What external storage options are available for the iMac Pro? Which is the fastest?

The iMac Pro models are equipped with four "traditional" USB 3.0 (USB-A) ports and four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports.

Diagram Credit: Apple, Inc. (iMac Pro Ports)

Accordingly, with four USB 3.0 ports and four Thunderbolt 3 ports, a wide variety of both relatively vintage and cutting edge external storage alike can be easily connected to the iMac Pro without the need for adapters.

Best Thunderbolt 3 Storage for the iMac Pro

Best can be subjective, but if maximizing performance is of interest -- which is typically the top interest of those with a high-end computer -- two of the fastest single drive Thunderbolt 3 options are the OWC Envoy Pro EX and the high-performance OWC Thunderblade, both from site sponsor Other World Computing, both of which provide data transfer speeds up to a blistering 2800MB/s.

Photo Credit: OWC Envoy Pro EX (Left), Thunderblade (Right)

The OWC Envoy Pro EX and OWC Thunderblade both are entirely SSD-based. The OWC Envoy Pro EX is available in capacities ranging from 480 GB to 4 TB and the OWC Thunderblade is available with up to 16 TB of storage.

If physical dimensions are not that critcal and you would like a lower cost option at the same speed and same maximum capacity, OWC also offers the 4-slot M.2 NVMe SSD-based OWC Express 4M2.

Photo Credit: OWC Express 4M2

The OWC Express 4M2 supports as many as four industry-standard M.2 NVMe SSDs, so it makes it straightforward to start with one SSD and add more high speed capacity as your needs dictate and your budget allows.

Or, if storage capacity is a higher priority than performance (and size is not important), you might prefer the slightly slower -- but significantly higher capacity -- OWC Thunderbay 8 or OWC Thunderbay Flex 8. Both have a whopping maximum capacity up to 144 TB.

Photo Credit: OWC Thunderbay Flex 8 with iMac Pro

The OWC Thunderbay 8 holds as many as eight 2.5" or 3.5" drives with data transfer speeds up to 2586MB/s. It has dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort 1.2 for connecting an additional monitor.

The OWC Thunderbay Flex 8 also holds as many as eight 2.5" or 3.5" drives -- with hard drive and SSD options available pre-installed -- but data transfer speeds are faster (up to 2750MB/s). It has dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and a DisplayPort 1.4 port on the back as well as one USB-C port, two USB 3.2 (USB-A) ports, and SD 4.0 and CFexpress card readers on the front. It has a x4 lane PCIe expansion slot, also.

Site sponsor Other World Computing sells all of these Thunderbolt 3 storage options in addition to others.