RTX 3080 Running at 2X instead of 16X

[minitt]

My RTX 3080 Running at 2X instead of 16X . Have only one GPU in the system and a M.2 NVME Drive

Motherboard Asus Z170S Sabertooth with 6700K delided and running at 4.5ghz

So I initially thought deliding might have damaged the PCIE controller on the CPU but when I plug in the GPU in 2nd PCIE, it runs at 8X. The 2nd Slot is limited to 8X I believe.

So my theory is the onboard PCIE controller on the CPU is at least capable of running at 8X and the motherboard is the culprit.

Would appreciate your input before I send the motherboard for RMA.

 

[blobster21]

GPU-Z screenshot please ?

 

[minitt]

Just attached a screenshot straight from bios

 

[Toothless]

Okay but we need to see the card under load in GPUz. It'll use less lanes on idle.

Also how you gonna send a 3+ year old board for RMA? Does ASUS have that long of a coverage?

 

[minitt]

At idle it shows PCIE X2 at 1.1 and then with load PCIE X2 at 3.0

will upload the gpuz screen shortly

 

[Vya Domus]

At idle it shows PCIE X2 at 1.1 and then with load PCIE X2 at 3.0

All cards do that, it's normal.

 

[Toothless]

All cards do that, it's normal.

But he says 2x, not 8 or 16.

 

[natr0n]

Looking for problems that don't exist...nothing is wrong.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Where do you have the NVME drive plugged in?

 

[evernessince]

What's your performance like in games? If you are really running at 2X is should be terrible.

 

[newtekie1]

Take the card out and reseat it, make sure it is latching completely in the slot.

Looking for problems that don't exist...nothing is wrong.

The card is running at x2, how is there no problem?

It'll use less lanes on idle.

This is never true. The PCI-E version lowers when idle, the number of lanes never changes.

 

[Arrakis9]

Take the CPU out and remount it. Might also hit the socket with some compressed air to make sure there is no dust in the socket itself. Missing pcie lanes is a sign that your cpu may not be making full contact with the socket. Try there first. You should also definitely consider using a second video card to help trouble shoot any issues with missing lanes, possible it might be the card itself but seems unlikely.

 

[Kingtompa]

Have the same "problem" with my Radeon VII, In bios it run´s in x4, and have a Threadripper 2950x and a ASUS ROG X399 motherboard, so plenty of PCI lanes, but it botherd the living hell out of me......diden´t matter that it totaly smashed cards that cost $6000-$10000 in a few benchmarks, it was that a GTX 1050 was faster Direct 2D........it was only then i bought a RTX 2060 and that showed x16 in BIOS but it was then i started to do some work with it CAD, IFC export and imports to Revit and BIM modeling I noticed how incredible slow thought it was, hade to turn down texture quality so the BIM model looed like it was built in Lego, so I went back to my Radeon VII even if it showed x4 in BIOS but I can work with DWG files that are around 4-500 MB and it don´t even lag, and now it´s AutoCAD the 1core champion and they still realeases a new version every year, had to check the system recommendations, AutoCAD 2021 had support for muliple processors did they had to add that becouse of all of the weird chipsets with dual Xeon´s and DDR 3 and M2, becouse i´m pretty sure that a Pentium 4 will do just fine for the 64 bit and Pentum 3 for 32 bit ;-)

But be aware regarding the graphics cards I think they have had 1 consumer card that has been "certifed" to run AutoCAD and it was a Geforce MX150, but not for 2021......there you can choose any thing ATI/AMD and Nvidia has released as "Pro" card so it´s from old ATI fireGL´s that the lower speced ones you probebly would find in a electroncs recycle basket to RTX 8000 whitch cost the same as a decent house in Tanzania or what you get for around $8000 and I saw in the same shop sold Quadro P5000 to the bargin price of $2500 but some shop´s still sell Quadro M card´s .but they diden´t sell any GTX 1070.....weird...

Yeah after that detour i think i have to circle back to that BIOS showed the wrong PCI x4 then should have been x16....so i think you can drop it even if seems to have the same OCD I tried everything even scrubbing the PCIE slot with a tooth brush and ethanol, bought a riser cable and eventually a new card, Iknow that Radeon VII don´t use all 16 lanes at all time and probebly most others card to.

How it can happen....who knows ,maybe so easy that the x4 value got stuck in some part of the memory after maybe a crash or a Hard power off......my started at x8 and see and feel the differens between x8 and x16 isn´t that easy.........so then i dropped down too x4 it felt good.....couse then we are down to PCIE 1 x16 and thoose cards can´t do 100 fps in 4K

/Kingtompa

 

[minitt]

Asus Z170S Sabretooth originally had a 5 year warranty. So yeah i still have warranty till 2021 December.
I have the same understanding as @newtekie1 The PCIE Lanes is fixed and wont change regardless of load. The Speed will change such as 1.1, 2.0 , 3.0 depending load.

So PCIE Lane (2x,4X,8X,16X) and Speed (1.1,2.0,3.0) are two separate factors

I am leaning towards 3 possibilities
1- Motherboard pins bent or misaligned. If someone can send me the PCIE pin location in the cpu socket that would be great.
2- I somehow managed to damage the CPU built-in PCIE controller (This is less likely since my 3080 runs at 8X when I use the middle PCIE slot but runs at 2x at top PCIE slot)
3- Motherboard top PCIE slot is faulty and not making proper connection to CPU socket (I need to determine this is the case before I send my MB for RMA)
I have very low expectation from Asus warranty support. Their warranty support is just pure garbage. Otherwise i would've sent in my MB without opening this thread.

 

[newtekie1]

Motherboard top PCIE slot is faulty and not making proper connection to CPU socket (I need to determine this is the case before I send my MB for RMA)

I think the problem is the connection between the GPU and the slot. The two slots use the same PCI-E connections to the CPU. If there was an issue with the CPU/Socket, the second slot wouldn't be getting lanes.

My guess is either the PCI-E slot itself is damaged or the card isn't making a proper connection in the slot. Take a really good look at the pin in the slot and make sure none are damaged. The slot also might need to be cleaned. And like I said, make sure the card is seated in the slot completely. I've seen a lot of cards, especially big ones, that don't sit nicely in the slot. GPU sag can cause issues like this too with big heavy cards.

 

[minitt]

good idea. I will take the motherboard out of the case and give it a go. Will report back.

 

[Arrakis9]

Just curious have you tried updating the bios on your board? Or rolling back one revision if it's the latest build?

 

[minitt]

Just curious have you tried updating the bios on your board? Or rolling back one revision if it's the latest build?

I didn’t roll back but I reapplied the last bios.
Do you think it’s worth it?

 

[Arrakis9]

Its always advised to try every option when troubleshooting. I would try going to one previous version.

 

[minitt]

here is my gpuz screenshot.
Tried roll back to previous bios-same top slot still running at 2X
Took motherboard out of case-same top slot still running at 2X
now using the middle PCIE slot at 8X

I wonder how much performance am i loosing from running the 3080 in X8 3.0 speed ?

 

[Ekcelent]

here is my gpuz screenshot.
Tried roll back to previous bios-same top slot still running at 2X
Took motherboard out of case-same top slot still running at 2X
now using the middle PCIE slot at 8X

I wonder how much performance am i loosing from running the 3080 in X8 3.0 speed ?

Hi minitt. Did you resolve your issue? I have the exact same problem and god knows I tried almost all of the solutions out there. From cleaning the PCIE slots to flashing BIOS to removing battery to put the GPU under load in GPU-Z, connecting extra power cable to the motherboard CPU slot (8pin + extra 4pin which was disconnected). Tried a vast array of BIOS settings, nothing worked. I am still stuck at PCI-E x2 Gen 3.0 on my MSI RTX 3080 SUPRIM X which is totally unacceptable.

My motherboard is Asus Prime Z490-P. CPU is 10700K. RAMs Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4x8GB) @3000MHz. Only thing I haven't tried is unscrewing the cooler and/or reseating the CPU into the CPU socket...
I am honestly out of ideas. I have never come across anything like this and I have like 6 GPUs currently and owned 10s of them in the past. I understand lanes and their speeds, but I just don't understand how this can be stuck at PCIE x2. It makes absolutely no sense. My PSU is Corsair 850W RM. Simply put the PC is brand new, so is the GPU.

Someone please help, I am desperate! The performance in Warzone is despicable for what the RTX 3080 should provide! Please see the attached screenshot of the active Render Test. And yes the GPU is of course placed in the PCIEX16_1 slot which should have a direct link to the CPUs 16 lanes. I have absolutely nothing else connected in other PCIE slots. One last thing, I did try the other x16 slot (which runs x4 speeds only on this motherboard unfortunately) and that was performing as expected - x4 Gen 3.0 speed - still unacceptable. I refuse to just let it go. Something is super wrong here.

 

[minitt]

Take the cpu out and check for bend pins on the mb cpu socket. I delidded cpu so that could be the reason why mine running at 8x instead of 16x. I am buying new setup anyway so not worth it for me to spend more time. Hope this works for you though.

 

[Caring1]

Set the PCI-e speed in the Bios to Gen 3.

 

[itsakjt]

The PCIE controller is on the CPU. I had a similar problem like the OPs with my old i5 7600K which I damaged while delidding. The top slot would operate at x4 3.0 but the second slot was full x8, the max it was capable of. In my case, I knew it was the CPU since I scratched the substrate on my CPU. I got another used 7600K for a steal price and everything has been fine again.
But speaking from common sense, the issue can also happen due to broken/bent pins on the CPU socket or bad contact between the CPU and socket.

I suggest to re-seat the card first and make sure it is seated properly and if it doesn't work, take out the CPU from the socket and check for bent pins, clean the bottom of the CPU where the pads are and if delidded, check for scratches on the substrate/check if liquid metal is shorting any contacts (if LM is applied).

 

[Zyll Goliat]

I wonder how much performance am i loosing from running the 3080 in X8 3.0 speed ?

Just do 3D Mark Fire Strike & Time Spy benchmark and compare your result with the thousands of other results and you will see how much your score is lower.....