Thinkpads Forum

I currently use a T530 with two storage drives (mSATA and SSD), but this laptop is a bit too bulky for me to carry around the office so I am considering the T450s.

On the Lenovo US site, this laptop is configurable with three storage options:

1. Normal SSD
2. 16GB M2 SSD (pre-installed)
3. (optional) 3rd M2 SSD in place of the smart card reader.

Here is where I have some questions:

1. I am not sure if these parts are field replaceable (like the mSATA slot on my T530) or do I have to configure it online.
2. What kind of SSD fits in these slots? M2 is just the name of an interface which can support many sizes of cards.
3. I don't think RAID is possible, but just confirming.
4. Is it possible to select individual drives for booting; as on the T530 where each drive appears in the boot device options menu (F12 key during startup).

Any help would be appreciated.

1. Yes, the hard drive and M.2 slots are easily accessible for swapping out. I put a M.2 SSD in my T450s without a problem, though removing the back panel for access to the internals is less user-friendly on these new models.

2. Only a 42mm M.2 drive will fit in the slots on a T450s. Larger ones will not work. Currently there are not many options for SSDs in that form factor, but drives up to 256GB are available.

3. Don't know on this one.

4. Yes, you can set a custom boot order in the BIOS, or select specific boot options upon startup with the F12 option.