GTX 650 only running at pci express x4 1.1

[nivram11]

Hi,

I noticed in GPU-Z that my bus interface is only running at PCI Express x4 but it supports PCI Express x16. I tried the render test and I also tried MSI Kombustor stress test yet the bus interface is still at x4. I've also tried to put "prefer maximum performance" in the NVIDIA control panel.

My graphics card is inserted at the PCI Express x16 slot which is running at x16 as stated on the motherboard's specs.

Is there anyway to make it run at x16? since I know I only get 1/4 the bandwidth of my gfx card at x4. Here are my pc specs:

Intel Core2Quad Q6600
Palit GTX650 1GB
4GB DDR3 1333MHz
Gigabyte G41M Combo
Corsair CX550

 

[photonboy]

Actually, it will make NO difference with that graphics card since you'd never saturate even the x4 bandwidth.

You can only usually change the bandwidth by:
1) a BIOS setting, or
2) removing a card in a PCIe slot that's making it default to x4 mode (sound card.. whatever).

You can look at your motherboard manual and/or BIOS for more info but again it's not going to make a difference.

 

[photonboy]

Update:
The manual gives no indication that it can run in any other state than x16 mode. The software is probably not indicating things correctly.

If you're concerned contact Gigabyte but they'll likely tell you the same thing.

 

[nivram11]

Ok thanks I hope it's just a bug of the software. Anyway about the bandwidth, would I not saturate it even whin I run games like Battlefield 4?

 

[Cons29]

do you have other cards aside from the GPU? it may be causing the issue, if so, try to remove the other card (like a sound card or something)

also, about the bandwidth, a 650 is an OK card, but no it would not push past x4, it depends on how powerful the card is, not on the game that you play. even high end cards cannot push x16 (not sure if the new ones can, but last time i checked none can do that)

 

[photonboy]

I know a GTX680/GTX770 won't push past PCIe v2.0 x16 (or x8 on PCIe version 3.0) and they're almost 4x more powerful as a GTX650.

(Also, it scales oddly. x4 Mode got about 75% of the performance on a card even when x8 Mode was slightly bottlenecking things. If it scaled linearly then x4 Mode should have been under 50%. Weird.)

Again though, your motherboard doesn't even have the ability to drop to x4 mode. The PURPOSE of having this ability is if the motherboard needs to repurpose the bandwidth. For example, I had a motherboard that would drop to x8 mode from x16 mode if I used a certain PCIe slot because there's only so much for ALL of PCIe.

However the motherboard has no such limitation and the x16 slot is hardwired to use all its capabilities.

So seriously, don't worry about it.

Other:
If you had 64-bit Windows, you might wish to consider the GTX750Ti 2GB video card (want 64-bit with a 2GB video card or else you can't access enough System RAM). Your card is similar to an HD7750 so there's no point spending money unless you get a big boost like the 750Ti. Conversely, you don't want to spend any MORE than about $150 USD on that system.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750ti2gd5oc

The GTX650 averages 55% of a GTX750Ti, though your CPU would bottleneck some games.

Anyway, not saying you need to upgrade, just throwing you some links in case you're interested. I wonder what you could sell your current card for since a brand new one costs the same as some GTX750Ti's.