The Mercury Elite Pro Quad's powerful USB-C interface delivers USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) bandwidth and works with any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows PC. Simply connect the Mercury Elite Pro Quad via the included USB-C cable to experience next-level performance. If your computer doesn't feature USB-C connectivity, the included USB-C to USB-A cable brings backward compatibility for machines with legacy USB ports. Compatible with 2.5' and 3.5' drives, the Mercury Elite Pro Quad's four universal drive bays provide users massive storage possibilities. With this level of capacity and drive flexibility, you will not have to compromise when it comes to your storage. Multiple RAID options let you select the RAID level that fits you or your project’s needs best. If you need maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes, SoftRAID has you covered. Packed with features like drive validation, verification and failure prediction—SoftRAID includes features you simply don’t get with hardware RAID. It’s like having a datacenter on your desktop! From home users looking to protect photos and documents to professionals needing to protect and quickly access projects, SoftRAID is the perfect solution.
The Mercury Elite Pro Quad's powerful USB-C interface delivers USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) bandwidth and works with any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows PC. Simply connect the Mercury Elite Pro Quad via the included USB-C cable to experience next-level performance. If your computer doesn't feature USB-C connectivity, the included USB-C to USB-A cable brings backward compatibility for machines with legacy USB ports. Compatible with 2.5' and 3.5' drives, the Mercury Elite Pro Quad's four universal drive bays provide users massive storage possibilities. With this level of capacity and drive flexibility, you will not have to compromise when it comes to your storage. Multiple RAID options let you select the RAID level that fits you or your project’s needs best. If you need maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes, SoftRAID has you covered. Packed with features like drive validation, verification and failure prediction—SoftRAID includes features you simply don’t get with hardware RAID. It’s like having a datacenter on your desktop! From home users looking to protect photos and documents to professionals needing to protect and quickly access projects, SoftRAID is the perfect solution.
in 1 offers
The lowest price for 56TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad RAID 5 Four-Drive HDD External Storage Solution right now is $3,199.99 at Macfixit Australia.
The all-time low was $3,199.99 on 30 July 2025. That's the lowest price we've ever tracked — a great time to buy.
56TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad RAID 5 Four-Drive HDD External Storage Solution
The Mercury Elite Pro Quad's powerful USB-C interface delivers USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) bandwidth and works with any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows PC. Simply connect the Mercury Elite Pro Quad via the included USB-C cable to experience next-level performance. If your computer doesn't feature USB-C connectivity, the included USB-C to USB-A cable brings backward compatibility for machines with legacy USB ports. Compatible with 2.5' and 3.5' drives, the Mercury Elite Pro Quad's four universal drive bays provide users massive storage possibilities. With this level of capacity and drive flexibility, you will not have to compromise when it comes to your storage. Multiple RAID options let you select the RAID level that fits you or your project’s needs best. If you need maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes, SoftRAID has you covered. Packed with features like drive validation, verification and failure prediction—SoftRAID includes features you simply don’t get with hardware RAID. It’s like having a datacenter on your desktop! From home users looking to protect photos and documents to professionals needing to protect and quickly access projects, SoftRAID is the perfect solution.
The Mercury Elite Pro Quad's powerful USB-C interface delivers USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) bandwidth and works with any USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 equipped Mac or Windows PC. Simply connect the Mercury Elite Pro Quad via the included USB-C cable to experience next-level performance. If your computer doesn't feature USB-C connectivity, the included USB-C to USB-A cable brings backward compatibility for machines with legacy USB ports. Compatible with 2.5' and 3.5' drives, the Mercury Elite Pro Quad's four universal drive bays provide users massive storage possibilities. With this level of capacity and drive flexibility, you will not have to compromise when it comes to your storage. Multiple RAID options let you select the RAID level that fits you or your project’s needs best. If you need maximum volume capacity, optimum drive performance, data protection, or a combination of attributes, SoftRAID has you covered. Packed with features like drive validation, verification and failure prediction—SoftRAID includes features you simply don’t get with hardware RAID. It’s like having a datacenter on your desktop! From home users looking to protect photos and documents to professionals needing to protect and quickly access projects, SoftRAID is the perfect solution.
Prices last updated 1 Mar 2026.
Last updated at 01/03/2026 21:54:03
56TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad RAID 5 Four-Drive HDD External Storage Solution
Delivery between 6–13 Mar $12
originally posted on macsales.com
Having previously purchased the Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini, I needed something to accommodate several 2.5" SATA SSDs I had previously installed in an old Intel tower Mac. This is very high quality, all-metal construction, with easy connection over USB-C and a built-in power supply. If I were to suggest an improvement, it would be to use snap-in drive mounting rails instead of 16 fiddly small screws, and use some sort of teflon or similar slides to prevent the drive mounts from scraping on the interior metal. Since it's more of a "set it and forget it" type of box where you're not likely to be pulling drives very often, the mounting system is OK, it's not a hot-swap RAID unit. I actually ended up exchanging this for the smaller ThunderBay 4 Mini as I needed ... MoreHaving previously purchased the Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini, I needed something to accommodate several 2.5" SATA SSDs I had previously installed in an old Intel tower Mac. This is very high quality, all-metal construction, with easy connection over USB-C and a built-in power supply. If I were to suggest an improvement, it would be to use snap-in drive mounting rails instead of 16 fiddly small screws, and use some sort of teflon or similar slides to prevent the drive mounts from scraping on the interior metal. Since it's more of a "set it and forget it" type of box where you're not likely to be pulling drives very often, the mounting system is OK, it's not a hot-swap RAID unit. I actually ended up exchanging this for the smaller ThunderBay 4 Mini as I needed something that would take up a little less desktop space and fit under a monitor stand - I haven't used 3.5" drives in over a decade so the TB 4 Mini is more compact for my needs, though it too could use snap-in mounts and glides.
originally posted on macsales.com
I got this model for 4 HDDs I have from another system. 10Gbps is plenty fast for what I use for. I use them as individual drives so I don't need the SoftRAID software which is extra. Now I can move the item to any macOS devices I have unencumbered by any software license. macOS comes with RAID 0 should I feel adventurous and speedy later on. The 7200rpm hdd I have only have r/w for about 160MB/s which would never saturate the 10Gbps connection. The unit does not provide additional connections for display and whatnot. It's just a pure direct attached storage. It provides sleep and stable connection no problem. Since I run 4 HDDs in it so there is some noise but not really because of the enclosure per se more like from the HDDs, if I were to run SATA SSD I believe ... MoreI got this model for 4 HDDs I have from another system. 10Gbps is plenty fast for what I use for. I use them as individual drives so I don't need the SoftRAID software which is extra. Now I can move the item to any macOS devices I have unencumbered by any software license. macOS comes with RAID 0 should I feel adventurous and speedy later on. The 7200rpm hdd I have only have r/w for about 160MB/s which would never saturate the 10Gbps connection. The unit does not provide additional connections for display and whatnot. It's just a pure direct attached storage. It provides sleep and stable connection no problem. Since I run 4 HDDs in it so there is some noise but not really because of the enclosure per se more like from the HDDs, if I were to run SATA SSD I believe the whole setup would be quieter as fan noise is minimum from what I can hear. Not the latest greatest in 2023 but it got the job done.
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
I moved from a QNAP TR-04 to this since to get higher speed. This drive is very fast with USB 3.1 gen 2. However, it is very difficult to use due to USB C to USB C 3.1 gen 2 cables. I have tried multiple cables, lengths, and placement. it seems the cables are even sensitive to placement and if they run next to other cables. I have this connected to an Alienware R11 with a usb 3.1 port. When used with some USB cables, drives wont even mount, with other cables, drives will mount but drop often or get data loss. When using the included OWC cable it works fine as long as you do not run along with ethernet or other cables. So in summary, great enclosure if you can stick with a 3Ft cable and can be very careful with cable placement.
56TB OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad RAID 5 Four-Drive HDD External Storage Solution
Delivery between 6–13 Mar $12
Having previously purchased the Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini, I needed something to accommodate several 2.5" SATA SSDs I had previously installed in an old Intel tower Mac. This is very high quality, all-metal construction, with easy connection over USB-C and a built-in power supply. If I were to suggest an improvement, it would be to use snap-in drive mounting rails instead of 16 fiddly small screws, and use some sort of teflon or similar slides to prevent the drive mounts from scraping on the interior metal. Since it's more of a "set it and forget it" type of box where you're not likely to be pulling drives very often, the mounting system is OK, it's not a hot-swap RAID unit. I actually ended up exchanging this for the smaller ThunderBay 4 Mini as I needed ... MoreHaving previously purchased the Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini, I needed something to accommodate several 2.5" SATA SSDs I had previously installed in an old Intel tower Mac. This is very high quality, all-metal construction, with easy connection over USB-C and a built-in power supply. If I were to suggest an improvement, it would be to use snap-in drive mounting rails instead of 16 fiddly small screws, and use some sort of teflon or similar slides to prevent the drive mounts from scraping on the interior metal. Since it's more of a "set it and forget it" type of box where you're not likely to be pulling drives very often, the mounting system is OK, it's not a hot-swap RAID unit. I actually ended up exchanging this for the smaller ThunderBay 4 Mini as I needed something that would take up a little less desktop space and fit under a monitor stand - I haven't used 3.5" drives in over a decade so the TB 4 Mini is more compact for my needs, though it too could use snap-in mounts and glides.
I got this model for 4 HDDs I have from another system. 10Gbps is plenty fast for what I use for. I use them as individual drives so I don't need the SoftRAID software which is extra. Now I can move the item to any macOS devices I have unencumbered by any software license. macOS comes with RAID 0 should I feel adventurous and speedy later on. The 7200rpm hdd I have only have r/w for about 160MB/s which would never saturate the 10Gbps connection. The unit does not provide additional connections for display and whatnot. It's just a pure direct attached storage. It provides sleep and stable connection no problem. Since I run 4 HDDs in it so there is some noise but not really because of the enclosure per se more like from the HDDs, if I were to run SATA SSD I believe ... MoreI got this model for 4 HDDs I have from another system. 10Gbps is plenty fast for what I use for. I use them as individual drives so I don't need the SoftRAID software which is extra. Now I can move the item to any macOS devices I have unencumbered by any software license. macOS comes with RAID 0 should I feel adventurous and speedy later on. The 7200rpm hdd I have only have r/w for about 160MB/s which would never saturate the 10Gbps connection. The unit does not provide additional connections for display and whatnot. It's just a pure direct attached storage. It provides sleep and stable connection no problem. Since I run 4 HDDs in it so there is some noise but not really because of the enclosure per se more like from the HDDs, if I were to run SATA SSD I believe the whole setup would be quieter as fan noise is minimum from what I can hear. Not the latest greatest in 2023 but it got the job done.
I moved from a QNAP TR-04 to this since to get higher speed. This drive is very fast with USB 3.1 gen 2. However, it is very difficult to use due to USB C to USB C 3.1 gen 2 cables. I have tried multiple cables, lengths, and placement. it seems the cables are even sensitive to placement and if they run next to other cables. I have this connected to an Alienware R11 with a usb 3.1 port. When used with some USB cables, drives wont even mount, with other cables, drives will mount but drop often or get data loss. When using the included OWC cable it works fine as long as you do not run along with ethernet or other cables. So in summary, great enclosure if you can stick with a 3Ft cable and can be very careful with cable placement.
This enclosure is exactly what I needed when migrating from my old MacPro with 4 HD bays to a Mac Studio. It is compact, so it can be placed on your desk, or under /in your desk. And it uses the USB-C connections for really quick service.This was an "open Box" purchase at a very reasonable price. I have only 2 tiny negatives...very tiny.1. This open box device did not have any "manual" or set up instructions included. OWC's videos saved the day in that respect.2. Although I did not have an SSD drive to install, I can see that the tiny screws included for attaching one would be a real problem for someone like myself with old, stiff fingers. But I admit that OWC has no control over the standards used by drive manufacturers for attachment holes.I have done business ... MoreThis enclosure is exactly what I needed when migrating from my old MacPro with 4 HD bays to a Mac Studio. It is compact, so it can be placed on your desk, or under /in your desk. And it uses the USB-C connections for really quick service.This was an "open Box" purchase at a very reasonable price. I have only 2 tiny negatives...very tiny.1. This open box device did not have any "manual" or set up instructions included. OWC's videos saved the day in that respect.2. Although I did not have an SSD drive to install, I can see that the tiny screws included for attaching one would be a real problem for someone like myself with old, stiff fingers. But I admit that OWC has no control over the standards used by drive manufacturers for attachment holes.I have done business with OWC for many, many years. I have never had anything but great experiences. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED PRODUCT!
I've been using this enclosure for about one week, and although I have no comment regarding long-term viability, the enclosure is solidly constructed, components fit together well, drive trays slide in and out without encumbrance, and all screw holes align perfectly. I appreciate the rubberized feet and separate rear access (via screws) to the fan assembly. The drive bays are universal and hot swappable. I have the 10 Gbps maximum speed non-RAID version.
I bought two of these to replace Drobos that we had been using for our photo storage. I've been very pleased with the experience. The OWC units are solidly built, and installing four 4TB Seagate IronWolf drives was easy. I also bought the OWC SoftRaid software, which made it very simple to set them up as Raid 5 DAS units with a capacity of 12TB each. They've been running for a month now with no issues. My only nitpick is that the AC cord and USB cables are rather short. I had to buy a six-foot USB C to USB C cable to accommodate where I wanted to place the units.
Great, solid and heavy build. Have to be careful if moving things around to not break the little USB-C off.Almost missed the thin plastic covers in front of the drive slots. Easy to get to the fan, it's got plenty of space for a thick one, 3 pin connector and it's basically never going fast with helium drives that aren't being run at max speeds.Great to have an option that doesn't have hardware raid, you get more solid construction in its place. ZFS setup with caching of metadata on an SSD for fast directory listings and file size counts.Can't see it in the photos, 2.5 inch drives are mounted through the bottom and there's a cross beam in the middle of the brackets.S.M.A.R.T. data shows up fine.
This is a sleek, well-built case that comes ready to load with 3.5-inch drives. I'm marking it down because there is a QNAP unit that offers hardware RAID including RAID 5/6, where this unit pushes new users (those not interested in custom software setups) into purchasing OWC's SoftRAID software for a huge additional cost (including eventual necessary upgrades).tl;dr: It's a bad value. Just buy the QNAP.
I was looking for a way to store a lot of data with lots of redundancy. I tried QNAP/Synology NAS devices and was dissatisfied with their performance and interface. I don't think I'm the intended audience for this device, but it's perfect for what I wanted. I have the device connected to my Linux desktop, with 3 x 14TB WD Gold drives in RAID 1, and 1 SSD in the 4th slot. I am using ZFS for the RAID. The performance is great.Things I like:- Almost completely metal; I don't see how you could break any part of it easily, including the drive trays- No discrete power supply brick, just a normal PC power cable- Fan is very quiet but supplies good airflow; my drives are staying cool even under stress- Compact
I bought the 48TB version of this system in Jan of 2024.Product arrived quickly and easy setup. Typical speeds were write 508 MB/s, and write 508 MB/s.Using on Davinci Resolve editing software, iMac I9 48gb ram.The drive is noisy, hums intermittently till i lightly tap the top of the box. also clicks loudly when accessing the files. Not sure if it is just the drives or the system by design.
