Small form factor fans could soon have an intriguing new option after pictures of a single slot RTX 4060 Ti emerge
I'm getting an 8800 GT vibe here.
As a dedicated fan of all things Mini-ITX, I love it when manufacturers think outside the box, or perhaps more appropriately inside it, by shrinking a graphics card this way or that. That's why I was very pleased to see Colorful is working on a single slot RTX 4060 Ti 16GB card. It's the only performance gaming graphics card in a single slot form factor that I can remember from the last few years, giving SFF fans an interesting option.
The card was spotted by @Zed_Wang. It measures in at 267 mm x 107 mm x 20 mm. It includes four display outputs made up of three DisplayPorts and one HDMI port. That leaves it just enough area on the rear I/O plate for a cutout to expel hot air.
A single slot RTX 4060 Ti is the kind of card that will appeal to users with truly tiny cases, while delivering the performance of a proper gaming card. Having a 16GB card that can make use of DLSS 3 and frame generation in a NUC sized system is definitely appealing.
It's interesting that Colorful opted for the RTX 4060 Ti—and the 16GB variant at that, instead of the 115W RTX 4060. The RTX 4060 Ti is built around the AD106 GPU, with 4,532 shader units, a 2,535Mhz boost clock and a 165W TDP. That TDP, while relatively low, is still a big ask for a single slot cooler, so such a card will surely become quite audible when under load. But hey, if you wear headphones, it's not like you'd be bothered by it anyway.
There are already RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti small form factor options, and they may be preferable depending on your wants and needs. Colorful itself makes them, including the lovely little iGame RTX 4060 Ti Mini. Gigabyte makes a low profile RTX 4060 if you prefer that option, but both cards still take up two slots which makes it harder to cram several into a single system.
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As SLI is no longer a thing, the need for multiple GPUs for gaming is defunct, but there are several scenarios where this 20mm thick card will appeal. These include systems with multiple monitors or video wall setups. Eight video ports would otherwise require a case with four slot support. Another use could be something like a budget compute system or render farm. Imagine if Ethereum mining was still happening? Cramming seven of them into a single ATX case would have been perfect for that.
A Threadripper 7000-series system with six or seven PCIe slots filled up with these cards would provide a lot of space-saving grunt.
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Despite being impressed with this single slot card, it's still very much a niche product. You'll get more capable and quieter cooling from a regular dual slot cooler. Still, it's nice to have an exceedingly rare single slot option for those that want it.
There's no word on price right now, but it's almost certain to fall in at the bottom end of RTX 4060 Ti 16GB pricing, so around $449 to $499 would be a safe bet.
Chris' gaming experiences go back to the mid-nineties when he conned his parents into buying an 'educational PC' that was conveniently overpowered to play Doom and Tie Fighter. He developed a love of extreme overclocking that destroyed his savings despite the cheaper hardware on offer via his job at a PC store. To afford more LN2 he began moonlighting as a reviewer for VR-Zone before jumping the fence to work for MSI Australia. Since then, he's gone back to journalism, enthusiastically reviewing the latest and greatest components for PC & Tech Authority, PC Powerplay and currently Australian Personal Computer magazine and PC Gamer. Chris still puts far too many hours into Borderlands 3, always striving to become a more efficient killer.
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