Asus Sabertooth P67 B3 PCI-E x16 runs at x4..help!

[exeter08]

Hi guys,

I need help with an issue that i encountered when i changed my video card to a Palit GTX 560 Ti earlier this month.

I noticed that when playing SC2, the settings defaulted to MEDIUM though i'm sure that it should be at ULTRA. I checked GPU-Z to check whether the clocks on the gpu are on spec and i noticed that the PCI-E x16 slot is running at X4. CPU-Z and Aida also reports that the slot is running at X4.

The card is installed in the slot nearest to the processor. I could prolly install the card in the X8 slot but it would be at close proximity to the PSU and might overheat the card.

I already tried reseating the gpu and cleaning the pci-e slots using contact cleaner to no avail.

Any other insights?

My specs are as follows:

Processor: Intel I5 2400
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth P67
RAM: Corsair Dominator 1600MHz CL9
HDD: Seagate 2Tb LP
GPU: Palit GTX 560ti 1Gb DDR5
PSU: XFX 750w Black Edition

 

[Durvelle27]

try it in the second slot

 

[exeter08]

Yeah, tried it in the 2nd slot and the it runs in x8 which is more acceptable but its proximity to the psu causes it to heat up on load.

Update:

I tried using my old video cards on the 1st slot and they are running at x16.

9600gt and ati 2400xt

 

[Aquinus]

Windows has PCI-E power saving features that will reduce the number of links in low power situations. If you set your power options to "High Performance" then run GPU-Z, it may show all 16 lanes.

 

[exeter08]

tried that to no avail..still at x4

One thing that i noticed though, when i uninstalled the drivers..both gpu-z and aida64 detected the pcie at x16.

Will try the card in another unit just to test.

 

[INSTG8R]

Odd problem. Same board, never had any issues like this. When you have GPU-Z open you have clicked the "?" next to the Bus Interface and ran the render test? Does the speed change?

What card were you running before the 560?

(Long shot stuff) Which BIOS are you on? Not that should make any difference.

 

[exeter08]

Tried that too, card was on 100% load and the lane is still at x4.

I was running an XFX HD 5870 2gb eyefinity 6 ed card.

Bios of the board? or the card? Thanks!

 

[INSTG8R]

Tried that too, card was on 100% load and the lane is still at x4.

I was running an XFX HD 5870 2gb eyefinity 6 ed card.

Bios of the board? or the card? Thanks!

The board of course.

Why did you switch out the 5870 for a 560ti? Not really that much of an "upgrade" 5870 still has some horsepower(I just recently replaced mine with a 7970)

Did you fully clean out the ATI drivers? Could be something as simple as leftover files causing issue with the new card.

Other thoughts: Intel Chipset drivers installed? Just covering the bases.

 

[exeter08]

I was getting tired of the driver issues with my old ATI card. I swapped it with a friend's GTX 560. I just wanted to try nvidia for a change, heard that they are faring better with their drivers.

I uninstalled all the ati driver and used driver sweeper to remove the leftover files.

Yeah, i already updated the bios to 3302.

 

[INSTG8R]

I was getting tired of the driver issues with my old ATI card. I swapped it with a friend's GTX 560. I just wanted to try nvidia for a change, heard that they are faring better with their drivers.

I uninstalled all the ati driver and used driver sweeper to remove the leftover files.

Yeah, i already updated the bios to 3302.

HaHa! Yet here we are with issues

It seems there may very well be something wrong with the card. You tried other cards and they ran fine at x16 then it points out the motherboard is working correctly. If possible check the 560 in another machine. Not much left to try.

 

[hat]

Possibly take the card out and clean the contacts on the card with a coffee filter and some rubbing alcohol, and blow out the pci-e slot with an air compressor...

I've had some things just not work until I did this.

 

[Aquinus]

If possible check the 560 in another machine. Not much left to try.

+1: That is what I was about to recommend. I find it odd that other GPUs run at 16 lanes, but not the 560.

 

[exeter08]

Okay tried it in another machine, the pcie lane was detected at x16. I'm at my wits end here, not really sure if the issue is in the mobo or in the gpu

 

[INSTG8R]

Well the other cards you tried worked fine. So I think the MoBo is fine. Did you try cleaning the contacts on the 560 like hat suggested?

For testing purposes stick to the 9600GT because it's an NV card. You can "mess around" with drivers installed at least. The 560 is still running at 4x. Shut it down and switch it for the 9600GT and see what you come up with. If it's coming up 16x you can pretty much say it's the 560 that is at fault.

 

[exeter08]

Yep, i tried alcohol and i even bought a can of contact cleaner and gave the mobo a bath especially the x16 pcie slot.

Tried what you suggested and the 9600gt booted at x16..i tried the 560 in my sister's desktop and it was at x16, also tried it in my office computer also at x16

Is it possible that the mobo and gpu are just not compatible with each other?

 

[Shou Miko]

ino it may be a weird question, but did u try another psu in ur pc to see if ur GTX 560 will run at x16?

 

[INSTG8R]

Yep, i tried alcohol and i even bought a can of contact cleaner and gave the mobo a bath especially the x16 pcie slot.

Tried what you suggested and the 9600gt booted at x16..i tried the 560 in my sister's desktop and it was at x16, also tried it in my office computer also at x16

Is it possible that the mobo and gpu are just not compatible with each other?

It's really beginning to look that way That board has something against that 560. Of course that makes no sense at all. Did you take some Contact Cleaner to the card? Little oxidation on the contacts that just don't sit right in the slot.

I'm truly running out of ideas here. This is a real noodle scratcher

 

[exeter08]

Yeah, sprayed some of it on the gold fingers of the card. The contacts looks new by the way as the card was only purchased locally around march 2012.

Also tried resetting the cmos. The only thing that i havent done is to flash the bios to an older version.

 

[exeter08]

@ puma

That I haven't tried yet. I'll try looking for another psu as i used my old psu when testing the card on the other machines. They run great so i think the psu is good?

 

[INSTG8R]

Yeah, sprayed some of it on the gold fingers of the card. The contacts looks new by the way as the card was only purchased locally around march 2012.

Also tried resetting the cmos. The only thing that i havent done is to flash the bios to an older version.

I can't see BIOS Flashing is going to help. There is nothing wrong with the board. Any other card you have put in works properly. I'm running the same board no issues at all with the latest BIOS.

There is something up with that card. WHAT is up with it remains to be seen...You couldn't just be happy with your 5870

 

[exeter08]

lol what's done is done..no use crying over it. :S

Guess i can look for another board or request to RMA the card.

 

[INSTG8R]

lol what's done is done..no use crying over it. :S

Guess i can look for another board or request to RMA the card.

I mean if you have the option to RMA the card without alot of hassle it certainly might be worth it. I mean it doesn't work in YOUR system, so it's not much use to you.(Nobody needs to know it actually works fine in any other machine you tried it in ) Point is it doesn't work for you. So RMA it and hope the next card doesn't have this same bizarre "gremlin"

I say it's because you "switched teams" your being punished It's an awesome Motherboard I love mine. It's trying to tell you something

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[exeter08]

I just wanted to try the other team and it was actually beneficial since the card is covered by the local warranty whereas the 5870 was bought from compUSA so if anything goes wrong with the card i'd have to find a way to ship it to their office in cali to avail of the lifetime warranty from xfx. But man the card was a beaut

Yeah its a great board, love the neat look on my rig. I just hope that there's nothing wrong with it coz i bought it from Japan and I can't RMA the board locally.

 

[INSTG8R]

LOL! You sure know how to make things easy on yourself

 

[exeter08]

dang upgrade itch..