Can z87 OC Formula PCIE2 be run 16 Lanes

[pletheron]

Hi All,

I need to move my single GPU from PCIE1 to PCIE2 because of the size of the my new CPU cooler. Doing so has degraded FPS and smothness of the flight simulator (FSX) I run. Is there any way to run a single GPU in PCIE2 with 16 lanes?

Pletheron

[parsec]

Re: Can z87 OC Formula PCIE2 be run 16 Lanes

Looks like there is no BIOS option to do that, sorry to say. The PCIE2 slot seems to be hard wired to x8 or less.

Since you've already tried it I doubt anything else can be done. The only thing I can think of is using one of those goofy riser cards that bitcoin miners use, but most of those things don't provide an x16 connection AFAIK.

Many gamers say that there is little to no difference between using a video card in an x8 slot, rather than an x16 slot, but if you see lower FPS in an x8 slot, so much for that theory.

[pletheron]

Re: Can z87 OC Formula PCIE2 be run 16 Lanes

Looks like there is no BIOS option to do that, sorry to say. The PCIE2 slot seems to be hard wired to x8 or less.

Since you've already tried it I doubt anything else can be done. The only thing I can think of is using one of those goofy riser cards that bitcoin miners use, but most of those things don't provide an x16 connection AFAIK.

Many gamers say that there is little to no difference between using a video card in an x8 slot, rather than an x16 slot, but if you see lower FPS in an x8 slot, so much for that theory.

Hi Parsec,

Thanks for the reply and suggestion.

WRT no noticeable performance difference from the x8 and x16 slots, I would say that is true for most current applications. I ran 3D Mark in both hardware configurations and there was no appreciable difference in the results. However, 3D Mark uses the latest libraries for graphics. The MS FSX flight simulator on the other hand is an outdated 32 bit application that still lives on. FSX therefore uses older libraries (stuck pretty much at DX9) and therefore seems to suffer significantly in the x8 PCIE2 slot. What specifically causes this I don't know. The difference is quite noticeable even without the frame counter displayed.

Pletheron

[- wardog -]

Re: Can z87 OC Formula PCIE2 be run 16 Lanes

There are true x16 riser/ribbon cables on eBay. Problem is most are too short to reach the back vertical riser slot provided on, for instance, many of the Fractal Design cases.