The Areca ARC-8050T5U-6 is a six-bay professional desktop hardware RAID enclosure for compatible SAS and SATA hard drives or SSDs, supplied unpopulated so drive type, capacity and RAID configuration can be selected for the intended workflow.
It combines dual Thunderbolt 5 / USB-C host connectivity with a dual-core 1.2GHz SAS RAID-on-Chip controller, 2GB DDR3-1866 ECC-protected cache, six 12Gb/s SAS / 6Gb/s SATA drive channels and SFF-8644 expansion.
Original price was: £ 2,100.00.£ 1,599.95Current price is: £ 1,599.95. | £ 1,919.94 inc VAT
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– The UK’s Areca RAID Experts!The Areca ARC-8050T5U-6 is the six-bay SAS/SATA member of Areca's ARC-8050T5U Thunderbolt 5 hardware RAID family. Supplied without drives, it provides a flexible platform for professional storage configurations.
Compared with the four-bay 4A, the six-bay model adds a faster dual-core 1.2GHz SAS ROC, 2GB DDR3-1866 ECC-protected cache, 12Gb/s SAS drive connectivity and SFF-8644 expansion while retaining Thunderbolt 5 and USB-C 10Gb host support.
The ARC-8050T5U-6 provides six internal drive bays for compatible 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch SAS and SATA hard drives or SSDs. The internal ports support 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s SATA devices, and this enclosure-only configuration is supplied without drives.
The ARC-8050T5U-6 uses a dual-core Broadcom SAS RAID-on-Chip controller running up to 1.2GHz with 2GB DDR3-1866 on-board SDRAM cache and ECC protection. RAID processing, parity calculations and rebuild work are handled by the storage controller rather than the host CPU.
Two Thunderbolt 5 ports provide up to 80Gb/s bidirectional Thunderbolt bandwidth. On a compatible USB-only computer the USB-C connection operates using USB 3.2 Gen 2 at up to 10Gb/s. Thunderbolt 5 Bandwidth Boost can provide up to 120Gb/s for supported display-intensive workflows.
An external SFF-8644 connection provides two lanes of SAS expansion, allowing the controller to work with additional compatible SAS/SATA storage beyond the six internal bays. This is also relevant to higher nested RAID levels: RAID 60 is supported by the controller but requires more drives than the six internal bays alone provide.
Supported modes include RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50 and 60 together with Single Disk and JBOD. RAID 30 and RAID 50 can be implemented with six drives; RAID 60 requires a sufficiently large expanded drive set.
A full-size DisplayPort 2.1 output is provided alongside the Thunderbolt 5 ports. Compatible Thunderbolt peripherals can be daisy-chained from the RAID.
The system can be configured and monitored through the front-panel LCD, through the host connection or independently using the dedicated Gigabit Ethernet management port. Areca's McRAID browser interface and ArcSAP provide additional local and remote administration options. The Ethernet port is for RAID management rather than host storage connectivity.
Controller-based AES 128-bit and 256-bit hardware encryption is supported together with compatible self-encrypting drives. Additional RAID functions include drive-health monitoring, array verification, disk scrubbing, hot-spare support and online RAID migration.
The six-bay chassis uses a 180W internal power supply and Areca's intelligent cooling control. Areca's current family documentation lists the ARC-8050T5U-6 at approximately 37dB sound pressure.
Rent a Raid can advise on suitable enterprise drives, expansion options and RAID levels for the intended Mac or Windows workflow. Systems purchased with drives can also be configured and tested before dispatch.
Thunderbolt 5 host support is specified for macOS 15.3 or later and Windows 11 23H2 or later. Thunderbolt 4 is supported on macOS 14.x or later and Windows 11 or later; compatible Thunderbolt 3 Macs require macOS 15.0 or later. USB host operation is OS independent.
| Manufacturer | Areca Technology |
| Product | ARC-8050T5U-6 |
| Configuration | Unpopulated / no drives fitted |
| Raw Capacity | Dependent on drives installed |
| Form Factor | Desktop 6-Bay |
| Drive Bays | 6 |
| Supported Drive Types | Compatible SAS or SATA HDDs and SSDs |
| Storage Interface | SAS / SATA only |
| Internal Drive Channels | 6 x 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s SATA |
| NVMe Support | No — ARC-8050T5U-6 is the SAS/SATA-only six-bay model |
| Expansion | SFF-8644, 2 SAS lanes |
| Host / Peripheral Ports | 2 x Thunderbolt 5 USB-C |
| Thunderbolt 5 Bandwidth | Up to 80Gb/s bidirectional |
| Bandwidth Boost | Up to 120Gb/s for supported display workloads |
| USB-C Compatibility | USB 3.2 Gen 2 / USB-C 10Gb |
| Display Output | 1 x full-size DisplayPort 2.1 |
| RAID Controller | Dual-core Broadcom SAS ROC, up to 1.2GHz |
| Cache Memory | 2GB DDR3-1866 SDRAM with ECC protection |
| RAID Levels | RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 30, 50, 60 |
| Additional Storage Modes | Single Disk, JBOD |
| RAID 60 Note | Requires a sufficiently large expanded drive set; six internal bays alone are insufficient |
| Hardware Encryption | Controller-based AES 128-bit / 256-bit |
| SED Support | Supported with compatible self-encrypting drives |
| Management Interfaces | Front-panel LCD, in-band management, dedicated Gigabit Ethernet out-of-band management |
| Management Software | McRAID browser manager, ArcSAP |
| Sound Pressure Level | Approximately 37dB |
| Power Supply | 180W internal power supply |
| Dimensions | 146 x 255 x 290mm |
| Enclosure Weight | Approximately 6.0kg |
| Thunderbolt 5 OS Support | macOS 15.3 or later; Windows 11 23H2 or later |
| Thunderbolt 4 OS Support | macOS 14.x or later; Windows 11 or later |
| Thunderbolt 3 Support | Compatible Macs; macOS 15.0 or later |
| USB Host Support | OS independent |
| Included Data Cable | 1m active 120Gb/s Thunderbolt 5 USB-C cable |
In general, next working day delivery services (UK Mainland) are available on Areca equipment orders placed before 2pm (subject to stock availability).
We kindly advise you let us preconfigure each Areca RAID (as RAID5, RAID6 etc), so they arrive properly setup, ready to “plug’n’play”.
This is a free service, and takes 1-2 days prior to shipping.
Non-timed deliveries should be delivered between the hours of 9am and 6pm.
Orders placed after 2pm on Fridays and on weekends will be processed as normal the following Monday.
Orders placed on Bank Holidays will be processed the next working day.
If urgent, please call one of our helpful account managers so they may double check everything for you, enabling you to place your order with confidence.
• Please note: these product details are for guide purposes only, and may contain errors.
•• We always recommend double-checking the product specs and features on the manufacturer website, and/or contacting us if unsure before ordering.
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