OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB: Testing Write Performance With Firmware 1.4

Testing The Effects Of Vertex 4's Firmware 1.4

Early last month, OCZ released firmware version 1.4RC for its Vertex 4 SSDs. The update was deliberately destructive, meaning it wiped drives clean. When a company goes to the trouble of issuing an update like that, you know something significant is happening under the hood. 

In this case, the 128, 256, and 512 GB drives received minor sequential read performance improvements, while the 128 and 256 GB drives purportedly enjoyed massive sequential write speed enhancements (from 200 to 420 MB/s, in the case of the 128 GB model).

Since that introduction, OCZ has rolled out revisions 1.4.1.2 and 1.4.1.3, which appear to correct bugs, rather than augmenting performance further. We do hear, however, that the imminent release of firmware 1.5 will provide the Vertex 4s with additional performance.

The table below reflects the same information presented in our earlier news post. Mainly: sequential writes speed is most significantly impacted by firmware 1.4.

So, within three months of our initial review (OCZ Vertex 4 Review: A Flagship SSD Powered By...Indilinx?), one of OCZ's newest SSDs has had its performance profile almost completely transformed. But do you end up making any compromises for the additional sequential write speed? Today, we take a look at the 128 GB Vertex 4's exceptional sequential performance results, which, to date, have only been achieved by competing architectures heavily reliant on compression algorithms.

Test Setup