RIP, SLI: Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-sequence slams the last nail in multi-GPU’s coffin

Pour one out, followers. Nvidia’s beastly fresh GeForce RTX 30-sequence graphics cards upright slammed the last nail into SLI’s coffin. Successfully, practically.

A evident truth jumped out at me whereas I became once sifting through Nvidia’s product pages for our GeForce RTX 30-sequence vs. RTX 20-sequence spec comparison: Simplest the unpleasant $1,500 GeForce RTX 3090 involves toughen for NVLink, the proprietary connector that allows SLI mult-GPU configurations. Even the $800 GeForce RTX 3080 lacks it, and Nvidia calls that graphics card the 30-sequence flagship. (The RTX 3090 is a “BFGPU” above and beyond the comfort.) Given that Nvidia controls 80 percent of the graphics card market, it looks definite that the times of slapping numerous graphics cards into your PC to raise body charges is effectively over. 

That said, it’s been effectively over for a whereas. Nvidia diminished SLI toughen to upright two graphics cards during the GTX 10-sequence expertise four long years within the past. Rival AMD phased out CrossFire multi-GPU toughen for its Radeon GPUs rapidly after. But even that diminished toughen has stuttered in most up-to-date years, as graphics cards became great enough to force 1440p and 4K shows by their lonesome.

Nvidia

Making issues worse, multi-GPU toughen has turn into increasingly wonky in games themselves through the years. Such setups were continuously a distinct section consisting of deep-pocketed followers, making it hard for builders to define supporting SLI. SLI additionally slowly lost its motive of being, first because many games tied physics to body charges, and inevitably due to the the upward thrust of extremely-great GPUs. Even have to you invested in an SLI setup, it flat-out wouldn’t work in a lot of of on the present time’s games. In those that did toughen it, it didn’t work effectively—technically imposing it became once continuously a nightmare for devs. Game builders can utilize DirectX 12 to put in power multi-GPU with out a connector, alternatively it’s telling that practically about none of them have.

We’ve warned would-be merchants off multi-GPU configurations for years now. Nvidia upright sealed the deal.

Successfully, practically, relish I said. The GeForce RTX 3090 mute supports it, however that’s since it’s the most helpful card that mute wants it to meet its supposed utilize. Nvidia’s pitching this beast because the first-ever 8K-capable graphics card, and that’s with the corporate’s unbelievable DLSS 2.0 expertise enabled. No longer many games toughen DLSS yet, and even those that cease could well mute utilize more wait on to hit refined body charges on the kind of ludicrous dedication. While you happen to idea pushing pixels at 4K dedication became once tough, take a look at out these Nvidia efficiency metrics at 8K:

Nvidia

An NVLink connection can additionally wait on with compute and squawk material creation workloads for this costly Titan-in-all-however-name.

So yeah, SLI isn’t technically tiring, alternatively it’s effectively tiring for all however the discontinue 0.1 percent of us. While you happen to’ve bought $3,000 to tumble on a pair of RTX 3090s, by all system feel free to lord it over your geeky chums. Upright don’t ask builders to spend great time ensuring it works colossal in your games. 

Farewell, SLI. We rarely knew ye.

Senior editor Brad Chacos covers gaming and graphics for PCWorld, and runs the morning recordsdata desk for PCWorld, Macworld, Greenbot, and TechHive. He tweets too.