OCZ Technology has provided a firmware update (V 1.13) to provide a performance increase with its Octane SSD series drives. OCZ states that the firmware provides a significant improvement in random write 4K performance (double the performance on some capacities) over the current firmware (V 1.12).
| Random Write 4K IOPSFirmware V 1.12 | Random Write 4K IOPSFirmware V 1.13 | |
|---|---|---|
| Octane 128 GB | 7,700 | 18,000 |
| Octane 256 GB | 12,000 | 25,000 |
| Octane 512 GB | 16,000 | 26,000 |
In discussions with OCZ Technology, it is important to know that this is a "destructive" firmware update on the Octane drive, meaning the drive will be empty after the flash. OCZ recommends end users to make an image of the drive, boot off of a spare drive, flash the Octane, then image back to the Octane. End users may choose to do a fresh install of their OS and programs instead of utilizing an drive image.
The new enhanced IOPS firmware will begin shipping in the next batch of drives to resellers, and the firmware upgrade is available to existing customers via the company's website.