I evaluated and purchased a few Thales HSMs. At the time the difference between the FIPS and standard/dev editions was a bunch of cash and the spaces within the device were filled with epoxy and would erase if tampered with.
Software was the same, hardware looked the same. The crypto module is validated only with the $$ hardware.
Sometimes the non FIPS devices will have other algorithms not on the FIPS list.
No, as at time they did not offer a FIPS device, which was a requirement. Another nice feature of the Thales is that you could use multiple smart cards to ensure that no one person can do certain things.
Software was the same, hardware looked the same. The crypto module is validated only with the $$ hardware.
Sometimes the non FIPS devices will have other algorithms not on the FIPS list.