Best Pci X16 Graphics Card Full PCIe X16

Best Pci X16 Graphics Card Full PCIe X16

So, here you can remove the NVMe SSD from the M.2 slot to check that whether your graphics card is now operating at full PCIe x16 speed or not.

Just to tell you, I have also faced this problem and it was really frustrating to detect the cause because it takes into account all the factors related to the motherboard, operating system, and the graphics card.

Sometimes, it may not be a problem at all and simply a misunderstanding, because, at low GPU loads, the PCIe bus runs at lower speeds to conserve power, which is also a part of the power management features in windows, and at higher GPU loads, it switches to higher PCIe mode to deliver maximum performance needed by the games or applications.

The point of concern is when your graphics card is capable of running at PCIe x16 3.0 but is running at PCIe x8 1.1 or PCIe x8 3.0, even at full GPU load.

For example, in the image below, you can clearly see that the graphics card is only utilizing x8 lanes and is not working at its full capacity, which is at x16, even though the PCIe standard is switching from PCIe 1.1 to PCIe 3.0.

Sometimes, the issue is related to hardware and sometimes it may be due to firmware and software, but in most cases, the issue lies with the hardware only.

If you are lucky, then you can resolve this issue in minutes but if you are not then it can take a lot of effort and time to figure out the exact cause of this problem.

In some cases, you may have to live with this problem, because it cannot be fixed due to the faulty hardware.

So, here I am going to list down the various factors that can contribute to this problem, along with their solutions or fixes.

It has a built-in rendering test that pushes the GPU load to 100 and lets you check whether the Graphics Card or PCIe interface is operating at its maximum potential or not.

Now, in the Bus Interface section you will see the maximum PCIe bus interface supported by the graphics card, and along its side, the one that it is currently working on.

Below, you can see that the graphics card supports PCIe x16 3.0 but is working on PCIe x8 1.1 to save power when the GPU is idle or the GPU load is minimum.

A new window will open along the side, on which there is the Start Render Test button.

Click on the Start Render Test button and this will start a GPU render test that will put your GPU usage to 99 or 100.

However, if it changes to PCIe x8 3.0 or remains at PCIe x16 1.1 only, then it is an issue and you have to find the cause of it.

However, you may encounter a tiny performance loss in some applications or games, which is around 1 to 2 at max.

However, you can suffer significant performance loss then the graphics card runs at PCIe 1.1 x8, PCIe 2.0 x8 or at PCIe 3.0 x4, given that both the graphics card and motherboard are PCIe 3.0 x16 capable.

If your CPU does not have PCIe 16 lanes then your GPU wont run on PCIe x16 speed, even if the motherboard supports it.

On the other hand, if the CPU supports PCIe x16 lanes for the graphics card, but your motherboard or graphics card is limited to only PCIe x8, then your graphics card will run at PCIe x8 only.

Remove the graphics card from the PCI-E x16 slot, clean the PCI-E connector contacts with isopropyl alcohol and put it back in the PCI-E x16 slot properly.

This is because, sometimes dust or even some part of the warranty sticker can be present on the PCI-E connector, which can result in this issue.

Also, make sure that the motherboard PCI-E x16 slot is clean and there is no dust present in it.

You can clean off the dust using an electric air duster by blowing air on the PCIe x16 slot.

This can happen with some motherboards where the chipset PCIe lanes are not configured to be utilized for NVMe SSDs.

Best Pci X16 Graphics Card For Mac