Phison improves performance of its SSD controller with firmware update

SSDs that use the Phison S10 controller may soon receive a firmware update that significantly improves performance. Tom’s Hardware discovered that the new Zotac SSDs already come with the firmware.

In October, Zotac introduced two Premium Edition SSDs that use the Phison S10 controller. Tom’s Hardware discovered that the controller on these SSDs is equipped with a new firmware, which almost doubles the random-read performance compared to the previous firmware. According to Tom’s Hardware, the update can boost the performance of SSDs that use the S10 controller to the same level as the Samsung 850 Pro.

The website made inquiries with Phison and learned that the firmware has also been sent to other manufacturers for testing. Once manufacturers have validated the update, they can make it available to consumers. At the beginning of 2015, Corsair was the first manufacturer to use the Phison S10 in the Neutron XT SSDs. In addition, Kingston, among others, uses the controller in the Savage HyperX series and UV300 SSDs announced last week. It is not yet known if and when the various manufacturers will release firmware updates for their SSDs.