Question x16 slot Dell precision T1600

[swilczak]

I bought a Dell precision motherboard and installed it it in a standard mid tower case. I bought the front panel adapters off eBay. I put an RX 570 8GB card in the PCI-E slot that is closest to the CPU. AMD software reports that it is running at X4 instead of X16 and I am getting about a 20% loss in performance. Is there a way to fix this? I see no options in the BIOS and I can't install the card in the other PCI-E slot because the front panel adapter is in the way. From what I've read the slot closest to the CPU is always the X16 slot.

 

[punkncat]

Dell BIOS are typically pretty lacking. If you aren't seeing some way to change the PCI parameters there I am not sure there is anything to be done.

Do you have the specific model of that motherboard on hand, or the model of PC it would have come in?

 

[swilczak]

It's Dell precision workstation T1600. I can't find the exact specs online but I am almost positive that it has at least one x16 slot. The second slot away from the cpu is most likely x4

 

[swilczak]

Is there a color code that tells which one is x16? The slots are two different colors.

 

[punkncat]

According to this document:

Stand Alone

Precision is the key element that separates greatness from everything else. Dell Precision is your key tool whether your job requires you to design digital content, work with computer-aided design (CAD) models, analyze manufacturing processes or any other performance-intensive application.

www.dell.com

you should be seeing one or two x16 slots.

 

[swilczak]

So either the slot furthest from the CPU is the x16 slot or there's something wrong with the motherboard. I just did a BIOS update on the motherboard and nothing changed

 

[swilczak]

I got the graphics card plugged into the other PCI-E slot and it still says x4. Oh well it's not my main build, I just like to play around with it and my kids use it. Thanks for the input. I guess it can't be fixed

 

[swilczak]

I ran benchmarks on it after switching slots and it took a huge performance hit so it must have been running at x16 before but the AMD software was reporting it wrong