SSD Manufacturers

The below list comprises all SSD manufacturers, each listed in alphabetical order and is updates as frequently as possible. Should an error, an error, omission or update be recognized, please contact The SSD Review and we wil do our best to get the list updated

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SLC versus MLC

The majority of solid state drives use MLC (multi-level cell) Nand Flash Memory and are for use in non- enterprise situations, such as consumer desktops and laptops. This type of memory is not as rugged as SLC (single level cell) memory as it suffers drive degradation when handling sustained random writes and lasts only about a tenth of the lifespan of SLC drives. MLC memory is estimated to be capable of between 5000 and 10,000 write operations per cell, depending on the memory quality and the controller. Both characteristics have a bearing on this figure and SLC memory, used in enterprise drives for server applications, has an estimated capability of 1,000,000 write operations. As a result, SLC enterprise drives cost considerably more.

WIKIPEDIA

Flash-memory drives have limited lifetimes and will often wear out after 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 write cycles (1,000 to 10,000 per cell) for MLC, and up to 5,000,000 write cycles (100,000 per cell) for SLC. Special file systems or firmware designs can mitigate this problem by spreading writes over the entire device, called wear leveling.

All performance read and write speeds listed are those described in manufacturer specifications. The reader should understand that sequential speeds are less important than random access speeds which account for the largest visible upgrade one will see in a drive. These performance figures can vary depending on the size of the SSD drive and the figures posted are mainly for drives around 128GB. Smaller drives of the same series may have lower performance figures and conversely, larger drives may have better performance figures.

SOLID STATE DRIVE MANUFACTURERS

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A DATA ( 2yr warranty)

• A Data S501 series – Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 ( sata III – 6Gb/s ) Controller ( This may not be the correct revision of the controller, have yet to see the silicone ). Estimated figures from the testing are, Read 400 write 200, this is a pre-release drive that as already been highly benchmarked, these speeds may be different when the drive is released, it also supports Trim in Win7. Pre-release tests at TweakTown . This drive as still not been released yet. Sept 2010;
• A Data S592 series – Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 64Mb dram buffer, supports autotrim in W7. Here is the Website , A Data Firmware Update Page (1848 is the latest firmware posted ), which includes firmware guide and review at HardwareCanucks;
• A Data S596 SSD series – JMicron JMF-612 controller. read 240 write 170. 125mb ram buffer. Support for Trim inWin7. No firmware updates available. Website and Reviews at Motherboards.org and LegitReviews;
• A Data S596 Turbo series ( Sata II – 3 Gb/s ) – JMicron JMF616 Controller. Read 260 write 220 ( read/write performance on the 32g value model is 220/60, the 64g drive is 260/130 ) available in sizes 32g to 256g ( larger drives have considerably better read/write performances ). Support for GC and Trim in Win7. Note! GC or ‘garbage collection’ is a similar function to trim, but does not require Win7 to work.
• A Data S599 series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 280 write 270. Support for Trim in Win7. Sandforce controllers do not seem require ddr buffers. Optimized for AHCI. This drive is priced to compete with the Indilinx Barefoot drives. Website and Reviews at Tweaktown. 2x A Data s599 SSD Drives in Raid 0 array. Review at TweakTown.

Adata has a number of re-badged Intel drives, Support for these is done by Intel, rma by A Data.

A DATA Usb 3.0/sata II External SSD drive ( included out of interest ).

A DATA Nobility N002 ( USB3.0/sate II 3GB/s ) – Indilinx ECO barefoot controller. R

ead USB3.0 195 sata II 220 write USB3.0 191 sata II 220. 64mb dram buffer, support for trim in Win7? Review at TweakTown.

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APACER ( 2yr warranty)

• Apacer A7 Pro A7201 series – 128mb dram buffer. Website;
• Apacer Turbo A7202 series – Indilinx Barefoot Controller?. 230 read 200 write. 128mb dram buffer ?. Website, released with SSD+Optimizer software and Review at ProClockers.

General Info on Apacer ssd drives

Install info for Apacer SSD drives.

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A – RAM ( 2yr warranty)

• A-Ram Alpha series – 170 read 100 write 30 usb2. Support for trim with Wiper.exe;
• A-Ram Pro Series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 240 read 140 write. 64Mb dram buffer, supports autotrim in W7. Website and Update Page;
• A-Ram Ultra Series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 240 read 160 write. 64Mb dram buffer, supports autotrim in W7. Website and Update Page;
• A-Ram Ultra II series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 260 Write 250. Support for Trim in Win7. Website.

General Info on A-Ram SSD drives.

The A – Ram Support Page doesn’t either work properly or show anything at the present time – as of June 2010.

A-Ram SSD Forums HERE. there is very little info or activity on the forum.

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CORSAIR ( 3yr warranty)

• Corsair Force series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for Trim in W7. Website and reviews at TweakTown and AnandTech. This was the first drive containing the SF1200 controller released and the tests are interesting to say the least. This is a excellent performing controller. The Force series of ssd drives also includes drives with the 7% over-provisioning firmware, the vastly reduced over-provisioning doesn’t appear to effect the performance of the drives. Corsair have continued to expand on the force series with drives as small as 40g, standard provisioned drives like the F100 and F200, drives with reduced over-provisioning such as the F120 and now the F128 and F256 drives;
• Corsair Nova V series “ Indilinx ECO barefoot controller. 270 read 190 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7 also as NCQ support. Website, reviews at Tweaktown and BenchMarkReviews;
• Corsair Performance Series “ Samsung RBB Controller. 220 read 200 write. 128Mb dram buffer. New destructive firmware released for these drives with trim support for Win7, re-badged Samsung drive. “ Feb 2010. Website and Unofficial Forum Firmware Update and Reviews at HardwareCanucks and CCEReviews. Firmware Update Advice from the Corsair Performance series Forums;
• Corsair Reactor series – G2 J Micron JMF612 Controller. 250 read 170 write. Support for Trim in Win7. Website and review at BenchMarkReviews. This drive can have booting and data corruption problems;
• Corsair Extreme Series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 230 read 170 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Website and Corsair Firmware support forum, Reviews at SsdFlashDriveReviews and BenchMarkReviews. Latest firmware for these drives is1.1 and 2.0 which are the same, both allow support for Trim in Win7 and appear to be destructive. Firmware 1.1 on the x256 is the same as 2.0 and doesn’t need to be upgraded.

General Info on Corsair SSD drives.

Support for Corsair drives appears to be by email or through there Forums.

Corsair Support Forums with SSD Firmware Updates.

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CRUCIAL ( Limited 3yr warranty)

• Crucial M225 series “ Indilinx Barefoot Crontroller. 250 read 190 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Main M225 Firmware Update Page and reviews at BenchMarkReviews and LegionHardware. The latest firmware for these drives is version 1916, if you have 1711, you have to revert back to 1571 before updating to the latest firmware;
• Crucial Real SSD “ C300 series. 6G Marvel 88SS9174-BJP2 ( sata III – 6Gb/s ) controller est 355 read 215 write, 256 mb dram buffer, supports trim in win7. Website, Firmware Update Page and review at BenchMarkReviews. There could be a problem with this drives firmware and it’s use of the Trim function, hopefully Crucial will update the firmware, explanation about problem check, HERE.

A new firmware, as of May 2010 was posted, then removed, because of problems. NOTE- new firmware posted May22.2010, check firmware update page. HERE a link to the crucial forums. The 0002 firmware removed because of problems with certain motherboards, as now been re-released, it is a destructive firmware, so it will be necessary to back-up or clone the drive before updating, the firmware as to be updated from a sata II connection on the motherboard. This new firmware as improved the performance of drive considerably.

General Crucial SSD Information

Crucial SSD Forums HERE.

SSD Re-alignment without data loss. HERE.

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G-SKILL ( 2yr warranty)

• G Skill Falcon series – Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 230 read 190 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Support for trim in W7. Website, Forum Firmware Update to version 1916 and reviews at HardWareCanucks and CCEReviews. Firmware Update 1916, according to the G Skill forums, is destructive, so back-up or clone the drive, prior to updating;\
• G Skill Falcon II series – Indilinx Eco Barefoot Controller (updated barefoot controller ). 220 read 100 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Support for trim in Win7. Website, Firmware 1916 for Trim support, as been posted on the forums. Reviews from LegionHardware and Techspot;
• NEW! G Skill Phoenix series – Sandforce SF 1200 Controller. 280 read 270 write . Support for Trim in Win7. Website and reviews from TweakTown and HardwareCanucks. Performance Optimization for Phoenix series;
• NEW! G Skill Phoenix Pro series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. 280 read 270 write. Support fo Trim in Win7 and GC. Website and reviews at BenchMarkReviews and TweakTown. This drive as the 7% over-provisioning;
• G Skill Titan series – Dual JMicron JMF602B controllers in raid 0. 220 read 160 write. 16kb cache buffer on each controller. Website and Review at BenchMarkReviews.

General Notes on G Skill SSD drives.

G Skill SSD Forums and Update Information.

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INTEL ( 3 yr warranty period )

• Intel X25-E Extreme SSD drive (G1 Black drive) – Intel PC29AS21AA0 G1 Controller. Enterprise drive with SLC nand flash memory. Being a G1 black drive there is no support for GC or Trim in Win7. Website and Intel Support. Review at TechReport;
• Intel X25-M SSD Drive (G1 Black drive) “ Intel PC29AS21AA0 G1 Controller. Review at Anantech. Sept.8.2008. No support for GC or trim in W7. This drive as now been discontinued.;
• Intel X25-M G2 SSD drive ( Silver drive ) – Intel PC29AS21BA0 G2 Controller. Read 260 write 70. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. Website, Intel Support and reviews at Anandtech and LegitReviews;
• NEW! Intel X25-V Boot Drive – Intel PC29AS21BA0 G2 Controller an economical drive with less write performance than the standard G2 drives due to a reduction in data lanes. Read 260 write 40. Trim support to become available for Win7. Review at AnandTech.

General Information on Intel ssd drives

IMPORTANT! Intel advises AGAINST enabling a BIOS DRIVE PASSWORD on there G2 ( 34nm ) drives, the ssd drive may become inoperable. According to firmware notes the AUG.2009 firmware 2CV102G9 fixes this issue, the latest firmware for these drives is the NOV.2009. ( latest as of March 2010 ) release 2CV102HD. The firmware ISO and Download Centre Link below. If it’s an older drive check your firmware. Firmware 2CV102HA causes problems with some drives. Both the HA and HD firmware add trim in Win7. NOTE! Intel is now recommending ” NOT updating to the latest HD firmware, if the 2CV102HA firmware is working”.

Intel Firmware Update Tool and Firmware ISO.Download and Read Me file.

Intel SSD Installation Guide PDF

New Intel SSD Toolbox V1.3, includes improved SSD Optimizer. Released March30.2010. Download.

Intel SSD Support Forums found Here.

Intel 9.6 Rapid Storage Technology Driver, released Mar.19.2010. Download, NOTE! this driver does NOT support the use of Trim in raid arrays, but does allow trim to be passed on to a single ssd boot drive, when the motherboard is set to RAID. Previous Intel drivers did not allow this. This link from TechReport clarifies this.

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KINGSTON ( 3yr warranty)

• Kingston SSDNow SNE125 Enterprise E series drive – Re-branded Intel enterprise drive. See Kingston for support, Intel for Info. Capacities in 32g and 64g. Website, support is by email;
• Kingston SSDNow SNM225 M series drive – Re-branded Intel G2 drives. See Kingston for Support, Intel for Info and Firmware upgrades, capacities 80g and 160g. Website, support is by email;
• Kingston SSDNow V series SN125 “ Toshiba TC58NCF602GAT controller. This controller is based on the Jmicron JMF602 Controller, without the bad stuttering problems. Read 170 Write 40. Website and Reviews at BenchMarkReviews and LegitReviews;
• Kingston SSDNowV+ series SN225 – Samsung S3C29RBB01 Controller. Read 220 write 140. 128mb dram buffer. support for Trim in Win7. Review at BenchMarkReviews;
• NEW! Kingston SSDNow V series boot drive – Toshiba T6UG1XBG Controller. This is an economical drive with reduced data lanes, in direct competition with the Intel X25-V boot drive. 170 read 50 write. Review at AnandTech;
• Kingston SSDNowV+ SNV325 series “ Toshiba T6UG1XBG Controller. Read 230 Write 180. 128mb Dram buffer. Trim support for W7. Website and Reviews at BenchMarkReviews and LegitReviews. Capacities for these drives are 64g to 512g;
• NEW! Kingston SSDNow V series SNV425-S2 – Toshiba branded JMicron JMF618 controller. Read 260 write 160, 64mb ddr ram buffer, support for Trim in Win7. Website same as SNV125, Reviews at LegitReviews and TweakTown. Capacities for this drive are 64g and 125g.

General Info on Kingston SSD Drives.

The Kingston Support Site is HERE.

It seems the only way to get support for Kingston ssd drives is by email and I can’t seem to find a forum for them either, Support for re-branded Intel drives, is found on the Intel site, RMA is done by Kingston.

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MUSHKIN ( 2yr warranty)

• Mushkin Io series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. Read 250 write 180. 64mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Website, Mushkin Enhanced Wiper Tool available on website and Mushkin forums ( no info on ssd drives on the forum, yet ) and a review from the PCBG forums. Capacities for this drive are 64g and 125g
• NEW! Mushkin Callisto series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for both GC and Trim in Win7. Capacities for these drives are 64g to 256g. Website with firmware update package and review at LegitReviews. Capacities for this drive is 60g to 240g; and
• NEW! Mushkin Callisto Deluxe series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. 285 read 275 write. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. These drives are the extended versions with 7% over-provisioning with high IOPS firmware. Website and review at TweakTown. Capacities for this drive are 60g to 240g.

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OCZ ( 3yr warranty)

• OCZ Apex series “ Dual Jmicron JMF602B Controller . 230 read 160 write. Discontinued drive. These drives have slight stuttering problems under extreme circumstances. Use the Intel Matrix drivers for the best performance on these drives, as the drive as been discontinued, it is classed as a EOL drive, meaning no support or updates. Reviews at ocia, BenchMarkReviews and HardwareCanucks . For those people still using these drives, here’s a thread from the OCZ Forums on setting up the drive;
• OCZ Agility series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 185 read 100 write. 64mb dram buffer. Support for trim in Win7. Website and Reviews at LegionHardware and BenchMarkReviews;
• NEW! OCZ Agility 2 series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Support for Trim in Win7. Website and Reviews at AnandTech and BenchMarkReviews;
• OCZ Agility ex “ enterprise drive, SLC memory. Indilinx Barefoot Controller. Techspot and BenchMarkReviews review;
• OCZ Onyx series “ Indilinx Amigos IDX100M01-LC Controller ( basically half the barefoot controllers pipelines and classed as a value drive ). Read 125 write 70. 64mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Website;
• OCZ Solid II Series “ Indilinx Controller. read 200 write 120. 64mb dram buffer. Support for trim in Win7.Website and Reviews at OCIA and Bjorn3d;
• OCZ Summit series “ Samsung RBB Controller. 220 read 120 write. 128Mb dram buffer. A destructive firmware as been released that gives support to Trim in Win7 “ Feb 2010. reviews at Techspot and Guru3d. Latest firmware for this particular drive is v19C1, Update found HERE;
• OCZ Vertex series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller 230 read 80 write. 64mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Website, OCZ Forums and reviews from Techspot, BenchMarkReviewsand HardwareCanucks;

Firmware FW1.60 released for Indilinx drives, check Vertex section for Links.

Firmware FW1.10 released for Sandforce drives, check general info section.

Firmware FW1.11 as been released for Sandforce drives, the flash is windows based and should be done in AHCI mode ( according to the OCZ forum ) and only works on Vista 32b and Win7 32b systems. Download and Info HERE.

Note! This information is for drives with older firmware, where you need to bring the firmware up to date by having to do a number of updates to reach the latest firmware version.

When you’ve determined the type of nand memory in the Vertex drive, check the firmware version that you can update to, updating firmware on Vertex’s can be quite complicated, depending on the current firmware on the drive, The latest official firmware for these drives is Version FW1.6 which as been posted HERE.

You need to be on firmware Version FW1.50 to update to FW1.60 and you can’t flash back to FW1.5, you also need to be in IDE mode to do this, you cannot be in AHCI mode, you could brick your drive, so read the thread carefully. You also need to remove any overclocking. There are also different instructions for Windows 64b operating systems, so read the complete thread.

Previous official firmware updates are Versions FW1.40 and FW1.41, if your running Win7 or a single drive you want FW1.40 which has Trim, anything else you want FW1.41, which as GC. Facts for the official firmware are HERE with the update files. Many older drives that have not been updated, cannot be updated directly, so consult the OCZ forums.

The Update from FW1.3 is non-destructive and to get support for your Vertex’s your firmware needs to be FW1.4. If you haven’t kept your firmware up to date, you need to read the previous firmware instructions for the correct way of updating. There is also a PDF file with excellent instructions for updating firmware on a Vertex ssd drive, it can be found HERE.

These instructions are pretty much the same for all the Indilinx controlled drives, but there will be differences.

How to set up Windows on a Vertex.

• NEW! OCZ Vertex 2 series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 270 write 260. Support for Trim in Win7, also supports internal GC. Website and Reviews at AnandTech, TechSpot, LegitReviews and excellent review from HardwareCanucks. OCZ has released firmware FW1.10 to reduce the over-provisioning of the drive, giving the drive additional storage capacity. There will also be a Toolbox released similar to Intels for the Vertex 2 drives ( may include the Agillity 2 as well ) called The OCZ Toolbox, the LegitReview shows the Toolbox. Vertex 2 owners are still waiting for the release of the toolbox in Aug 2010;
• NEW! OCZ Vertex 2 ‘E’ series ( extended ) – Sandforce SF 1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for Trim in W7, also supports internal GC. Website and Review at TweakTown. This as the reduced over-provisioning to give 15% more usable gb’s, ( from 28% to 13% or 23% to 7% ) depending on how the manufacturers access the space;
• OCZ Vertex ex “ enterprise drive -Indilinx IDX110M00-LC Controller, SLC nand memory. Read 260 write 210, 64mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Firmware Update available to 1.3/1.31 which adds Trim support. Reviews at BenchMarkReviews and LegitReviews;
• NEW! Vertex 2 EX series – Enterprise drive with SLC nand memory. Sandforce SF1500 Controller. Read 285 write 275, sustained write up to 250. Support for native trim. Super Capacitor on pcb board. Website. Capacities of 50g to 200g;
• NEW! OCZ Vertex 2 Pro series. Enterprise drive with MLC Nand memory. Sandforce SF1500 Controller. Read 285 write 275, sustained write 250, Native Trim support, super capacitor on pcb board. Website. Capacities of 50g to 400g;
• OCZ Vertex LE ( Limited Edition ) “ Sandforce SF1500 Controller. 270 read 250 write. This is a limited edition drive with exceptional performance. Website, reviews at LegitReviews , TechSpot and Anandtech. The LE is the same drive as the Pro 2. Note! EOC member G2145cal successfully used disk erase on the parted magic CD, to secure erase this drive, firmware update in general info section;
• OCZ Vertex Turbo series – Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 240 read 145 write. 64mb dram buffer. Support for trim in Win7. Website and review at BenchMarkReviews.

General Information for OCZ SSD Drives

Note! OCZ advises using the latest Intel drivers, rather than using the Microsoft native drivers on most of there drives, including the Sandforce controlled drives. the native drivers can cause ssd drives to run slow and cause errors with the trim function.

Firmware Update FW1.10 for Sandforce controlled drives including the LE, Found HERE. This update covers all the sandforce drives and supersedes FW1.05

Indilinx controlled drives now have FW1.60 check the Vertex drive section for the links.

OCZ Official 1.3 firmware update also OCZ Forum firmware updates for versions 1.4, 1.5 and including instructions. Also includes firmware upgrades for Vertex Turbo series which are different, so read INFO carefully, before applying upgrades.

How to use OCZ Sanitary Erase on Indilinx Barefoot drives. from OCZ Technology.

How to change from IDE to AHCI after os installation. from OCZ Technology Forums.

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OWC ( RE – 5yr/Pro 3yr warranty)

• OWC Mercury Extreme Enterprise series – Sandforce SF1500 controller. Website, Reviews from Anandtech and BareFeats ( raid 0 ). This drive is one of the fastest drives marketed, it’s supposedly faster than the Vertex LE. This is a excellent drive. Note! this particular drive appears to have been discontinued, the Website links now point to the PRO series drives;
• NEW! OCW Mercury Extreme Pro RE series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. This drive as the full 28% over-provisioning. Website and reviews at TweakTown and here at SSDReview. Capacities for this drive are 50g to 400g;
• NEW! OWC Mercury Extreme Pro series – Sandforce SF1200 controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for Trim in Win7 also includes internal GC. This drive as 7% over-provisioning. Website and review at HardWareCanucks. Capacities for these drives are from 60g to 480g. These drives are very reasonably priced with excellent performance.

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PATRIOT ( 10yr warranty/Zephyr 3yr warranty )

• NEW! Patriot Inferno series – SandForce SF1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for Trim in W7 also includes internal GC. Website and Reviews at BenchMarkReviews and TweakTown. This drive is available in capacities of 100g and 200g
• Patriot PS100 series “ Phison Controller. 210 read 150 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Website, Firmware Updates in General Notes below. Review at LegionHardware. Considered a poor performing ssd drive.The latest firmware for this drive is version 3.000;
• Patriot Torqx series “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 260 read 180 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Supports Trim in Win7. Website, Firmware Update Page in General Notes ( below ). Reviews from LegitReviews. Sept.29.2009. and BenchMarkReviews. Latest firmware FW1916;
• Patriot Torqx M28 series “ Samsung Controller. 220 read 200 write. 128Mb dram buffer. Website, Firmware Updates in General Notes section. Review at Tweaktown. Oct.2.2009;
• Patriot Zephyr series – JMicron JMF612 Controller. Read 240 Write 180. Support for Trim in Win7. Website and reviews at LegitReviews and TweakTown;

General Notes on Patriot SSD drives.

Patriots Firmware and Utilities Page. This also includes Installation Guides and Performance Utility for Torx drive also Patriot Support Forums.

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PHOTOFAST

• NEW! PhotoFast G Monster 2 – SFV1 series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 260 write 260. Support for Trim in Win7. Website;
• PhotoFast G Monster Quad Drive – 4 removable CF flash drive units,drive can be configured in raid 0,1,5,10 or JBOD. Read 250 write 170. Website;
• PhotoFast G Monster V-5 series – Dual Indilinx Barefoot Controllers in raid 0. Read 270 write 270. Dual 64mb dram buffers. Support for GC and Trim in Win7 with FW1916 firmware. Website and Review at TweakTown.

General Notes on PhotoFast SSD drives.

PhotoFast Utility Downloads.

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RUNCORE ( warranty 2yrs )

Runcore sell a number of ssd drives, which includes both 2.5″ PATA (IDE) and SATA II drives. The Sata ii drives are listed here. There main product page is listed HERE.

• RunCore Pro IV series – Indilinx Barefoot Controller. Read 240 write 185. 64g dram buffer. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. Capacities for this drive are 32g to 256g;
• NEW! RunCore Pro V series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 260 write 260. Support for Trim in Win7 and GC. Review at BenchMarkReviews. Capacities for this drive are 60g to 240g.

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SUPER TALENT ( Warranty 1-3yrs )

Super Talent as done a number of name changes, most of the MasterDrives with Indilinx controllers have been re-named as UltraDrives, also other drives have been re-named.

• Super Talent MasterDrive GL and GK series – 150 read 100 write. Support for Trim in Win7. Note! these drives now have a firmware update, the link is below on the firmware update page, in General Notes;
• Super Talent MasterDrive SX series “ Samsung S3C29RBB01-YK40N1TRPNPK ARM Controller. 230 read 160 write. 125mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Website, Firmware Update Page in General Notes section. Review at CCEReviews;
• NEW! Super Talent TeraDrive CT series – Sandforce SF1200 Controller. Read 285 write 275. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. Website same as other TeraDrives. This drive as the 7% over-provisioning firmware. there seems to be no difference between 7% & 13%, manufacturers seem to determine these figures in different ways;
• Super Talent TeraDrive FT – Sandforce SF1500 Controller. 275 read 260 write. Support for Trim in Win7;
• Super Talent TeraDrive FT2 – Enterprise SSD Drive- Sandforce SF 1500 Controller. 250 read 250 write. Support for Trim in Win7. Released with MLC or SLC memory. Firmware Updates in General Notes section. Review at BenchMarkReviews. Jan.20.2010;
• Super Talent UltraDrive DX – Toshiba T6UG1XBG Controller. Check for firmware updates on UltraDrive Website, linked in General Information;
• Super Talent UltraDrive GX – Indilinx Barefoot Controller released with MLC ( 260 read 190 write ) or SLC ( 260 read 210 write ) nand flash memory. 64mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Website and review from TechArp. There is also a Performance Refresh Tool available on the UltraDrive website page;
• Super Talent UltraDrive GX2 “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 220 read 180 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7;
• Super Talent UltraDrive ME “ Indilinx Barefoot Controller. 200 read 160 write. 64Mb dram buffer. Support for Trim in Win7. Review at BenchMarkReviews;
• NEW! Super Talent UltraDrive MX series – J Micron JM 616 Controller. 250 read 180 write. Support for GC and Trim in Win7. Contains both sata II and usb connections and capacities from 60 to 480gb;
• NEW! Super Talent Value series – Read 150 Write 100.

General Notes for Super Talent SSD drives.

The firmware information on Super Talent SSD drives can be quite complicated, do please check the download page and the Super Talent forums before updating.

Super Talent Firmware Updates Support Page.

MasterDrive Website HERE.

Firmware Information on MasterDrive SSD drives. The MX series as both a Firmware Update Manual and the Firmware posted on the support page. GL firmware ( PX, OX and KX ), which includes a Upgrade Manual and Firmware file as also been posted on the Support page. There are other Firmware Updates, identified only by there Serial No.s, so you need to the serial No. for these drives. The OX and the PX appear to have been discontinued.

TeraDrive Website HERE. There are NO firmware updates posted for these Sandforce controlled drives.

The UltraDrive Website HERE.

The GX and the GX2 has the V1916 Firmware posted. When flashing from the V1711 ( GX2 only ) you need to downgrade to V1516 before flashing V1916. There are also Performance Refresh Tools available for the GX drive on it’swebsite page, the tool to download depends on the firmware on the drive ( Note GX only ) and is non destructive, but check the forums. Flashing from V1816 to V1916 does not appear destructive, according to the forums, so check and backup or clone the drive to be on the safe side.

NOTE! Firmware 1916 works with with XP and Win7, doesn’t work on Vista as of June 2010.

Some Firmware Updates are destructive on these drives, so you need to clone or back-up prior to updating, the latest for Barefoot drives is V1919, flashing from V1816 does not appear to be destructive according to the forums and a SSD user manual ( PDF ) are available also. Super Talent Forums, with advise on updating firmware and SSD’s in general.

UltraDrive Firmware Update Information for V1916 from the forums. HERE is more information about V1916.

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WESTERN DIGITAL

• WD SiliconeEdge Blue series – JMicron JMF618 Controller ( Sata II ). 250 read 170 write. 64mb ddr2-800 ram buffer. Supports Trim in Win7. Website and reviews at StorageReview and Anandtech review; and
• WD SiliconeEdge N1x series This is a enterprise drive, just recently announced. Website.

High End Storage Comparison: Quad Velociraptors versus Dual WD SSD’s. Comparison at PC Perspective.