Building a Compact Gaming PC? Nvidia's New 'SFF-Ready' Guidelines Might Help (2024)

In case you haven't noticed, slim is in when it comes to PC gaming. If you're looking to build a powerful small form factor (SFF) gaming PC, that might be a little easier now, thanks to a document published by Nvidia that lists graphics cards and PC cases that it considers SFF-compliant as part of its Computex 2024 announcements. The list focuses on Nvidia's higher-end graphics cards along with compact cases that are already on the market, so if you’ve been struggling to find the proper case and graphics card combo for that SFF dream PC, Nvidia's new guide should help...so long as you're buying RTX 40 series.

Here's SFF as Defined by Nvidia

Small form factor (SFF) PCs have existed since the home computer industry started. Microcomputers were the fashion of the time, often packing all of the computer components into a space the size of a large keyboard. That trend did not continue as power demands gradually increased. In an attempt to get back to more space-friendly builds, we've had SFF PCs for several years, which are supposed to be small but do not have a clear definition.

What defines an SFF PC is entirely up to your interpretation. Every company in the PC industry that makes components has a definition of what qualifies as an SFF product. Naturally, this results in a wide range of products in multiple sizes; what is considered "small" is relative, after all.

Fitting with this, the definitions put forth by Nvidia come with a few caveats. Nvidia defined “SFF-Ready Enthusiast GeForce Cards” that should measure no more than 304mm long, 151mm wide, and 50mm thick. This last measurement is roughly 2.5 add-on-card slots in width. Nvidia also makes clear the need for additional clearance for the power cable, though this is not included in the measurements.

(Credit: Nvidia)

Recommended SFF cases that support these cards are required to have at least 312mm of space from back to front, and at least 154.5mm of space from the motherboard to the side panel. However, realistically, they would require slightly more space to comfortably accommodate the mandatory power cables sticking out the top edge of the card.

Knowing how Nvidia sees SFF hardware in this space could be helpful when picking parts for a gaming PC, but it shouldn’t be relied on too heavily. These measurements are just what Nvidia sees necessary for its enthusiast SFF hardware.

The numbers have little to no bearing on how other companies, including Nvidia’s board partners, design their cards, as all of these companies have had their own definition of what SFF is for years. Naturally, Nvidia's list of SFF-ready GPUs excludes all competing cards from AMD and Intel. However, it omits all last-gen Nvidia cards and all current-gen Nvidia cards below an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070. All Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti graphics cards were excluded.

SFF-Ready Enthusiast Hardware Available Now

Now that we’ve finished reviewing the technical details, here is Nvidia's provided list of approved parts for SFF desktops. The list predominantly comprises the RTX 4070 line, including the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super, and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super.

The cases are all relatively compact models designed to hold full-size graphics cards while maintaining a small physical footprint. We’ve reviewed several of these, including the Cooler Master MasterBox NR200P, the Silverstone Sugo 14 (pictured above), and the Thermaltake The Tower 100, all of which we recommend. While it naturally omits competing GPU options, not to mention older and entry-level cards, Nvidia's recommendations should take some of the guesswork out of building an SFF gaming desktop.