Hey everyone! I could use some help understanding PCIe speeds and whether my GPU is being underutilized. Here are my specs: I've got an RTX 2080 GPU, a Ryzen 7 5800x3d CPU, and an Asus TUF Gaming B550 Plus motherboard. When I check CPU-Z, it shows that my motherboard supports PCIe 4.0 at 16 GT/s, but under the graphics interface, it displays PCIe 3.0 with a link width of x4 (even though it can go up to x16). I know the RTX 2080 is a PCIe 3.0 card, but I thought it should be running at x16 instead of x4. HWInfo also indicates a max speed of 8.0 GT/s. I have an NVMe SSD installed in the top slot, right above the GPU. Can someone clarify if I'm missing out on performance with this setup? And if I decide to upgrade my GPU in the future, will I be able to utilize its full potential?
2 Answers
Your GPU shows PCIe 3.0 x4 because it's likely saving power. Keep in mind that every PCIe generation doubles speed, so PCIe Gen 4 at x8 is comparable to Gen 3 at x16. Just because it's showing x4 doesn't always mean you're getting poor performance; it could be a power-saving feature kicking in.
Make sure your GPU is in the PCIe slot closest to the CPU, and you should be good to go! If it is in the right slot, then you shouldn't worry about it too much. The system is probably just optimizing power usage, and performance should still be solid.
It's actually in the closest slot already, so is this performance what I should expect?
I see, but it still shows x4 even when the game's fully utilizing the GPU. I'm confused about whether my 3.0 GPU is truly underutilized, especially since my motherboard can handle more.