A Closer Look at the SLI HB Bridge

Unlike AMD, which used to bundle CrossFire bridge cables with its graphics cards before going cable-free with XDMA CrossFire, the new SLI HB bridge won't be included with every GTX 1080 or GTX 1070 graphics card. Some premium custom-design cards may have it as a part of a "premium accessory kit," but for most consumers, the bridge has to be purchased separately. You can still use the classic SLI bridge that came with your motherboard, though.


We have with us an NVIDIA-branded SLI HB bridge. It comes in three sizes depending on the spacing you want between your cards. The bridge is not flexible.


You get variants with 2-slot (zero-slot gap between two dual-slot graphics cards), 3-slot (one-slot gap between two dual-slot cards), and 4-slot spacing (two-slot gap between two dual-slot cards). The 2-slot variant should help with micro-ATX builds, 3-slot with most typical motherboards that have two slots between their two x16 slots, and 4-slot with certain LGA2011v3 HEDT boards that have x16 slots (electrical x16) 3 slots apart. We have the 3-slot variant with us today.


The SLI HB bridge, which uses a rock-solid metal case, reveals a rigid fiberglass PCB with two SLI slots wired along its length when taken apart. Each slot is reinforced with a metal sheath, much like PCI-Express x16 slots are in some of the newer motherboards. The bridge isn't just two classic bridges fused into one, though. It has a green LED that lights up only when SLI is enabled at the driver-level. On custom-design SLI HB bridges by NVIDIA partners, LEDs of different colors are available. Some even have RGB LEDs with manual color selection.


As mentioned earlier, you can use the classic 2-way bridge included with your motherboard, and NVIDIA's driver will enable SLI for you, but with a reminder that you can improve your experience with a "higher performance SLI bridge." This reminder goes away as soon as a SLI HB bridge is installed.