I just did a major upgrade on my system, swapping out my motherboard, CPU, and RAM. Here are the new specs:
- Motherboard: Asus B650e Max Gaming WiFi
- CPU: Ryzen 5 9600x (previously Intel i7-8700k)
- RAM: Crucial 32GB DDR5 6400 MT/s 32cl (up from DDR4 16GB)
- GPU: RTX 4060 ProArt OC
- Storage: Samsung Evo 960 500 GB SSD and Crucial P3 1TB SSD, plus a 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD.
I brought my NVMe SSDs and SATA HDD over, but I'm concerned about potential issues with PCIe lane sharing. My GPU is currently in the PCIe x16_1 slot, but I haven't done a fresh OS install yet since finals are coming up. I'm noticing a huge drop in gaming performance; for instance, I used to get around 150-170 fps in Marvel Rivals, and now I'm struggling to hit 70 fps. I also have some screenshots from HWInfo64, CPU-Z, and GPU-Z that show my GPU running at PCIe x1 instead of x8. Any ideas on what might be causing this?
3 Answers
It looks like your GPU is underperforming because it's running at PCIe 3.0 x1 instead of x8. This could be a seating issue, so try reseating your GPU. It can also be worth checking if any slots are shared or whether the motherboard has any settings you need to configure in the BIOS.
You definitely should consider a fresh install of Windows and your games afterward. The new hardware setup could be causing conflicts with previous configurations. Furthermore, your GPU running at PCIe x1 is a big red flag and might be causing that performance drop. Make sure your GPU is properly seated in the top x16 slot, which can sometimes fix those bandwidth issues.
As others suggested, a fresh OS install might help. Sometimes older drivers or settings can conflict with the new hardware, leading to poor performance. Once finals are behind you, it’s probably a good idea to wipe and reset everything to maximize your new system's potential.
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