RedDog828

This would definitely go in the living room!

Contacted nVidia today via chat. They gave me a different link to what appears to be the same page as the one posted by drpayne242. For some reason it worked this time, so my 980 is finally rocking PCIE 3.0. Maybe I didn't run the executable as, "Run as administrator" the last time. Also note the fix doesn't take effect until you reboot the system. http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3135/kw/x79

I know this post is old now. But I finally got around to finding out why my GTX 980 only runs at PCI-E 2.0 x16. I found out that if I uninstall the nVidia driver and run GPU-Z my GTX 980 is detected as a PCI-E 3.0 x16 card. After doing a little research it has come to my attention that nVidia has a driver restriction that locks their cards at PCI-E 2.0 on the X79 platform. However, if your Sandy Bridge-E motherboard is on their approved list, your card is allowed to run at PCI-E 3.0. I have a Ivy Bridge-E approved motherboard, so apparently they didn't update their list. I'm going to give them a call after the holidays and see if they would be willing to add my Gigabyte X79S-UP5 motherboard to the the "approved list". This restriction only effects 600 series cards and later. I had an Asus X79 board when I had the GTX 690, apparently it was on the "approved list" because it ran at PCI-E 3.0. I forgot I changed motherboards when I upgraded to two R9 290's. Here's an old link on TechPowerUp where they where talking about it: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/geforce-gtx-680-release-driver-limits-pci-express-to-gen-2-0-on-x79-snb-e-systems.162942/

Same here Majestic, mine runs at PCIe 1.1 x16 at idle and under load it jumps to PCIe 2.0 x16. I just installed the card Monday and I'm in the process of benching it to compare it to my OC'd 290. PCIe results are the same in all games so far. I'll probably try reseating the card later and moving it to another x16 slot if necessary PCIe power management is turned off in Windows and PCIe is set to 3.0 in the UEFI. My card is driving three 1440P monitors, I'm guessing that's why mine is running at x16 verses your x4 at idle.

Well, same here... I've previously had a GTX 690 and a R9 290 and both of them ran at PCIe 3.0 x16 with my 3930k. I just checked my GTX 980 and it's running at PCIe 2.0 x16 under load. I tried the nVidia force PCIe 3.0 executable and it didn't have any effect. I guess we're stuck with it... It's annoying, but shouldn't effect gaming that much. TechPowerUp recently did an article on Geforce GTX 980 PCI-Express Scaling. They show benchmarks for several modern games running at different PCIe bandwidths. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/1.html

I currently have a I7-3930K on a MATX motherboard and a DirectCU II R9 290 that I've been considering water cooling. I would love to turn this into a mineral oil PC instead! I'm also sending a polite and professional message to http://www.liquidcoolsolutions.com/ expressing my disappointment with their patent concerns that is forcing Puget Systems out of the mineral oil PC market. Hopefully if enough of us do the same, maybe they will reconsider. I'm also looking forward to the custom system build Puget Systems is doing for Barnacles Nerdgasm after the holidays. LinusTechTips and Puget Systems, you guys rock!

My favorite items is definitely the case.

ZOTAC AMP! Extreme - Triple fans and gorgeous!

I've never had any issues with Gigabyte or ASUS customer service and support. However, RMAing defective products is another story. To be honest, I've been lucky and never had to RMA a Gigabyte product. But as for ASUS, it's not been a pleasant experience. Don't get me wrong tech support is always very friendly and they got the ball rolling on the RMA's very quickly. My problem is with the actual service center they use. I'm not sure if it's actually ASUS or a contracted service center. But in the past two years I've had to RMA a X79 Sabertooth motherboard and a Directcu II OC R9 290. I will say ASUS's turn around on RMA's is top notch. I got a used/refurbished X79 mobo within a week. Unfortunately, I found an issue with the replacement mobo and when I contacted them they we're willing to RMA it. I asked if they would just send me a new board instead of a used/refurbished and they said they couldn't, it wasn't how they handled RMA's. I told them I had to think about it and did a little research. What I found out was what happened to me wasn't uncommon. So since the motherboard wasn't DOA and I could work around the issue I decided to live with it and keep the defective replacement mobo. As for the R9 290 Graphics card, I'm on my second RMA right now for the same issue. I've been running two of these in crossfire since February this year. I only started having issues about a month ago. Even though tech support agreed with me that service was required, the card came back from it's first RMA without being repaired. After talking to tech support a second time, they issued another RMA for the card. This time I included a detailed description of the issue and included detailed instructions how to replicate the issue. I also included screen shots so they could see what it was doing. Well yesterday I decided to check the status of the RMA and for some reason it wasn't showing up on their RMA Status page so I had to call them. The customer service rep was friendly but when she checked the RMA number she said, "Oh, we addressed that issue in a previous RMA. We mailed your card back to you yesterday. You should get it back on the 17th." I ask her did they do anything to it? She said she didn't know for sure. She didn't have access to the repair details. I have already paid for shipping twice, if it comes back not repaired again I'm not going to be happy. Would I tell you not to buy ASUS? Heck no, they've got some awesome products. I have three PB278Q monitors that are awesome! What I would say though, if you buy an ASUS product, test the hell out of it. And if you find any problems, swap it out with the retailer before the retailer return policy expires. Hopefully, they'll improve the warranty service in the future. UPDATE! ASUS actually replaced the graphics card on the second RMA. All is good. Sorry for the rant.

There was never no doubt. I've been watching and liking your youtube videos since your Newegg days. I hope LTT is successful for decades to come. Congrats to you and your family and the entire LTT crew!

Love the IPS display and the custom skin on this Z2! Good luck everybody! Thank you dbrand and LinusTechTips for the giveaway.

Thanks for another great contest! Good luck to everyone! Jay's video: http://youtu.be/xJiYl2WAN-0 Linus' video: http://youtu.be/E5ZOGeeGcjE

Gotta love the specs on this puppy! I'd say 3 gigs of RAM are my favorite though.

Thanks to Darrin Lynch for joining us today.

Thanks to Darren Lynch for joining us today.