Employing a contemporary motherboard for older graphics cards in an SLI configuration
Employing a contemporary motherboard for older graphics cards in an SLI configuration
Hello! I have a brief question about a possible situation that could happen in the future. I really like exploring the limits of older systems, especially SLI. Right now I'm assembling a test bench for GPUs from all time periods (excluding non-PCIe). Everything was fine until I considered SLI. One day I might connect several GTX 480s to test their cooling performance. At the moment, I’m stuck with Intel because of a special deal through Walmart. The best value I can get is likely from a 11900K with a Z590 chipset (though I haven’t finalized it). Because of the agreement terms, this is the optimal setup I can secure since I still need a high-end CPU that will last before becoming a bottleneck for future GPUs.
Also, the Z590 chipset limits the CPU to certain combinations: x16 + x4 or x8 + x4 + x4 (does it include x8 + x8 + x4?). Since PCIe slots 1 and 2 are on 4.0, this usually isn’t a problem because an x4 on 4.0 is like x8 on 3.0, which is normal. Still, it made me wonder about older cards running on Gen 3.0—maybe they’d drop to Gen 2.0 speeds.
Could this mean I’m missing out on significant performance if I try to run old hardware with newer games? Is this a valid concern? And are there any solutions? Thanks!
EDIT: I might have mixed up the configurations. It seems the ROG Strix Z590-A Gaming only supports x16 + x4 and x8 + x4 + x4, which is confusing to me.
SLI demands a motherboard approved by SLI and both PCIe ports must meet x8 IIRC standards for 3.0 or better. It's also no longer officially supported since last year, making it very unlikely that current hardware will support SLI: https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/31516...li-support
SLI didn’t function properly when it was genuinely implemented. Only a few titles support it, and most of those aren’t popular games. It’s really not worth trying. NVLink offers better performance for productivity, but it likely won’t work with the cards you’re considering.
It remains functional. There are Z690 boards equipped with SLI. Nvidia has ceased creating new game profiles. Existing titles continue to run smoothly.
As long as you were okay with breaking things and pausing, that was fine. It's common knowledge that SLI didn't perform well for gaming, which is why it underwent numerous updates and eventually led Nvidia to let it fade before the 30-series release. Only a few titles still work with it today: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/...tegrations You're shaping the story here. Even if SLI once offered some advantages, it doesn't have any now.
Just because I don’t run the test doesn’t mean it won’t work. Still, comparing those 3DMark scores shows the Dual 2080Ti and Quad 1080Ti outperforming the 3090. Of course, these are made-up tests.
They’ve now asked developers to add it directly using DX12’s multi-GPU features, according to what I heard. However, they haven’t removed the option—they just stopped implementing it themselves. I really appreciated how smoothly the Tomb Raider titles scaled with two GPUs (or even one at a time), especially back in my 970s.