SandForce SF-1200 controller to get capped firmware
Interestingly, end-users with firmware version 3.0.5 will not get the same performance as seen in reviews, because the 3.0.1 release candidate firmware used on the review samples did not have this performance cap in place. SandForce reportedly introduced the performance cap to fix a known reliability issue that could result in a dead disk.
Not all SandForce SF-1200 based SSDs will be equal though, OCZ has a closer relationship with SandForce than other firms, they've committed a lot of resource to the company, and therefore they will get access to a faster revision of the SF-1200 firmware.
Corsair is currently shipping SSDs with the 3.0.1 firmware, but the company claims it has circumvented the reliability issue by disabling the power saving feature that caused it. AnandTech has investigated this claim and testing seems to back this up as the power consumption of Corsair's Force 100GB is 1.25W during a sequential write test, while the OCZ Vertex LE 100GB uses only 0.95W.
Corsair could keep shipping the faster 3.0.1 firmware, but if users ever have to upgrade they will lose performance.
Now we get to the other problem. The performance of 3.0.1 is the same as OCZ
Kingston debuts first SandForce SSD for business - 09/14/2011 10:02 AM
Kingston announces the SSDNow KC100, a new SATA 6Gbps business SSD with a SandForce controller and 5-year warranty. The disk is available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities for $337, $650 and $1,270...
SandForce shows SSD Built Using 24nm Toshiba MLC Flash - 08/10/2011 10:25 AM
We just had the transition towards 25nm NANF flash, but 24 NAND flash is already arround the corner. At the upcoming Flash Memory Summit, which is scheduled to open its gates later today in Santa Cla...
Kingston shows its first SandForce-based SSD - 06/07/2011 09:03 AM
Kingston just announced its first SandForce-based solid state disks, they feature a SATA 6Gbps interface and use 25nm NAND flash memory from Intel. And check out the new
Patriot debuts SandForce SF-2200 based Wildfire SSDs - 02/25/2011 01:08 PM
Patriot shows their new Wildfire series solid state disks with the SandForce SF-2200 controller: Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage and enthusiast compute...
RunCore 1TB SandForce-based 3.5-inch SSD - 12/09/2010 01:16 PM
RunCore announced it has developed a new SATA 6Gbps 3.5" SSD with a storage capacity of 1TB. The disk uses a SandForce controller and can achieve data rates of over 500MB/s. Pricing is TBA.. For...