As many hardware enthusiasts are aware, the world of technology is not just about measuring the power of components in benchmarks or games. There is a niche group that seeks to maximize the performance of each component to see how far they can push the limits. Recently, the graphics card performance record was shattered once again, but surprisingly, it was not achieved using a cutting-edge graphics card from the latest generation.
What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that EVGA, a company that recently exited the graphics card market, is responsible for this breakthrough. The record-breaking overclock was achieved by a team of EVGA overclockers using graphics cards from the same brand.
The RTX 3090 Ti, the most powerful graphics card (in SLI)
Recently, the overclocker “CENS” has set a new performance world record using two RTX 3090 Ti graphics cards in SLI configuration. This achievement is notable as it was achieved using the last generation of graphics cards, despite the assumption that newer generation cards are more powerful. The record was set in the Port Royal benchmark of the 3DMark suite. The reason for using the previous generation cards is that the current RTX 40 Series does not support SLI. It is interesting to note that this achievement was accomplished by the EVGA team of overclockers, who continue to make strides even though the company has recently abandoned the graphics card market.
In the world of hardware enthusiasts, there exists a group of individuals who seek to extract every last drop of performance from their components, pushing them to their limits to see just how far they can go. Recently, the graphics card performance record was broken yet again, but interestingly enough, it wasn’t with a next-generation card, but rather one from the previous generation.
The record was set by the EVGA overclocking team using graphics cards from their brand, even though the company decided to exit the graphics card market a few months ago. Specifically, overclocker “CENS” managed to achieve a score of 36,370 points in the 3DMark Port Royal benchmark using two RTX 3090 Ti cards in SLI, manually overclocked and cooled with liquid nitrogen. While this achievement is not representative of what typical users would achieve on their home PCs, it is still impressive that the record was set with a previous-generation card.
However, this does not mean that the RTX 3090 Ti is currently the most powerful graphics card available. While it was the most powerful at the time, the RTX 4090 now holds that title. It is worth noting that even though the RTX 4090 is currently the most powerful graphics card, using two RTX 3090 Ti cards in SLI still offers even greater power, which cannot be achieved with current-generation graphics due to NVIDIA‘s decision to do away with SLI technology in them. Additionally, the world record for single-GPU graphic power still belongs to the RTX 4090, which is only 13% less powerful than the record set by CENS with two RTX 3090 Ti cards.
OK but what good are these records?
Obviously, we have commented on it many times: for us, simply to get an idea of how far a certain component can go, or as a curious fact to know which is the most powerful graphics card in the world at any given time (at least in this case, because the record that concerns us is graphics cards). But, in terms of “real life”, it is not very useful for ordinary users since we do not have the means or, at least in most cases, the knowledge to do these levels of overclocking.
While the performance world record achieved by CENS using two RTX 3090 Ti in SLI is impressive, it is important to note that this level of overclocking is not practical or applicable to ordinary users. It is simply a way to gauge how far a certain component can be pushed and to satisfy the curiosity of hardware enthusiasts. In terms of real-world use, such extreme overclocking is not practical or necessary for most users, as it requires specialized knowledge and equipment. Nonetheless, this achievement serves as a testament to the potential of graphics cards from the previous generation, and highlights the limitations of the current generation cards without SLI support.