Dual 3090 setup - performance optimization

Reddit r/LocalLLaMA / 4/11/2026

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Key Points

  • A user reports performance results running large Qwen models on a dual-RTX 3090 setup, noting strong prompt processing (pp/s) but comparatively poor token generation (tg/s) when using split-mode on PCIe lanes with uneven bandwidth (PCIe4 x16 vs PCIe3 x4).
  • Experiments comparing backends (ik_llama.cpp vs llama.cpp, and vLLM) show that vLLM can yield higher tg/s for a 27B model, but may significantly reduce throughput and introduce long startup times depending on quantization and configuration.
  • The user theorizes that improving GPU-to-GPU transfer speeds—e.g., via an x570 motherboard with PCIe4 configured at 8x/8x—could improve tg/s for split row/graph modes, but is hesitant due to the complexity of swapping hardware in a water-cooled loop.
  • They include detailed per-model benchmarking and quantization settings (including custom Q8_K_L variants with selective BF16 tensor overrides) and credit tools/work like kld-sweep for quant comparison and tuning.
  • The post asks for community benchmarks from others using dual 3090 setups, especially those with better PCIe configurations or transfer paths.

I have this machine right now:

  • MSI B550-A PRO
  • Ryzen 5 5600X, 4x16GB DDR4 3200 MHz
  • RTX 3090 - PCIe4 x16 (~25GB/s)
  • RTX 3090 - PCIe3 x4 (<3GB/s..)

I added the second GPU just recently and after a day of optimizing stuff settled on this setup:

Model name Model quant KV quant --ctx-size pp/s tg/s Engine
Qwen3.5-122B-A10B AesSedai Q4_K_M q8_0 80000 1000 22 ik_llama.cpp
Qwen3.5-27B PaMRxR Q8_K_L bf16 200000 1950 25 llama.cpp
Qwen3.5-35B-A3B PaMRxR Q8_K_L bf16 260000 4366 102 llama.cpp

With --split-mode layer things work well, especially pp, but tg is not so ideal. With vLLM I got 50-60 tg/s on the 27B, but with a worse quant, a lot worse 600 pp/s and abysmal startup time. Overall not really worth it.

I wonder what others with dual 3090 get with these or similar models, especially if you have better transfer speeds between the GPUs? I suspect an X570 motherboard with PCIe4 8x/8x could improve tg especially with --split-mode row / graph. I just don't want to go into replacing it blindly because everything is wired in a water cooling loop which took a lot of time to setup. NVLink is unfortunately not possible as the GPUs are different brands.

Side note: the Q8_K_L are my own quantizations, basically Q8_0 with a few tensors selectively overridden to BF16. Still smaller than UD-Q8_K_XL while achieving better KLD. Credits to /u/TitwitMuffbiscuit and his kld-sweep tool which makes it easy to compare ppl/kld of multiple quants.

submitted by /u/PaMRxR
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