SLI
also: Scalable Link Interface, NVIDIA SLI
Scalable Link Interface (SLI) is a technology that allows multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) to work together in parallel to improve graphics performance on a single system.
SLI is an NVIDIA-proprietary technology for connecting multiple discrete GPUs to work in tandem, splitting the rendering workload between them. This can significantly boost 3D graphics performance for gaming, visualization, and GPU computing tasks.
SLI requires specialized hardware support (an SLI-capable motherboard with multiple PCIe slots), SLI-compatible GPUs (typically two or three cards), and appropriate drivers. The system can split the rendering task either by alternating frames between GPUs or by dividing the screen into regions.
Example: A gamer with two GeForce RTX 3080 cards connected via SLI can render frames faster than a single card, though gains depend on the game's SLI optimization.
Note: NVIDIA has largely deprecated SLI in recent years in favor of other multi-GPU technologies and machine learning acceleration, making it less common in modern systems.