Re-2013 27'' iMac USB 3.0 troubles-.

Question

  Hi guys
  the 19th of October i got my brand new 27'' iMac  i5 3,2GHZ, 24GB Ram, G-Force GT 755M, 1TB..
  got it home, powered it, updated it's software but NO Mavericks yet - being a work machine, i always wait a while to update OS until i'm sure... so  it's running 10.8.5.
  then i transfered all my data from a Time Machine back-up, all went well...
   after reading Apple's own recommendations, i started by plugging one of my NewerTech Guardian Maximus Raid1 enclosures via supplied USB 3.0 cable - this, if i understood correctly, ''sets'' the iMac's USB ports to USB 3.0...
  then i connected a second G-Max also via USB 3.0, both enclosures mounted fast enough ! wanting to make sure all was OK, i launched iTunes ( my music is stored in 1 of these boxes..) & then......my 1st Beach Ball & system freeze happened
  tried all sorts, always the same system or app freezes, beach balls & subsequent Force Quits - which by the way DON'T seem to always work specially if they are of the ''Finder not responding'' + relaunch Finder variety
  tried unplugging everything, start from scratch - same thing happened. again i unplugged everything only this time i plugged in my Logitech powered USB 2 hubs first THEN the G-Max's to the hub + everything else & it worked fine
  not wanting to deal w/ USB 2 speeds, i bought an Apple Tbolt/FW800 adapter & it all works now - problem is, one of the reasons i sold my late 2009 27'' iMac & bought this machine was to benefit from it's USB 3.0 capabilities..... 
  trusting these USB 3.0 tantrums AREN'T caused by my new iMac, i contacted OWC to check if there was a new firmware for my G-Max's, they sent me a link to the latest, a friend equipped w/ the required Windows laptop to install said firmware update ( in this day & age !?.. ) came over, ran the update but a dialog box opened stating both my G-Max's have the exact same firmware version as the update itself....
  having Googled these USB 3.0/Mac issues, among other things i came across some stating Bluetooth MIGHT or HAS something to do w/ it so....got a corded Logitech mouse i keep for emergencies, switched off Bluetooth &....same thing ! :-b
  following an Apple Support Comunities user's advice here, i tried also resetting the Pram, the SMC, etc....but nothing changed
  meanwhile having ordered a 3rd G-Max enclosure, i connected it & miracle of miracles - it works without a single occurrence !? not only that but in the system report itn displays differently :
1 of the old G-Max connected
both of the old G-Max
the new G-Max & it's Blackmagic Disk Speed Test results
  by the way, do these figures seem about right ? i also copied a folder of 49GB of video files to it & it took 11 minutes to do so...
  the enclosure is loaded w/ a pair og Western Digital Green Caviars ( i didn't know they could cause problems in Raid arrays when i bought them but have NEVER caused any really..)
   please note that on the System Report screenshots above, only the new G-Max enclosure is correctly identified, could this have anything to do with it ?
  as i said elsewhere, i'm not terribly worried about these ''USB 3.0 tantrums'', my feel being it must be nothing more than a few ''teething troubles'' between different USB 3.0 implementations which i hope will go away as new drivers/software updates come along, etc.....still, the fact is i would REALLY like to be able to use my iMac's USB 3.0 ports & benefit from them
  so in a nutshell :
1 - old G-Max's to iMac via USB 3.0 cable = system/Finder/app freezes & beach balls + can't run Balckmagic Disk Speed Test
2 - G-Max's to iMac via Tbolt/FW800 adapter = all good
3 - G-Max's to iMac via powered USB 2 hub = all good
4 - new G-Max to iMac via USB 3.0 = all good
  any help, info, links, suggestions, etc....would be MOST WELCOME & appreciated
   a great week-end to all & many thanks
  Nuno

Answer 1

after a series of emails to OWC Support, OWC confirmed the ''old'' G-Max enclosures ( January & May 2012..) have a different chipset than the new one so i can only conclude either the USB 3.0 standard changed in the meantime or they found out the old one were causing too many problems ?
what OWC suggested is that i return my old enclosures to them & for $40 each, they would update the firmware which if i lived in the States i would consider BUT :
1 - i live in Europe so posting them to & from OWC would be prohibetively expensive ( enough to buy the newer version or almost ?.. )
2 - since OWC sent me a link of their latest firmware available but that turned out to be the exact same fimware version the older enclosures have installed AND running/installing it DIDN'T solve the issues, it strikes me more as a bet rather than a sure thing !?
3 - who's to say this won't be necessary again say in another year ? hardly practical & rather expensive
in the meantime i've contacted Macupgrade.eu whom i bought them from ( an Euro vendor of all things OWC..) to see if this can be done through them, specially considering they offer a 3 year warranty for the G-Max enclosures..
if not, i might as well forget about it & forget about OWC products in the future if indeed the only way to solve bigger issues is to spend more money than the items are worth posting them across the planet
this of course leaves me a rather strange after taste considering that some of the reasons to buy these enclosures were OWC good rep to begin with + the fact they were advertised as being USB 3 - the fact they changed the chipset in them & that the new one does work properly w/ my 2013 iMac to me is proof there was something not quite right to begin with specially considering that Apple, although not infallible, usually gets these things right from the word go..
oh well, in the meantime i'll keep on ''wasting'' one Thunderbolt port to run them via FW800, something i can't help find comical