Indilinx based OCZ Vertex and Super Talent UltraDrive ME SSDs Reviewed

The first thing to do with your shiny new Indilinx-based SSD is to ensure your firmware is up to date.  I checked out each manufacturers web site.

 

Allow me to decrypt the above table.  Indilinx actually makes *all* firmwares for these drives.  OCZ, Super Talent, and anyone else using their controllers simply pass their firmware releases and tools onto their user base.  Early firmwares did not support the ability to upgrade without making an additional connection to place the Indilinx controller into engineering mode.  Since OCZ was first to adopt the tech, they added a jumper adjacent to the SATA connector on their Vertex drives.  Super Talent started later in the game, and since their drives come with at least 1370 pre-installed, there is no need for such a jumper.

Here’s the rub.  OCZ only supplies the newest firmware on their site, and 1.10 and newer require at least 1275 to be installed.  If you were an early adopter or haven’t flashed your firmware in a while, you are forced to dig through their forum to find 1275.  A few weeks ago it was only available by finding the post and sending a PM to one of their head members (requires creating a forum account and waiting for a reply).  They soon changed their post to include a link to the 1275 firmware, but stated they would “leave it up for a week or so“.  This does not seem that forward thinking to me, as plenty of people may be using the first few versions of firmware.  There is an obvious hesitation to flash from the early versions, as doing so completely wipes the drive.  Since flashing must be done under windows, it is impossible to do so on a single-drive laptop.  Another issue is flashing from old to new requires the first steps to take place under windows and the final steps to take place under DOS.