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Western Digital just revealed its new lineup of G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED external solid state drives at NAB 2018, and as you might expect, they’re built to handle ultra-high resolution video. In fact, WD claims these Thunderbolt 3 drives enable “real-time 4K and 8K workflows” for professionals who need serious speed, capacity, and reliability.
There are three new drives in all: the G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD, and the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD.
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G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD
The G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD aims to be one of the fastest mobile storage solutions you can bring with you in the field. Available in 500GB and 1TB configurations, this Thunderbolt 3 drive boasts read speeds up to 2800MB/s that should let you “edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of media in seven minutes.”
The most portable of today’s announcements, the drive has also been built to be rugged. The derive uses “specially engineered components” for its shock-resistant design, and the aluminum core is meant to prevent overheating.
To learn more about the G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD, head over to the G-Technology website. Both 500GB and 1TB capacity drives will be available in the US starting this summer for $ 660 and $ 1,050, respectively.
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G-DRIVE Pro SSD
The G-DRIVE Pro SSD, as the name suggests, is the Mobile Pro’s big brother. Like its younger sibling, it features a Thunderbolt 3 connection (actually two of them) and can transfer data at up to 2800MB/s. Thanks to the dual-connection, however, you can daisy chain up to 6 of these bad-boys together and stack them on your desk like Jenga pieces.
Since this is a desktop solution, it’s not built with the same shock-proof design as the Mobile Pro, but the G-DRIVE Pro SSDs do boast enterprise-class solid state drives with an endurance rating of one drive write per day.
These drives will be available to US consumers starting in May, and will come in capacities of 960GB, 1.92TB, 3.84TB, and 7.68TB for $ 1,400, $ 2,100, $ 4,100, and $ 7,600, respectively. Just for fun we did the math: if you daisy chain six of the 7.68TB drives together, you will have spent $ 45,600 for 46.08TB of solid state storage.
You can learn more about the G-DRIVE Pro SSD on the G-Technology website.
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G-SPEED Shuttle SSD
Finally, the biggest and baddest of the drives released today (if you can call this a “drive”) is the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD: an enclosure that comes with eight removable SSDs pre-loaded and configured in RAID 5. This is meant for “ultra-demanding” workflows like multi-stream HD, 4K, 8K, VR and VFX backup and editing.
The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD comes with up to 16TB of storage (eight, 2TB drives pre-loaded) and can be configured to run hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and 50. And, like the G-DRIVE Pro SSD, the G-SPEED features two Thunderbolt 3 connection that max out at 2800MB/s and can be daisy chained with up to five additional devices.
The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD will arrive on store shelves in the US this month, and can be purchased in either 8TB or 16TB configurations for $ 5,100 and $ 7,600, respectively. That means the same $ 45,600 mentioned above will buy you 96TB of solid state storage if you go with the G-SPEED Shuttle.
To learn more or order yours, visit the G-Technology website.
Press Release
Access, Edit and Share Massive 4K and 8K RAW Video from Multi Camera Shoots in Real Time with the Fast and Reliable Western Digital Thunderbolt 3 SSD Solutions
Award-Winning G-Technology® G-DRIVE® and G-SPEED® Families Enable Creative Professionals to Access and Work With Data Quickly
Las Vegas, 2018 NAB SHOW, Apr. 9, 2018 – Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is meeting the escalating fast-transfer and high-capacity demands of professional content creators by enabling real-time 4K and 8K workflows with three new professional-grade ultra-fast solutions in its powerful G-Technology® G-DRIVE® and G-SPEED® Shuttle product families.
Working with large 4K and 8K RAW video means massive file sizes and is undoubtedly one of the largest pain points for content editors. With new cameras capable of capturing over 400 MB/s of RAW data, there is an opportunity for content professionals to create incredibly high-resolution footage and ever-more immersive viewer experiences. It is not uncommon for a production crew to be on-location for two or three months recording three to four terabytes per day of footage from multiple cameras. With this expansion of data capture, comes a potential bottleneck in maintaining a real-time workflow on location – until now.
“Saving time means getting more done, which means booking more jobs over the course of a year,” said Scott Vouri, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Western Digital. “Creative professionals need to know that their drives will keep up with the growing demands of their workflows. To capitalize on these opportunities, the right tools are crucial. When working in the field, production teams need a fast solution that can handle demanding workflows of 4K and 8K content with the ability to quickly collect that valuable footage and be able to edit on the spot. With the power of Thunderbolt 3*, and transfer rates up to 2800MB/s**, the the new G-Technology Pro SSDs offer an ultra-fast, super-reliable solution for any creative project team.”
G-DRIVE Mobile Pro SSD
With storage running at 2800MB/s, the G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD (Up to 1TB of capacity) lets you edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of media in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger) wherever you are. A durable, shock-resistant design uses specially engineered components to endure traveling, while a single Thunderbolt™ 3 port lets you instantly edit footage on the go with incredible speed without the need for wall power. An aluminum core prevents overheating and maintains a consistent high performance, and with a trusted 5-year limited warranty, you get durable, fast solutions. The G-DRIVE mobile Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. Summer of 2018 in capacities of 500GB ($ 659.95) and 1TB ($ 1,049.95) USD.
G-DRIVE Pro SSD
Equipped with scorching fast transfer rates of up to 2800MB/s, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution (up to 7.68TB of capacity) with Thunderbolt 3 technology enables a filmmaker to edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate, quickly render projects and experience them at full resolution, and transfer as much as a terabyte of content in seven minutes or less (for capacities 1TB or larger). Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports are ready to daisy-chain up to five additional devices, while a stackable, rugged aluminum enclosure offers a durable way to help keep your workplace tidy. Combined with Enterprise-class solid state drives, an endurance rating of one drive write per day (DW/D) endurance rating, and a trusted 5-year limited warranty, the G-DRIVE Pro SSD delivers reliable, high-performance desktop storage you can rely on. The G-DRIVE Pro SSD solution with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the U.S. May of 2018 in capacities of 960GB1 ($ 1,399.95), 1.92TB ($ 2,099.95), 3.84TB ($ 4,099.95) and 7.68TB ($ 7,599.95) USD.
G-SPEED Shuttle SSD
With up to 16TB of SSD capacity, the G-SPEED Shuttle SSD with Thunderbolt 3 is optimized to support multi-stream HD, 4K, 8K, VR and VFX workflows. Equipped with transfer rates up to 2800MB/s, hardware RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 50, and eight removable SSDs pre-loaded and configured in RAID 5, it is built for ultra-demanding production workflows. The G-SPEED Shuttle SSD is available in the U.S. this month in capacities of 8TB ($ 5,099.95) and 16TB ($ 7,599.95).
*Backward compatible with Thunderbolt 2 using Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter
**Based on read speed. As used for transfer rate, megabyte per second (MB/s) = one million bytes per second. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software components and configurations.
1As used for storage capacity, one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)