Rethinking Demand Drivers: Beyond Portability Small Form Factor (SFF) computers have often been pigeonholed as mere compact alternatives for space-conscious consumers. However, market data from 2023-2024 indicates that the surge in SFF adoption is less about size and more about evolving enterprise IT strategies. Organizations are leveraging SFF units to enhance edge computing capabilities and optimize hybrid cloud infrastructures. This shift is catalyzing demand from sectors such as manufacturing automation, smart retail, and healthcare diagnostics, where on-site computing power is critical but traditional desktops are impractical. Material Innovation: The Silent Revolution Fueling Market Growth One often overlooked factor accelerating the SFF computer market is advances in thermal materials and chassis engineering. Manufacturers are now integrating graphene-infused cooling layers and ultra-lightweight alloys, enabling higher performance CPUs in smaller footprints without thermal throttling. This technical leap has unlocked new market segments, including high-frequency trading firms and VR content creators, who require robust, compact systems. The introduction of these materials is quietly reshaping competitive dynamics, favoring agile startups over legacy hardware giants. [IMAGE_2] Counterintuitive Insight: Why SFF Sales Are Booming Amid Supply Chain Turmoil Contrary to conventional wisdom that supply chain disruptions stifle hardware sales, the SFF computer segment has experienced robust growth during recent global component shortages. This phenomenon is driven by modular design philosophies intrinsic to many SFF models, allowing component-level swaps and upgrades without full system replacements. Enterprises are capitalizing on this flexibility to extend device lifecycles and reduce capital expenditure, thereby maintaining operational continuity while larger form factor PC sales decline. This counterintuitive resilience positions SFF units as strategic assets in volatile markets. [IMAGE_3] The Influence of AI Workloads on SFF Market Evolution AI and machine learning workloads are becoming pivotal in shaping SFF hardware trends. With edge AI gaining traction, there is a growing demand for localized inferencing capabilities that SFF computers can deliver efficiently. The market is witnessing a proliferation of SFF systems embedded with specialized AI accelerators and neural processing units, optimized for real-time data processing in decentralized environments. This trend aligns with broader industry moves toward data privacy and latency reduction, making SFF computers central to the next wave of intelligent computing solutions. [IMAGE_4] Future Outlook: Sustainability as a Market Catalyst Looking ahead, sustainability concerns are predicted to become a decisive factor influencing SFF computer adoption. Market analysts forecast increasing regulatory pressure and consumer demand for eco-friendly electronics will drive manufacturers to focus on recyclable materials, energy-efficient components, and circular economy models. SFF computers, by virtue of their minimalistic design and reduced material consumption, are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this trend. Companies investing early in sustainable SFF solutions stand to gain significant market share in an increasingly environmentally conscious technology landscape.

Hi Everyone, Important update for core club members, this is a great new way to get more Loyalty Points which give you more entries into our PC Giveaway

No worries, I understand! Thank you, I will try to get that replacement now.

Hi truly sorry for the late reply on this, was away for Christmas. I am sending you the invoice through a DM now.

Hey apologies for the wait on the reply, working on it!

Congratulations to our monthly winner! Watch the recap here of how it hits this tier. Recap here of how it hits Theecableguy's name! Congratulations on winning our PC giveaway!

Hi, just checking in again to see if I can get that invoice or receipt for the GPU. Thank you.

Build video is up. We also ran it through the rate my pc app. https://www.thecrimsonmarket.com/ratemypc/builds

Hello, I am still in the process of resolving this with XFX. They sent out a fan so replace my original one and I am still having the same problems. They just asked me for a jpeg or pdf of the invoice for the GPU, to move along with the warranty servicing. Would it be possible for someone to send that to me? Thank you.

Hey how did you go with the support ticket? Did they help you out? Let us know how we can help further 🙂

Let us know what you think in a comment below 🙂

Congratulations Razboss!! I love to see someone who really participates in our community get a big reward! This one made me really happy and actually it was just as much of a Birthday present for me as it was a Christmas present for Razboss 🙂 Now as all our winners, the Loyalty Points do get halved so everyone else can have a shot at getting to the top and winning! Here's the highlight! https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2650279641 We will do our next big reward in 28 days. Thanks to everyone who tuned in today!

Looking good 🙂

Waiting 3 weeks to get my bandsaw fixed, just needed a few bits of rubber but finally could do the grinding to fit the head on. When I separated the head from the body in the software it left a few open faces and the 3d printer software corrected it but made the part a different shape. So the head wouldn’t slide on easy. I used the bandsaw to cut off the excess you will see it in the build video. Band saw is great because it cuts vertical.

Second attempt at cutting panel, after 16 hours of reprogramming and reprocessing I may have a solid program for this. IMG_4882.mov

First attempts at cutting the acrylic and case panel. The case panel is now in modifiable because there is no reference point to re align the cutting with the existing cuts made. Unfortunately the model didn’t take into account the location of the pegs so the sheet doesn’t quite fit, will need to redo and also the tolerance was too tight. This is early days for cnc milling on the Carvera. Already 3 tools broken since the software was picking speeds from library and not the tools designated speed. Lessons learned with every snapped bit. IMG_4858.mov IMG_4874.mov

Thank you for your help. I just put in a support ticket with XFX. I can update this thread when I receive the fixed card/ new card to confirm that the issue is resolved.

Since the fans don't spin at all when the PC is booted on, then it extremely likely to be either the internal fan power connector on the PCB or the card's fan control circuitry must be defective, now due to the item still being under warranty, the next step is to send the GPU itself back to the manufacturer for RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization), where they would determine whether or not it is able to be fixed or if it just needs to be replaced.

The fans do not spin when the pc is booted. I tried to use MSI Afterburner yesterday to try to do exactly what you said and they didn’t respond. Also when I installed Afterburner I had uninstalled Adrenaline just in case there was a software conflict.

Gday, this sucks to hear you're going through this DaWalrus. Now firstly, I would start by installing MSI AFTERBURNER, and seeing if the fans will spin if forced to. If you have used MSI Afterburner to force the fans on your brand new XFX Swift Radeon 9070XT to a set speed (e.g., 50% or 100%) and they still do not spin, this strongly indicates a hardware issue or a software conflict. Which could mean either there is a conflict of power between AMD Adrenalin and MSI Afterburner, or since the card is brand new and software control is failing, the fans themselves, the internal fan power connector on the PCB, or the card's fan control circuitry might be defective. A key indicator of this is that the fans likely do not spin briefly when you first boot your PC. Do the fans slightly spin, or move at all when you first power on the PC?

Yeah, I reseated the GPU earlier and also the two 6x2 cables, both going into the GPU and into the PSU.

The fans are, unfortunately, still unresponsive even at these settings. I also tried a stress test a moment ago and the GPU was around 74C without a fan response.

Have you tried re-seating the GPU & it's power cable?

Can you try setting the fan speed to 100%?