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#1
Link Width stuck at x1
Hello all,
I m having a problem about which i have googled alot, found some solutions but unfortunately they dont apply to me system despite of having similar problem. Together with this problem, i have some other problems too which i think are interrelated to this.
The problem looks like the following image:
In first image, the bus interface is stuck at x1 though the PCIe 2.0 slot has capacity of x16 speed. The second image is of a normal gpu.
I couldnt try any of the solution given here coz my motherboard doesnt have any of these options. Still i have done some things to get rid of this:
-Tried updating motherboard BIOS
-Reinstalled different video drivers.
-Sent back the card to the company but it was fine there (that is, was running at x16)
-Tried another gfx card (9400GT) at the shop, it worked fine on the same mobo (that is, it was also running on x16)
At this point, I must tell you my specs:
XFX 8600GT 1GB
Intel DG35EC motherboard
Intel Core2Duo E8400 3GHz
2GB RAM
Windows 7 Home Prem and Windows XP Pro SP3 32 bit
and a local, cheap 400W(i think yea it is 400W) iball PSU which has these details
Now ofc, the PSU doesnt even meet 20A on +12V rail (dunno how much req for 8600GT). Everything was running fine on this configuration when i build this pc two yrs ago. Just after an yr, the first to die was the motherboard. got it RMA'ed and even bought the same mobo as a replacement (so that if one mobo is out, another should b working). After 3-4 months, it was time for gfx card to die. Got a new one replaced in 2-3 weeks. Then till now mobo has died twice, RAM once, once gfx card.
A month, when it was 2nd time the mobo died, i sent the died one to rma, and replaced another one. After that, i started to see my fps falling down drastically. Thinking it maybe faulty drivers, reinstalled many times (in BOTH os i.e. XP and 7). But no gain. Somehow, i came to know that the link width is stuck at x1 instead of x16. Checked through GPUZ, CPUZ and BIOS, all of them reported it at x1. A week ago, sent the card for rma and found the card is fine so as the mobo as another pcie x16 card was running fine at full x16 speed.
Wat i havent tried is another psu coz since my gfx card died for the first time, a friend of mine (he being an expert in hardware and pc assembling) had told me that the psu can be the culprit and can do further dmg to my pc. As soon as I got to know this, i told my dad to get a new psu. (I dont have much knowledge about mobos and psu and thats y i had bought this psu when i build it). Dad said, why should we get a new psu as the current psu has been working on the same pc fine for so long. How can it b the culprit?? Even i thought "ye the pc working on the same psu fine for a yr..no probs with gfx card too". But soon, i came to know how low quality psu has.
Together with this "link width" prob, i have two more probs which, if related to this issue, will discuss further. if not, will create new thread for them.
The first problem is that when i put additional 2GB stick, the pc doesnt turn on. !! But it happens only when i have gfx card in the pcie slot too. If theres no gfx card present and m running on onboard gfx, it works fine.. ie full 4GB appears. Now i donno why it works w/o gfx card and why not with it.
(The two 2GB sticks are of not the same company but they do have same frequency/speed or watever that PC800 is called).
Second side problem is that in both XP and 7, when i check GPUZ, it shows one additional Intel G35 Express Chipset (onboard gfx). That is, if i have my gfx card slotted, GPUZ will show Intel's onboard gfx first in the list and 8600GT as 2nd. As m on external vid card, the onboard card shud get disabled but it doesnt. If i take out gfx card and run on Intel's onboard gfx, even then also it shows two "Intel G35 Express Chipset". One of them being the real one and one being fake. Not only GPUZ but if i check thru Device Manager, it also shows the same ie two Intel onboard gfx. I tried uninstalling the intel's driver thoroughly, and reinstalling, but still it shows two. But, one chipset shows the new driver version and one (the fake one) shows an old ver. Maybe a leftover driver in system but m not able to remove it. If i try to remove any one of them thru device manager (they are identical in list, nothing to differentiate), both of them get uninstalled leaving me to put my gfx card back (coz of no display) OR if done when gfx card already in place, then windows automatically installs the driver and once again both appear.
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If its my psu who is culprit, then pls tell me which psu to get in a budget of $65-75. I have replacing psu as the last option.
m not very good at telling/explaining problems to others thats y everything above might not be understandable or just partially understandable. And m sorry for bad english and bla bla