Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
A worthy , furrowed , Thunderbolt 3 threefold - HDD box with tons of mental ability for relief , video and audio production .
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The back panel of the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID. And yes, we know the silicone jacket is slightly askew. It wouldn’t stay flush..
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Every clock time I review a product that features grueling platter driving force ( HDDs ) , I sing the same tune : lots of capacity for a circumstances less than SSDs , and serious performance than you might think .
I would n’t require to go my operating system off a box like the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID ( HDDs bid otiose random access ) , but I ’d surely use it for sound recording or television output where sequential transfer focal ratio is paramount . 550MBps in RAID 0 will easily do the john in most scenario .
The HDD versus SSD conundrum
But there ’s a caveat : the clean RAID 0 that delivers that 550MBps offers no redundance . HDDs , while far more reliable than they used to be , are still mechanically skillful and hence , more prone to failure than far quicker SSDs . manoeuvre HDDs in mirrored distich is far dependable , but half as fast and half the capacity .
The issue is , that while HDD storage is cheap , once you to the full account for the higher possibility of drive failure , that ’s not by as much as it might first seem . More on that in the price plane section .
Note that while I feel compelled to point out the frailty of HDDs , I ’ve had a pair of 16 TB HDDs carry 16 hour a day in a NAS box for almost seven twelvemonth , with nary a lead of anything untoward . That said , I incline them mirror due to a couple of bad experience back in the twenty-four hours .
The back panel of the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID. And yes, we know the silicone jacket is slightly askew. It wouldn’t stay flush..
This is not to say that SSDs never give out . Theydo on rare occasions , though most of the meter convalescence is simply a issue of a controller reset .
Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID features
A sturdily constructed ( and then some ) bootleg alloy box jacket in silicone , the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID is a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure sporting treble , easy - clear 3.5 - in drive bays . It ’s sold pre - populated in 8 TB to 48 TB capacities . Bear in mind that advertised capacity is the summation of both drive when operated stripy or separately .
Including the silicone arm , the Blackbox Pro RAID measures approximately 8.5 - inches long by 4 - inches wide by 5.25 - inches tall . By its lonesome it count 5.1 pound , balloon to a respectable 8.1 or so pound when HDDs are add . The AC adapter , with its matching silicone jacket adds another pound .
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Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID adapter
Jon L. Jacobi
On the back of the building block are a full - sized DisplayPort port , two Thunderbolt 3 interface ( Type - C ) , mode switch , a RAID way set switch , a Kensington lock larboard , and the DC king jackstones .
If you were wondering why 3GBps Thunderbolt 3 with 550MBps HDDs , the Display Port and an optional integrated USB / menu slot hub are the reasonableness . Or course , a couple more USB ports and ethernet on the back might have stiffened that principle , in my opinion .
532MBps reading and 511MBps writing in striped RAID 0, as measured by Blackmagicdesign’s Disk Speed Test is a very good performance. So is 271MBps reading and 254MBps writing in mirrored RAID 1 mode.
The Blackbox Pro RAID arrive at it super easy to switch musical mode ( RAID 0 dismantle , RAID 1 mirrored , JBOD , or independent ): only reorient the twin mini angle of dip switches according to the diagrams directly above them , then urge and hold the reset clitoris for four seconds .
Being ever so slightly paranoid ( not without cause ) , it seems a turn too easy as the reset button is n’t recess . But pressing said clit has no effect unless you ’ve changed the dip switches .
Glyph warranties the Blackbox Pro RAID for three class with a promise of data recovery for two old age , and portion replacement for one . I did n’t see a shock evaluation , but never discharge a hard drive natural enclosure , and never , ever move it about while it ’s powered up .
AmorphousDiskMark 4 rated the Blackbox Pro RAID in RAID 0 as slightly faster 540MBps reading and a bit slower 490MBps writing. The 273MBps)/259MBps performance in RAID 1 is almost exactly half — as it normally is.
Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID price
The Blackbox Pro RAID retails for $ 600 with 8 TB , $ 780 with 16 TB , $ 1000 with 24 TB , $ 1100 with 32 TB , $ 1400 with the 40 TB that I tested , $ 1550 with 44 TB , and $ 1900 with 48 TB .
Those were discounted to $ 530/8 TB , $ 680/16 TB , $ 900/24 TB , $ 1000/32 TB , $ 1150/40 TB , $ 1350/44 TB , and $ 1700/48 TB . Alas , the loge is n’t available unpopulated so there ’s no pickings vantage of HDDs you might have lying around .
The Blackbox Pro RAID is also useable with an integrated I / O hub featuring CFAST 2.0 and SD slots , as well as a 10Gbps Type - A USB port . Tack on $ 40 to $ 100 look on the capacitance you order . Why , that price divergence for the same option I ca n’t tell you .
The story was pretty much the same (as expected) from ATTO Disk Benchmark. Note that the ruler to the left in the screen captures below changes from 1GBps maximum for RAID0 to 500MBps maximum in the RAID 1 test.
The enclosure is priced slightly down than theOWC Gemini , though the Gemini has a duet more ports standard . The Gemini is also available drive - less for $ 300 and with 4 TB rendering for $ 470 — configurations that the Blackbox Pro RAID does n’t volunteer . The G - RAID mirror feature a Pro - Blade modular NVMe SSD port and is a number more than the Blackbox Pro RAID as well .
Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID adapter
As I previously discussed , compare to SSDs , the Blackbox Pro RAID appears dirt cheap . A undivided 8 TB NVMe SSD in an enclosing is around $ 600/$700 , which is competitive at that capacity . But adding four of those together to get 32 TB would cost you $ 2400 as opposed to $ 1100 the 32 TB Blackbox Pro RAID set you back .
As you can see the Blackbox Pro RAID was only a hair behind the OWC Gemini in CrystalDiskMark 8 sequential performance. Longer bars are better.
And that ’s before you pay $ 250 plus for an NVMe RAID box such as theOWC 4M2 — if you may line up it . I went looking for the 4M2 and it ’s apparently EOL , to be replaced with something faster in the cheeseparing futurity . I might hint the OWC Thunderblade , but that ’s a whopping $ 800 for four one-armed bandit , making even a couplet of the Blackbox Pro RAID ’s far more sympathetic .
To re - emphasize , HDD reliability is much better than it used to be , but you should probably run for the Blackbox Pro RAID mirror or in pairs for anything other than scratch entrepot .
That makes the cost $ 2200 for two 32 TB Blackbox Pros versus $ 2700 to $ 3200 for 32 TB of NVMe SSDs . brassy , but not well-nigh as much so . see the monumental boost in performance SSDs deliver , well …
Hard drives have lousy random performance compared to SSD’s but I put them here anyway for the sake of consistency. Longer bars are better.
Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID performance
Though the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID was n’t quite as immobile asOWC ’s Geminiin our testing , keep in mind that I test the OWC corner with a pair of very fast , 24 TB WD UltraStar DC HC580 HDDs . The 40 TB Blackbox Pro RAID Glyph sent us used still fast , but slightly more mundane 20 TB Toshiba MG10ACA20TE drive .
Regardless , 532MBps meter reading and 511MBps spell in striped RAID 0 , as valuate by Blackmagicdesign ’s Disk Speed Test is a very skillful performance . So is 271MBps learn and 254MBps writing in mirrored RAID 1 fashion .
AmorphousDiskMark 4 rated the Blackbox Pro RAID in RAID 0 as slightly faster 540MBps reading and a bit slower 490MBps drop a line . The 273MBps/259MBps performance in RAID 1 is almost on the button half as it commonly is .
The Blackbox Pro RAID was again slower than the OWC Gemini in 48 GB transfers. Shorter. bars are better.
The account was reasonably much the same ( as expected ) from ATTO Disk Benchmark . mention that the ruler to the leftfield in the filmdom captures below changes from 1GBps maximum for RAID0 to 500MBps maximum in the RAID 1 test .
I also ran the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID through PCWorld ’s test quite with largely the same results . The OWC Gemini was quicker , but the G - RAID Mirror was much slower in RAID 0 . The latter ’s low scores were a puzzler as that boxwood used the same 24 TB WD UltraStar DC HC580 HDDs as the Gemini .
I let in the random performance number as a small dose of levity . Modern SSDs surpass these resultant a hundredfold . If you ’re young enough to not call up HDDs , this is what we oldsters had to look at with . After of course , upgrading from floppy record .
50 or 100 seconds is not a horrible deficit when writing 450 GB. Shorter bars are better.
The Glyph Black box Pro raid did very well in our 4 GB transfer if not as well as the OWC Gemini in some tests . Again , the sloth - alike performance of the G - RAID mirror , also a Thunderbolt 3 box was a secret .
The pecking fiat remain intact after the 450 GB write , the Blackbox Pro RAID a ways behind in second place . ,
Overall , I was quite pleased with the Blackbox Pro RAID ’s functioning . give the advantage of the slightly faster WD HDDs in the OWC , I ’d call the boxes themselves roughly on par performance - wise .
Should you buy the Glyph Blackbox Pro RAID?
If you want maximal capacity for the least amount of dollars then the Blackbox Pro RAID is a great product . mostly on par with the OWC Gemini , and quicker than the G - RAID Mirror .
But I ’d consider running it paired with another or in mirror mode for data point safety , which cuts down mightily on the bargain facial expression . Regardless , a great threefold - unvoiced drive enclosing .
