OCZ Confirms Octane and Vertex 4 use Marvell based Silicon
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 11, 2012 3:22 PM ESTI received a tip yesterday with proof that OCZ's Everest controller was actually a Marvell 88SS9174 controller (the same controller used in Crucial's m4, Intel's SSD 510, etc...) with a custom Indilinx firmware. After a bit of digging, it turns out that this is indeed the case (OCZ confirmed it to me earlier today). Although OCZ is working on non-Marvell based solutions, the Everest 1 (Octane) and indeed the Everest 2 (Vertex 4) are both based on Marvell hardware. The firmware is entirely Indilinx's own development, but the hardware is from Marvell. The hardware implementation isn't completely identical as OCZ claims its solutions run at higher clock speeds than the standard off-the-shelf Marvell components.
This doesn't really change anything but it does explain how OCZ was able to bring two revisions of Everest to market as quickly as it did after the Indilinx acquisition. OCZ and Marvell have been working very closely together for a while now and even announced a native PCIe controller they collaborated on at CES this year called Kilimanjaro. As even Intel has admitted to in the past, the value in delivering an SSD isn't always in controller hardware but rather the firmware and validation.
Update: Just to clarify, my information says the Everest 1 (Octane, Petrol) is a higher clocked Marvell 88SS9174. The Everest 2 (Vertex 4) could very well be the new Marvell 88SS9187 given its significant performance enhancements. If it is the 9187 that could tell us a lot about just how close OCZ and Marvell are, as the Vertex 4 started shipping less than a month after Marvell announced the new controller.
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kamm2 - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
Hats off to you jwilliams4200. I saw your comments last weekend about this (http://www.anandtech.com/show/5719/ocz-vertex-4-re... and no one believed you.iwod - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 - link
So what does indilinx brings? If they are just simple Marvel Controller with different Firmware? Then they are nothing more then an M3 Pro / M4 / 520 etc....grahamnp - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
Yes, this was very disingenuous of them. They basically attempted to mislead customers into thinking they had their own controller when they effectively no different from any of the other Marvell using drive manufacturers.To be fair it does seem like the firmware is quite a radical departure from the typical Marvell drive but to tout the advantages of the "Everest" when it is effectively somebody else's drive is deceptive.
CoreDuo - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
at least they're decent controllers either way, so I suppose it isn't all bad.Coup27 - Thursday, April 12, 2012 - link
OCZ leading people up the garden path... Never.hackztor - Friday, April 13, 2012 - link
Does not matter if it is good performing ssd or not. OCZ hid the truth from people even the reviewers. Reviews came out good, people jumped to buy then they find out the truth. ocz acts like its no big deal. If it is not a big deal why not tell everyone right away? They tried to hide it and it is the last time I will buy from them.aaloto - Monday, April 16, 2012 - link
Hacztor, please can you shut the f#@? up, you are beginning to irritate the hell out of me. I hope you never buy from OCZ again, you stupid ignorant twat. I wonder why the hell you bother to read reviews or bench marks. I come here to read quality scientific based reviews by Anand, and intellectual discussions based on his findings on the review. This is not the place to come and lament, if you have shares in OCZ nor the place to come and do a song and dance if you dislike the company, for whatever reason.As much as it is interesting to know that the Vertex 4 and indeed the Octane were based on Marvel hardware, I dont give a damn whether or not you've been deceived by OCZ. Go sue them if you like but get the f#@? off the thread would you, pretty please! :o(
Does anyone else think OCZ might be able to improve the Vertex 4 firmware for better read performance without affecting its excellent write capabilities? Or is there some feature of the SSD's design that suggests, optimising its WRITE capability will adversely affect its READ?
jwilliams4200 - Tuesday, April 17, 2012 - link
I vote for kackztor stays, and the rude aaloto goes away.aaloto - Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - link
hacztor, I am sorry for my outburst, it was meant for jwilliams4200 who got on my nerves for derailing the initial discussion.Sorry again.
alan1476 - Saturday, April 14, 2012 - link
I have made a little discovery on my own, with all Vertex drives and yes I have many of them, its always wise to wait until a few firmware updates ahve been indroduced before plunking down you cash, jmho, but people will do what they choose, its just my way of doing things with OCZ SSDs.