6Big is a direct-attached storage (DAS) device sporting six drive bays and a very appealing external design. The Neil Poulton imagined sharp edges, shadowy recesses and large blue power button still resonate. It doesn’t say storage so much as artist. Yup. I’m a fan.<\/p>\n

Shape consciousness aside (some might not agree), the 6Big is vast and fast–up to 96TB when purchased with 16TB drives. That’s the raw capacity–you’ll lose some if you employ the fault tolerance of RAID 5<\/a>, etc.<\/p>\n

The 6Big is also pricey–a reassuring 5-year warranty on the enclosure and drives, including recovery, is part of that. That’s a very nice warranty for an external storage device. For the target audience, creative video types and the like, price is not the overriding concern.<\/p>\n

Lacie is proferring a very, very nice DAS box, however, it’s not compatible with all older Thunderbolt implementations. Mac users are okay, Windows PC users, perhaps not.<\/p>\n

Design and Features<\/h2>\n

I’ve already described the 6Big’s looks and the images describe it better than I can. I will note that, unlike some products that look great in the pictures, the 6Big doesn’t disappoint in person. By the numbers, the box measures approximately 9.4-inches tall, by 9-inches deep, by 6.4-inches wide and weighs a rather hefty 24.5 pounds. That includes an internal power supply, and hard drives aren’t light, what can I say? Think of it as extremely stable.<\/p>\n

The 6Big is sold directly in $2109\/24TB (4TB HDDs)<\/a> to $5799\/96TB (16TB HDDs)<\/a> flavors. Considering 4TB NAS hard drives run around $150, and 16TB close to $500, you’re paying a lot for the box. Even if it supports Thunderbolt 3 to the tune of two ports.<\/p>\n

There’s also a Type C 10Gbps USB port on board, just in case you’re stuck in the desert without your Mac. Yes, I know there are Thunderbolt 3 Windows PCs (see Compatibility Issues below), so don’t write me about that. LaCie’s biggest market is in Apple-land.<\/p>\n

The front face of the LaCie 6Big is home to six hot-swappable 3.5-inch drive bays sporting exceptionally easy-to-remove trays, and a drive spin-down (short press)\/power button (long press).<\/p>\n