Combining multiple graphics cards tosplit the workloadandimprove performancesounds good on paper. In reality,multi-GPU builds in gaming are long gone.
The traditional SLI, NVLink, and Crossfire technologies didboost the FPSbut theprice-to-performance ratiowasn’t satisfactory enough.
Along came the issue ofmicro stuttering,heat management, andexcessive power requirement. So, most gamers switched back to a single GPU build, and the technologies were discontinued.
But computers aren’t just for games, are they? Usersinvolved in heavy workloads, likemining,3D rendering,complex simulations, anddeep learningdefinitely benefit from multiple graphics cards!
Let’s discuss this in greater detail.
Why Multi GPU Is No Longer Relevant in Gaming
When multi-GPU was first introduced, it meant combining the task of two or more graphics cards to achievehigher frame ratesin games.
However, things didn’t turn out as planned, and multi GPU for gaming isnearly dead today.
No More SLI/NVLink/Crossfire Support
In older rigs, the motherboard had to be compatible withNVIDIA’s SLIorAMD’s CrossFireto simultaneously utilize two or more graphics cards.
Such technologies are now discontinued on the latest graphics cards for fair reasons and evenmotherboards do not support them.
Both NVIDIA and AMD havestopped providing the relevant driversand you’ll also not find thededicated bridge connector.
A few older cards still support such technologies through newer protocols likeVulkanandDirectX12. However, it’sall up to the game developersto allow mGPU compatibility in their respective games.
You may find a handful of ones, likeRise/Shadow of the Tomb RaiderandAshes of the Singularitythat take advantage of multiple GPUs. But themajority of games aren’t compatible anymore.
Outperformed by Single Powerful GPU
Gaming on dual GPUcombines the power of two graphics cards. So, in result you’re going to achieve a higheraverage FPSandresolution.
But the performance boost isonly about 20% to 30%at double the price. And as I stated earlier, most games do not support SLI/Nlink/Crossfire. It will only utilize one graphics card, which becomes pointless.
The clear answer here isgetting one better GPUinstead of two low-priced cards.
Even for me, the latest RTX 4090 turned out to be 50% faster than two RTX 3090s (the only video card to support SLI in the 3000 series) when playing Cyberpunk 2077 at4K resolution.
Mircostuttering Issues
So, the question is why domultiple GPUs not scale as expected?
The SLI/Crossfire-enabled graphics cards usedalternate frame rendering. Meaning that one GPU was responsible for rendering odd frames while the other rendered even.
To be 100% efficient, all the GPUs had to sync properly to display the frames in the right order. But during gaming, even novices experienced micro stuttering (irregular delays even though the FPS looked normal).
The thing is – the average FPS might increase in multi-GPU builds but the1% lows remain the same, leading to horrible stutters. This was all due to poor synchronization between the different graphics cards.
VRM Shared Rather Than Added Up
With multiple GPUs, the amount ofVRAM remains the sameand doesn’t add up.
For example, if I usetwo 6 GB graphics cards, thecapacity won’t increaseto 12 GB. Each GPU’s frame buffer works independently.
So, if you were planning to play modern games at 4K (assuming the bare minimum VRAM requirement is12 GB),it wouldn’t be sufficient.
Even in such a scenario, a single powerful GPU would be the best bet.
Use Cases Where Multi GPU Is Beneficial
SLI isn’t the only way to make use of multiple GPUs. you may certainly go for two or more graphics cardsfor distributed workloadswithout combining them as one.
I’m referring to users who areheavily involved in graphically intensive tasks.
For example, you may run an MMORPG game for long hours (at maxed setting)without stressing out one GPUand utilize the second video cardfor mining or 3D rendering.
Here are the fields where multi-GPU is beneficial:
Installing Multiple Graphics Card? Consider These Factors
In distributed workloads, you may evencombine separate graphics cards(which isn’t possible to render video games). Since this isn’t SLI or CrossFire, there’s no need for thesame model.
However, there are plenty of factors you should check beforeinstalling multiple graphics cards:
Final Verdict
So, until and unless you’re not into heavy workloads with extensive graphics usage, there’s no need for multi-GPU.
For instance, if you’re only gaming and streaming,one powerful GPU is more than enough. Getting adual monitor setupwould be worth it rather than getting two separate graphics cards for individual purposes.
Even if you don’t wish to put more stress on your graphics card, you may utilize yourCPU’s integrated graphics(if supported). Just ensure the graphics-intensive apps, likegames, utilize dedicated graphics.
