OCZ preparing next generation SSD controllers

Believe it or not but we’ve already had two generations of the OCZ -customised Marvell-based Indilinx controller. Now OCZ are preparing the third installment of Indilinx with TSMC. CEO Ryan Peterson has been explaining that OCZ are currently working very closely with TSMC to sample Indilinx Barefoot 3 controllers which should be ready in time for a new range of Indilinx based SSDs in September.

CEO Ryan Peterson also revealed some other additional details about the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller at a conference call with financial analysts. The controller will have a 32-bit, 400MHz “Aragon” processor, with a SSD-specific RISC instruction set. The controller’s “primary IT blocks” are licensed from a third party – although we aren’t 100% sure what that means, it probably implies licensing of hardware from Marvell.

Performance is to be better than current generation drives from OCZ, but naturally you would expect that anyway. Current generation drives perform well in all round tests, being on par with Samsung 830 series SSDs and having a preference towards incompressible data over compressible data – the opposite to Sandforce based drives.

Unsurprisingly no numbers were given either but expect to see Indilinx Barefoot 3 powered SSDs from OCZ by the time Q3 is over (end of September at the latest).

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