Introduction

The first time I reviewed the original Force GT 240GB, Corsair was elbows deep trying to figure out the BSOD issue that plagued an untold number of users. At the time Corsair was experimenting with different SATA connectors, more compact component designs and looking into hair restoration products because their hair was being pulled out by the fist full. Well, it turned out that in many cases the SF-2281 drives didn't have a problem with connectivity, but an issue with the controller was actually responsible. The issue was eventually patched away in firmware with version 3.3.2.

Eventually Corsair could stop worrying about data eyes viewed through oscilloscopes and get back to pushing performance boundaries. Just months after our first review of the Corsair Force GT 240GB a new design was nestled underneath the famous red case. This one was something different, something special and something to get excited about.

Around the same time we reviewed the original Force GT 240GB with a 3/4 PCB design we also reviewed a special SSD from OWC. The OWC drive featured an SF-2282 controller, but the drive was still paired with 16 IMFT 25nm synchronous flash chips. The OWC drive didn't take advantage of the additional interleaving capabilities of the 2282, but after seeing the upper class SandForce controller, we knew it wouldn't be long before someone paired this controller with 32 NAND flash chips.

Well, we didn't think it would take this long, but Corsair built what we predicted would be a superior LSI SandForce SSD. The truth is though these 32 NAND flash models have been on the market for a long time. We didn't know they existed since most reviewers tested the older 16 chip, 3/4 PCB version early on in the products cycle. None of that really matters now because we have the 32 chip model in hand.

Just days ago, Corsair publicly released firmware version 5.0.3 for all of its SandForce SF-2000 Series products so we can finally put the Force GT 240GB with 32 NAND flash against the new Force GS 240GB and see which model is actually faster in this capacity size.

It's a flash face off; will more NAND and interleaving prevail or with the Force GS with higher efficiency stand at the top?