Usally when I buy a new piece of hardware, I try to flash the firmware with the latest, (that way if I screw it up I can take it back and exchange it) because sometimes the hardware might have been sitting on the shelf a few months, and sometimes it might have the orginal code, or a 2nd revison. Most of us will flash MoBo's, etc. But you can also flash your burners, I flashed an Old 8X speed cd-r and ended burning @ 16X after the flash (cool).
USE THE FOLLOWING LINK AT YOUR OWN RISK, FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTION OR YOUR BURNER MAY BE USELESS AFTERWARDS
http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php