diff --git a/projects/rccl/src/rccl_wrap.cc b/projects/rccl/src/rccl_wrap.cc
index 4d62da96d9..1293fcfe66 100644
--- a/projects/rccl/src/rccl_wrap.cc
+++ b/projects/rccl/src/rccl_wrap.cc
@@ -50,12 +50,39 @@ RCCL_PARAM(WarpSpeedEnable, "WARP_SPEED_ENABLE", 0);
 #endif
 #define RCCL_WARP_SPEED_MIN_BYTES (1ULL << 26) // 64 MB
 
-RCCL_PARAM(ReducedCuEnable, "REDUCED_CU_ENABLE", 0);
 
 void rcclRestrictMaxChannels(struct ncclComm* comm, int& nc ) {
-    if (comm->nNodes > 1 && IsArchMatch(comm->topo->nodes[GPU].nodes[0].gpu.gcn, "gfx950") && rcclParamReducedCuEnable() == 1)    {
-        nc = comm->nChannels = std::min(nc, 48);
+
+  if (comm->nNodes > 1 && IsArchMatch(comm->topo->nodes[GPU].nodes[0].gpu.gcn, "gfx950")) {
+    const char* maxNChannelsStr = getenv("NCCL_MAX_NCHANNELS");
+
+    if (maxNChannelsStr) {
+      char* end = nullptr;
+      long userMax = strtol(maxNChannelsStr, &end, 10);
+
+      const bool valid = (end != maxNChannelsStr && *end == '\0' && userMax > 0);
+      if (valid) {
+        // 64 is the max number of channels for gfx950 multi-node
+        userMax = std::min<long>(userMax, 64);
+        const int cap = (int)userMax;
+        INFO(NCCL_TUNING, "RCCL MaxChannels is capped to: %i", cap);
+        // Cap max channels, but don't permanently shrink comm->nChannels
+        // based on a small-message tuning decision (which can legitimately pick nc=1).
+        nc = std::min(nc, cap);
+        comm->nChannels = std::min(comm->nChannels, cap);
+      } else {
+        // Invalid / non-positive value: treat as "unset" and apply default restriction.
+        INFO(NCCL_TUNING, "RCCL MaxChannels: ignoring invalid NCCL_MAX_NCHANNELS='%s', default capping to 48", maxNChannelsStr);
+        nc = std::min(nc, 48);
+        comm->nChannels = std::min(comm->nChannels, 48);
+      }
+    } else {
+      // Default restriction for gfx950 multi-node when user hasn't set a valid max.
+      nc = std::min(nc, 48);
+      comm->nChannels = std::min(comm->nChannels, 48);
+      INFO(NCCL_TUNING, "RCCL MaxChannels: default capping to 48");
     }
+  }
 }
 
 static inline bool rcclCollSupportsRing(ncclFunc_t func) {