OWC Aura Ultra III - M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe SSD - 1TB

The OWC Aura Ultra III is a Gen3 NVMe SSD from Other World Computing, available in capacities from 240GB to 4TB. It connects via PCIe 3.0 x4 with NVMe 1.3. Sequential reads reach 3,100-3,470 MB/s depending on capacity. Write speeds vary significantly: 1,040 MB/s on the 240GB up to 3,000 MB/s on the 1TB.

OWC's Target Market

OWC (Other World Computing) has long served the Mac upgrade market, and the Aura Ultra III continues that tradition. While it uses the standard M.2 2280 form factor and works in any compatible system, OWC positions it as a Mac and creative professional drive. The 4TB model uses a double-sided PCB layout.

Performance by Capacity

Performance varies more than typical NVMe drives across capacities:

Capacity	Seq. Read	Seq. Write	Endurance
240GB	3,100 MB/s	1,040 MB/s	380 TBW
480GB	3,370 MB/s	2,030 MB/s	800 TBW
1TB	3,470 MB/s	3,000 MB/s	1,665 TBW
2TB	3,470 MB/s	2,750 MB/s	3,115 TBW
4TB	3,228 MB/s	3,071 MB/s	6,820 TBW

The 240GB and 480GB models have notably weak write speeds. The 1TB hits the best read/write balance. The 4TB's endurance (6,820 TBW) is exceptional.

Gen3 Relevance

Gen3 drives make sense in two contexts: older systems without Gen4 support, and cost-sensitive builds where Gen3 speeds are sufficient. OWC's pricing typically runs higher than commodity Gen3 drives from Samsung or WD, so the value proposition depends on OWC's warranty and support mattering to you.

Best for: Mac users who trust OWC's ecosystem and want large NVMe capacity (4TB) with proven compatibility. Older systems without Gen4 M.2 slots.

Avoid if: Your system supports Gen4. A Samsung 990 EVO or budget Gen4 drive will be faster and likely cheaper. The 240GB and 480GB models have write speeds that make them hard to justify versus even SATA SSDs.