Hard Drive Naming Conventions
Whilst they may at first appear to be merely a jumble of numbers and letters, the hard drive model names used in our charts have a lot of meaning behind them. This page aims to deconstruct and explain the naming convention used by the different HDD manufacturers.
Seagate
Example: ST3500620AS
| ST | This is a Seagate drive |
| 3 | The physical size of the drive: 3 = 3.5" 6 = 1” 7 = 1.8” 9 = 2.5” |
| 500 | Capacity in GB. This drive is 500GB |
| 6 | Size of the cache: 0 = 2MB 2 = 2MB 3 = 8MB 4 = 16MB 6 = 16MB 8 = 8MB |
| 20 | Identifier, unknown meaning. |
| AS | Interface: A = ATA AS = SATA CF = CompactFlash ACE = ATA Consumer Electronics SCE = SATA Consumer Electronics AV = ATA Surveillance Video SV = SATA Surveillance Video |
Reference: http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=204763&Hilite=model
Western Digital
Example: WD6400AAKS-75A7B0
| WD | This is a Western Digital Drive |
| 6400 | Drive capacity, meaning changes depending on the next part of the name. This number should be interpreted such that the final digit is after the decimal point: 6400 = 640.0 |
| A | Capacity/Form Factor: A = GB/3.5-inch B = GB/2.5-inch C = GB/1.0-inch E = TB/3.5-inch F = TB/3.5-inch H = GB/3.5-inch (Backplane-Ready) - In this case ('A') the previous 640.0 means the drive is 640.0GB with a 3.5" form factor. |
| A | Brand: A = Desktop/WD Caviar® B = Enterprise/WD RE2 (3-platter) C = Desktop/WD Protege® D = Enterprise/WD Raptor® E = Mobile/WD Scorpio® H = Enthusiast/WD Raptor X L = WD VelociRaptor V = Audio/Video - WD AV Y = Enterprise/WD RE2 (4-platter) |
| K | Drive RPM / Cache Size: A = 5400 RPM with 2 MB cache B = 7200 RPM with 2 MB cache C = IntelliPower™ with 16 MB cache F = 10,000 RPM with 16 MB cache G = 10,000 RPM with 8 MB cache J = 7200 RPM with 8 MB cache K = 7200 RPM with 16 MB cache P = IntelliPower/EM (maximum buffer size offered by product) V = 5400 RPM with 8 MB cache (Mobile) Y = 7200 RPM/EM (maximum buffer size offered by product) |
| S | Interface: A = ATA/66 with 40-pin IDE connector B = ATA/100 with 40-pin IDE connector C = ATA with 33-pin connector (zero insertion force—ZIF) D = SATA 1.5 Gb/s with 22-pin SATA connector E = ATA/133 with 40-pin IDE connector S = SATA 3.0 Gb/s with 22-pin SATA connector T = SATA 3.0 Gb/s with 22-pin SATA connector (Mobile) |
| - | Everything following the dash was only meant for in house use by Western Digital, as such this is little information on the meanings of these values and the following information may not be entirely accurate or complete. |
| 75 | Vendor Code 00 = general consumer market 01 = general enterprise market 22 = promotional sample 23 = IBM 53 = Gateway 60 = Compaq 71 = HP 75 = Dell |
| A | A = Unkown C = 40 GB platters / BallBearings D = 66 GB platters / BallBearings E = 83 GB platters / BallBearings F = 83 GB platters / FDB G = 83 GB platters / FDB / SilentSeek M = 80 GB new platters / SATA2 / no NCQ N = 80..107 GB new platters / SATA2 / with NCQ K = 107 GB new platters P = 107 GB new platters / SATA2 or RE2 / with NCQ |
| 7 | Unkown |
| B | Unkown |
| 0 | Firmware version or generation |
References:
http://www.wdc.com/en/library/2579-001028.pdf
http://forums.storagereview.net/index.php?showtopic=22131
Hitachi
Example: HDS728080PLAT20
| H | This is a Hitachi Drive |
| D | Product Family: D = Deskstar C = CinemaStar T = Travelstar U = Ultrastar M = Microdrive E = Endurastar |
| S | Series prefix: S= Standard (default, if no series name prefix) C = Compact J/N = Endurastar Temperature Range E = Enh. Availability (24x7) T = Differentiator between two models with the same name (T7K250) |
| 72 | Speed, expressed in Revolutions Per Minute
(rpm): 36 = 3600 rpm 42 = 4200 rpm 54 = 5400 rpm 72 = 7200 rpm 10 = 10,000 rpm 15 = 15,000 rpm |
| 80 | Top capacity available for a particular drive release: 25 = 250GB (first two significant digits) 18 = 180GB In this case it is 80GB |
| 80 | Model capacity for this specific drive: 25 = 250GB (first two significant digits) 18 = 180GB In this case it is 80GB |
| P | Unique code |
| L | Height: L = 1" S = 15mm 7 = 7 mm 9 = 9.5 mm 5 = 5 mm 8 = 8 mm |
| AT | 16 = Ultra 160, 68 pin 18 = Ultra 160, 80 pin 36 = Ultra 320, 68 pin 38 = Ultra 320, 80 pin A = ATA/Entry level A3 = Serial-ATA 3 Gbit / s AT = ATA CA = CE-ATA CE = ATA (ZIF Connector) CF = CF2 pin CM = ATA on MMC F2 = Fibre channel 2GB F4 = Fibre channel 4GB SA = Serial-ATA 1,5 GB /s SS = Serial-attached SCSI |
| 2 | Feature Code assigned by business unit (e.g., cache buffer size) |
| 0 | Unique code |
Reference: http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/newnum.htm
Old IBM Drives
Example: IC25N040ATCS04-0
| IC | Stands for Internal Code, can be taken to mean an IBM drive. |
| 25 | Form factor: 35 = 88.9 mm (3.5 inch) 25 = 63.5 mm (2.5 inch) |
| N | Height: L = 25.4 mm (1 inch) T = 12.5 mm (0.49 inch) N = 9.5 mm (0.37 inch) |
| 040 | Unique code |
| AT | Interface: AV = ATA UW = Ultra SCSI 68-pin Wide UC = Ultra SCSI 80-pin SCA F2 = FC-AL-2 (2 Gbit) |
| CS | Unique code |
| -0 | Unknown |
Reference: http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/modnum.htm
Fujitsu
Example: MHV2160BT
| M | Fujitsu Drive |
| HV | Product Generation Counter |
| 2 | Form Factor: 2 = 2.5" 3 = 3.5" |
| 160 | Capacity in GB |
| BT | Interface: AH = ATA 5400RPM AS = ATA 5400RPM Extended Duty AT = ATA 4200RPM BH = SATA 5400RPM BS = SATA 5400RPM Extended Duty BT = SATA 4200RPM |
http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/storage/hdd/support/how-to-read-models.html