Is SLI Still Worth It for Playing Demanding Games?

SLI (Scalable Link Interface) has never been a cost-effective solution for running demanding games, and currently, it is even less worthwhile. SLI has historically failed to provide linear performance gains, meaning that buying two GPUs does not result in double the performance. This has always been a highly irrational value proposition, given that a more expensive GPU often delivers better performance rather than double the performance. Even during its peak, SLI was only feasible for those with an almost infinite budget who were willing to spend on two of the most expensive GPUs, such as the GTX 80/90 series.

Today, the limited number of games that support SLI show even worse performance than anticipated. In almost all supported games, performance is far from double, and it is exclusively supported on the exorbitantly expensive RTX 3090, making it less practical and economical than ever before.

Current GPU Performance

Thankfully, the best single GPUs are now cheap and fast enough to run current games very well. The NVIDIA RTX 2080 marked the end of the era of practical SLI gaming. In the 900 series, even mid-range cards in SLI made sense. However, SLI and AMD Crossfire, while technologically advanced, are only potentially useful for a niche market of gamers. To take advantage of these technologies, one now requires at least two high-tier GPUs, such as the RTX 3080 or above, which is a costly investment.

One RTX 3090 card alone is likely to provide sufficient performance for most games, running them at playable frame rates even at high resolutions. Moreover, these cards often outperform SLI setups, as the performance of modern GPUs consistently beats older SLI systems. For non-gaming compute performance, multiple GPU cards can be highly efficient, but for gaming, most users will find that individual high-performing GPUs deliver better results.

Current SLI Capabilities and Needs

For the best performance, a game must have driver support for SLI or Crossfire. These technologies do not work automatically; they require specific driver configurations to function. While owning the fastest system possible is a potential incentive, often the second GPU goes unused because the benefits don't justify the complexity of setting up SLI or Crossfire properly.

Historically, when two NVIDIA GTX 660 GPUs in SLI were often a better deal than one 680, SLI was a mainstream option. However, today, the GTX 3060 can handle most games at playable frame rates for the resolution that most users are satisfied with. Each new GPU generation has proven to outperform older SLI systems, rendering them obsolete.

Nonetheless, for users who are likely to perform non-gaming compute tasks, multiple GPU systems might be a cheaper option to try. However, for gaming, users are likely to disable or ignore SLI most of the time, unless they are reflexive about gaming setups. Even then, NVIDIA's PhysX feature can occasionally use the second GPU for game engine physics, but this is not a necessity for gaming performance.

For those truly interested in maximizing gaming performance and fidelity, it is recommended to invest in the latest single GPU solutions rather than relying on the declining value proposition of SLI. While SLI offers bragging rights, its practical benefits for most users are minimal, and the cost is often outweighed by the performance of modern single GPUs.