PC works when GPU is in x4 slot, but is inconsistent with x16

[JQLeitch]

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[heymrdj]

I was actually banned from Tom's Hardware for swearing, nothing more, nothing less. I respect people but not when I'm getting thrown in a corner being accused of being lazy because I don't have compressed air...

No no no you weren't lazy because you don't have it. You're lazy because you won't go get it. Big difference, one is unreasonable, the other is correct.

 

[JQLeitch]

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[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

I looked at the slot with a magnifier and there's no dust. So it's clearly not a dust problem rather something else, can I just apologise for coming across as a stubborn ass? I didn't mean it.

Then it is highly likely that you have a bad PCI-E slot/lanes on the motherboard and moderately less likely that you have bad PCI-E lanes on the GPU itself. Do you have access to one of your flatmates computers where you can test the GPU in one of their x16 slots?

 

[JQLeitch]

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[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

I actually did test my GPU in another PC and it works fine, so yeah is there a chance it could be BIOS related? I updated my BIOS the same day as the 'lane swap'

Unlikely, the chances that you are having an issue with just PCI-E lanes due to a BIOS flash are fairly slim. To be absolutely sure you could flash back to an older version of the BIOS and give it a spin. The next step would be to contact the manufacturer of the board and (I'm assuming it is out of warranty) ask if they would be willing to RMA it. It's rare that a manufacturer will service off-warranty products, but I've had it happen in the past so it never hurts to ask

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

I said in my first post that ASUS' Flash utility refused to let me downgrade, which sucks. But yeah like you said, I also think it's kind of unlikely to be BIOS related.

Usually they offer a DOS version of their flash tools which would let you downgrade to whatever version you want. A little bit more work, but if you want to eliminate every possible scenario then you could do it.

I may have missed your exact board model somewhere in this thread, but here's a generic walkthrough: http://smarttechtips.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-donwngrade-asus-bios.html

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

Ah yes, "AFUDOS", do you think it's even worth the time to flash my BIOS using it?

<1% chance of it fixing anything, but if you're short cash and are out of warranty, then you might as well on the slim hope.

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

Since I've been using my x4 slot for a while (more than a year) with my current GPU, I think I'll wait probably a bit to clean out the slot and then try again. Is there any detriment to using an x4 instead of x16? Such as stuttering or slowdown?

Without knowing the specs of the system (CPU, ram, GPU) it's a bit hard to be sure, but yes it can be a bottleneck.

 

[JQLeitch]

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[Techhog]

Why is this actually up for debate? You gave me advice, I asked for any other way other than compressed air. You talk about respecting mods is so important on this site when you can't even respect your own members, and don't get all snobby saying I don't maintain my PC, I do, but I don't have compressed air, no need for all the smart ass crap.

There's nothing else to consider besides a malfunctioning slot or board. You can buy a can of air, or you can RMA your board. Pick your poison.

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

That's worrying, as occasionally I have audio/video clipping/lag which is a pain, it's rare like 1/1000 of the time so yeah maybe it's related, I don't know?

My PC's here if this helps: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/6YF4YJ

You probably have a bit (2-5% on low end, 10% on high end) of performance loss especially in regards to minimum framerates, which may explain your a bit of your clipping. Still worth emailing Asus IMO, just be nice and explain that your x16 slot appears to be malfunctioning and ask if they have any troubleshooting recommendations.

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

Christ, it all kinda makes sense, thanks for your help, will be switching lanes again once cleaned and hopefully the start up problem doesn't persist.

You could always benchmark it and report back, I'm curious the actual numbers

 

[JQLeitch]

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[EightySix Four]

What do you mean? Comparison of both lanes? If so what benchmark do you want me to run? Heaven/Valley or something?

That would work, just curious what your performance looks like x4 vs x16 with a single card. Based on what I've seen elsewhere, it impacts minimum framerate most (which makes sense when you think about it) but most people do it with multiple cards (which also makes sense since that's when you're most likely to be running less lanes). It's by no means a requirement, it's mainly just to satisfy my curiosity lol.

 

[SirCanealot]

Wait, hold on, forget about the whole conversation... Canned air is $3 in the US? Generally electronics shops will charge £7-10 for a can of the stuff here! And some of the cheaper stuff I got recently for my shop smelled...funny.

Wow, $3... :/

 

[JQLeitch]

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[JQLeitch]

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