Zephyr Unveils ITX-sized Sakura Blizzard RTX 4070 Graphics Card

[AleksandarK]

PC enthusiasts who crave powerful graphics in compact systems have a new option from Zephyr. The Chinese manufacturer has launched the world's first ITX-sized GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. Dubbed the Sakura Blizzard, this GPU packs NVIDIA's AD104-250 chip and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory into a footprint of just 172 x 123 x 42 mm. While slightly taller than standard PCIe brackets, the two-slot cooler should fit most Mini-ITX cases. The card's cute pink shroud and solitary cooling fan give it a unique aesthetic. But don't let the pink looks fool you - Zephyr claims this compact powerhouse can keep the GPU and memory up to 10°C cooler than some dual-fan RTX 4070 designs, which needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Thermal testing videos show the fan spinning at 2,400 RPM to maintain GPU temperatures around 73°C under load in a 25°C room. Meanwhile, synthetic benchmarks reportedly demonstrate no performance compromises versus full-sized RTX 4070 implementations.

Zephyr's initial production run has already sold out in China. However, a second batch is slated for mid-July availability to meet the apparent higher demand for small form factor RTX 40-series GPUs. The launch comes just weeks after NVIDIA unveiled new "SFF-ready" design guidelines at Computex 2024. As the power-hungry RTX 40 lineup hit the market, many voiced concerns over the cards' ever-growing dimensions. NVIDIA's renewed SFF PC focus signal options like the Sakura Blizzard could become more common. For space-constrained enthusiasts, having top-tier GPU muscle in a properly-cooled Mini-ITX card is a big win. Zephyr's ITX-sized RTX 4070 shows powerful things can come in small packages, and we hope more manufacturers follow this philosophy.




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[londiste]

Now this should be called SFF-Ready or whatever that term was...

 

[P4-630]

AMD R9 Nano vibes....

 

[GodisanAtheist]

The world needs more cards like this.

Unfortunately it's going to have the itch markup, the white card mark-up, and the cutesy Japanese design mark-up so despite being smaller, hotter, slower than the average 4070 it will end up costing at least $100 over MSRP.

Hard to argue with that form factor though...

 

[Chaitanya]

@W1zzard would it possible to get a sample for review of this card? something different among the sea of lazy low effort engineering cards(coolers from high end GPU slapped onto mid range GPU) on offer.

 

[londiste]

Unfortunately it's going to have the itch markup, the white card mark-up, and the cutesy Japanese design mark-up so despite being smaller, hotter, slower than the average 4070 it will end up costing at least $100 over MSRP.

The card really is not that noticeably smaller. Cooler is, yes, but PCB is maybe just slightly smaller.

 

[bonehead123]

Yippeee...ANUTHA (mini-me sized) flower-power multi-colored GPU, yep, just what we need....

n.O.t....

 

[Dirt Chip]

Finally a sane GPU.
Reminds me of good old 970gtx ITX I had.
Just show how those 3 slot, 3 fans GPU are just a show-off feature.

 

[Daven]

The card really is not that noticeably smaller. Cooler is, yes, but PCB is maybe just slightly smaller.

How is the cooler size not considered when sizing the video card for a small form factor case?

It’s like you are saying only the size of the engine matters when fitting a car into a parking space.

 

[Onasi]

Yippeee...ANUTHA (mini-me sized) flower-power multi-colored GPU, yep, just what we need....

n.O.t....

Another? What? There is a complete lack of such models on the market, especially well made ones, which is precisely the reason there was much mocking aimed at NVidia for their “SFF ready” initiative. The design itself might be divisive, sure, but at least it isn’t the usual tired “black” or “black and red” angular GAMUNG aesthetic.

 

[agent_x007]

@W1zzard would it possible to get a sample for review of this card? something different among the sea of lazy low effort engineering cards(coolers from high end GPU slapped onto mid range GPU) on offer.

I wonder how undervolted card will behave, unless it's made to work at lower voltage level by default (vs. other cards) ?

 

[Lew Zealand]

I don't get the negativity some have with this card, buy a 3-fan model if your fetish is 58°C operating temps 'cuz those aren't going anywhere. This gives SFF builders the choice they need, an actually small 4070 where they were limited to 4060 Ti's previously. And if you don't like 73°C, then undervolt it and maybe underclock it too, it'll still be faster than the 4060/Ti with more VRAM than all but the 16GB version.

What's not to like with more choices?

 

[Denver]

AMD R9 Nano vibes....

Exactly what I thought. Suddenly the market thought we no longer wanted compact high-end GPUs.

 

[_JP_]

Thermal testing videos show the fan spinning at 2,400 RPM to maintain GPU temperatures

Ah, just like the good old days! Size vs. fan noise.
That's okay, we have great headphones now and ANC is a thing!! I'm okay with the trade-off.

 

[Vayra86]

The card really is not that noticeably smaller. Cooler is, yes, but PCB is maybe just slightly smaller.

The real elephant in the room here is 'why did they make the others that big then'

 

[SL2]

The real elephant in the room here is 'why did they make the others that big then'

I heard some rumor that 4070 was expected to be much hotter than it was, I dunno..

 

[trsttte]

Besides the rare form factor, the coolest thing for me is that it uses an 8 pin power connector instead of the 12VHPWR.

The launch comes just weeks after NVIDIA unveiled new "SFF-ready" design guidelines at Computex 2024. As the power-hungry RTX 40 lineup hit the market, many voiced concerns over the cards' ever-growing dimensions. NVIDIA's renewed SFF PC focus signal options like the Sakura Blizzard could become more common.

This is huge stretch, nvidia's version of "sff-ready" is wildly different than this card.

 

[wNotyarD]

The real elephant in the room here is 'why did they make the others that big then'

Because "bigger's better", ain't it?

 

[Vya Domus]

Exactly what I thought. Suddenly the market thought we no longer wanted compact high-end GPUs.

If by market you mean the "entire market" then yes, compact doesn't seem to matter to most. And this isn't all that high end either.

 

[Random_User]

Because "bigger's better", ain't it?

Big, is best! Can't beat that logic.

If by market you mean the "entire market" then yes, compact doesn't seem to matter to most. And this isn't all that high end either.

True. In the global scale- yes. Especially DIY market. But You underestimate, how much this has influence on the end price, and how much this impacts the entire multi-slot brick absurdity trend. Also, the OEM awould like this design very much, as it would drive down the VGA manufacturing costs massively.

Besides the rare form factor, the coolest thing for me is that it uses an 8 pin power connector instead of the 12VHPWR.

How dare they... Well, they actually indirectly solved the the other issue of 12V 2x6 bend angle tolerance (which nVidia themselves did not even thought to address), by excluding it completely. Good riddance!

 

[Macro Device]

I'd unironically buy one of these to ultimately repaint and make it a decent Terminator themed piece of ware. Heck, I'd even spill a wee liquid metal on the die so it'd be a tad more authentic.

 

[londiste]

How is the cooler size not considered when sizing the video card for a small form factor case?

It’s like you are saying only the size of the engine matters when fitting a car into a parking space.

More in a sense that there is nothing really special about that card, no real extra effort from manufacturer. They just screwed a smaller cooler to it.

The real elephant in the room here is 'why did they make the others that big then'

No real reason to keep small when they have bigger coolers readily available on the shelf? Outside physical size more cooling is better anyway.

 

[Udyr]

I'd unironically buy one of these to ultimately repaint and make it a decent Terminator themed piece of ware. Heck, I'd even spill a wee liquid metal on the die so it'd be a tad more authentic.

You need to add a thumbs up cutout that lights up when temp reaches +70C.

 

[Tomgang]

Now thats a proper SSF gpu. To bad with colour theme, that is apselutely not my taste.

Now i have to ask. When do we see a proper SSF rtx 4090?

Before any one roast me, Zotax actually made a fairly small gtx 1080 TI back when pascal was the new to get. Not totally SFF with single fan, but small enoufh to fit in many small cases today. Imagine a RTX 4080 super/4090 in this small package. So it is possible to put a high-end gpu in a small package. Problem is just that its 250 watt vs. 450 watt. Yeah 450 watt much harder to put in a SSF size card.

 

[Macro Device]

You need to add a thumbs up cutout that lights up when temp reaches +70C.

It'll be constantly like that so we'll make it just a piece of basic lighting without extra sensors and whatnot.