PCIe x16 running at x8 leading to screen tearing?
PCIe x16 running at x8 leading to screen tearing?
Experiencing issues with video performance on my R9 5900X setup. With 32GB DDR4-3200 and RTX3060ti, the 60Hz display caps me at around 60 FPS, often dropping to 50-52. Minor screen tearing occurs even at that speed. The SN570 motherboards have bandwidth conflicts in the M.2 slots—second slot shares SATA bandwidth, and the GPU ID shows x8 instead of x16. Would replacing the M.2 drives with a SATA6 2.5" SSD resolve the problem?
The secondary M.2 type restricts it to x8 due to lane sharing requirements with the GPU, which would return to x16 if changed to SATA. PCIe 3.0 x16 is comparable to PCIe 4.0 x8, indicating a limitation on capabilities. During gaming, the GPU usage was notable, especially under high load where performance dropped significantly—typically around 2-3% compared to regular sessions, but more pronounced when bandwidth limits are reached.
Quite demanding, even with DLSS. If memory allows, performance stays around 93-97% at 6144x3240 with a blend of high and ultra settings, though some lower resolution. At 4096x2160 it reaches 60 FPS, but loading remains unchanged and tearing worsened. A 75", 1440p display appears quite poor. Notably, core speed fluctuates (around 840-940 MHz) despite heavy GPU usage, possibly indicating an x8 limitation. If this matters, the 3060ti is an Asus KO series with 8GB OC.
What is the make of your motherboard?
The CPU features 20 lanes: 16 dedicated to the graphics card and an extra 4 for the first M2 slot. The second M2 slot should utilize chipset lanes, while the PCIe slot remains unaffected. The manual for your motherboard will clarify how populating the second M2 with NVMe or SATA affects it.
Clicking the question mark in GpuUtilities indicates what action to take?
If Vsync is enabled and you turn it off, does tearing stop? If so, keep Vsync on and cap FPS in NvidiaCP at 59 to reduce input lag from Vsync.
Original configuration was Asus Tuf B550-Plus, now upgraded to Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master.
Supported GPUs: R9 5900X, Scythe Mugen 5, PVS432G320C6K Patriot Viper 4 Blackout (DDR4-3200, 2x16), 1 TB WD Blue SN570 (2), 8 TB WD Black Performance HD, 2 TB Crucial MX500 SSD.
Storage: Pioneer BDR-212DBK, Asus KO RTX3060ti 8GB-OC (V2 variant?), ElGato 4K60 Plus Mk2, Corsair Commander Core XT /Corsair LL120 fans (6), Corsair RM850x / Fractal Pop XL Air case.
Display: 75" HiSense A6 - 60 hz.
For VSync testing, tried 59Hz, reduced to 50Hz occasionally; minor improvement but not a complete fix.
Manuals confirmed: Asus x16_1 switches to x1 when x16_2 is active (with ElGato 4K60 Plus MK2).
Gigabyte x16s may reach up to x8 if M2_B or M2_C are enabled.
Thus, the Asus board was limiting performance to x1 with the ElGato, while Gigabyte could go higher with the secondary M.2. RTFM...
It seems my rig struggles to hit peak performance when serving dual roles as a media server and gaming machine, and this might stay unchanged.
I considered moving the server/recording gear to older setups like 1700/GTX1650 or 3600X/GTX1650, but neither supports both x16 and x4.
Maybe I’ll end up with two B550 units—one for recording, one for gaming. Otherwise, buying an expensive x470/x570 board isn’t practical.
If I distribute the tasks between two machines, can a 1650 handle recording, rendering, transcoding, gameplay, DVD playback and light video editing? (Yes, I have Handbrake, though it doesn’t work on everything.)