# Rendering on multiple GPUs?

**URL:** https://discourse.vtk.org/t/rendering-on-multiple-gpus/837
**Category:** Development
**Created:** [April 24, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/rendering-on-multiple-gpus/837 "2019-04-24T16:12:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 4

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### Author: ![jaswantp](https://discourse.vtk.org/user_avatar/discourse.vtk.org/jaswantp/32/10046_2.png) [@jaswantp](https://discourse.vtk.org/u/jaswantp)
#### Post date: [October 16, 2020, 3:18am UTC](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/rendering-on-multiple-gpus/837/4 "2020-10-16T03:18:37Z")

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Hi.

This is interesting but it doesn’t look like VTK offers explicit control over dual/multi GPU support. Underneath, VTK makes glDrawxxx calls and writes frame buffer objects. This approach is common in almost every library/game/program that renders with an OpenGL graphics context. The OpenGL drivers are known to detect an SLI/Crossfire configuration and dispatch rendering calls to all GPUs efficiently. This doesn’t really give VTK any control whatsoever on the choice of GPUs.

So, now it’s pretty obvious why VTK cannot offer explicit support. Although this support is found in modern AAA titles. The VTK graphics pipeline must be changed to Vulkan or DirectX12. See [here](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/03/vulkan-1-1-adds-multi-gpu-directx-compatibility-as-khronos-looks-to-the-future/) for details.This is quite a daunting feat! Much of the PolyDataMapper, Actor, Camera, Renderer, RenderWindow source codes will have to be designed and developed in Vulkan.

Well, looks like theres development in that direction [https://discourse.vtk.org/t/vulkan-development/3307/2](https://discourse.vtk.org/t/vulkan-development/3307/2)

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