For those of us who can’t afford pricey solid-state drives, but still need a speedy solution for storing data and transferring large files, RAIDs can fill the void--and provide much more storage capacity, dollar for dollar. When configured as a RAID 0, two drives working as one can offer impeccable performance for media, while a RAID 1 can offer a reliable backup solution as one hard drive mirrors the other. Now, hard drive manufacturers are offering Thunderbolt-compatible RAIDs to help bridge the gap between affordable storage solutions and Apple’s new high-speed technology, and both Western Digital and G-Technology have entered the market with their own Thunderbolt RAID offerings.
Western Digital’s 6TB My Book Thunderbolt Duo (also available in 4TB) comes with two 3TB WD Caviar Green drives, and while WD refuses to give an exact spindle speed, these drives tend to spin anywhere between 5,400 and 5,900 rpm on average. The Caviar Green drives are also designed to use less energy, and they stay relatively quiet. In our QuickBench test, the My Book performed an average read and write speed of 162MB/s and 140MB/s, respectively, while in RAID 0, and a read and write speed of 87MB/s and 82MB/s in RAID 1. The My Book proved its worth with speedy transfer rates, as it took only 14 seconds to transfer 4GB of video in a RAID 0 setup. But its sluggish performance in RAID 1 shows that a Thunderbolt-capable RAID can be crippled by the speed of its mechanical drives. If the My Book Thunderbolt Duo came packaged with two 7,200-rpm drives, we’d probably be telling a different story.
Actually, we’d be telling G-Technology’s 8TB G-RAID story, because it does come packing two 4TB, 7,200-rpm Hitachi drives inside. (It’s available in 4TB and 6TB sizes too.) The RAID clocked in at read and write speeds of 248MB/s and 192MB/s in RAID 0, and 121MB/s and 116MB/s in RAID 1. The G-RAID's read speeds in RAID 0 are comparable to that of an SSD, and its overall performance illustrates that mechanical hard drives do have their place with the Thunderbolt I/O. The G-RAID’s only major setbacks are cosmetic: the chassis is huge and features a bright white LED light on the front. It’s also a bit louder compared to the My Book Thunderbolt Duo, but this is not a beauty contest, so if you can deal with its awkward size then you should consider it for the performance alone.
Both RAIDs come preconfigured as RAID 0 and are formatted HFS+, so they work right out of the box. The G-RAID and the My Book also both allow you to daisy chain other Thunderbolt drives, which is ideal for professionals who need the space, or the extra backups. The My Book also comes with WD’s software, which offers S.M.A.R.T. drive monitoring and the ability to switch between a mirrored or a striped RAID mechanism, but it’s arguably easier to do these tasks with OS X’s built-in Disk Utility. Neither of the drives comes with a Thunderbolt cord--you’ll have to get your own from Apple for $49--but we can’t stress enough that this is not a manufacturer folly. Every Thunderbolt product we’ve tested so far is BYO cable.
The bottom line. Fans of WD’s reputable My Book line will appreciate that the My Book Thunderbolt Duo exists for their Thunderbolt-capable Mac. But anyone without such brand loyalty should consider G-Technology’s G-RAID to take advantage of Thunderbolt’s powerful capabilities.
My Book Thunderbolt Duo
Western Digital
wdc.com
Price: $599.99 for 4TB; $699.99 for 6TB (tested)
Requirements: Thunderbolt port, Apple Thunderbolt cord ($49, www.apple.com)
Pros: Fast data transfers between Mac and RAID. Quiet. Easy to store enclosure.
Cons: Not as fast as a 7,200-rpm hard drive.
G-RAID with Thunderbolt
G-Technology by Hitachi
g-technology.com
Price: $699.99 for 4TB; $849.99 for 6TB; $999.99 for 8TB (tested)
Requirements: Thunderbolt port, Apple Thunderbolt cord ($49, www.apple.com)
Pros: Large capacity. Fast read and write speeds. Ability to daisy chain with other Thunderbolt drives.
Cons: Big, bulky enclosure. Gets a bit loud during use.
