[SOLVED] GPU-Z showing 2.0 instead of 3.0

[saowens117]

Just bought a GTX 1660 super along with a Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H LGA Mobo and for some reason when I run GPU-Z it shows that the Graphics card is running at PCIEx16 2.0 even during the render test. I went into the BIOS and changed the Default PCIE option to Gen 3 and when I restarted, my computers resolution was wonky but GPU-Z showed me running at x16 3.0 then the resolution automatically changed to what I normally keep it at but the card dropped down to Gen 2??? Any tips?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Just bought a GTX 1660 super along with a Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H LGA Mobo and for some reason when I run GPU-Z it shows that the Graphics card is running at PCIEx16 2.0 even during the render test.

What cpu are you using?
PCIE 3.0 is available with Ivy bridge cpus only (like i5-3570 - for example) and only in upper PCIE x16 slot.
If you have Sandy bridge cpu (like i5-2400), then only PCIE 2.0 is available.

 

[saowens117]

Using an i7-2600. Really bummed to hear that might be the problem. You think it's worth getting a new cpu to get the most out of the card?

 

[hotaru.hino]

Using an i7-2600. Really bummed to hear that might be the problem. You think it's worth getting a new cpu to get the most out of the card?

No. PCIe bandwidth doesn't start affecting cards until it gets below PCIe 3.0 x4, which is the same as PCIe 1.x x16 or PCIe 2.0 x8.

Even the RTX 3080 doesn't start seeing an appreciable drop until it hits PCIe 1.1 x16, and that's a massively powerful card compared to yours: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3080-pci-express-scaling/27.html

 

[saowens117]

Okay. Cool. Thanks for the help and info.