Corsair's award-winning Performance Series P64, P128 and P256 solid-state drives just got an upgrade now that the leading high-performance and flash memory maker has finished work on the special TRIM firmware. This firmware will add Windows 7 support for the TRIM command, through which SSDs can be kept for long periods of time at optimum operating performance and efficiency.

"This new firmware release for Corsair's Performance Series SSDs adds support for the TRIM performance-maintenance command in Microsoft Windows 7, further enhancing what are already some of the fastest and most respected SSDs on the market," said Jim Carlton, VP of Marketing for Corsair. "While other SSD manufacturers have rushed out bug-ridden firmware and update tools, sometimes with disastrous consequences for end-users, Corsair refused to jump on the bandwagon. We took the time to rigorously test and quality our tools, ensuring that our users will have the best experience possible."

The TRIM command progressively removes invalid or deleted data from the drive's memory cells, thus ensuring a long life and maintaining high-speed performance. The VBM19C1Q will be available on all new Corsair Performance Series SSDs and will also come in the form of an update tool for existing owners.

There are some aspects end-users should keep in mind when applying this firmware. When installing, all data on the drive will be lost. Also, the actual installation procedure only works for drives set in IDE mode, with RAID cards and on board RAID controllers not supported. Use of the tool is recommended only with Windows 7 and is designed for use on SSDs using the NTFS file system.

Both the actual firmware and the update tool were developed by Samsung and have been tested extensively in order to ensure compatibility. Tests were performed on a large amount of platforms and were done in conjunction with a controlled end-user BETA test.

Both the firmware and the update tool are available for download at Corsair's Product Forum.