OWC

32 'OWC' stories April 2012 - April 2014

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OWC specializes in upgrades, gear, and accessories for Mac computers. You can find their products at MacSales.com

OWC processor/memory upgrades available for the Mac Pro you’re still waiting to receive

Ben Lovejoy Apr 2 2014 - 7:20 am PT

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You may still be waiting for your Mac Pro to arrive, but OWC is ready to sell you a CPU upgrade once it does. The company offers a choice of four E5 2600-series processors, ranging from an 8-core 2.6GHz chip with 20MB cache for $950, to a 12-core 2.7GHz processor for $1480.

We first confirmed that CPU upgrades were possible last December. The company says the upgraded processors offer speed gains ranging from 25 percent to 46 percent over Apple’s base model 4-core 1600-series processor. You can get rebates of between $100 and $750 for trading in the processor supplied with your Mac Pro, and also have the option of boosting the RAM from Apple’s maximum of 64GB to 128GB …
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OWC is announcing a sub $100 16GB RAM upgrade. We go even further…

Jordan Kahn Nov 16 2012 - 8:30 am PT

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OWC today announced 16GB RAM upgrades for Mac mini, MacBook Pro, and iMacs all for just under $100, around a 66 percent savings compared to Apple’s own factory upgrade options. Full details on the new OWC upgrades are below, but we recently found a 16GB RAM upgrade for $60 on Amazon that will save you almost an extra $40 on top of OWC’s prices.

OWC is also offering Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac for $39 with the purchase of 16B Memory Upgrade Kits:

OWC Certified 16GB Memory Upgrade Kits:

Upgrades for all Mac mini models from $15.99
16GB Kit (8GB x 2) from $99.00 for maximum memory

Upgrades for all MacBook & MacBook Pro (non-Retina) models from $29.99
16GB Kit (8GB x 2) from $99.00 for maximum memory

Upgrades for all iMac models from $11.99
16GB Kit (4GB x 4) for 2009 models for $97.99 for maximum memory
16GB Kit (8GB x 2) for 2010(i5/i7) & 2011 models for $99.00 (can add to existing)
32GB Kit (8GB x 4) for 2010(i5/i7) & 2011 models for $197.99 (double the factory
offered maximum)

Upgrades Qualify for Special Parallels Offer
With the purchase of OWC 16B Memory Upgrade Kits, customers qualify to purchase
Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac for only $39.00…a savings of $40.00 off retail.

New Mac minis get first tear down and Geekbench scores

Jordan Kahn Oct 24 2012 - 1:08 pm PT

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Apple’s refreshed Mac mini lineup already received some nice RAM upgrade options from OWC this morning, but now we get a look at the insides of the updated Macs courtesy of a tear down from Mac Mini Vault. The website also published Geekbench scores for the device, showing some impressive performance increases over the 2011 models.

First off, it found minimal changes to packaging and the positioning of the new Mac mini’s internals:

The overall packaging size was unchanged, however marketing specs have been updated and the inside organization has been optimized… Under the hood only minor differences are visible. Most notable are the fan design, Hitachi hard drive, and connections for the antennas. (2012 on left – 2011 on right)

As for Geekbench, the new stock Mac minis were able to record a score of 7433 running 10.8.1 out of the box. In comparison, Mac Mini Vault had a 2011 Mac mini running 10.8.2 clocked at 6583. Mac Mini Vault also noted it will begin testing alternative OS options for the new Mac mini server edition next week:

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OWC offering RAM upgrades for new Mac minis: $50 (8GB), $85 (12GB), $115 (16GB)

Jordan Kahn Oct 24 2012 - 8:14 am PT

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Apple’s new Mac mini lineup that unveiled yesterday comes with 4GB of RAM stock for all three models, but it now allows for up to 16GB of RAM across its two slots. Today, OWC announced some pretty attractive RAM upgrades that offer big savings on factory upgrades and one configuration not available through Apple. OWC sells similar RAM upgrades for iMacs. Unfortunately, though, the new 21-inch model does not provide user accessible memory.

OWC Memory Upgrades for 2012 Mac mini 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz, or 2.6GHz Intel i5 or i7 models:

OWC 8GB DDR3L Memory Kit (2 x 4GB memory modules) – $49.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 8GB total memory at 50 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 8GB option costing $100

OWC 12GB DDR3L Memory Kit (4GB + 8GB memory modules) – $85.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 12GB total memory. This kit offers 50 percent more RAM at 14 percent lower cost vs. factory 8GB option costing $100.

Upgrade not available as a factory option.

OWC 16GB DDR3L Memory Kit (2 x 8GB memory modules) – $114.99

Replaces existing factory installed 2 x 2GB memory modules with 16GB total memory at 67 percent lower cost vs. same sized factory 16GB option costing $300.

OWC has full details here.

OWC launches Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis

Jordan Kahn Jul 26 2012 - 10:39 am PT

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OWC is launching a new PCIe Thunderbolt expansion chassis today that provides the ability to take advantage of any professional level performance PCIe adapters (half-length PCIe 2.0 card up to 6.5″) on Thunderbolt Macs:

Mercury Helios is fast and flexible with throughput up to 10Gb/s, and is the perfect solution to massively boost workflow productivity. It’s bootable with AHCI compliant cards and can daisy-chain up to six devices. Types of PCIe cards Helios can use include: Fibre Channel • 10Gb Ethernet • RAID controller • Video capture • Digital audio • Solid State Drive • SAS controllers such as the OWC Jupiter • and FireWire, USB 3.0, eSATA host adapter cards.

The Mercury Helios PCIe Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis is available now for $399.95, and it is shipping from OWC in “7-10 days.” A full list of features and specs from OWC is below:

Features and Specifications

Use any half-length, single width, full height x1, x4 or x8 Thunderbolt compliant and AHCI compliant PCIe card
Expansion slots: One PCIe 2.0 x8 (x4 mode)
Connection interfaces: Two Thunderbolt ports
Daisy-chain up to six devices
Bootable with AHCI compliant cards
External case dimensions: 5.7 in (W) x 8.8 in (D) x 2.9 in (H)
Weighs 2.4 lbs (without card)
Ventilated quiet cooling with a variable speed fan
Automatically powers on/off with computer
Warranty: 3-year
Compatible with any computer that can support Thunderbolt technology

OWC Mercury Accelsior PCI-SSD benchmarked

Seth Weintraub Apr 26 2012 - 9:28 pm PT

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For those of us still with pre-Thunderbolt Mac Pros or Xserves (or Hackintoshes), there are not a lot of inexpensive choices for getting super fast data access onto our machines. Sure, you can buy a SATA 3 hard drive like my favorite Samsung 830 series, but the built in SATA 2 on these old machines is a bottleneck that will “only” yield 250 MB/second read speeds.

Along comes OWC last month with its first-ever Mercury Accelsior Mac-bootable PCI SSD card that is actually a PCI-to-striped RAID SATA array. The two SATA3 cards you see above actually look like (but aren’t – don’t try it) the same super high-speed Sandforce 3 drives that OWC sells as MacBook Air updates.

By the way, the cards are a snap to install and configure. If you have ever added a PCI video card, this is the same thing. Even better, there are no drivers to install, and the drive automatically shows up as a mounted disk that can (and should!) be booted from.

How did they compare to the single MacBook Air SSDs?

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First Mac Bootable PCI SSD now available from OWC

Jake Smith Apr 18 2012 - 1:35 pm PT

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OWC released the first Mac bootable PCI SSD card, and it is called the “Mercury Accelsior.” The Accelsior features dual SandForce SF-228X controllers and a choice between a 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, or 960GB capacity.

AnandTech explained the technical aspects best:

The actual design is pretty interesting. OWC has opted to build the SSD out of two blades, each with their own controller and NAND running. The blades run in RAID 0 by default but they can also be configured in RAID 1 mode. Oftentimes everything is intergrated on one PCB but OWC’s approach is different, and there is actually a big advantage todoing things this way. Using blades allows the capacity to be upgraded without buying a totally new card. OWC does not sell the blades separately yet, but manufacturing new blades should be somwhat cheaper than manufacturing the whole PCB, so down the road this could result in a lower total upgrade price.

You can purchase the Mercury Accelsior over on OWC’s website. You can also check out the full press release below:

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That’s not a defibrillator, it’s OWC’s DIY SSD kit for 2011 iMacs

Jordan Kahn Apr 10 2012 - 8:46 am PT

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iFixit introduced its iMac Mid 2011 Dual Hard Drive Kit ($69.95) last month for adding an SSD to both the 21.5-inch and 27-inch models. Meanwhile, OWC Macsales made its own kit available today for 2011 iMac users, which allows you to install any 2.5-inch Serial ATA SSD. The kit will work with most compatible SSDs, but OWC recommends its $99.97 OWC Mercury 6G SSD (up to 480GB) shown in the installation video below. As for the kit itself, it is now available through Macsales for $44.99. Here is what you will get:

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