3 ways it can make sense to use multiple GPUs inside your PC

 Multi-GPU systems for gaming may be long assigned to the dustbin of history, but there are legitimate times when more than a single GPU makes sense. Largely, this boils down to using multiple monitors and exceeding the number of ports available on the GPU itself, using software that can utilize multiple GPUs (outside of gaming), and using the PC for home lab stuff with virtual machines and other instances where the second GPU can be passed through.

If you use multiple monitors

Because one is never enough

Running the desktop on multiple screens isn't terribly demanding for a GPU, especially when one or both aren't doing much. But should you fire up a demanding game and have YouTube open on the second screen, things can start to get a little dicey. That's where a second GPU can make a difference. It doesn't even have to be a powerful graphics card. A budget-friendly solution to run a few apps and handle some video output is all that's required.

Should you have more than two displays, however, you may run the risk of running out of available ports. Depending on how you're able to connect your screens to your PC, you may require an additional GPU to handle the output to some of these panels. This is the primary way a second GPU can make sense for a PC.

Running heavy software with dual-GPU support

Get more done

Specific software can take advantage of multiple graphics cards. This is why you see workstations, such as Apple's Mac Pro range of systems, coming with multiple cards preinstalled. Whether you're a creator or work with design software, so long as it supports multiple GPUs, you can utilize more than one PCI slot inside your PC. That said, a more powerful GPU such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 may perform better than weaker GPUs used in a configuration.

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Dedicated a GPU to virtualization

Run games within a virtual machine

Running virtual machines is a great way to host services and use software not supported by your primary operating system. Through the power of VirtualBox and other software, you can run games and software through virtualization but instead of relying on your main GPU, a second graphics card can be selected for the VMs to use. Granted, this is fairly niche as you're likely to run games, emulators, and more natively on your system, but the opportunity is there to isolate stuff from your PC.

Should you buy and use multiple GPUs?

Most PCs will not require a second GPU. Installing a second graphics card inside your gaming PC will only produce more heat, suck more power, and provide little benefit. You won't be able to utilize the available performance due to software and hardware limitations, making spending more money on a single GPU a much better option. Simply adding a second RTX 4080 to the mix won't provide two lots of RTX 4080 performance for your favorite games. There are good reasons dual-GPU gaming is reserved for the past.