TECH NEWS – It’s not just office PCs where the format is becoming popular, and that’s why Nvidia wants to see machines on the market that are smaller than normal (i.e. not as wide).

The format we’re talking about is called Small Form Factor (SFF).

For example, a Dell Optiplex can be this size.The difference can be seen when looking at the machine from the front, where it takes up less space than a normal sized machine.In SFF machines, it is common to have a smaller micro-ATX (mATX) motherboard instead of a standard ATX, with fewer PCIe slots. This can be further complicated by the mini-ITX motherboard, which is even smaller. The SFF format is smaller and more challenging for custom computer builders because it requires creativity in the build.

Nvidia has launched an initiative with its partners to meet the SFF standard not only in the size of the graphics cards, but also in the chassis, power supply, and other components. SFF can be a limiting factor when it comes to space, ventilation, and the right power supply. That’s why the company is creating guidelines that partners can build on to help gamers build smaller PCs:

“Enthusiasts around the world are choosing small form factor chassis for their dream rigs. However, when building around today’s enthusiast GPUs, it can be challenging to find the best components for a small form factor (SFF) build. Nvidia has developed form factor guidelines to help gamers choose the best GeForce RTX GPU and components for their SFF build. These guidelines provide dimensions and clearances between enthusiast graphics cards and SFF chassis, creating a standard for AIC and chassis manufacturers to help make building SFF gaming PCs a great experience,” Nvidia wrote.

Nvidia itself does not make SFF and ITX cards, but manufacturers do. The GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti will definitely show up in machines.

In addition to ITX machines, SFF can also be one that allows three-slot wide cards. Ultimately, the point would be for Nvidia to encourage ITX motherboards to be paired with more powerful graphics cards (the company calls them SFF Enthusiast GeForce GPUs).

A lot can depend on the smaller power supply.If the motherboard doesn’t have proprietary connectors (HP and Dell tend to screw things up), you can build even more exciting configurations.

Source: WCCFTech