Corsair drives dont have firmware for TRIM or Garbage collection?
EDIT: Here is a link saying they should get it soon:
http://www.legitreviews.com/news/6703/
EDIT: I think its available... Check the
Corsair forums.
So it looks like its out.
No offense, but they have a data-destructive method to get ONLY the P-series drive to use Trim. And even then, it isn't guaranteed that trim will be enabled. They also use a round-a-bout way to get it done. Not exactly user friendly for enthusiasts. Forget the common user.
The new Samsung firmware and updater tool have completed internal qualification and BETA testing and has been released.
A couple important notes and warnings: Even though this has been released there are still some reasons why it may not work for everyone:
[1] You will need to use a System or MB that will boot and run Microsoft DOS 6.22 or 7.0 and be able to see a SSD Drive set to IDE Mode. (You cannot use a RAID card or an on board controller set to RAID and run this update)
[2] This tool will only work on Corsair P64, P128, and P256 drives.
[3] This tool WILL ERASE the contents of the drive. All data will be lost. You must back up your DATA prior to doing this update.
[4] This tool has been qualified on X86 Based Hardware ONLY with the above listed restrictions and limitations..
[5] This tool must be run from a bootable USB drive. There have been some users in the BETA program that used other methods but at this time they would not officially be supported.
[6] This update has been developed by Samsung to enable Windows 7 Trim Support on NTFS-formatted SSDs. We do not recommend or support its use on any other platforms.
Please read the Firmware Download Guide (attached) and if you are not able to follow these steps as outlined we would not suggest running this update. This utility is supplied as-is, and is NOT guaranteed to run on all systems, regardless of operating system, CPU, drive format, or other factors. Using this utility WILL ERASE the contents of the SSD being reprogrammed. Use this utility at your own risk; Corsair can not be responsible for any damages other than to the P-Series SSD, which is covered under Corsair’s standard warranty. Note that using this utility does not impact in any way the warranty on your P-series SSD.
And as far as their even more expensive Extreme series:
Q: Will the performance of my X-Series SSD reduce over time?
A: Actual X-Series FW does not offer any Performance Recovery/Garbage Collection but it is possible to restore the performance of an X-Series SSD by performing a secure-erase using the DOS utility HDD Erase
Yet another data detructive method that isn't even considered house keeping. This is house rebuilding!
My OCZ SSD, like all SSD's, needs some type of house keeping chores done to keep their performance levels high. It's just the nature of the beast for now. My house keeping chores, once set up once, take all of 20 minutes to run. When this next FW revision goes live, I refuse to beta test it, we will have an even easier method to maintain drive performance.
I'm just not impressed with what I've read on the Corsair forums about their own drives. Too many people standing around wondering what was going to happen next, when it would happen and what would be the end result once something happened. Me, I like that stuff to be put out up front. If I'm going to spend $300 on an SSD, that sucker better already support Trim in Win7, it better have good tools and it better be easy enough for one of my kids to do if I'm out of town. And I shouldn't have to reflash the damned thing to get there either. It was a poor choice by Corsair to go with the Samsung controllers they did. Pure and simple. And I bet you OCZ is selling more SSD's to consumers like you and I than Corsair because of it.
If anyone here loves Corsair, great! I do too! I've used their memory for years, and currently in both machines I have in the house, and their PSU's. Just put in a TX950 in my main rig. It's just this one area they aren't all that great in. And it's the Samsung controllers and the lack of timely support from Samsung to Corsair that has caused it.
I just don't think Corsair is there yet. Not on most of their drives anyway.
As always, it's best to do some in depth research before you buy something. That's even more important with SSD's. I went with OCZ's product due to the level of support they have in their forums by their employees, the performance, the house keeping duties and the controllers they use now and intend to use here soon.