Term of the Moment
6G
Definition: Mini PCI Express
A small version of the Mini PCI peripheral interface for laptops and mobile devices. Using PCI Express signaling, Mini PCI Express (mPCIe) was originally designed for graphics cards and other peripherals but was later used for storage. The cards plug directly into the motherboard. Introduced in 2002, Mini PCI Express was superseded by M.2 (see below). See PCI Express, PCI and Mini PCI.
Mini PCIe (mPCIe) - Card and Motherboard
Mobile Form Factors
The Mini PCI Express card from Telit (top) is a cellular modem, while the compact ITX motherboard (bottom) has one side-facing slot. (Images courtesy of Telit and Jetway Information Co. Ltd.)
The 480GB SSD (top) is an mSATA card. Although mSATA cards are physically the same as the 31x50mm 52-pin mPCIe cards, they are electrically different. The 960GB SSD (bottom) uses the next-generation 67-pin M.2 interface, which supports both SATA and PCI Express. See mSATA and M.2.