OWC Accelsior 8M2 is a PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD with up to 64TB capacity and 26,000MB/s speed

See that graphics card? Actually, it is not a GPU at all! While it does have a x16 PCIe connector, it is a solid state drive -- sort of. Actually, it technically is not a drive itself, but instead, a card that you plug SSDs into. Called "Accelsior 8M2," it can be had with up to 64TB of storage pre-installed with an insane performance of up to 26,000MB/s.

Yeah, the actively cooled OWC Accelsior 8M2 is an absolute beast. In fact, the company claims it is the "world’s fastest and highest capacity PCIe SSD." With that said, you will need a pretty modern computer to truly take advantage of the high-end performance. You see, a desktop with a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot will be necessary to achieve the promised top speeds. It will be compatible with previous generation PCIe x16 slots, just not at full speed.

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"Accelsior 8M2 delivers the consistent low latency data throughput required in edge computing applications such as industrial automation, smart city ecosystems, and smart retail solutions. It feeds CPUs and GPUs huge amounts of data lightning-fast for real-time predictive analytics. With 60 percent of storage professionals using NVMe SSDs to process large data sets generated at the edge, OWC Accelsior 8M2 is more than a competitive advantage. And to ensure OWC Accelsior 8M2 keeps running at peak speed for the long haul, there’s a quiet cooling fan in the aircraft-grade aluminum heat shield," says OWC.

The company adds, "The OWC Accelsior 8M2 brings impressive speed and storage capacity to 2019 Mac Pros, Windows or Linux computers, and PCIe expansion systems. It utilizes the total bandwidth of the latest PCIe technology and has a highly efficient heat dissipating design to provide ultra-reliable speeds up to 26,000MB/s. Creating the fastest PCIe SSD meant combining bold engineering with the latest technology. Each OWC Accelsior 8M2’s eight NVMe M.2 SSD slots can run at their full x4 lanes of data throughput. All that insanely fast speed through an entire PCIe 4.0 x16 lane architecture with up to 64TB of storage."

OWC shares specifications of the Accelsior 8M2 PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD below.

STORAGE INTERFACE

• PCIe 4.0 x16, NVMe 1.3

CARD INTERFACE

• PCIe

CARD FORM FACTOR

• Full Length; Full Height

PCIE LANES

• x16

PCIE SLOT

• x16

PCIE VERSION

• PCI Express 4.0

RAID FEATURES

• Software RAID

MAC OS COMPATIBILITY

• macOS 10.13 High Sierra
• macOS 10.14 Mojave
• macOS 10.15 Catalina
• macOS 11.x Big Sur
• macOS 12.x Monterey

PC OS COMPATIBILITY

• Windows 10 32-bit Edition
• Windows 10 64-bit Edition
• Windows Server 2016

NUMBER OF BAYS

• 8

DRIVE BAYS

• 8 bays supporting:
• M.2 drives
• Supports NVMe M.2 2280 "M Key" SSDs via (8) PCIe 4.0 x4 Slots

DIMENSIONS

• Height: 12.7 cm (5.0 in)
• Length: 32.5 cm (12.8 in)
• Width: 2.2 cm (0.9 in)

WEIGHT

• 750.0 g (1.65 lbs)

AMBIENT TEMPERATURE

• Operating: 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C)
• Non-Operating: -4°F to 140°F (-20°C to 60°C)

ALTITUDE

• Operating: -304.8 m to 3,048.0 m (-1,000 ft to 10,000 ft)
• Non-Operating: -304.8 m to 12,192.0 m (-1,000 ft to 40,000 ft)

HUMIDITY

• Operating: 8% to 90% non-condensing
• Non-Operating: 5% to 95% non-condensing

IDLE (TYPICAL)

• 23.9 bels

SEEK (TYPICAL)

• 23.9 bels

Is the OWC Accelsior 8M2 PCIe 4.0 x16 SSD expensive? Well, yes, but if you truly need this performance it will be well worth the cost. A barebones version of card with no storage (so you can add your own SSDs to it) costs $799; the price goes up from there based on the capacity you choose. For instance, the 2TB (8x 240GB) model will run you $1,299 while the 64TB (8x 8TB) will cost you a sky-high $12,999. You can order the beast here now.