Does this look right to you? PCI-E link width = 1?

[MichaelD]

Just loaded this system today. All the latest drivers. CPU-Z shows PCI-E link width at 1x...it should be 16x, no? How do I fix that? Didn't touch anything in the BIOS except "Display first PCI or PCI-E" of which I chose PCI-E.

 

[AceHoleGoober]

Certainly not right at all. That board should be running x16. Check your BIOS for the link width. If I remember correctly it is under Advanced Options or something of that nature.

 

[MichaelD]

Just went into the BIOS and there are two things video-related: Display First (PCI/PCI-E) and Robust Graphics booster which by default is set to Turbo, which is the middle setting. WTF? Brand new board, latest BIOS. I can't get a break.

 

[CurseTheSky]

This is with your HD 4870X2 or another card?

I'd fire up a benchmark to see if you're getting x1 or x16 performance. It could just be CPU-Z or a sensor on the motherboard reporting something incorrectly.

 

[Sylvanas]

This problem has been around for a while. Common troubleshooting to be done is to:

1. Download the latest GPU-Z/ CPU-Z and check to see they both report the same thing.

2. Use latest drivers. If in doubt, do a fresh install of your driviers using DriverSweeper. The correct usage of Driversweeper is to a) uninstall your existing driver using the Control panel and restart. b) Upon bootup, run Driversweeper ticking the ATI/NV display driver box, then restart. c) upon entering windows for the 3rd time, double click the executable of the new drivers and follow the prompts. This method limits conflicts, as some files are not entirely removed until a restart so if you were to prematurely install the new drivers before a restart there is the potential for conflicting files (some files having been cleaned, but still being present in the registry) anyway moving on.

3. PCI-E frequency in the BIOS. Some people have found increasing the PCI-E frequency by as much as 1mhz (to 101mhz) is enough for it 'switch over' into 16X mode. Try anywhere from 100-105mhz is safe for these purposes.

 

[Fox5]

Check to make sure your video card is properly inserted into the slot. I had this problem, and it's because the case and motherboard didn't fit well together, so the video card was jacked up a little and not fully in the slot. (try pushing it in without any screws)

 

[betasub]

^ yeah , physically re-installing the card in the slot worked for me.

 

[MichaelD]

Wow, great advice! Thanks everyone. I need to update my sig as that rig is dead, completely. This problem is with an 8800GT. When I get home tonight I will try all the above. While I am using the latest drivers direct from NVidia's site, I haven't tried reloading the drivers. Thanks again. BBYL.

 

[Spikesoldier]

i would recommend a card reseat.

i had this issue once where it was supposed to be 8x but dropped to 4x. re-seating the card fixed the issue.

 

[MichaelD]

The card reseat fixed the issue! With manufacturing techniques as standardized and reliable as they are, I never would've suspected something so obvious. I scrutinized the PCI-E slot with a flashlight; I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I.E. no contacts inside obviously bent or missing. Honestly, I think this MB has a bad PCI-E slot. It's a brand new board. My previous videocard (4870X2) was working fine in my other MB (but it had baaad CPU vdroop). I tried slamming in/moving/rocking/half-in-half-out/every combination/angle with my 4870X2; no dice. It's GOT TO BE a voltage/seating/contact issue. The card works in my other MB which is half dead on the CPU side. I'm debating returning this MB. PITA for me to ship it but I game a lot; I need to use a beefy GPU. 8800GT = not beefy by today's standards. I want my 4870X2 back!

Thanks very much for all the assistance. You guys rock.

 

[MichaelD]

Sometimes your mind gets made up for you. Just a few hours after my last post, I tried to wake the PC from sleep mode. Fans/lights/no display. WTFFF? Hard boot. Nothing. X2. A few boots later and I get into W7 via the recovery app. A few more fresh boots just confirms that this board is REALLY a dud .

To Amazon's credit (bought it there) they replied to my RMA request in just a few hours. I was NOT expecting that. I'm getting an Asus PQ5 Pro Turbo to replace it. So, the P43-ES3G is boxed up and ready to go back; I threw my Abit IP35 Pro back in there . It's more stable than it was with a Q6600 CPU (less power draw helps, IMO) Still not sure if my 4870X2 is dead or not. Currently have the 800GT in there and it's working great.

 

[betasub]

Thanks for the update, Michael. Hope you have better luck with the Asus board. I consider Gigabyte pretty reliable all-round, but even Tier1 volume manufacturers can't avoid the occasional dud when it comes to multi-component fragile/sensitive electronics like motherboards.

 

[MichaelD]

I've had good luck w/Gigabyte over the years; that's why I went with them. This is a lower end board, though...looks like a 4-layer PCB...it's really thin. Like you said, betasub, sometimes you just get a dud. I'm hoping that the Asus PQ5 Pro Turbo will be good. It should; it was a top-level board back in the day. Hopefully, my 4870X2 is not dead. It's hard to tell if a video card is bad when the motherboard itself has vdroop issues (my IP35 pro) or a bad PCI-E slot (the Gigabyte P43 I just sent back)