LaCie announces 2big Thunderbolt 3 RAID dock, compatible with Apple's MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Available this summer in capacities of 12, 16 or 20 terabytes, LaCie's forthcoming 2big professional 2-bay RAID storage solution features high-speed Thunderbolt 3 connectivity set to take advantage of Apple's latest MacBook Pros.

Thanks to Thunderbolt 3, the external storage will boast transfer rates of 440MB/s, allowing users to transfer one hour of 4K footage in just one minute. Apple's late 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models feature USB-C connectors compatible with Thunderbolt 3 accessories.

The Lacie 2big Dock is more than just an external drive, however The docking station also includes front facing SD and CF card slots and USB-A 3.0 port, plus DisplayPort support, dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a USB-C 3.1 port on the back.

In particular, using the dock's Thunderbolt 3 ports should allow MacBook Pro users the ability to power their laptop while simultaneously daisy-chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt accessories, or one USB-C drive. Thanks to Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C technology, this is possible with just one cable connected to the MacBook Pro.

LaCie has not yet announced pricing for its 2big Thunderbolt 3 docks, but the 12-terabyte Thunderbolt 2 model carries a suggested retail price of $789.

The new Thunderbolt 3 dock includes two drive bays that can each accommodate a 3.5-inch internal hard drive. These paired drives can be set up in RAID-0 or RAID-1 configurations, allowing for either maximum storage or redundancy to prevent data loss.

Other features of the 2big Thunderbolt 3 dock, according to LaCie, are:

Seagate IronWolf Pro enterprise-class drives and RAID optimization for superior power management and reliability
LaCie RAID Manager that easily monitors system's health with audible alarm and email alerts
Efficient cooling with aluminum enclosure and thermoregulated fan for professional reliability
A five-year limited warranty

LaCie plans to show off its new Thunderbolt 3 accessories at the NAB Show in Las Vegas next week. The 2big Dock is scheduled to launch through LaCie resellers, including Apple and AppleInsider partners Adorama and B&H Photo Video this summer.

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11 Comments

frankie 18 Years · 365 comments

About 7 years ago

NO thanks had several LaCie drives go bad on me over a couple years and their customer support is pathetitc. I will never buy a drive from them again.

neilm 16 Years · 1001 comments

To be a really useful dock it needs an ethernet port. While an ethernet adapter could be connected to the second TB3 port, that might well be needed for an external monitor. Similarly the single USB 3.1 port would likely be used for a keyboard or other peripheral. It also appears that the drives are not readily swappable — another opportunity wasted.

Bottom line: too few ports to qualify as a real dock.

lkrupp 19 Years · 10521 comments

frankie said:

NO thanks had several LaCie drives go bad on me over a couple years and their customer support is pathetitc. I will never buy a drive from them again.

Your anecdote is meaningless. If it were as bad as you claim LaCie wouldn’t be in business, but they are and are considered one of the premier drive producers for Macs. Do you want to claim only stupid people buy LaCie products like the trolls claim about people who buy Apple products? Axe grinders are always trashing some established company like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Comcast, Apple, Samsung, Sony, you name it. One of the many reasons I no longer pay any attention to online consumer reviews or anecdotes on tech forums. Commenters like to trash Western Digital as well as LaCie but I have never had one of either brands fail on me. And if one did I’d understand that shit happens sometimes.