Port references taken from the Wikipedia...
The SSD M.2 Port in the Thinkpad T460s:
M.2, formerly known as the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), is a specification for internally mounted computer expansion cards and associated connectors. It replaces the mSATA standard, which uses thePCI Express Mini Card physical card layout and connectors. Computer bus interfaces provided through the M.2 connector are PCI Express 3.0 (up to four lanes), Serial ATA 3.0, and USB 3.0 (a single logical port for each of the latter two). It is up to the manufacturer of the M.2 host or device to select which interfaces are to be supported, depending on the desired level of host support and device type. The M.2 connector has different keying notches that denote various purposes and capabilities of M.2 hosts and modules, preventing plugging of M.2 modules into feature-incompatible host connectors.
I have personally verified that the Thinkpad T460s supports the following two types of M.2 SSDs:
- Samsung 950 PRO PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 Form Factor
- Samsung 850 EVO SATA6 M.2 2280 Form Factor
It should also support:
- Any other SATA6 / NMVE M.2 2280 Form Factor
- Any M.2 2230/2242/2260 with the proper extender board to 2280 (Transcend MTS400 2242 for example).
The PCI Express Mini Card Port (WWAN) in the Thinkpad T460s:
PCI Express Mini Card (also known as Mini PCI Express, Mini PCIe, Mini PCI-E, mPCIe, and PEM), based on PCI Express, is a replacement for the Mini PCI form factor. It is developed by the PCI-SIG. The host device supports both PCI Express and USB 2.0 connectivity, and each card may use either standard. Most laptop computers built after 2005 use PCI Express for expansion cards; however, as of 2015, many vendors are moving toward using the newer M.2 form factor for this purpose.
Physical dimensions
Dimensions of PCI Express Mini Cards are 30 × 50.95 mm (width × length) for a Full Mini Card. There is a 52-pin edge connector, consisting of two staggered rows on a 0.8 mm pitch. Each row has eight contacts, a gap equivalent to four contacts, then a further 18 contacts. Boards have a thickness of 1.0 mm, excluding the components. A "Half Mini Card" (sometimes abbreviated as HMC) is also specified, having approximately half the physical length of 26.8 mm.
Mini-SATA (mSATA) variant
Despite sharing the Mini PCI Express form factor, an mSATA slot is not necessarily electrically compatible with Mini PCI Express. For this reason, only certain notebooks are compatible with mSATA drives. Most compatible systems are based on Intel's Sandy Bridge processor architecture, using the Huron River platform. Notebooks like Lenovo's ThinkPad T, W and X series, released in March–April 2011, have support for an mSATA SSD card in their WWAN card slot. The ThinkPad Edge E220s/E420s, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Y460/Y560 also support mSATA.
I am currently in the process of verifying if the following mSata drive works in the WWAN port:
- Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB mSATA 2-Inch SSD (MZ-M5E500BW)
Will post back once I get it in my hands and I am able to confirm this.
I am also in the process of benchmarking these drives and preliminary real life usage tests show a 3-5% performance difference between the Samsung 950 PRO PCIe NVMe and the Samsung 850 EVO SATA6.
My advice go with the cheapest one, possibly an mSata if my findings are succesful next Wednesday...