OWC miniStack STX Design and RepairabilityĪs mentioned above, the miniStack STX is nearly the exact same dimensions as a Mac mini. I also would like to commend OWC for including a Thunderbolt 4 cable with this device it seems minor, but that type of attention to detail is what makes OWC’s products stand out and this is no exception. You can use it with anything with a USB-C port or it can be a desktop dock for a laptop, which would be able to utilize its 60W of power delivery. It is, of course, designed primarily to coexist with a Mac mini, but at the end of the day, it’s just a Thunderbolt 4 dock with storage built-in. The next thing is just the versatility of this device that becomes apparent looking at the OS compatibility.
VESA mounts, rack mounts, wall mounts, and more will all work with the miniStack STX. This gives you a lot of mounting options, one of which I explored for this review that’ll we’ll talk about in a bit. Most obviously, the miniStack STX has the exact same dimensions as the current Mac mini (and minis since 2010), meaning wherever you can fit a Mac mini, you can fit the miniStack STX. There are a couple of things to talk about in the spec sheet that are worth pointing out. Thunderbolt 4 Cable150W Power Brick (DC Output: 20V, 7.5A) Up to one 8K display at 30Hz, or two 4K displays at 60Hz via an adapter (support varies based on host computer)ħ.8 in (W) x 1.5 in (H) x 7.8 in (D), 2lbs (empty) OWC miniStack STX Specifications Connectivityġx Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with 60W Power Deliveryģx Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), works with USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 2 (with an adapter)ġx 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s SSD or HDD OWC will also configure the STX with HDD and flash if you like. The OWC miniStack STX is sold bare starting at $299. One of the Thunderbolt controllers on this machine is fried, so while certainly not a scenario applicable to everyone, the Thunderbolt expansion has been a great way to get some functionality back and give the machine a more comfortable life in retirement.
I’ll take a look at some Creative Professional uses, as well general purpose uses such as a Plex media server, or a Time Machine backup target.įor this review, I’ll be pairing it with my former work system, a 2018 Mac mini, equipped an Intel i7-8700B, 32GB of RAM, and 10GbE. There’s not a lot to the device itself, but the world’s your oyster when it comes to how you can use this.
This feature is especially welcome on the new 2020 M1-equipped Mac mini, which is only available with two Thunderbolt 4 ports. These ports are where it gets its name Storage and Thunderbolt eXpansion. This latest version brings a 3.5-inch hard drive bay, a 2210 M.2 NVMe slot, and a Thunderbolt dock, which gives you three extra Thunderbolt 4 ports. The OWC miniStack STX is Other World Computing’s latest iteration of their miniStack line, which has been pairing itself with the Mac mini since 2005.