The R4i comes preconfigured in a RAID 5 setup, and that’s how I recommend using the unit.
Once booted, you’ll want to install the Promise Utility software, which allows you to manage the RAID array, change settings, monitor background processes, see event information, etc. Removing the cables means one less possible point of failure to worry about. Although you’ll usually be able to recover from such occurrences in Final Cut Pro, it’s still scary when it happens.
On a few rare occasions, I’ve accidentally unplugged the wrong Thunderbolt 3 cable, causing my Final Cut Pro X library stored on my DAS to go offline mid-edit. Because the R4i is internal, there are no Thunderbolt 3 or power cables to deal with. The internal MPX Module presents one of the biggest advantages of the Pegasus R4i over standalone external setups. Once installed, replace the aluminum housing, and fire up the machine. Simply slide off the Mac Pro aluminum housing, locate an empty MPX bay, and install the unit inside the Mac Pro. The Promise Pegasus R4i can be installed in either of the two MPX bays inside of the Mac Pro. Those $400 wheels are starting to look better and better each passing day. This means an additional 10 pounds added to an already heavy Mac Pro. Without the four drives, the R4i doesn’t weigh much, but that weight quickly balloons to nearly 10 pounds with the four drives installed. Unlocking the bays allows you to remove and replace a drive with ease, thanks to a handy rail system that guides the drives along tracks that allow it to meet the connector at the rear of each individual bay. The R4i is designed with two drive bays stacked on each side, with a locking switch to lock each pair of drives in place. Promise says that it will eventually offer the R4i in differing storage capacities. These drives can be found individually in the high $300s, which means this unit contains around ~$1400 in drives alone.
The unit features four 3.5-inch drive bays with four 8TB 7200rpm Toshiba MD06ACA800V surveillance SATA HDDs pre-formatted and pre-installed. Subscribe to 9to5mac on YouTube for more videos Configuration There are no power cables, or Thunderbolt 3 cables required because the unit directly connects to your Mac Pro logic board via the PCIe and MPX connectors. Inside the box, you’ll find some instructions, along with the Promise Pegasus R4i.
32TB of raw capacity (24TB configured RAID 5, formatted with HFS+).Ideal for 4K and high-resolution video editing and creative workflows.
Fast hardware RAID storage for Mac Pro (current generation).Adding the R4i to your Mac Pro instantly gives you a ton of on-board storage via four 8TB drives set up by default in a RAID 5 configuration.ĭoes the Promise Pegasus R4i produce good performance results? Is it easy to install? Does it stay relatively quiet? How does it compare to a standalone Promise Pegasus? All of these questions and more are answered in our hands-on video review. The Promise Pegasus R4i is a four-drive hardware RAID array that can easily slide into your Mac Pro thanks to its MPX form factor. As a happy owner of a Promise Pegasus3 R6 external RAID enclosure, I was excited to try the new Promise Pegasus R4i internal RAID MPX Module, a unit that’s been specifically designed for the Mac Pro.