With the Pegasus R4 and R6 Thunderbolt RAID Enclosures now shipping, the first review units are starting to appear at various publications. Macworld has some early benchmarks comparing a 6-drive RAID 5 Promise enclosure to a 4-drive RAID 5 SmartStore DS 4600. The comparisons aren't entirely equal as the Promise enclosure doesn't support USB or FirewWire, so they had to make do with comparing different enclosures.

Pegasus SmartNavi
The early results are impressive. Benchmarks showed that the read and write speeds of the Thunderbolt enclosure were 6.8 and 11.5x faster than FireWire 800:

When connected to the iMac, the R6’s AJA System Test read scores came in at 566MBps—6.8 times faster than the DS4600 using FireWire 800. Even more impressive was the R6’s 644MBps AJA System Test write score, which is 11.5 times faster than the FireWire 800 scores of the DS4600.

Even more real-world tests of file and folder copies benefited with speeds ranging from at least 2x faster.

Macworld does plan to compare against eSATA in the future, and other benchmarks should be emerging over the next few days.

Top Rated Comments

superericla Avatar
188 months ago
Wrong. The memory in the iPhone is FLASH memory, the same kind used in SSD drives. Theoretically, the memory capability in the iPhone should be about 200-300mbps, but USB 2.0 is limited to 28mbps sync speeds currently..

It would be totally awesome if they do some out with that universal connector on the new iphone that does USB 3.0, 2.0, and Thunderbolt. Wifi sync is nice, but iphone only works on the 2GHZ wireless band, which is over crowded in most populated metro areas and will not be much faster then USB sync.

Sorry but you're wrong. The iPhone using flash memory may be similar to SSDs in some ways but speed is not one of those. SSDs use multiple NAND chips to achieve the high transfer rates while the iPhone only uses a single NAND chip which of course means it's much slower. Toshiba's 128GB flash NAND chips are estimated at around 55MB per second read and 21MB per second write speeds which doesn't even saturate USB 2. This 128GB flash NAND is faster than the NAND Apple currently uses in iPhones as well.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
188 months ago
Well let's see, the last time Apple started a dog and pony show against emerging standards, they lost... Firewire 800 was 3-4x faster then USB 2.0, but never gained wide spread adoption. In fact, it's only been in the last year that Firewire external drives have become mainstream and affordable, but they are still about 20% more expensive then their USB 2 or 3 counter parts.

USB 3.0 is already on almost all the new external hard drives coming out today, there are no thunderbolt drives.... USB 3.0 is already on the majority of new PC's being made and laptops... Only the Macs have Thunderbolt connectors..

I predict the same fate for thunderbolt as Firewire. It will be a premium product designed for high end users with deep pockets, and the rest of us.. will be left in the cold by Apple as they refuse to add USB 3.0 to their Macbook Pros.... Thanks Apple.

I am hoping and PRAYING someone comes up with a USB 3.0 to Thunderbolt adaptor... I'd pay $100 bucks for it.
Firewire had royalty fees. Thunderbolt does not. No one wants to pay Apple to use their cable. This is an open market now. Big difference.

Edit: I'm going to go out on a limb here, but I'm guess you probably also discounted blu-ray from the start too, saying it was a "premium product". Now, here we are, when blu-ray actually outsells DVD on day 1 launches. I remember when DVD players launched first sold at $1000. Like all new, emerging technologies, once support picks up, it's all gravy from there.

Oh, and I don't think Apple failed or "lost" with firewire. They may have failed with industry wide support, but the fact that firewire ports still exist on Macs shipping today is a testament to the protocol's life long endurance. In fact, I still use Firewire devices....How is that a loss?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vol7ron Avatar
188 months ago
Wish I could add a thunderbolt interface :( I expected a faster throughput tho.

600 Megabytes per second is amazing considering that they aren't using high end SAS drives or that many spindles.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gmcalpin Avatar
188 months ago
So it's basically in the same ballpark as a good single SSD drive. Sweet!
Now imagine sticking 8 SSDs in there.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
188 months ago
Too bad I can't buy this box diskless. So that I can choose to outfit them with SSD or cheaper hard disks of my choosing.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Prodo123 Avatar
188 months ago
so obviously i am that newbie guy that has to ask some dumb question, but if you would be so kind to answer that would be awesome.

so i have been keeping up with the TB discussions as much as possible but i think i am just a little confused here, am i right in saying that at the moment there are only raid devices for TB? if so then will there be just a straight forward external HDD in the future or will TB be sticking to RAID type devices?

also with all the discussions on TB's speed, if my computer knowledge isn't lacking then TB has a bit rate of 10Gbps, correct? and 8 bits are 1 byte, so then in a perfect world where the devices a TB cable would be copying to and from, would read and write super fast, would that mean that a TB cable could transfer a file of ±1.25GB in 1 second??

To put it in perspective, you could copy 3 entire Blu-ray drives, which is 25GB of uncompressed 1080p glory, from your computer to 3 daisy-chained disk arrays in around 28 seconds for all, while you have 2 ACDs hooked up on the end which are streaming 2 1080p videos from the disk arrays as you copy the Blu-rays. Amazing, huh?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...
apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
Cyber Monday Deals 2025

Best Cyber Monday Apple Deals Include Big Discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 30, 2025 7:33 am PST by
Now that Black Friday is in the rearview mirror, Cyber Monday discounts have begun appearing online, and you can find popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more at all-time low prices. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may ...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's Big Plans for iPad Mini 8

Friday November 28, 2025 8:39 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through the latest rumors about Apple's upcoming iPad mini 8. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The next-generation version of the iPad mini is expected to feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple...