Help with PCI-E type?

[lamboryta]

Hello.
My rig is as follows:
Motherboard: asus P8Z68-V/GEN3
GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 OC 4Gb
RAM: 8 GB DDR3

I used GPU-Z to check my gpu and I noticed one thing:
In the Bus Interface the value is: PCI-E 2.0 x16@x1 1.1
If I hover the mouse it says that the GPU supports PCI-Express x16 v2.0 but the current value is PCI-Express x1 v1.1
I know basically nothing about this, is this supposed to be ok? Is there something wrong?

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Put some 3d load on the gpu and it will change to 16x I believe this is normal behaviour and is a power saving feature

 

[Bill_Bright]

We need more information. If you look at the specs for your motherboard, note that little "*1" by your PCIe3.0 Expansion Slots listing.

 

[newtekie1]

Put some 3d load on the gpu and it will change to 16x I believe this is normal behaviour and is a power saving feature

Definitely not normal behavior. Power savings lowers the version from v2.0 to lower like v1.1, but it will not lower the lane count from x16 to x1(except in a few multi-GPU solution situations).

I'd try taking the card out and reseating it. That fixes the lane issue most of the time.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Definitely not normal behavior. Power savings lowers the version from v2.0 to lower like v1.1, but it will not lower the lane count from x16 to x1(except in a few multi-GPU solution situations).

I'd try taking the card out and reseating it. That fixes the lane issue most of the time.

Very normal behaviour unless it's GPU-Z reading it wrong but it's not an hardware issue. Oops nvm I see what your'e saying and seems you are correct, would clarify if the OP could post a
SS

 

[Jetster]

Just bench test it with Heaven 4.0 . I'm sure its fine and running pcie 2.0 X16

 

[eidairaman1]

Hello.
My rig is as follows:
Motherboard: asus P8Z68-V/GEN3
GPU: Asus Strix GTX 970 OC 4Gb
RAM: 8 GB DDR3

I used GPU-Z to check my gpu and I noticed one thing:
In the Bus Interface the value is: PCI-E 2.0 x16@x1 1.1
If I hover the mouse it says that the GPU supports PCI-Express x16 v2.0 but the current value is PCI-Express x1 v1.1
I know basically nothing about this, is this supposed to be ok? Is there something wrong?

Gpu Z has a benchmark tool akin to furmark, you need to enable it, if it doesn't change, go get motherboard chipset drivers for Z68 from intel and install them, otherwise your card is in the wrong slot and you need to read your manual.

 

[Flaky]

Drivers have nothing to do with that.

PCIe lane count is negotiated once during boot and does not change.

If the card is in last x16 slot, then it's perfectly normal to have it running at x1. But, can be set to up to x4 - more in manual.
If it's placed somewhere else, then there is a problem somewhere. Reseating gpu and cpu (and checking socket for damage) is first thing to do.

 

[Jetster]

Drivers have nothing to do with that.

PCIe lane count is negotiated once during boot and does not change.

If the card is in last x16 slot, then it's perfectly normal to have it running at x1. But, can be set to up to x4 - more in manual.
If it's placed somewhere else, then there is a problem somewhere. Reseating gpu and cpu (and checking socket for damage) is first thing to do.

Nope, it will change as needed. You can literally watch it change when the load drops . All the OP had to do was click the question mark and he would have got the answer

No load

Load

 

[Flaky]

Lane count does not change on your screens

 

[Jetster]

Then I'm confused

 

[agent_x007]

In the Bus Interface the value is: PCI-E 2.0 x16@x1 1.1
If I hover the mouse it says that the GPU supports PCI-Express x16 v2.0 but the current value is PCI-Express x1 v1.1

Then I'm confused

That is nort normal. It should be "x16", not "x1".
Check other PCI-e slot, and if that doesn't fix it - pins in CPU socket.

 

[eidairaman1]

Drivers have nothing to do with that.

PCIe lane count is negotiated once during boot and does not change.

If the card is in last x16 slot, then it's perfectly normal to have it running at x1. But, can be set to up to x4 - more in manual.
If it's placed somewhere else, then there is a problem somewhere. Reseating gpu and cpu (and checking socket for damage) is first thing to do.

Someone forgot to install their chipset driver and the card would not tell the mobo to increase the bandwidth, once the intel chipset driver was installed, it fixed the issue. So it does have alot to do with the bus mastering not increasing the bandwidth.

When working correctly the bus varies speed, it will climb to max supported and then drop down to conserve power.

1 last note i doubt after burner is being used but i recalled an advanced setting caused the bus mastering to not work either, once disabled it worked correctly again

 

[jboydgolfer]

gpuZ shows what speed your GPU CAN run at on the left side, example.

and it shows what speed it IS running at, example.....

if the one on the left is lower than what your Motherboard & GPU supports, you (as mentioned) may not have chipset software installed, or You may have the setting in the Bios set to "automatic" , which (in my case) will run it at PCI-E x16 @ 2.0. what yours does may be different, but the resolution may be the same.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

gpuZ shows what speed your GPU CAN run at on the left side, example.
View attachment 95942

and it shows what speed it IS running at, example.....
View attachment 95943

if the one on the left is lower than what your Motherboard & GPU supports, you (as mentioned) may not have chipset software installed, or You may have the setting in the Bios set to "automatic" , which (in my case) will run it at PCI-E x16 @ 2.0. what yours does may be different, but the resolution may be the same.

you're missing the point as I did, yes pcie bus downclocks to 1.0 but pcie lanes should not change and should stay at 16 regardless of the pcie bus speed which the op stated went down to 1 so instead of 16 (pcie lanes) x 1.1 (bus speed) he is saying it was 1 (pcie lanes) x 1.1 x 1 (bus speed). I still think the OP should show a SS to clarify what is going on but he registered to post today and hasnt been online since so am holding little hope he will be back...

 

[jboydgolfer]

you're missing the point as I did, yes pcie bus downclocks to 1.0 but pcie lanes should not change and should stay at 16 regardless of the pcie bus speed which the op stated went down to 1 so instead of 16 (pcie lanes) x 1.1 (bus speed) he is saying it was 1 (pcie lanes) x 1.1 x 1 (bus speed). I still think the OP should show a SS to clarify what is going on but he registered to post today and hasnt been online since so am holding little hope he will be back...

no i get the point. i am trying to clarify how OP should read the Screen & its readings, since i am under the impression that he is mistaken, or has posted a typo.

 

[Flaky]

Someone forgot to install their chipset driver and the card would not tell the mobo to increase the bandwidth, once the intel chipset driver was installed, it fixed the issue. So it does have alot to do with the bus mastering not increasing the bandwidth.

Does this story date back to AGP era?

There are no dedicated drivers for PCIe bus, plain and simple. If there are - point me to particular inf/sys driver provided by intel doing anything related to that
What those "chipset drivers" really do, is setting pretty names in device manager for most devices, or informing the OS that there are no drivers needed for certain devices (for those previously shown with yellow exclamation mark).

 

[Deleted member 163934]

I had a similar situation not so long ago.
gpu-z (and other utilities) were all showing PCI-Express x8 v1.1 while the gpu supported PCI-Express x16 v2.0 (it was changing to PCI-Express x8 v2.0 in load) (gpu and mb support PCI-Express x16 v2.0 ). The bios has no option to change the PCI-E version or lanes numbers. Only way to fix it was to do a bios reset by using the jumper (load bios defaults from bios did nothing). At least in my particular case the mb has a total crap BIOS, if I touch anything related to cpu in the bios the cpu freq will just get stuck to the lowest possible until I do a BIOS reset by using the jumper, yes I updated the BIOS several times, it does the same no matter what BIOS version I use (in fact newer bioses added other bugs like the fan speed is sometimes wrongly reported as 4400 rpm when it should be 2400...)

Anyway try to reseat the gpu. If this doesn't fix it reset the bios, hopefully you have a jumper on the mb to do it.

 

[W1zzard]

Check the card in another PC to isolate whether the problem is with the card or with your mobo/software

 

[eidairaman1]

Does this story date back to AGP era?

There are no dedicated drivers for PCIe bus, plain and simple. If there are - point me to particular inf/sys driver provided by intel doing anything related to that
What those "chipset drivers" really do, is setting pretty names in device manager for most devices, or informing the OS that there are no drivers needed for certain devices (for those previously shown with yellow exclamation mark).

You fail to understand what a driver truly does. I feel sorry for you.

By the way read this here.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...es-Chipset-Based-Desktop-Boards?product=70398

https://www.asus.com/us/supportonly/P8Z68-V/HelpDesk_Download/

If he was using W10 he would be pretty much screwed at this point as intel stopped support and built in Windows drivers provide basic functions just to make it run but provide no enhancements, aka generic driver.

Another thing that can be atrempted id the PCI Express Link power state in power properties/management should be set for High/Max/Best Performance.

 

[Flaky]

Well, all what I needed from you (so you could prove your point) was providing exact inf/sys files present in driver package that do (actually do) anything related to PCI Express bus.
Is this really that difficult for a person, who supposedly knows what a driver truly does (and what it is)?

Feel free to check (on your system, where you already did install those "drivers") which exact driver controls PCI Express root complex and ports.
Why is it PCI.SYS, and why is it provided by microsoft?

 

[Bill_Bright]

What those "chipset drivers" really do, is setting pretty names in device manager for most devices, or informing the OS that there are no drivers needed for certain devices (for those previously shown with yellow exclamation mark).

Wow! That's just wrong.

That does, for the most part, apply to "monitor" drivers which typically are just informational (.ini) files. But this is because operating systems don't communicate directly with monitors. They communicate with the graphics solutions (which, BTW, do require real drivers - generic for basic functions and proprietary for advanced and device specific functions). Otherwise, a monitor driver simply tells the OS the brand and model number, "recommended" native resolution and refresh rate, and it grays out unsupported resolutions.

There is a big difference between "chipset" drivers and "PCIe" drivers. While the motherboard maker may "package" the PCIe device driver along with the chipset drivers, that, in no way, makes them one in the same. Sure, most devices will work performing basic functions with "industry standard" generic protocols and basic drivers (included in the BIOS and OS). But that does not mean specific drivers are not needed or that they just set pretty names in Device Manager.

So before criticizing a long standing and respected member of this site, I would suggest you do your homework first to get your terminology down and facts straight - or you risk looking to be the "flaky" one.

 

[R-T-B]

He's right about the PCIe bus.

But to assume the chipset is just the PCIe bus is false.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yes, this goes back to a different discussion we've had about network controllers which work with basic industry standard protocols and drivers. And while network controller drivers may be bundled with chipset drivers, they are not the same either.

But to assume the chipset is just the PCIe bus is false.

Or that the chipset driver is there to set pretty names in Device Manager is false too. That, and the way it was presented is what really got my attention here.

 

[R-T-B]

Yes, this goes back to a different discussion we've had about network controllers which work with basic industry standard protocols and drivers.

*sighs*

Bill, yes, ethernet is a standard protocol. Ethernet controllers do not share a common driver and I really can't help you if you want to dredge that one up again.

The PCIe bus always will use PCI.sys, supplied by microsoft. That's different than network drivers, which are specific to the chipset in question, bundled or not.