NVLINK and MSI B450 are compatible networking solutions designed for high-speed connectivity.
NVLINK and MSI B450 are compatible networking solutions designed for high-speed connectivity.
Hello everyone. My current setup includes the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and the AMD RX5700XT Sapphire Blower. I just placed an order for a Zotac RTX2070S Mini, but I can still cancel it if needed. My goal is to eventually swap the RX5700XT for another RTX2070S Mini and then link them together using NVLINK so both GPUs work as one. Since my app is ML, having extra VRAM would be a big plus. I noticed the Zotac RTX2070S is a budget model, so I wanted to confirm this approach makes sense. I ordered the mini because it’s affordable and could be repurposed in a future build with an mATX that has two M.2 slots, four RAM slots, and dual GPU support if anyone has suggestions. Thanks all! P.S. My PSU is a Gigabyte 750W and I think it should handle both GPUs without issues.
In the late 2070s and beyond, the connection remains primarily SLI-based, with RAM not being integrated. It only merges with professional cards—the ones equipped with NVLink technology.
Consider keeping the 5700XT, using two 2070S for CUDA cores, or explore alternatives. The B450 will continue supporting SLI.
Are you sure about ML? It might help to see if the training model works well with Nvidia or not.
Be mindful that you don’t require nvlink for this, it will likely boost performance by up to 10% when sharing data between both cards. You can also combine GPUs in this manner, meaning you should distribute your tasks between them—TensorFlow can handle this automatically. It does have nvlink, but it’s restricted to a single unit rather than the multiple units available in Quadros and Teslas. AMD isn’t capable of handling ML effectively.
If you're connecting via NVLink like SLI (for gaming), the board won't work. NVLink/SLI needs the PCI-E slot to operate at a minimum X8 speed. Your B450 motherboard (and most of them) has an X4 slot electrically, while the second one is X16. The X4 lanes come from the B450 chipset, not the CPU. You'd need to replace it with a board that has X16 or X470 slots. Those offer two X16 and one X8 lane each, plus dual GPUs.
ML doesn't really focus on DP. Single precision is actually superior—it runs faster and uses less memory. AMD attempted to integrate rocm, but it lacks strong support (navi cards aren't even compatible) and delivers mediocre performance; even my 2060S outperforms a radeon VII.
You're welcome! For a MOBO with those specs, look for models offering 4 RAM slots and 2 M.2 bays. If you're open to an MATX version, that would be great too.