Glossary3 sections1 min read
What is NVLink?
NVLink is NVIDIA's high-speed point-to-point interconnect between GPUs. It lets GPUs exchange data directly, far faster than over the PCIe bus.
Why it matters when renting a GPU
Multi-GPU training and tensor-parallel inference exchange data between GPUs at every step. A fast link keeps GPUs busy instead of waiting.
SXM boards use NVLink natively; PCIe cards may offer a bridge between pairs only. Check the interconnect line on the GPU page.
Worked example
The H100 SXM lists NVLink 4 (900 GB/s) · PCIe 5.0, while the H100 PCIe lists NVLink bridge (600 GB/s) · PCIe 5.0. The B200 moves to NVLink 5 (1.8 TB/s).
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need NVLink?
- For a single GPU, no. For training or serving a model split across several GPUs, NVLink usually speeds up communication considerably.