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Manufacturer | 3dfx |
---|---|
Type | Multi-GPU technology |
Release date | 1998 |
Connectivity | Ribbon cable |
Successor | Scalable Link Interface |
Scan-Line Interleave (SLI) is a multi-GPU method developed by 3dfx for linking two (or more) video cards or chips together to produce a single output. It is an application of parallel processing for computer graphics, meant to increase the processing power available for graphics.[1][2]
3dfx's SLI technology was first introduced in 1998 with the Voodoo2 line of graphics accelerators. The original Voodoo Graphics card and the VSA-100[3][4] were also SLI-capable, however in the case of the former it was only used in arcades[5][6] and professional applications.[citation needed]
NVIDIA reintroduced the SLI acronym in 2004 as Scalable Link Interface. NVIDIA's SLI, compared to 3dfx's SLI, is modernized to use graphics cards interfaced over the PCI Express bus.[7]
3dfx's SLI design was the first attempt, in the consumer PC market, at combining the rendering power of two video cards. The two 3dfx cards were connected by a small ribbon cable inside the PC. This cable shared graphics and synchronization information between the cards. Each 3dfx card rendered alternating horizontal lines of pixels composing a frame.[1][2]