Nvidia introduces new SFF requirements to simplify compact customized PC builds

Why it issues: These planning to construct small-form-factor PCs ought to begin re-checking chassis and graphics card distributors’ web sites. Many have lately agreed to mark their merchandise with a brand new verification badge from Nvidia to establish them as appropriate with compact builds. The brand new verification system ought to start showing on part-maker web sites quickly.

Small-form-factor (SFF) PCs look enticing with their minimalist design and match in additional locations than standard builds. Nonetheless, in addition they introduce challenges for builders. Nvidia desires to decrease the added complexity with a brand new normal for high-end graphics playing cards and appropriate instances.

The corporate launched a brand new “SFF-Prepared” specification to outline which GPUs can slot in a compact chassis. Nvidia hopes that builders will not must spend additional time researching the size of every card and chassis or guess whether or not they have sufficient clearance for energy and knowledge cables.

Quite a few board companions and case producers have already agreed to establish which merchandise meet the brand new normal. Suitable GPUs will quickly carry “SFF-Prepared” stickers, and distributors will describe instances as “Suitable with SFF-Prepared Fanatic GeForce Playing cards.”

Any GeForce RTX 4070 or greater with 2.5 slots or much less and most dimensions of 151 x 304 x 50mm meets the factors. In the meantime, a becoming chassis will need to have at the very least 154.4 x 312 x 50mm of clearance to depart room for the motherboard, PCB riser, and cabling.

Almost two dozen SFF-Prepared instances are listed, coming from Asus, Cooler Grasp, Corsair, Fractal Design, InWin, Kolink, Lian Li, MSI, Ncase, NZXT, Phanteks, SilverStone, Sliger, and Thermaltake. Nvidia claims it has 36 appropriate GPUs, together with these from companions like Asus, Galax, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac, PNY, and Inno3D.

All SFF-certified playing cards are members of the RTX 4070 and 4080 households. The specification would not prolong to earlier GPU generations, and there’s no indication of whether or not companions may embrace AMD playing cards. The flagship RTX 4090 will not get the sticker as a result of it is a three-slot card, however current experiences recommend that its successor – the upcoming RTX 5090 – may match the usual.

Mainstream GPUs just like the RTX 4060 aren’t talked about as a result of all of them will doubtless match SFF builds. Whereas Nvidia’s new initiative is not aimed toward Mini-ITX programs, different distributors like Galax, with its single-slot 4060 Ti from final 12 months, have that area of interest lined.

Different Nvidia bulletins from this 12 months’s Computex embrace an AI assistant that helps customers play and optimize particular video games and updates to the corporate’s desktop app for AV1 video encoding and fast {hardware} tuning.