thunderbolt 4 or USB-C drives for much less cash per GB that may serve you completely effectively. The Envoy Extremely is a top-tier device for individuals who want (or simply need) the quickest on the market.
The OWC Envoy Extremely delivers on its core promise. It’s an exceptionally quick, extremely well-built, and a transportable SSD that units a brand new efficiency benchmark. It proves that Thunderbolt 5 is not only vaporware, however a major step ahead in efficiency. The Envoy Extremely begins at $379.99 for the two.0 TB and a 4.0 TB model is offered for $549. Contemplating it is without doubt one of the very first Thunderbolt 5 drives accessible, the value feels much more affordable than I anticipated.
What I Preferred
Revolutionary Thunderbolt 5 switch speeds.
Extraordinarily rugged and IP67 water resistant construct.
Utterly silent and funky operation beneath load.
Consumer-replaceable cable design addresses a standard sturdiness concern.
What May Be Improved
