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pci-express running at 4x and low power consumption

System specs:

- Win 7
- Intel Core i5 4670K 4x 3.40GHz So.1150 BOX
- 2048MB Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 Windforce 3x OC
- ASRock Z87 Pro3 Intel Z87 So.1150 Dual Channel DDR3 ATX Retail
- 650 Watt Super Flower Golden Green HX Non-Modular 80+ Gold
- 8GB (2x 4096MB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600

All of my hardware is new.

Gpu-z reports that my bus interface is running at 4x instead of 16x. Feels like I'm getting more jagged edges and things "popping" on my screen after it changed to 4x. And I noticed a little decrease in benchmark results.

And I've noticed that gpu power consumption never goes over 85%. Heaven benchmark uses only about 65% tdp and msi kombustor uses 85%. If I boost my power limit to 111%, power consumption goes to 92% in kombustor. Is it weird that it newer goes to 100%?

Things I've tried:

- reseated everything (gpu, cpu, memory)
- nvidia control panel: prefer maximum performance (power management mode) and single display performance mode. Vsync. Physx settings from autoselect to gpu and cpu.
- using different memory slots.
- default cpu and gpu clocks
- updated bios
- updated drivers (also tried older and beta nvidia drivers)
- reinstalling windows
- 10 passes in memtest86 and 0 errors
- installed windows updates
- power options: high performance (link state power management: off)
- adding 12mv voltage to gpu
- increasing power limit (gpu)
- checked for visible hardware faults
- cleaning pcie slot and gpu golden pins

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did you go into your bios and look around in there?

Proc: Intel Core i9 9900K 5GHz OC MoBo: ASUS Maximus XI Formula Z390 Ram: Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200MHz 32GB  Vidcard: ASUS RTX 2080 ROG STRIX OC Sound: Creative Sound Blaster AE-5 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 240GB  HDD: 4X WD Black 2TB PSU: Corsair HX 850i Case: Corsiar 760T Black Monitor: ASUS PG278QE 165Hz 1ms  Peripheral: Razer Huntsman Elite - Deathadder V2 - Sabertooth Controller

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did you go into your bios and look around in there?

Yes, I was only able to change pci-e 3.0 to 2.0 or 1.0. But it always runs 4x.

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try diferent pci-e slot 

If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough it will be believed.

-Adolf Hitler 

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And if another psi-e slot doesn't work try going into your Nvidia control panel and at the bottom right corner there is a System Information click on it and scroll down to Bus: and see if that says 4X

Proc: Intel Core i9 9900K 5GHz OC MoBo: ASUS Maximus XI Formula Z390 Ram: Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200MHz 32GB  Vidcard: ASUS RTX 2080 ROG STRIX OC Sound: Creative Sound Blaster AE-5 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 240GB  HDD: 4X WD Black 2TB PSU: Corsair HX 850i Case: Corsiar 760T Black Monitor: ASUS PG278QE 165Hz 1ms  Peripheral: Razer Huntsman Elite - Deathadder V2 - Sabertooth Controller

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And if another psi-e slot doesn't work try going into your Nvidia control panel and at the bottom right corner there is a System Information click on it and scroll down to Bus: and see if that says 4X

My mobo has only one x16 pcie slot.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87%20Pro3/

 

System information says Bus: PCI Express x16 Gen3

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Well that's a good thing. if it were actually running at x4 that would say x4 well at least it did on my old mobo that only had a x4 bus so I'm thinking it's running right and there might be something wrong with GPU-Z but I could be wrong aswell.

Proc: Intel Core i9 9900K 5GHz OC MoBo: ASUS Maximus XI Formula Z390 Ram: Corsair Dominator Platinum 3200MHz 32GB  Vidcard: ASUS RTX 2080 ROG STRIX OC Sound: Creative Sound Blaster AE-5 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO 240GB  HDD: 4X WD Black 2TB PSU: Corsair HX 850i Case: Corsiar 760T Black Monitor: ASUS PG278QE 165Hz 1ms  Peripheral: Razer Huntsman Elite - Deathadder V2 - Sabertooth Controller

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Aida64 and cpu-z also say it's running 4x. And that nvidia sys info probably means just that my gpu supports 16x. Just like gpu-z... supports 16x but runs 4x. Thanks anyway :P

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Aida64 and cpu-z also say it's running 4x. And that nvidia sys info probably means just that my gpu supports 16x. Just like gpu-z... supports 16x but runs 4x. Thanks anyway :P

 

In GPU-Z, press the little " ? " button beside the "Bus Interface" label.

Is it still running at PCI-E X4?

 

 

Do you have any other expansion cards connected in your PCI-E X1 slots?

Some motherboards share the bandwidth between several slots. When the other slots are occupied, the PCI-E X16 slot will automatically reduce in bandwidth.

Intel Z390 Rig ( *NEW* Primary )

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<> Electronics & Computer Engineering Technologist (Diploma + Advanced Diploma) <>

<> Electronics Engineering Technician for the Canadian Department of National Defence <>

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No, I don't have any other cards in pci slots. And the ? doesn't make a change. Only from idle 1.1 to 3.0.

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No, I don't have any other cards in pci slots. And the ? doesn't make a change. Only from idle 1.1 to 3.0.

 

Hmm...give this a quick try first.

  1. Turn off your computer.
  2. Disconnect any PCI-E power connections from your graphics card.
  3. Remove the Graphics card from the PCI-E X16 expansion slot.
  4. Examine the PCI-E connectors (aka fingers) that are on the graphics card. If they are dirty, clean them off with isopropyl alcohol and a cloth (preferably anti-static).
  5. Check the PCI-E X16 for defects or damage.
  6. Reinstall the graphics card into your computer.
  7. Reconnect the PCI-E 6-pin and/or 8-pin power connections

Or...you may just need to re-seat / re-install the graphics card.

Intel Z390 Rig ( *NEW* Primary )

Intel X99 Rig (Officially Decommissioned, Dead CPU returned to Intel)

  • i7-8086K @ 5.1 GHz (still tweaking) -- i7-6800K
  • Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master -- ASUS X99 Deluxe
  • Sapphire NITRO+ RX 6800 XT Special Edition Sapphire NITRO+ RX 5700 XT Special Edition -- 2x Sapphire NITRO R9-Fury in Crossfire
  • 32GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3000 CL14 (16GB TridentZ RGB + 16GB Red/Black TridentZ)
  • SanDisk 480 GB SSD + 1TB Samsung 860 EVO + 1TB WD SN750
  • EVGA SuperNOVA 850W P2 + Red/White CableMod Cables
  • Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Tempered Glass Edition
  • Ekwb Custom loop
  • Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum + Corsair K70 (Red LED, anodized black, Cheery MX Browns)

AMD Ryzen Rig

  • AMD R7-5800X
  • Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro AC
  • 32GB (16GB X 2) Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4-3600
  • Gigabyte Vision RTX 3060 Ti OC
  • EKwb D-RGB 360mm AIO
  • Intel 660p NVMe 1TB + Crucial MX500 1TB + WD Black 1TB HDD
  • EVGA P2 850W + White CableMod cables
  • Lian-Li LanCool II Mesh - White

Intel Z97 Rig (Decomissioned)

  • Intel i5-4690K 4.8 GHz
  • ASUS ROG Maximus VII Hero Z97
  • Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7950 EVGA GTX 1070 SC Black Edition ACX 3.0
  • 20 GB (8GB X 2 + 4GB X 1) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz
  • Corsair A50 air cooler  NZXT X61
  • Crucial MX500 1TB SSD + SanDisk Ultra II 240GB SSD + WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD + Kingston V300 120GB SSD [non-gimped version]
  • Antec New TruePower 550W EVGA G2 650W + White CableMod cables
  • Cooler Master HAF 912 White NZXT S340 Elite w/ white LED stips

AMD 990FX Rig (Decommissioned)

  • FX-8350 @ 4.8 / 4.9 GHz (given up on the 5.0 / 5.1 GHz attempt)
  • ASUS ROG Crosshair V Formula 990FX
  • 12 GB (4 GB X 3) G.Skill RipJawsX DDR3 @ 1866 MHz
  • Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 + Sapphire Dual-X HD 7970 in Crossfire  Sapphire NITRO R9-Fury in Crossfire *NONE*
  • Thermaltake Frio w/ Cooler Master JetFlo's in push-pull
  • Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD + Kingston V300 120GB SSD + WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD
  • Corsair TX850 (ver.1)
  • Cooler Master HAF 932

 

<> Electrical Engineer , B.Eng <>

<> Electronics & Computer Engineering Technologist (Diploma + Advanced Diploma) <>

<> Electronics Engineering Technician for the Canadian Department of National Defence <>

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Hmm...give this a quick try first.

  1. Turn off your computer.
  2. Disconnect any PCI-E power connections from your graphics card.
  3. Remove the Graphics card from the PCI-E X16 expansion slot.
  4. Examine the PCI-E connectors (aka fingers) that are on the graphics card. If they are dirty, clean them off with isopropyl alcohol and a cloth (preferably anti-static).
  5. Check the PCI-E X16 for defects or damage.
  6. Reinstall the graphics card into your computer.
  7. Reconnect the PCI-E 6-pin and/or 8-pin power connections

Or...you may just need to re-seat / re-install the graphics card.

Thanks for the very specific tip but I've already tried that... except I didn't use isopropyl alcohol because my pc is like 1 month old.. so those connectors can't be that dirty.. can they?

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*** copy ***, *** paste *** (credits to the one who took the effort to type this :3)

 

  1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
    * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.
  2. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)
    (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)
    * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.
  3. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
    * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX1_2/3 slots. The PCIEX1_2/3 slots will become unavailable when a PCIe x4 expansion card is installed.
    * When installing a x8 or above card in the PCIEX4 slot, make sure to set PCIE Slot Configuration in BIOS Setup to x4. (Refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS Setup," "Peripherals," for more information.)
  4. 3 x PCI Express x1 slots
    (The PCIEX4 and PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
  5. 1 x PCI slot

 

 

This is what most reviews say about that type of board.. (the Z8x and even some Z6x and Z7x boards aswell)

It only has a limited amount of pci-lanes onboard so it shares them over the 2.0/3.0 slots

And theres allot of sharing going on on that board xD...

So the board works as it should..

Its the way that the pcie slots are sharing lanes with the PCH that causes it...

And because that board has at least 16, max 22 lanes it will spread them out over the pcie slots and you end up with x4 pci-e

There should be a setting in that bios that could fix it..

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*** copy ***, *** paste *** (credits to the one who took the effort to type this :3)

 

  1. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)

    * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot.

  2. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8)

    (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.)

    * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot will operate at up to x8 mode.

  3. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)

    * The PCIEX4 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX1_2/3 slots. The PCIEX1_2/3 slots will become unavailable when a PCIe x4 expansion card is installed.

    * When installing a x8 or above card in the PCIEX4 slot, make sure to set PCIE Slot Configuration in BIOS Setup to x4. (Refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS Setup," "Peripherals," for more information.)

  4. 3 x PCI Express x1 slots

    (The PCIEX4 and PCI Express x1 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

  5. 1 x PCI slot

 

 

This is what most reviews say about that type of board.. (the Z8x and even some Z6x and Z7x boards aswell)

It only has a limited amount of pci-lanes onboard so it shares them over the 2.0/3.0 slots

And theres allot of sharing going on on that board xD...

So the board works as it should..

Its the way that the pcie slots are sharing lanes with the PCH that causes it...

And because that board has at least 16, max 22 lanes it will spread them out over the pcie slots and you end up with x4 pci-e

There should be a setting in that bios that could fix it..

I haven't found any setting that could be it. But it was working 16x before so shouldn't default bios settings make it back to 16x if it was about bios?

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Could this also be the reason for low power consumption? If my mobo somehow thinks it needs to share power with other pci slots? :P So gtx 770 can never reach 100% or something...

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according from what i have seen on some forums you need to put the card in the 2nd x16 slot.. (yeah illogical i know) but even then it wont work all of the time

How long did you run that setup in x16 btw?? cause that board reverts to x4 when a card is inserted that uses x8 or more lanes :3

What you could try is setting the gen3 slot to gen2 and limiting the lanes to x8( so i've heard i dun know exactly how that bios is put together) the difference between x8 and x16 is pretty small so..

 

 

And the lower power consumption could be because them slots are directly linked to ur PCH wich in turn has a much easyer job to push the data to ur memory.. (and that board has shared vidmem if i'm not mistaken)

 

I wish something would work on my machine if true xD them 690's that i have are powersucking biatches :3

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according from what i have seen on some forums you need to put the card in the 2nd x16 slot.. (yeah illogical i know) but even then it wont work all of the time

How long did you run that setup in x16 btw?? cause that board reverts to x4 when a card is inserted that uses x8 or more lanes :3

What you could try is setting the gen3 slot to gen2 and limiting the lanes to x8( so i've heard i dun know exactly how that bios is put together) the difference between x8 and x16 is pretty small so..

 

 

And the lower power consumption could be because them slots are directly linked to ur PCH wich in turn has a much easyer job to push the data to ur memory.. (and that board has shared vidmem if i'm not mistaken)

 

I wish something would work on my machine if true xD them 690's that i have are powersucking biatches :3

This mobo has only 1 x16 slot :(

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This is what gpu-z normally reports: PCI-E 3.0x16 @ x4 3.0. If I change pcie to gen2 it reports this: PCI-E 2.0x16 @ x4 2.0. And gen1 changes to 1.0 but the 4x stays.

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Its definitely a defective slot. I've had this issue before, randomly switching from 16 lanes to 4 lanes with the message nvidia driver recovered, when it stucked on x4 it worked perfectly. RMA board or just install the gpu in the 2nd slot

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Its definitely a defective slot. I've had this issue before, randomly switching from 16 lanes to 4 lanes with the message nvidia driver recovered, when it stucked on x4 it worked perfectly. RMA board or just install the gpu in the 2nd slot

Thank you :) I've been leaning towards this result also. I guess I'll have to RMA.

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Thank you :) I've been leaning towards this result also. I guess I'll have to RMA.

16 lanes should work without a hassle so

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oh well, it wasn't the motherboard. Probably the gpu then :/ who knows

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Yes, I was only able to change pci-e 3.0 to 2.0 or 1.0. But it always runs 4x.

Put it on PCI-e 3.0 and make sure that you are in the correct PCI-e slot for x16 speeds.

A water-cooled mid-tier gaming PC.

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Put it on PCI-e 3.0 and make sure that you are in the correct PCI-e slot for x16 speeds.

I only have one x16 slot so it's hard to put in a wrong slot :P

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