Seagate Exos SATA: Part Numbers, CMR, 512e or 4Kn, and Recertified Drives

Seagate Exos SATA prices on Amazon.co.uk

This table holds 29 listings right now. Lowest price per TB: £20.49/TB, in pounds sterling inc VAT. New and used drives share this table, so read the condition on each row before you compare prices. Further down, the same listings are split into a new table and a used table.

The recording column shows CMR only where a Seagate document states it for that part number. A title that says CMR is the seller's claim; the table does not take it on trust. Exos 5E8 listings are left out on purpose: none of the data sheets this page cites covers the 5E8.

Is Seagate Exos SATA CMR? What each sheet states

• Exos X24 SATA: Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) reads Yes at 24, 20, 16 and 12 TB.
• Exos X22 SATA: CMR reads Yes at 22 and 20 TB.
• Exos X20 SATA: CMR reads Yes at 20 and 18 TB.
• Exos X18: CMR reads Yes in every SATA and SAS column, from 18 TB down to 12 TB.
• Exos M: the capacity row itself is headed CMR Capacity, at 24, 28, 30 and 32 TB.
• Exos 7E8: the sheet says it is built on field-proven 9th-generation conventional magnetic recording (CMR) technology.
• Seagate factory recertified: CMR reads Yes at every capacity from 4 TB to 32 TB.

For the X16, X14, X10 and 7E10 we have not found a document that states the recording technology, so this page does not call those generations CMR. That is our gap, not a statement that they use another method. If recording technology matters to your array, buy a part number whose sheet states it, or check the sheet for your exact number before you order.

Seagate Exos SATA part numbers, from X24 down to X10

Every Exos X sheet below puts the SATA models in their own columns. These are the standard SATA numbers, largest generation first:

• Exos X24: ST24000NM002H (24 TB), ST20000NM002H (20 TB), ST16000NM002H (16 TB) and ST12000NM002H (12 TB), all single port with a 512MB cache and 285MB/s.
• Exos X22: ST22000NM001E (22 TB) and ST20000NM004E (20 TB), with a 512MB cache and PowerBalance.
• Exos X20: ST20000NM007D (20 TB) and ST18000NM003D (18 TB), both at 285MB/s.
• Exos X18: ST18000NM000J (18 TB), ST16000NM000J (16 TB), ST14000NM000J (14 TB) and ST12000NM000J (12 TB), at 270MB/s from 18 TB to 14 TB.
• Exos X16: ST16000NM001G (16 TB), ST14000NM001G (14 TB), ST12000NM001G (12 TB) and ST10000NM001G (10 TB), at 261MB/s at 16 TB and 14 TB.
• Exos X14: ST14000NM0018 (14 TB), ST12000NM0008 (12 TB) and ST10000NM0478 (10 TB), single port, 261MB/s at 14 TB and 245MB/s at 12 and 10 TB.

Within the X18, idle power tracks capacity: the SATA models are stated at 5.3 W, 5.1 W, 4.9 W and 4.4 W from 18 TB down to 12 TB. The X24 is flat at 6.3 W at every capacity, and the X20 and X22 at 20 TB are both 5.4 W. Divided by capacity, which is our arithmetic, the 12 TB X18 comes to about 0.37 W/TB and the 24 TB X24 to about 0.26 W/TB, so the largest drive is the frugal one per terabyte.

Newer generations are faster at some capacities. At 16 TB the X24 states 285MB/s, the X18 270MB/s and the X16 261MB/s; at 18 TB the X20 states 285MB/s against 270MB/s for the X18. At 20 TB the X20 and X24 both state 285MB/s, so there the newer drive is not quicker on paper.

Hyperscale or standard: two kinds of Exos SATA number

The X10 sheet splits its SATA drives into two models at each capacity. The hyperscale models are ST10000NM0016 at 10 TB and ST8000NM0016 at 8 TB, stated at 4.5 W idle. The standard models are ST10000NM0086 and ST8000NM0206, stated at 5 W idle. Each cell the other model fills is a dash, so the two are separate products, not one drive with two labels.

The X16 sheet uses the same word in its best-fit applications: "Hyperscale SATA model tuned for large data transfers and low latency". We quote it as Seagate wrote it. We have not found a Seagate document that lists, for each later SATA number, whether it counts as hyperscale or standard, so this page does not sort the other generations that way. The X24 sheet calls its SATA models the standard model with Seagate Instant Secure Erase (ISE).

Exos SATA in 512e, 4Kn or 512n: FastFormat and the 7E lines

On the X14 to X24 sheets one FastFormat number covers both 512e and 4Kn. The X22 sheet's footnote is plain: FastFormat models ship in 512e, and when switching from 512e to 4Kn by executing the FastFormat routine, "all data on the drive will be deleted". It adds that data must be aligned to 4K sectors to see the improvement. Choose the format before the drive holds anything you need. The X10 is the exception: its sheet gives the 10 TB 4Kn SATA model its own number, ST10000NM0146, beside the 512e ST10000NM0086.

The 7E10 and 7E8 work the same way as the X10: the sector format is part of the part number, in separate SATA tables.

• 7E10 512n: ST6000NM000B, ST4000NM000B and ST2000NM000B.
• 7E10 512e/4KN: ST10000NM017B, ST8000NM017B, ST6000NM019B, ST4000NM024B and ST2000NM017B.
• 7E10 4Kn: ST10000NM002B, ST8000NM002B, ST6000NM004B, ST4000NM004B and ST2000NM004B.
• 7E8 512n base models: ST6000NM0235 (6 TB), ST4000NM0035 (4 TB), ST3000NM0005 (3 TB), ST2000NM0055 (2 TB) and ST1000NM0055 (1 TB).
• 7E8 512e base models: ST8000NM0055 (8 TB), ST6000NM0115 (6 TB), ST4000NM0115 (4 TB) and ST2000NM0125 (2 TB).
• 7E8 4Kn base models: ST8000NM0045 (8 TB), ST6000NM0125 (6 TB), ST4000NM0085 (4 TB) and ST2000NM0105 (2 TB).

So two 4 TB SATA listings from the same family can be different drives: on the 7E10, ST4000NM000B is the 512n model and ST4000NM004B the 4Kn one; on the 7E8, ST4000NM0035 is 512n, ST4000NM0115 512e and ST4000NM0085 4Kn. If your system needs 512-byte sectors, the 512n or 512e number is the one to look for. The full 7E10 range is on Exos 7E10.

Above 24 TB: Exos M in SATA

The largest Exos SATA drives on Seagate's sheets are Exos M: ST32000NM004K at 32 TB, ST30000NM004K at 30 TB, ST28000NM003K at 28 TB and ST24000NM001K at 24 TB, all single port and all stated at 6.9 W idle. The successor sheet, DS2045.4-2511, lists the same four numbers and names NAS systems exceeding 16 drive bays among its best-fit applications.

Note the two 24 TB numbers. ST24000NM002H is the X24 and ST24000NM001K the Exos M; both are SATA, and the sheets give them different idle figures, 6.3 W and 6.9 W. A listing that says only 24TB Exos SATA does not tell you which you would receive.

Seagate Exos SATA refurbished: the recertified sheet

Seagate's factory recertified data sheet, DS39.1, is a SATA 6 Gb/s document. Its numbers end in C and run from 4 TB to 32 TB across three tables. Every capacity on all three is stated at CMR, a 6-month limited warranty, 190MB/s maximum sustained transfer and 7.2 W idle. Those are the recertified drive's own figures, and they differ from the new X-series numbers above, so do not read a new drive's sheet for a recertified one.

A used Exos listing whose number does not end in C matches no number on Seagate's recertified sheet DS39.1, so treat it as a used drive described by its seller. The table below shows used listings only. For the wider used and recertified range, see refurbished Seagate Exos.

Across the new and used tables: 17 listings in new condition and 13 listings in used condition. A new listing whose part number ends in C is worth a second look: every number on Seagate's recertified sheet ends in C, which is our observation from that sheet rather than a rule Seagate states.

Seagate Exos SATA 4TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 16TB and 20TB: which number to look for

• 4 TB: ST4000NM000B, ST4000NM024B or ST4000NM004B (7E10: 512n, 512e/4KN, 4Kn), or ST4000NM0035, ST4000NM0115 or ST4000NM0085 (7E8: 512n, 512e, 4Kn).
• 8 TB: ST8000NM017B or ST8000NM002B (7E10), ST8000NM0055 or ST8000NM0045 (7E8), ST8000NM0016 (X10 hyperscale) or ST8000NM0206 (X10 standard).
• 10 TB: ST10000NM001G (X16), ST10000NM0478 (X14), ST10000NM0016, ST10000NM0086 or ST10000NM0146 (X10), ST10000NM017B or ST10000NM002B (7E10).
• 12 TB: ST12000NM002H (X24), ST12000NM000J (X18), ST12000NM001G (X16) or ST12000NM0008 (X14).
• 16 TB: ST16000NM002H (X24), ST16000NM000J (X18) or ST16000NM001G (X16).
• 20 TB: ST20000NM002H (X24), ST20000NM004E (X22) or ST20000NM007D (X20).

For 2 TB and 6 TB, where the choice is mostly 7E10 and 7E8 and other makers compete, see 2TB enterprise HDD and 6TB enterprise hard drive. For the same family in SAS, with the dual-port and security differences, see Seagate Exos SAS.