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Small Form Factor (SFF) motherboards are smaller than micro-ATX and commonly used in non-standard computing devices such as bookshelf computers, tablets, and home theater systems. The term is not a specification and SFF motherboards have a second designation for actual form factor.
The Shuttle or Small Form Factor (SFF) is a size description for motherboards on computers. Since these cards can be quite small, they are more common to find in computing devices smaller than laptops. Unlike most computer form factors, the small form factor isn’t actually a specification—in this case, the form factor describes any motherboard below a certain size. Because the definition is somewhat vague, but closely related to a common computer term, advertisers often misuse it. Even though they are so small, most small form factor motherboards have all the components common to larger boards.
The Shuttle company was one of the pioneers of small motherboards, and the Shuttle form factor was a term they coined to describe their products. As time went on, other manufacturers started making small boards and the term changed to small form factor, mainly to keep it short. SFF motherboards are now made by a huge range of companies for a huge number of products.
In computing, the form factor of a motherboard generally refers to a specification for the motherboard. For example, the Advanced Technology Extended (ATX) motherboard is a common form factor found in full-sized desktop computers. The form factor defines the location of many of the components, from expansion slots to screw holes. This allows components made by different companies to work together and fit into the computer case.
In the case of the small form factor, the term has a different meaning. In most cases, an SFF card is something smaller than a micro-ATX motherboard. The SFF does not provide any specifications or guarantee any form of compatibility. An SFF motherboard will always have a second designation which is its actual form factor. For example, many “off-the-shelf computers” use an SFF motherboard with the mini-ITX form factor specification.
Because a small form factor card can be very small, it is often used in non-standard computers and computing devices. Small or handheld computers often use these cards. The most common computers in this class are bookshelf computers and tablets. Different types of standalone computer components, such as standalone printing solutions or network-accessible storage devices, use these cards to control their own operations when not directed by a computer.
These cards are also used outside of basic computers. For example, many home theater systems, digital cable boxes, and digital video recorders have an SFF card that contains all the basic components of a desktop computer, just on a smaller scale. These cards are also common in complex portable electronic devices such as smartphones or portable media players.
