Two GeForce RTX 3090s challenge one RTX 4090 in gaming: here’s who wins

Technologies for years multi-GPUcome NVIDIA SLI e AMD CrossFireare off the radar of video game enthusiasts, overshadowed by technical problems of various kinds as well as by the progress of individual video cards, not only in terms of raw power but also that of functionality, with solutions such as DLSS and FSR that increase performance ” at no cost”.

NVIDIA’s latest video cards, the GeForce RTX 4000 family, break the ties with multi-GPU permanently, as the models all lack an NVLink connector to allow two video cards to work (well) in parallel.

NVLink present, on the other hand, on the top of the range of the last generation and this gave way to the YouTube channel Benchmark Lab to answer the question: how do two RTX 3090s perform compared to one RTX 4090? Referring to the video available at this addressthe answer “so-so”, in fact the GeForce RTX 4090 remains in front clearly, although it is necessary to make some clarifications.

First of all, the technical details of the tests carried out in the nine tested qualifications are not known; unfortunately the YouTube channel of those who publish comparisons without delving into how they were carried out or the problems encountered. Furthermore, the gaming ecosystem hasn’t optimized for multi-GPU for some timeso there may be scope for making the two RTX 3090s work better in parallel.

While multi-GPU is no longer technically managed by drivers but directly by modern APIs such as DirectX 12 and Vulkan, optimization work on both the card makers ‘and developers’ side could almost certainly improve things.

Having said all this, let’s see that between the two RTX 3090 in SLI and the single GeForce RTX 4090 they dance between 10 and 20 fps on average depending on the title tested, with the exception of Flight Simulator and Minecraft RTX where the gap is reduced to about 5 fps, probably due to the greater link between the two titles with the CPU.

An important detail that can be seen in the video and that refers to our last premise that one of the RTX 3090s is not used to the maximum, but only around 45-50% at the maximum. It follows that an RTX 3090 SLI could beat a GeForce RTX 4090, snatching a victory that will however only remain theoretical.

Performance aside, consumption and price of the SLI configuration (net of amazing offers for the two 3090s), they advise against any player even thinking about configuring something similar, even if it is undoubtedly fascinating.