What is NVIDIA SLI and what is it for?

The method of connecting two commercial graphics cards to combine their performance is practically impossible to find in home today, but it is used more in rendering farms, such as animation studios, to quickly render frames of a movie or visual effect. In this article we explain what you should know about SLI.

What is NVIDIA SLI?

NVIDIA SLI is a method for connect two or more graphics cards to combine their performance. SLI can be defined as a parallel processing algorithm for graphics that increases the processing power available for graphics.

Scan Line Interleave was its predecessor, and was released in 1998 by 3dfx and used in the Voodoo 2 graphics accelerators. In that case, the two graphics cards were connected by a cable and shared synchronization information. Feature Connector was a technology for VGA and SVGA systems that allowed an expansion card to directly access the main memory of the video card without using the system bus.

Nvidia reintroduced the concept of SLI in 2004 for use on new computers that use PCI Express. So it was a fairly new unified protocol, but with many more possibilities than traditional graphics accelerators.

What does SLI do?

SLI allows increase the graphic processing power of a computer when adding a second graphics card, as long as it is identical to the first. Two cards can be used early on in the PC run, or the second card can be accessed later when more processing power is needed.

The NVIDIA implementation requires at least a motherboard with two PCIe x16 ports. The two cards are interconnected by a small PCB connector, while software distributes the load using Split Frame Rendering (SFR) or Alternate Frame Rendering.

SFR parses the image to be displayed into one frame and splits the load equally between the two graphics cards, so each only has to render half a frame. In AFR, each frame is processed by a graphics card alternately.

After the process, the image is sent through the SLI connection to the main graphics card. which sends it to the exit. Ideally this would cut the processing time in half, but in reality the processing time was a bit longer.

What does the acronym SLI stand for?

The acronym SLI stands for "Scalable Link Interface«, Or«Scalable Link Interface" in Spanish.

How to make an SLI?

To do this, you need two of the same SLI-capable graphics cards, a motherboard that supports dual graphics cards and supports SLI, a power supply capable of powering the entire system, or use graphics-specific power supplies. , configure the BIOS, an approved cable that connects the graphics and updated drivers.

Activate SLI step by step

• Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel, the driver that manages your graphics card settings. You can access it by clicking the right mouse button on an empty space on the desktop.
• If the NVIDIA Control Panel detects that you have multiple identical NVIDIA graphics cards, the option to “SLI configuration«. If they are not detected, you will have to try updating the drivers, checking the connections and restarting.

What happened to the SLI?

fell into disuse because it was difficult and expensive to keep two graphics cards active in the same team for a performance that was already achieved by a single card. In January 2021, NVIDIA stopped publishing new SLI driver profiles on the RTX 2000 series and earlier. Existing profiles will continue to be tested and maintained. DX12 and Vulkan natively allow the use of several GPUs, so their use depends on the graphics library that we are using in the game.

But it is not something that will be used in the future, since even the highest-end motherboards do not have two ports for graphics cards. And an adapter that unifies two PCIe lanes into one for SLI is not possible., due to the space that the graphics cards have on the motherboard, so many are very tight with graphics cards of the sizes that the RTX 3000 and RTX 4000 have.

What is SLI and CrossFire?

We've already discussed that SLI is NVIDIA's multi-graphics card link technology, while Crossfire is the equivalent for AMD Radeon graphics cards. Both work in a similar way. Although Crossfire is also deprecated for the same reasons as NVIDIA SLI.

Who invented the SLI?

NVIDIA invented SLI, having inherited it from voodoFX.

What manufacturer is the creator of SLI?

NVIDIA is the manufacturer of SLI and also of its successor technology NVLINK.

What happens if I put 2 video cards?

If you put two video cards as-is on the motherboard, at most you'll have two video outputs, each processing the image separately, like the motherboard video output that uses integrated graphics. If you connect them via SLI or NVLink software, you will have joint use of the graphics cards.

How many video cards can you put in a PC?

With NVIDIA SLI you could put up to four graphics cards in some cases, but two were usual. Currently, no home PC supports more than a single graphics card.

What cards are SLI compatible?

The RTX 3090s support SLI in some way today, but under the name of NVLink. Of the RTX 4000, none of them support any option to link multiple graphics cards on the same motherboard.

List of NVIDIA graphics cards that support SLI

• GeForce RTX 3090
• GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
• RTX GeForce 2080 SUPER
• GeForce RTX 2080
• RTX GeForce 2070 SUPER
• Nvidia Titan XP
• GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
• Nvidia TitanX
• GeForce GTX 1080
• GeForce GTX 1070
• GeForce GTX TITAN X
• GeForce GTX 980 Ti
• GeForce GTX 980
• GeForce GTX 970
• GeForce GTX 960
• GeForce GTX 950
• GeForce GTX TITAN
• GeForce GTX 780 Ti
• GeForce GTX 780
• GeForce GTX 770
• GeForce GTX 760 Ti
• GeForce GTX 760
• GeForce GTX 690
• GeForce GTX 680
• GeForce GTX 670
• GeForce GTX 660 Ti
• GeForce GTX 660
• GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST
• GeForce GTX 480
• GeForce GTX 470
• GeForce GTX 465
• GeForce GTX 460
• GeForce GTX 460SE
• GeForce GTS 450
• GeForce GTX 555 (OEM)
• GeForce GTX 560 Ti (OEM)
• GeForce GTX 560
• GeForce GTX 550 Ti
• GeForce GTX 590
• GeForce GTX 660
• GeForce GTX 560 Ti
• GeForce GTX 545 GDDR5
• GeForce GTX DDR3
• GeForce GTX 570
• GeForce GT 9800
• GeForce GTX 580
• GeForce GT 9600
• GeForce GT 8500
• 8600 GeForce GTS
• GeForce GT 8600
• GS GeForce 8400
• GeForce GTX 275X
• GeForce GTS 150
• GeForce GT 130
• GeForce GT 120
• GeForce GTS 250
• GeForce GTX 285
• GeForce GTX 295
• GeForce GTX 295
• GeForce 8800 ULTRA
• GeForce GTX 280
• GeForce GTX 8800
• GeForce 9800 GX2
• GeForce GTX 260
• GeForce GT 9400
• GeForce GT 9500
• GeForce GTX 9800
• 9800 GeForce GTX +

What are the main manufacturers of graphics cards?

As of today, they are AMD with its Radeon series, and NVIDIA with the GeForce GTX and RTX. Intel recently joined with the Intel Arc as the third member in discord for the consumer graphics card market. Then there are several smaller manufacturers that make their own graphics cards, although they are for very specific markets like China.

What does it mean for a video card to be dual?

A dual graphics card is a card that has two of the same GPUs operating on the same PCIe lane. In this way, they wanted to imitate NVIDIA SLI or Crossfire, but having to buy a single graphics card and without the need to use a motherboard with two PCIe x16 ports for the graphics cards. They are no longer manufactured due to dual or triple graphics card technology lagged behind with advances in graphics drivers like DirectX. They were also very expensive to maintain in the production process and the stores did not make as much profit.

What differences exist between NVIDIA SLI and CrossFire?

Mainly compatibility. Each of them is compatible with the brands of their manufacturers. Mainly, SLI is from NVIDIA, and Crossfire is from AMD. Since SLI and Crossfire work through the graphics drivers themselves, it is not possible to use SLI on AMD graphics, nor Crossfire on NVIDIA graphics. It is also not possible to mix both graphs in a cross system.

How to connect two video cards?

You need the motherboard to allow you to connect two graphics cards. to do this, you must have two PCIe x16 ports. But these days you won't find any home motherboard that actually allows this, as it's increasingly rare for a user to order two identical graphics cards. And today there are graphics cards that achieve the expected performance that is desired with SLI on their own.

What is SLI and how many graphics cards can be installed in an SLI system?

With SLI, it was possible to connect up to three graphics cards on a single motherboard, if both the graphics cards and the motherboard were compatible.

What games are compatible with NVIDIA SLI?

Some of the SLI compatible games:

• Grand Theft Auto V
• The Witcher III: Wild Hunt
• Far Cry 5
• Crysis 3
• For Honor
• Fallout 4
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Civilization VI
• Sniper Elite 4
• Gears of War 4
• Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
• Strange Brigade
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War
• Hitman
• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Battlefield 1
• Halo Wars 2.

But that doesn't mean that SLI was always a substantial improvement in games, as in Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Resident Evil 7 it was even a problem. It is seen that in games, the more modern it is, the more problems it gave, because it is a technology that has not been used for years.

What power supplies are compatible with NVIDIA SLI?

ABS-Tagan

• BZ1100
• BZ1100 ESA
• BZ1300 BZ1300
• BZ1300 ESA
• BZ700
• BZ800
• BZ900
• ITZ1100
• ITZ1300
• ITZ700
• ITZ800
• ITZ900

AcBel

• M8 Power 750
• R8 Power Supply 750W
• R88 Power 1100W
• R88 Power 700W
• R9 Power 1100W
• M88 Power 900W

Needle

• HM-Series 650W
• HM-Series 750W
• HM-Series 850W
• HM-Series 1200W

Aerocool

• 1020Horse Power

Akasa

• PowerXtreme 1200W
• Power Max 1000W
• Power Max 850W

WADA

• AX DELUXE 1000
• AX DELUXE 1200
• AX DELUXE 1500
• AX DELUXE 850
• Precision Ax 1000UC
• Precision Ax 1200UC
• Precision AX 1500U(1500W)
• Precision Ax 850

amacrox

• FreeStyle 1000W
• FreeStyle 750W
• FreeStyle 850W

Andyson

• AD-00850AD-83
• AD-00950AD-83
• Nuclear N1150
• Nuclear N1300
• Nuclear N850
• Nuclear N950

Antec

• CP-1000 (1000W)
• CP-850 (850W)
• Earth Watts 750
• 850 Signature
• True Power New 750
• True Power New BLUE 750
• True Power Quattro 1000
• True Power Quattro 1200
• True Power Quattro 850
• EA-650 Green
• High Current Gamer 900
• HCP-1200
• High Current Gamer HCG-750
• EarthWatts EA 750 Green
• High Current Pro HCP-850
• High Current Pro HCP-750
• High Current Gamer HCG-750 Plus
• High Current Gamer HCG-650 Plus
• Computer Technology SL-X1000EP

Athenatech

• PS-1KWXF

ATNG

• Power APE-1000FM (80 Plus)
• Power APE-1000X(F)
• Power APE-1100FM (80 Plus)
• Power APE-1100X(F)
• Power APE-800X(F)
• Power APE-900FM (80 Plus)
• Power APE-900X(F) PLUS 750
• Power APED-1150FC(M) (87 Plus)
• Power APED-1300FC(M) (87 Plus)
• Power APED-950FC(M) (87 Plus)

Axp

• Supernova 1000W
• Supernova 800W

be quiet!

• Dark Power Pro P9 850W
• Dark Power Pro P9 750W
• Dark Power Pro P9 650W
• Straight Power E8 680W
• Straight Power E8 700W
• Dark Power Pro 1000W
• Dark Power Pro 1000W
• Dark Power Pro 900W
• Dark Power Pro 1200W
• Dark Power Pro 750W
• Dark Power Pro 850W
• Straight Power 600W
• Straight Power 650W
• Straight Power 700W
• Straight Power e7 700W
• Straight Power e7 CM 680W
• Straight Power e7 Golden 650W

BFG Tech

• 800W Power Supply
• ES-800
• EX-1200
• LS-680

Channel Well

• DSG 750
• Ice Cube PSC750
• Ice Cube PSC850K
• PowerPlus CWT-1000VC
• PowerPlus CWT-1200VC
• PSII 750
• PSII 850

Chieftec Ind.

• Nitro Series BPS-850C
• Nitro Series BPS-750C

Cooler Master

• Royal Power M1000
• Royal Power M850
• Real Power Pro 1000W
• Real Power Pro 1250W
• Real Power Pro 750W
• Real Power Pro 850W
• Real Power Pro ESA 1000W
• Silent Pro M1000
• Silent Pro M700
• Silent Pro M850
• CPU 1100W
• CPU 700W
• CPU 900W

Coolmax

• CUG-950B
• CUQ-1200B
• CUQ-1350B

Corsair

• HX1000W
• HX750W
• HX850W
• TX750W
• TX850W
• TX950W
• Gold Series AX750
• Gold Series AX850 TX750 V2
• Enthusiast Series TX850 V2
• AX1200 Gold
• GS800 Gaming Series
• GS700 Gaming Series
• Professional Series HX1050
• Professional Series Gold AX650

Dynapower

• DP-1000PL 1000W
• DP-800PL 800W
• DP-900PL 900W

Enermax

• Galaxy DXX 1000W
• Galaxy DXX 850W
• GALAXY EVO 1050W SLI
• GALAXY EVO 1250W SLI
• GALAXY EVO 850W SLI
• GALAXY EVO 950W SLI
• INFINITI 650W SLI
• INFINITI 720W SLI
• Revolution85+ 1050W SLI
• Revolution85+ 1250W SLI
• Revolution85+ 850W SLI
• Revolution85+ 950W SLI
• REVOLUTION85+ 920W SLI
• REVOLUTION85+ 1020W SLI
• MODU87+ 900W SLI
• LIBERTY ECO II 720W SLI
• MAXREVO 1350W SL

Enlight

• Sniper Power 750

ePower

• EP-1000P10xScale 1000W
• EP-1000P10-T2 Tiger Series
• EP-1200P10xScale 1200W
• EP-1200P10-T2 Tiger Series
• Zumax ZU-750W

FSP Group

• Booster X3
• Booster X5
• Epsilon 80Plus 1010
• Epsilon 80Plus 700
• Epsilon 80Plus 900
• Epsilon 85Plus 700
• Epsilon 85Plus 800
• Everest 88Plus 700
• Everest Pro 1100
• Everest Pro 1200
• AURUM GOLD 700
• FSP Group AURUM GOLD 650

Gigabyte

• ODIN GT 800
• ODIN Plus 700W
• ODIN Pro 1200W
• ODIN Pro 800

golden field

• 1200ELA
• 860ELA

HEC

• Cougar 1000CM-1KW
• Cougar 1200CM
• Cougar 750
• Zephyr 750
• Cougar GX800

HIGH POWER

• HP-750-G14C(Absolute)
• HP-850-G14C(Absolute)
• Rock Solid Power 1000
• Rock Solid Power 1200

Hyper

• Type-M 730W
• Type-M 780W
• Type-M 880W
• Type-M Mk II 730W
• Type-R MkII 680W
• Type-R MkII 770W
• Type-R MkII 880W

In Win

• Commander 1200W
• Commander 1500W

Key Mouse Electronics

• PE-1K0S
• PE-800S

kingwin

• ABT-1000MA1S Mach 1
• ABT-1220MA1S Mach 1
• ABT-700MA1S Mach 1
• ABT-750MA1S Mach
• BT-800MA1S Mach 1
• ABT-900MA1S Mach 1

Koolance

• PSU-1200ATX-12S

maxcube

• blitz 0850
• blitz 1000

mtek

• Extreme 1000W
• Real Extreme 1200W

Mushkin

• XP-800AP Enhanced 800W

nexustek

• RX-1.1K Gold
• RX-1K 1000 Watt
• RX-8500 850 Watt

NZXT

• PP800 800W
• Require 1000W
• HALE82 650W
• HALE82 750W
• HALE82 850W

OCZ

• EliteXStream 1000W
• EliteXStream 800W
• GameXStream 700W
• GameXStream 850W
• Tech Fatal1ty Series
• Z Series 850W Modular
• Z Series 1000W Modular
• ZX-Series 1250W
• ZX-Series 1000W
• ZX-Series 850W
• FATAL1TY Series 750W
• ZS-series 750W

owtech

• PSGCM 700

PC Power & Cooling

• Silencer 750 Quad Black
• Silencer 750 Quad Blue
• Silencer 750 Quad Red
• Silencer 910
• Turbo Cool 1KW-SR 1000W
• Turbo Cool 1200W
• Turbo Cool 1200W ESA
• Turbo Cool 860W
• Turbo Cool 860W ESA
• Silencer Mk II 950W
• Silencer 760W

PCICASE

• CRS-C80100-14 1020W
• CRS-C8075-14 750W
• CRS-C8075-812 750W
• CRS-C8075-88 750W

Point of View

• Black Diamond 850

powerex

• Green 80+ 1000W
• Green 80+ 750W
• Green 80+ 850W

Raidmax

• RX-1000
• RX700
• RX-900
• RX-850AE
• RX-1000AE
• RX-1200AE

rocket fish

• RF-900WPS

Seasonic

• M12-700
• M12D-750
• M12D-850
• S12E650 Bronze
• X-750
• SS-760KM-Active PFC F3
• SS-850KM-Active PFC F3
• SS-660KM Active PFC F3
• P-1000 1000W
• X-1250 1250W
• M12II-650Bronze
• M12II-750Bronze
• M12II-850Bronze

seventeam

• ST-1000E-AD
• ST-1200E-AF
• ST-750EAJ
• ST-850E-AD

Sigma

• SP-1000 1000W
• SP-700 700W
• SP-900 900W

Silverstone

• Olympia 750W
• Olympia 850W
• Decathlon DA1200
• Decathlon DA750
• Decathlon DA850
• Strider ST1000-NV
• Strider ST1500
• Zeus ST75ZF 750W
• Zeus ST85ZF 850W
• Strider Gold 750W
• Strider Gold 850W
• Strider Gold 1200W

Sparkle Power

• ACTION 700W
• MAGNA 1000
• MAGNA 1200
• MAGNA 900
• SPI600ACHBB
• SPI700GHN
• 85+GREEN 700 (SPI700ACH5B)
• Magna Gold 650W
• Magna Gold 750W

Spirals

• RocKIT SP-1000W

Super flower

• AMP-1000R14HE (1000W)
• AMP-850R14HE (850W)
• Amptac Pyramid 80plus 1000W
• Amptac Pyramid 80plus 850W
• Aurora PSU (SF-700R14A) 700W
• Aurora PSU (SF-750R14A) 750W
• Aurora PSU (SF-800R14A) 800W
• New Aurora (SF-1200P14HE) 1200W
• New Aurora (SF-850R14HE) 850W
• Amptac SF-1000R14HE
• Amptac SF-850R14HE

Super Talent

• Atomic Juice PS-700

TACES

• I exceed 1000W
• I exceed 700W

Tagan

• TG1100-U95 1100W
• TG1100-U96 1100W
• TG700-U35 700W
• TG800-U25 800W
• TG900-U95 900W
• TG900-U96 900W

Thermaltake

• EVO-Blue 650W
• Purepower RX 750AP 750W
• Qfan 850W CM
• Toughpower 1000W CM
• Toughpower 1200W CM
• Toughpower 1500W CM
• Toughpower 650W
• Toughpower 700W Cable Management
• Toughpower 750W
• Toughpower 850W
• Toughpower 850W Cable Managementmen
• Toughpower Cable Management 1000W
• Toughpower Cable Management 1200W
• Toughpower Cable Management 1500W
• Toughpower Power Express (650W)
• Toughpower XT 650W Cable Management
• Toughpower XT 675W
• Toughpower XT 750W Cable Management
• Toughpower XT 775W
• Toughpower XT 850W Cable Management
• Toughpower XT 875W
• TR2 700W
• TR2 800W
• Toughpower 1350W
• Toughpower Grand 850W
• Toughpower Grand 1050W
• Toughpower Grand 1200W

Thortech

• Thunderbolt Plus 800W
• Thunderbolt 650W Gold
• Thunderbolt 850W Gold
• Thunderbolt 1000W Gold
• Thunderbolt 1200W Gold

Topower

• PowerBird 1100W
• PowerBird 800W
• PowerBird 900W
• PowerTrain 1000W
• ZUMAX ZU-750W

Tuniq

• Mini plant 950W

Ultra Products

• X3 1000 Watt
• X-Finity 800W
• X-Pro 750W
• X-Pro 800W
• X4 1050W
• X4 1200W
• X4 1600W
• X4 750W
• X4 850W

XClio

• Diamond Power 1080W
• Diamond Power 880W
• GreatPower 700W
• GreatPower 750W
• StablePower Gold 750W
• StablePower Gold 1000W

XFX

• 850W Black Edition
• XPS-650W-SEW
• XPS-750W-SEW
• XPS-850W-SEW

xigamtek

• NRP-HC1001
• NRP-HC1201
• NRP-HC1501

X Spice

• Croon BF 750W
• Croon BF 850W

Zalman

• Croon BF 850W
• ZM660-XT
• ZM750-HP
• ZM770-XT
• ZM850-HP
• ZM850-HP PLUS
• ZM1000-HP PLUS
• ZM700-HP Plus

Zippy

• Gaming PSL-6720P(G1) 720W
• Gaming PSL-6800P(G1) 800W
• Gaming PSL-6800P(G1)-PCIE4 800W
• Gaming PSL-6850P(G1) 850W
• Gaming PSL-6850P(G1)-PCIE4 850W

Why have NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire disappeared?

The explanation for this is simple, and it is that SLI was replaced by NVLink, NVIDIA's multi-graphics connection technology that prioritizes data transmission. But NVLink was very short-lived.

SLI, AMD Crossfire and any other way to join two or more graphics cards stopped giving enough advantages in the home environment. Gamers found it more convenient to buy a single, more powerful graphics card than to buy two, at a higher price, and having to configure SLI to make it work. As of today, SLI is in practical disuse and no motherboard, not even the so-called enthusiast range, has the minimum of having two PCie x16 ports for graphics cards