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.
This reference was gathered from various resources, the information provided may contain possible errors or omission.

Seagate
Western Digital
Hitachi
Old IBM Drives
Fujitsu
Intel SSD
Crucial/Micron SSD
Corsair SSD
OCZ SSD
Mushkin SSD

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 P = Mobile/WD Scorpio® Blue 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

Reference: http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/storage/hdd/support/how-to-read-models.html

Intel SSD

Example: SSDSA2SH064G1

SSD	Product Type Designator: SSD = Solid State Drive
SA	Bus Architecture: PA = PATA SA = SATA SC = SATA US = Universal Serial Bus
2	Form Factor: 1 = 1.8" 2 = 2.5" M = Module
S	Product Technology Type: S = Single Level Cell M = Multi-Level Cell
H	Performance: H = High
064G	Density: 001G = 1GB 002G = 2GB 008G = 8GB 032G = 32GB 064G = 64GB
1	Product Generations: 1-9 Generations

Crucial/Micron SSD

Example: CTFDDAC128MAG

CT	Brand: CT = Crucial Technology MT = Micron Technology
FD	Product Family: FD = Flash drive
D	Drive Interface: D = SATA 6.0 Gb/s
AC	Drive Form Factor: AA = 1.8-inch Micro SATA Hdd replacement AC = 2.5-inch HDD replacement
128	Drive Density: 064 = 64GB 128 = 128GB 256 = 256GB
M	NAND Flash Type: M = MLC
AG	Product Family: AG = C300

Corsair SSD

Example: CSSD-F120GB2

CSSD	Brand: Corsair Solid State Drive
F	Product Series: F = Force Series V = Nova Series P3 = Performance 3 Series
120GB	Drive Density
2	Drive Form Factor: 2 = 2.5"

OCZ SSD

Example: OCZSSD2-2VTXEX200G

OCZSSD	Brand: OCZ Solid State Drive
2	Drive Form Factor: 1 = 1.8" 2 = 2.5" 3 = 3.5" U3 = USB 3.0 PX = PCI-Express
2	Product Generation: 1 = 1st Generation 2 = 2nd Generation
VTXEX	Drive Family: VTX = Vertex Series VTXEX = Vertex EX Series VTXP = Vertex Pro Series RVD = RevoDrive Series RVDX = RevoDrive X2 Series ONX = Onyx Series AGT = Agility Series CLSLT = Colossus LT Series
200G	Drive Density: XXG = XX GB 1T = 1 TB (1024 GB)

Mushkin SSD

Example: MKNSSDCL120GB-DX

MKNSSD	Brand: Mushkin Solid State Drive
CL	Drive Family: CL = Callisto Series IO = Io Series
120GB	Drive Density: 120GB = 120 GB XXXGB = XXX GB
DX	Drive Family Modifier: DX = Deluxe

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