News - OCZ Vertex 4 SSDs receive BIG boost with firmware v1.4RC

Quote:

---

Proprietary Indilinx controllers pay off with quick release of fast new firmware.

---

Read more.

Wasn't it discovered that infact the controller isn't home grown, its a Marvel with heavily customised firmware?

Yeah it was, which means there is no excuse for it to be any worse than other Marvell drives like the m4, and in some benches it was way off the pace until now. Rushed out the door again and fixed later by the looks of it. If the differentiator is the quality of your firmware you need to get it right on release, not months later!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Biscuit

Wasn't it discovered that infact the controller isn't home grown, its a Marvel with heavily customised firmware?

---

Yes, but there's a lot of emphasis placed on the firmware that runs on-top and simply by owning the firmware development you have the same benefits as if the chip was made in-house.

Seeing as this is a Release Candidate, does that mean there may be more gains in performance for the final release?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scribe

Yes, but there's a lot of emphasis placed on the firmware that runs on-top and simply by owning the firmware development you have the same benefits as if the chip was made in-house.

---

But how does that differ to the amount of work/control that goes into sandforce controller based drives?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GavinT1969

Seeing as this is a Release Candidate, does that mean there may be more gains in performance for the final release?

---

Not always, if performance is at the expense of reliability, then it will be scrapped.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Biscuit

But how does that differ to the amount of work/control that goes into sandforce controller based drives?

---

Sandforce drives usually use barely modified reference firmware, the Intel 520/330 are the notable exceptions. Intel put their firmware through months of testing, and the result is they made a good job of it and it's had good reviews... That's a reason I'd probably buy Intel drives right now, I'd have one in my main PC but when I built it the next most-reliable but still fast choice seemed to be Crucial. I've avoided the smaller manufacturers, they just seem to unreliable for my £.

Any competition to Sandforce is welcome. It will push the industry forward faster! Which means better performance for us!

great news for me as I was planning on buying one...