GPU running at x8 instead of x16

[wen87n]

Main Board:  MSI B350M Mortar Arctic
Bios Version: 7A37vA7
Video Card: EVGA GTX 660ti
PSU brand and model: Corsair RM650x
CPU:  Ryzen 5 1600
Memory: Geil 16gb 2400mhz OC@ 2667mhz
SSD/ HDD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2 plugged into M.2 slot as system boot drive. WD blue 2TB to SATA_1 port. WD green 3TB to SATA_4 port.
CPU COOLER: Wraith Spire

Sound Card: N/A
Keyboard: Corsair K60
Mouse: R.A.T. 5
Any Additional hardware plugged into your system: ASUS PCE-AC55BT Wifi Card plugged into PCIe Slot number 3
OC: Yes, CPU OC@ 3.7Ghz
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro

I have a M.2 SATA SSD in the M.2 slot. Is this the reason my Graphic card running @ x8? would they sharing lanes?
or
Motherboard faulty?
or
5 years old GPU faulty?

 

[wen87n]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from wen87n : "GPU running at x8 instead of x16"

Main Board:  MSI B350M Mortar Arctic
Bios Version: 7A37vA7
Video Card: EVGA GTX 660ti
PSU brand and model: Corsair RM650x
CPU:  Ryzen 5 1600
Memory: Geil 16gb 2400mhz OC@ 2667mhz
SSD/ HDD: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2 plugged into M.2 slot as system boot drive. WD blue 2TB to SATA_1 port. WD green 3TB to SATA_4 port.
CPU COOLER: Wraith Spire

Sound Card: N/A
Keyboard: Corsair K60
Mouse: R.A.T. 5
Any Additional hardware plugged into your system: ASUS PCE-AC55BT Wifi Card plugged into PCIe Slot number 3
OC: Yes, CPU OC@ 3.7Ghz
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro

I have a M.2 SATA SSD in the M.2 slot. Is this the reason my Graphic card running @ x8? would they sharing lanes?
or
Motherboard faulty?
or
5 years old GPU faulty?
https://imgur.com/W0tOweN

 

[madmatt30]

PCI express 3x8 is the same speed as pci-express 2 x16.

If you were running a 1080ti you'd only see a couple of fps difference if that.

With a 5 year old 660ti there will be no difference at all .

 

[wen87n]

PCI express 3x8 is the same speed as pci-express 2 x16.

If you were running a 1080ti you'd only see a couple of fps difference if that.

With a 5 year old 660ti there will be no difference at all .

I understand that. However, I just bought this Motherboard for a week. I want to make sure everything on this motherboard works as the way it should. If its the motherboard faulty, I would return it and exchange.

 

[madmatt30]

Much much more likely that old GPU mate

M2 sata doesn't affect PCI express lanes

Type '660ti running at 8x' into Google & see how many results come up!

 

[wen87n]

Much much more likely that old GPU mate

M2 sata doesn't affect PCI express lanes

Type '660ti running at 8x' into Google & see how many results come up!

hmmm... I think I will get a GTX 1060 next week to see if the new GPU goes up to x16

Thanks for the answer.

 

[renz496]

Have you tried running gpu-z stress test to see the speed increased to x16? Because when in idle it is normal to see the pci-e slot only running at x8 speed. It is part of modern GPU power saving feature. So even if you upgrade your gpu to 1060 you will going to see similar behavior.

 

[wen87n]

Have you tried running gpu-z stress test to see the speed increased to x16? Because when in idle it is normal to see the pci-e slot only running at x8 speed. It is part of modern GPU power saving feature. So even if you upgrade your gpu to 1060 you will going to see similar behavior.

when Idle, Gpu-z show PCIe x8 1.1.

When stress test it shows PCIe x8 3.0

isn't it suppose to be PCIe 3.0 x16 when loaded?

 

[renz496]

PCI-E 3.0 at x8 is equal to PCI-E 2.0 at x16. performance wise there should be not issue at all. maybe you should ask MSI how your motherboard handle the PCI-E speed. it is possible the speed is being limited on purpose at x8 for you GPU since that kind of performance are not even affected when running at x8.

 

[wen87n]

PCI-E 3.0 at x8 is equal to PCI-E 2.0 at x16. performance wise there should be not issue at all. maybe you should ask MSI how your motherboard handle the PCI-E speed. it is possible the speed is being limited on purpose at x8 for you GPU since that kind of performance are not even affected when running at x8.

Thanks, I just filed a support ticket to MSI. see how they can help with this case.