Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips said that a high-end PC built four years ago for $5,000 [1] now performs poorly.
The review highlights the rapid depreciation of hardware value and the impact of discontinued software support on expensive, enthusiast-grade components.
The system in question features two [2] NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition GPUs [3] configured in Scalable Link Interface, commonly known as SLI. Sebastian tested the machine to determine how the dual-GPU setup handles current software after Nvidia discontinued support for the SLI feature.
Despite the significant initial investment of $5,000 [1], the hardware struggles to maintain performance standards in current games. The lack of modern driver support for the dual-card configuration creates a bottleneck that limits the potential of the hardware.
"This $5000 PC from just four years ago sucks," Sebastian said.
He said that the system fails to meet the demands of the latest software releases. The dual-GPU setup, which was intended to provide a massive performance boost at the time of assembly, is no longer an effective way to increase gaming power.
"Two RTX 3090 Ti Founders Editions in SLI and it still can't keep up with modern titles," Sebastian said.
The video, published May 9, 2024, serves as a cautionary example for consumers who invest heavily in multi-GPU configurations. While these builds offer high theoretical power, the reliance on specific manufacturer support makes them vulnerable to obsolescence when that support ends.
“"This $5000 PC from just four years ago sucks."”
This case illustrates the shift in the PC industry away from multi-GPU setups for gaming. As developers and manufacturers like Nvidia move toward single-GPU efficiency and different rendering technologies, expensive legacy configurations like SLI become liabilities rather than assets, regardless of the original purchase price.
